My VW Syncro Westy Build - Adventure is out there.

[ert01]

I can't speak for hodakaguy, but I've had good luck bending plates like that using my 10ton harbor freight hydraulic press and some home made jigs. Pretty simple, cheap, and rugged and it works well.

Swag offroad sells a nice kit to turn your shop press into a bending brake. I would like to try it sometime but my little home made one is still holding up for now. Maybe when it dies I'll buy the swag setup.

 

[barefoot boy]

I have looked at the swag offroad one online and it looks pretty nice; I may just have to buy myself a Christmas present

 

[Hodakaguy]

Since the end caps don't require a high level of strength I took the easy way out and used a flapper wheel to cut a slight notch in the back of the bend, then it was a matter of clamping it in the vise and cold bending the piece with a big ol hammer If you look carefully at the picture you can see the rounded profile of the notch showing on the back side of the bend before welding. This method does require a vise big enough to stay put during the process


Vise mounted to a 400lb piston

At work I have access to this home brew bender as well that works great if you can't have the notch in the back side.

Hodakaguy

 

[Hodakaguy]

Beautiful Van. Have you ever been through Julian in California? Swear I saw a Syncro very similar to yours a year or two ago driving through Julian.
Eric

I've had the van down to the Redwoods once a couple years back, that's about as far down into CA as I've been with it.

Hodakaguy

 

[barefoot boy]

Thanks for the replies about bending steel. I looked again at the Swag Offroad site and believe I'll order the heavy duty bender for the 20 ton press.

 

[Hodakaguy]

Scabbed the wiring together for a quick test...real happy with the results, should work nicely! I'll be tying them into the door switch as well as having a separate switch for either side, both manual switches will run though a common dimmer circuit to provide lower lighting when hanging around the van at night



Hodakaguy

 

[Hodakaguy]

Managed to get a bit more done on the sliders...slow but sure. Added the jack points for the high lift jack...should work nicely. Just a tad more sanding on this one and I'll start work on the other side. Can't wait to get them to powder coat.

Hodakaguy

 

[Hodakaguy]

Not a lot of pics today but did make some progress. Almost done with the second slider . A few more small details then off to Powder Coating.

(Ignore the super messy weld table! )

Hodakaguy

 

[barefoot boy]

Hodakaguy, your craftsmanship is inspirational. Your thread "forced" me to stop walking past the Diversion tig welder to the mig that I can use fairly well. I've been tig welding everything for about a month, and while still not as nice as your welds, it's getting there. Thanks.

 

[BigDan]

Sold my TDI powered westfalia 2 months ago to buy a Syncro for more adventurous trails ......
but the prices are silly !!!!!
otherwise id have another westfalia for sure !

followed your build ...impressive !

Dan

 

[Hodakaguy]

Thanks guys...the project has been a lot of fun (and a TON of work!) so far. Looking forward to some trips with it again this summer!

Hodakaguy

 

[Hodakaguy]

Decided to fabricate mud flaps today to replace the factory unit that I had to remove to install the slider. I also wanted to add a mud flap to the passenger side as well.

First up locate a pair of mud flaps that will fit, a quick trip to the local auto parts store provided units that should work nicely.

I'll be supporting the mud flaps from the sliders, they will be removable as well. Here I've marked out the flaps so I can cut them down to the needed size.

Parts cut (I later changed the design slightly and didn't use the square tubing).

Mounting point on the back of the slider.

Mount finished, mud flap drilled and backing strap fabricated.

Mount installed

Mud flap installed. I'll sand down the edge of the rubber to get rid of the fabric pieces sticking out on the cut line before final install.

And mounted up...not the best pics but you get the idea.

Hodakaguy

 

[bknudtsen]

Clean! I like it.

 

[Hodakaguy]

Sliders are back from powder coating so now it's time to get the wiring completed. I ended up having them coated in semi gloss hammer finish, perfect texture to match the finish on the RMW bumpers and the fender flares.

Ready to head out to powder coating.

And back all nice and black

I'm going to run the wiring for the lights along the back side of the sliders. The wiring will be slid through some stainless steel tubing to keep it damage free as well as nice and tidy I drilled and tapped holes before sending them out for powder so I could mount the tubing on the sliders.

Here I'm cutting the tubing to length.

And mounted to the slider, the tubing is up high enough on the back side of the slider that it should be safe from damage.

I installed plastic caps on the tubing and sliders where the wires pass through.

Wires on the lights cut to length.

Here I'm installing the Dean's Mini power connectors that I will use to connect each light to the main harness. If a light ends up quitting this will make changing the light out a lot easier down the road since I won't have to mess with the main harness again. Here I've tinned the wires, soldered the wiring together and I'm installing shrink tubing. I'll pack the Dean's connector with Dielectric grease to keep out the moisture.

Starting to come together.

Getting late tonight...More to come.

Hodakaguy

 

[bknudtsen]

Cleanest wiring job I have ever seen... Way to take it to the next level!

Brad