Snowgeek135
Observer
x4 Feel is everything.... I love making huge upgrades that are subtle in appearance.
Screwing around with a Eurovan!
- Thread starter Cole
- Start date
Cole
Expedition Leader
Went to the "VW on the Green" event this Sunday to check out all the cool VW. Still trying to put some miles on the fresh motor.
We paid up to enter the show so that we could have the van close by for the baby. I was surprised how many people came over to talk about it. There were 4 T4 Eurovans there. Three 1993s, one was a Poptop, all were white.
Most of the Vanagons and Buses were awesome!!
We paid up to enter the show so that we could have the van close by for the baby. I was surprised how many people came over to talk about it. There were 4 T4 Eurovans there. Three 1993s, one was a Poptop, all were white.
Most of the Vanagons and Buses were awesome!!
Cole
Expedition Leader
I don't know if anyone has noticed but this an has a subtle red and grey pinstripe down the side and around the grill(red is very noticable around the grill) to give it kind of a GTI flavor.
All the old Westys buses had these wonderful funky plaids. So I was considering doing a red/black GTI plaid for the interior (bed mattresses, the curtains, seat inserts, door cards Poptop fabric?!!) that would match the black/red outside and tie the van to modern and vintage VW style.
Anyone know of a good source for the interlagos plaid or something very similar?
All the old Westys buses had these wonderful funky plaids. So I was considering doing a red/black GTI plaid for the interior (bed mattresses, the curtains, seat inserts, door cards Poptop fabric?!!) that would match the black/red outside and tie the van to modern and vintage VW style.
Anyone know of a good source for the interlagos plaid or something very similar?
Cole
Expedition Leader
Since my friend John's Porsche 993 steering wheel has been sitting here I felt compelled to do something about the boring plasticy steering wheel.
The 993 wheel felt MUCH better than the stock VW one but despite having the right splines the holes for the airbag wires and turn signal cancel were all wrong. Not impossible to make work but the 993 wheel just looked too similar and was too expensive to be worth modifying to work.
But.....now that I knew exactly what I was looking at I figured a Audi Sport wheel from a S4/S6 would work. The spines are wrong but conveniently VW/Audi made a factory spline adapter that can be found on MK3 Jettas/Golfs.
I found a deal on a 2001 Audi S4 wheel on craigslist for $50! Then immediately ran off to the pull-n-save to snatch an adapter.......which would be its own adventure!
For those of you with a short attention span.......oh squirrel!......I mean here is the cliff notes picture! The thick three spoke weighted sport wheel feels MUCH nicer to drive with!!! I had no idea a weighted wheel would make such a difference. I swear it handles better!
Now, for those of you with nothing better to do and want to know the silly tech and my follies at the junk yard, keep reading!
For quick reference this is the part I'm after. It's only $42 at the dealer. Figured it would be about $1 at the junk yard.
I read all these posts on various VW forums about how to get these off. Some said they could get it off with a screw driver....B.S!!
I went to the junk yard with a fairly well equipped bag of tools, including a bearing puller, gear puller etc. My bearing puller wouldn't grip onto the part, I even figured out that a wrench between the puller and the spine adapter would create the grip needed but the wrench would just grind into the soft metal adapter! Boo! I messed with the stupid thing on two cars for about 1.5 hours with no luck!! One of the cars someone else had obviously already tried to remove the spline adapter with no luck. They even tried drilling out the safety bolts to remove the whole column with no luck. I left the yard last night defeated by such a simple part.
Ghetto fab trail fix attempt at its best.
After reading the forums some more I came up with an idea........I returned to the junk yard today with 1 tool.....a BFH!!
Trip back to the junk yard......wasn't a bad deal for the aussie!
So I figured out from reading the forum that the steering column is collapsable and the spline adapter is sitting on top of the upper spring. Which lead me to my evil thoughts about how to get it off. I figured I'd try my evil plan on the first car where I had already destroyed the adapter. Take a massive swing at the steering shaft with the hammer and it collapses the column and the spine adapter jumps off like a grashopper.:victory:I had so much fun with this method that I picked up three adapters in 3 minutes of work, SO MUCH FUN!!! Hope nobody was in need of a good steering column.:snorkel:
The spine adapter is actually just a touch too long for use on the Eurovan shaft. So it must be trimmed by this much...
After doing the very precise measuring I went over to my high dollar CNC system and trimmed it down!
Perfect fit!
