My VERY RUSTY VW T25 Camper Van Project

[Envoy CDX]

See that is functional really, and looks fairly nice on the face of it. all depends how it is behind the panel and how much maintenance it will need over the years.

[Robsey]

The ice-blue "looks pretty", but I think the red and blue 'spot' leds are too much.

The white plastic backing with integral bulb holder is quite discoloured due to the heat of the bulb.
But - the leds do not give enough light diffusion.

Leds should be less maintenance, less current and less heat...
But the standard tungsten-filament bulb gives better illumination.

At least it is a lot easier to replace than the cav bulb.
Just remove the three levers, and ease the panel from the metal dash.

[3cav3]

I personally would definitely go with original. The controls look much clearer and more 80's.

[Robsey]

I personally would definitely go with original. The controls look much clearer and more 80's.

I am inclined to agree.
Original it is...

[Robsey]

I had a mare of a time trying to get the steering column covers / shrouds to fit.
No idea why I had to cut away so much plastic... nobody else seems to have to.



Heater panel fitted.





Today, I received a packet of 50 push-in cable ties.
I can finally secure all the cables on the van.

[3cav3]

Where did get the cable ties from? I could do with some for my van.

[Robsey]

I think this should work.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/121948324370

They are pretty robust on a well fitting hole.
Approx 5 to 6mm dia. should do it.

The ties are sized 4.8 x 200mm,
But other sizes are available.

They are strong enough to take the weight of the main front-to-back loom in my van.

[Envoy CDX]

Nice, just seems to make it that little bit more complete

[Robsey]

Thanks...
I was looking at the van in a more holistic way, and it appears that most of the central floor pan is quite sound.

The majority of the rust (holes) runs outside of the two main chassis beams - other than the cab floor, the major rot spots are along the sills, arches and side panels, plus a small section of rear nearside gutter.

As the electrics run inside of the chassis rails ard are therefore protected by them from any cutting and welding, I thought that I could refit items along the centre section with potential to fit the gearbox, clutch, starter and engine.

But hey - I am jumping ahead of myself again.

[Mk3alan]

Sad to think that the majority of cars scrapped are the result of a low percentage of corrosion - what we reckon 10%?

Alan

[Robsey]

Basing my judgement on my mk3 Cavalier and Van, there is / was much more than 10% of the body suffering from severe corrosion.

But they are both safe from the endangered list at present.

But yes, my Mk2 Cavalier was probably somwhere near 10 to 15% body rust when it went to the crusher.
From memory, mechanically, electrically and interior wise, it was very sound...



On the other hand, our 2005 Vectra is pretty solid, but mechanically it is ready to go bang at any time.
It needs a new dual mass flywheel, steering arm, at least one wheel bearing, swirl valve assembly (inlet manifold) and a timing belt. And I cannot be sure if it needs a new exhaust flexi-joint.

[Envoy CDX]

Basing my judgement on my mk3 Cavalier and Van, there is / was much more than 10% of the body suffering from severe corrosion.

But they are both safe from the endangered list at present.

But yes, my Mk2 Cavalier was probably somwhere near 10 to 15% body rust when it went to the crusher.
From memory, mechanically, electrically and interior wise, it was very sound...

Not always down to the percentage but the location of the rust for alot of people. That and majority of people are cosmetically vain. So vehicles can be screwed in a number of ways.

On the other hand, our 2005 Vectra is pretty solid, but mechanically it is ready to go bang at any time.
It needs a new dual mass flywheel, steering arm, at least one wheel bearing, swirl valve assembly (inlet manifold) and a timing belt. And I cannot be sure if it needs a new exhaust flexi-joint.

Eeek, Probably a good 5-600quids worth in a garage point of view? But as the current daily, probably needs to move up the priority list at some point

[ilovedmymantas]

Late to the party again lol.

Re the heater panel, definitely original.
I've tried sandpapering white/ amber/yellow/blue led's to diffuse them but they're still too damn bright, blue distorts colour too much and is dim and undefined.

i came across this, totally unrelated to my search (how does that happen?) and thought you might be interested.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/223745639784 ... %7Ciid%3A1

I don't know if your van was a change over year, you appear to have a four switch style speed knob

[Robsey]

Well spotted - it is a 3 lever heater, with 3 speed switch,
But somewhere along the way the original heater panel and bulb went awol.

