My Westfalia Syncro!

[Christian P.]

thanks Seth!

My friend Andre just called me. Apparently he is somewhere in the middle of New Mexico dealing with a coolant and exhaust leaks. He said the alternator is also starting to make more and more noise. I told him to put water in it and just push it as I intend to rebuild everything anyway....we'll see how far he gets!

I did not really intend to replace the engine just yet but I'll do a more complete evaluation when the van gets here - if she gets here...

:Mechanic:

 

[Christian P.]

well the Syncro is here!!!! my friend just arrived in San Francisco!

now time to get to work...

 

[slosurfer]

:coffeedrink: Very Nice! I live right down the street from Go Westy and constantly go by there drooling over the Syncro's. I plan on getting many ideas from the Westfalias for my toyota 4wd van. They have a great little store there that I've got much of my camping gear from.

Congrats on getting it here in one piece.

 

[Christian P.]

New poptop canvas is in.

First upgrade has been done!

This weekend my friends helped me replaced the canvas. The new design has three windows which provide much more light/air/space. I had the original one which still in good shape but after 20 years it was time for a replacement.

Like normal it took more time and effort than we were expecting but I am really pleased with the results!

 

[syncroand101]

Hi,

Thought I'd jump aboard the thread and say hello! I am a fellow Westy Syncro owner over in the UK. My van is my daily driver, my holiday machine, my weekender and my overland machine!

. I have a few large trips in mind once i have some work projects out of the way. A group of 3 of us drove our Syncro's down to the Western Sahara from the UK last year, not a mechanical issue of for me in a 5,000 mile round trip - and I averaged 31mpg!! I also travelled for 2 weeks offroad around the Pyrenees last month.

Mine has been loved-up with Seikel Springs (lift and stiffer), Old Man Emu Shocks, 235/75-15 Goodrich Mud Terrains, Heavy Duty Steel Wheels, the engine is a 1.9TDi, which has been fitted with a hybrid mechanical pump (no electronics :smiley_drive To reduce the engine sweat there is a 19-row oil cooler up front and a Chargecooler for the turbo. The standard Steyr-Puch drivetrain copes fairly well offroad with Front/Rear Difflocks as standard. The mechanical achilles heel is the weak gearbox

For me there is no other vehicle like it, The Westy Syncro does everything well! The bed in mine is so comfortable it'll get use instead of the bed at home on some weeknights! (Even the Wife-to-be agrees!!).

A very good friend of mine runs http://www.syncro-nutz.com up in Scotland. They are absolute pro's at these things. He builds custom versions, think his last beast had 235-85-16's on - not bad for a camper!

I have had and driven various engine conversions on these, Subaru, VW I-4 (tiico), Audi 5-cyl - favourite is definately the TDi, the torque is loverrrly.

Let me know if you ever ship over to the UK/Europe.....

A few pics:

 

[syncroand101]

Also, where did you get your Canvas? Go Westy?

 

[Michael Slade]

Let me know if you ever ship over to the UK/Europe.....

Ummm...you are driving my dream vehicle. Does that shipping offer work in reverse???

Very nice Syncro!!!! (drooling, dreaming, wishing, coveting...no really...)

 

[Christian P.]

Also, where did you get your Canvas? Go Westy?

Wow, welcome to the forum! My friend Dominic has imported a few Joker diesel in the past in Montreal.

www.rvwestfalia.com

I got the canvas from BusDepot

www.busdepot.com

I am in the process of replacing all the springs/shocks right now...more pictures soon.

 

[XJxplorer]

Any updates?????

I love the Westfalias so much that I will be selling my jeep soon and picking one up!! Theres no way I can afford a Syncro so the 2wd is going to have to work for me.

 

[deminimis]

Here is my former Westy (Tiico conversion, SA grill/headlight kit, AT Italia 15" wheels)

Westies are awesome. I sold mine so I could fund a Sportsmobile. I would still have the Westy but for the power/towing issues and wind issues (live in the Gorge and the Westy would get blown all over the road). I'd highly recommend the South African Grill kit from Van Cafe (they send you a bag of cookies with each purchase) as a way of upgrading the headlights. Since you have square headlights, you'll need to additionally purchase a pair of 7" round Hella H-4 lights for the outside beams.

Also, I'd recommend you get framiliar with the Vanagon crew on thesamba.com. http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewforum.php?f=20
Whatever mod you are thinking about in the future, someone on that site has done it and can guide you. Enjoy and don't be afraid to wave at the dork in the Sportsmobile waving at you (old habits die hard).

 

[Christian P.]

Any updates?????

I love the Westfalias so much that I will be selling my jeep soon and picking one up!! Theres no way I can afford a Syncro so the 2wd is going to have to work for me.

yes a lot...we are installing new springs, new shocks, entirely new braking components (master cylinder, caliper, rotor, drums, etc), new SA grill, new radiator, new ball joints, tie rod ends, etc etc.

I am leaving tomorrow morning for 2 weeks in Belize, so there won't be any update for a little while...but I cannot wait to get it out of the garage again.

 

[deminimis]

Does your Westy smell like maple and brown sugar instant oatmeal like so many other Westies?

 

[Christian P.]

well the 3rd phase is almost completed!

here's the list of what we've done over the last few weeks:

-new poptop canvas
-new custom springs
-new shocks
-new tie rod ends
-new ball joints
-new sway bar bushings
-new brakes all around (master cylinder, calipers, pads, rotors, drums, shoes)
-new brake hoses
-new CV joint on all 4 wheels (inner and outer)
-new radiator and coolant bottles
-newer radiator fan
-coolant flush
-newer a/c front condenser
-rust free rear trailer arms on both sides
-new larger spare tire carrier
-new spare tire mounted on 15in wheel
-new South African front grill and H4 headlights
-fixed fuel line leak
-fixed exhaust leak
-new bumper end cap
-new oil sensor
-new hand brake cable
-new rear hatch struts
-new air filter/spark plugs/oil filter

pics coming....

 

[Overland Hadley]

Wow, you have been busy!

 

[T.Low]

Wow, you have been busy!

Holy Mackeral, I should say so!

Looking forward to the pics.