The airbag/horn plug is identical. So is the airbag unit installed in the airbag cover. Plugged right in and didn't throw any coded. However, something on the horn is contacting and causing the horn to stay on. Didn't have time to sort it out today but I'm sure its an easy fix. I think the wheel mounted at this angle allows the weight of the horn to activate itself. So a little trimming of the connectors should cure it.
It's amazing how much of a difference this wheel makes in the overall feel of the van.
The 993 wheel felt MUCH better than the stock VW one but despite having the right splines the holes for the airbag wires and turn signal cancel were all wrong. Not impossible to make work but the 993 wheel just looked too similar and was too expensive to be worth modifying to work.
But.....now that I knew exactly what I was looking at I figured a Audi Sport wheel from a S4/S6 would work. The spines are wrong but conveniently VW/Audi made a factory spline adapter that can be found on MK3 Jettas/Golfs.
I found a deal on a 2001 Audi S4 wheel on craigslist for $50! Then immediately ran off to the pull-n-save to snatch an adapter.......which would be its own adventure!
For those of you with a short attention span.......oh squirrel!......I mean here is the cliff notes picture! The thick three spoke weighted sport wheel feels MUCH nicer to drive with!!! I had no idea a weighted wheel would make such a difference. I swear it handles better!
Now, for those of you with nothing better to do and want to know the silly tech and my follies at the junk yard, keep reading!
For quick reference this is the part I'm after. It's only $42 at the dealer. Figured it would be about $1 at the junk yard.
I read all these posts on various VW forums about how to get these off. Some said they could get it off with a screw driver....B.S!!
I went to the junk yard with a fairly well equipped bag of tools, including a bearing puller, gear puller etc. My bearing puller wouldn't grip onto the part, I even figured out that a wrench between the puller and the spine adapter would create the grip needed but the wrench would just grind into the soft metal adapter! Boo! I messed with the stupid thing on two cars for about 1.5 hours with no luck!! One of the cars someone else had obviously already tried to remove the spline adapter with no luck. They even tried drilling out the safety bolts to remove the whole column with no luck. I left the yard last night defeated by such a simple part.
Ghetto fab trail fix attempt at its best.
After reading the forums some more I came up with an idea........I returned to the junk yard today with 1 tool.....a BFH!!
Trip back to the junk yard......wasn't a bad deal for the aussie!
So I figured out from reading the forum that the steering column is collapsable and the spline adapter is sitting on top of the upper spring. Which lead me to my evil thoughts about how to get it off. I figured I'd try my evil plan on the first car where I had already destroyed the adapter. Take a massive swing at the steering shaft with the hammer and it collapses the column and the spine adapter jumps off like a grashopper.:victory:I had so much fun with this method that I picked up three adapters in 3 minutes of work, SO MUCH FUN!!! Hope nobody was in need of a good steering column.:snorkel:
The spine adapter is actually just a touch too long for use on the Eurovan shaft. So it must be trimmed by this much...
After doing the very precise measuring I went over to my high dollar CNC system and trimmed it down!
Perfect fit!
The airbag/horn plug is identical. So is the airbag unit installed in the airbag cover. Plugged right in and didn't throw any coded. However, something on the horn is contacting and causing the horn to stay on. Didn't have time to sort it out today but I'm sure its an easy fix. I think the wheel mounted at this angle allows the weight of the horn to activate itself. So a little trimming of the connectors should cure it.
It's amazing how much of a difference this wheel makes in the overall feel of the van.
Cole
Expedition Leader
Finally! After all this work we got to do a first round test run of the van! Just to see how well it works as a camping tool!
The VR6 is doing well. It easily holds the 65mph speed limit on the steep high elevation climbs here in Colorado. (That is Loveland Ski Area in the distance)
Found a nice little spot on Dillion Reservior for the night!
A must have for camping with a 4 month old is a star generating night light turtle:sombrero:
Think before she gets older I should just make the whole top clear acrylic!
Popped the top, set up camp and enjoyed. Few bugs to work out and more mods ahead!
The VR6 is doing well. It easily holds the 65mph speed limit on the steep high elevation climbs here in Colorado. (That is Loveland Ski Area in the distance)
Found a nice little spot on Dillion Reservior for the night!
A must have for camping with a 4 month old is a star generating night light turtle:sombrero:
Think before she gets older I should just make the whole top clear acrylic!
Popped the top, set up camp and enjoyed. Few bugs to work out and more mods ahead!
