Weather better

Now do not get me wrong here, I do have a two car garage at my home.  It was built in the 40's for a much smaller breed of automobile.  And hence, the Vanagon is too tall for the doorway in its present state. There are plans to attend to this over the summer, but right now the garage is full of Harley's, a motorcycle lift, tool rollaways, lawn tractor, compressor, a couple double door commercial freezers, and a whole host of other assorted stuff.  A serious reduction in 'stuff' is coming, soon.

So given the 'fullness' of the garage, working on anything during winter is a pain in the ass.  When I do work on the vehicles, it is exposed to the elements.  This year has been particularly harsh, with all the snow, so work progresses slowly.

Remanufactured engine - will still leak.

Yesterday was one of those days that was warm enough to dry up the driveway and I was able to crawl under and do some more evaluating.  Not so happy with what I found.  There is a sway bar link missing - its just not there.  I found a piece of a coil spring on the drivers side rear suspension. And when I started doing a degreasing of the engine compartment, the van stalled when it got wet.  So adding to the list is a new set of coil springs (was contemplating anyway - maybe an inch lower), a sway bar link (which I found on the Samba classifieds), and tracking down the cause of the stall.  I have not done the tune up yet, so hopefully that will cure the issue, but knowing these vans, it is never that simple.

On the brighter side, under the grease I found an official VW tag for the engines remanufacture.  Seems this engine was replaced at some point in its life!  Does not really surprise me, they ALL need engine work at some point, but to find a remanufactured by VW was surprising.  I would tend to think that the breakdown either happened within warranty period, or a prior owner just used a dealership to service the van.

Put together a list and an order with GO WESTY to do rear brakes (drums, shoes, hardware, adjuster screws, wheel cylinders, stainless braid brake lines, wheel bearings and seals), to do front brakes (rotors, pads, stainless braid lines, bearings, seals, thrust washer, axle nuts) and to repair the leaking poptop vent.  Seems the plastic washers on the vent arms are missing (broken) and a source for a possible leak.

Will be ordering up some Bilstein shocks all around this week, and probably the coil springs.  Need to evaluate the bushings in the control arm, the strut (the washers rot away) and plan for those.  If I am going to disassemble for springs and shocks, I would be a fool not to take care of any dry rotted bushings while I am under there.

All in all, the van should ride fairly solid and smooth once these items are completed.  We are talking about a vehicle with the aerodynamics of a brick.  Expecting this van to slip through the air like a Lamborghini Countach is a bit far fetched, but I do not want to make it any worse than when it emerged from the factory.  The lowered center of gravity should help with some known issues, as will the wheel and tire upgrade.  Having a solid foundation in the suspension and its geometry necessary for a enjoyable vehicle. 

I know there are some out there who will balk at lowering the van.  And to that I would state that IF this was a syncro, I would definitely NOT lower.  Also, IF this van has a future in any off road environment, I would also not lower it.  However, since this van is being built as a road queen, with nearly all of the planned excursions being of the road way variety, I am going to lower it a bit for my preferences.  Also, if I had plans to do an engine swap, I would also consider another setup.  So right now, this is the way I am going. 

Also have a seamstress in the family, so she has bought some nice 2 inch foam product and material to make a bed topper.  Will be able to have it cleaned, and should make sleeping absolutely fantastic.