Rezarf <><
Explorer
Looks awesome, keep it up.
Cole
Expedition Leader
Stumbled on a craigslist deal today. Guy had a brand new in the package set of 60" Yakima rack tracks for $70. These are normally about $130 before tax or shipping! They almost never come up for sale used since people leave them attached to toppers, etc when they sell their cars. (Would you take the time to fill the holes?)
I have a ton of extra Yakima rack stuff laying here, including a brand new set of mounts for these tracks I picked up a few months ago for about $20.
This should make for a nice rack set up. I have a few bike racks, a cargo box and may still have room to mount a solar panel.
I simply layed the tracks next to the hinge inside the roof and drilled the holes. Figuring that mounting it as close to the hinge as possible would give it the most support with the roof up, and down. I also mounted them as far back as reasonably possible. No sense in putting them all the way back since you would never put a cross bar at the back edge of the roof for a box/ski rack/etc.
Between neighborly interruptions and trips to the hardware store for longer bolts I really only got most of one rail sealed up and installed:coffeedrink:
I have a ton of extra Yakima rack stuff laying here, including a brand new set of mounts for these tracks I picked up a few months ago for about $20.
This should make for a nice rack set up. I have a few bike racks, a cargo box and may still have room to mount a solar panel.
I simply layed the tracks next to the hinge inside the roof and drilled the holes. Figuring that mounting it as close to the hinge as possible would give it the most support with the roof up, and down. I also mounted them as far back as reasonably possible. No sense in putting them all the way back since you would never put a cross bar at the back edge of the roof for a box/ski rack/etc.
Between neighborly interruptions and trips to the hardware store for longer bolts I really only got most of one rail sealed up and installed:coffeedrink:
Cole
Expedition Leader
Had to run some errands today, but had some time to kill so stopped at the Starbucks in Cherry Creek North(Because Aviano Coffee is MIA).
It was the usual mob scene!
Fortunately, I brought my own private patio area complete with table! (This van thing is slick)
Also comes with its own(semi) private changing table!
....and it was kind enough to rain on us for a bit so that I can test all those holes I drilled in the top last night......so far no leaks! The sound of the rain on the roof was also great for putting Elise to sleep!
It was the usual mob scene!
Fortunately, I brought my own private patio area complete with table! (This van thing is slick)
Also comes with its own(semi) private changing table!
....and it was kind enough to rain on us for a bit so that I can test all those holes I drilled in the top last night......so far no leaks! The sound of the rain on the roof was also great for putting Elise to sleep!
Cole
Expedition Leader
Finished the basic rack install. Tossed one bike carrier on it to make sure it works. Have 4 bike carriers, cargo box and ski/snowboard racks galore! Fully adjustable on the tracks and room to mount more cross bars if needed. So there are plenty of ways this rack is going to make the van more useful......though it does require a step stool to use :coffeedrink:
greaper007
New member
Looks good man, I love how close that campground at Dillon Reservoir is from the NW burbs. How much do you figure you have into the camper now?
Cole
Expedition Leader
Thanks.
These are all ballpark numbers not counting time, labor, gas
Black 2002 GLS van $1300 with bad motor
Wrecked 1993 Weekender Poptop $1250
Parts and scrap fees from parts sold ~$1800 and I made everyone more than fair deals:sombrero:
Timing chain and trans cooler for initial fix with misc stuff $500
Factory crate motor and misc parts $3,000
Steering wheel $60
Window tint $250
Seat swivels $350
Rack parts I didn't already have $100
....and probably $500 of misc stuff I'm forgetting!
So that ballparks it around $5,000:sombrero: It should be noted that I have more parts left to sell, including a 24v VR6. I
There was easily a $1,000 expense for transport costs too! This is only the beginning though. Here is where the fun starts. I'm sure the price is going to go up as I build the camper parts and start to make the other mods on my list!
Right now its comforting to have a better van for less money than just going out to by one. ( for example I have rear AC and no other factory Poptop has that!)
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Cole
Expedition Leader
Remember that class 2 hitch I took off the parts van and media blasted? Of course you do!
Well, I painted it today and posted to Craigslist to see if I could raise a little money towards a class three hitch. If I don't get it sold in a few days I'll probably just install it.
Well, I painted it today and posted to Craigslist to see if I could raise a little money towards a class three hitch. If I don't get it sold in a few days I'll probably just install it.