A few years ago I bought a set of steering column shrouds and a used heater panel facia.

It was only during tinkering that I noticed the decals for the bottom fourth lever.
That is for vans with heating in the back.
Campers etc....

I did consider blacking out the decals, but decided that I quite like the extra bit of blue across the bottom.

And the fourth line above the switch - pah... lol.

[Robsey]

Eeek, Probably a good 5-600quids worth in a garage point of view? But as the current daily, probably needs to move up the priority list at some point

I wish - lol
Sadly a couple of grands worth...

Dual Mass Flywheel and Clutch - approx £800-£1200 fitted. About a 7 to 9 hour job on this car.
Swirl Valve / Inlet Manifold - £150 plus fitting.
Timing belt &Tensioner Kit - £150 plus fitting.
Steering Arm, wheel bearing(s)... £300+

It is getting to the point where it will be approx double the value of the car.

[Envoy CDX]

Oh chrikey!
Any of it you can do yourself?

[3cav3]

Eeek, Probably a good 5-600quids worth in a garage point of view? But as the current daily, probably needs to move up the priority list at some point

I wish - lol
Sadly a couple of grands worth...

Dual Mass Flywheel and Clutch - approx £800-£1200 fitted. About a 7 to 9 hour job on this car.
Swirl Valve / Inlet Manifold - £150 plus fitting.
Timing belt &Tensioner Kit - £150 plus fitting.
Steering Arm, wheel bearing(s)... £300+

It is getting to the point where it will be approx double the value of the car.

With the flywheel, if you have it done consider a solid flywheel conversion. I had one fitted to a focus and it worked very well.
Cambelt shouldn't be to bad to do yourself, the same with the swirl flaps.
Re the wheel bearings, if you're ever down Hereford way, you're welcome to borrow my press to get them in and out.

[Robsey]

On Tuesday, Troy welded in the passenger footwell repair piece that I had made.

Today I partially ground the welds, so that they are tidy, but retain all their strength.



Then a splosh of epoxy primer to protect the metal.
Same underneath too.



Then I gave the front near-side chassis and wheelarch a coat of black smooth hammerite.





As always happens, I got almost as much paint and primer on myself... it is all too easy to get coated when lying on your back under a van.

[3cav3]

Definitely one of the worst parts of the restoration lying on your back, underseal is awful to get out of your hair or in my case bald patch.

[cavalier1990]

Definitely one of the worst parts of the restoration lying on your back, underseal is awful to get out of your hair or in my case bald patch.

Alway seem to end up with a big black sploge of underseal on the back of my arm and you can't see it unless you turn your arm inwards and look at it in a mirror.

[chrisp]

Hammerite Underseal is very good stuff. I used it years ago on my Cav when it was only about 9 months old and I spent hours on my back covering everything underneath (except the exhaust of course, but including myself!) with it. Together with spraying all the box sections internally with Supertrol/Dinitrol this has kept the Cav pretty much rust free.
Hammerite underseal never really goes solid so it's great at resisting stone chips. The only downside is that when you want to do work on the underside it is very messy because it's still gooey.

[Robsey]

To be honest - for a 40 year old van it is mostly solid when you get more than 6" (15cm) from the edges of the body.
These things are built like tanks.

The body-seams, sills, arches, and lower edges of the panels on the other hand... sheesh!!

And being a van conversion, the window frames are always cut with a ruff-ass blunt saw, and the edges are never dressed, cleaned, and sealed (paint and primer) from the elements.
So more rust to endure...

Cavaliers rust if left to stand for only 6 months.
So I cannot moan for a van that has stood outdoors, unloved for 28 years.

[Robsey]

After nine months of searching, I have finally found a cross-engine pipe for my engine on ebay.

It looks a bit scabby, but hopefully not too bad.
(The long pipe).





At worst it can be a template for me to fabricate my own pipe.

At best, a bit of a clean / descale and a paint over...
Followed by one stub being blanked off.
And we would be good to go.

I could also blank off where the thermo switch goes, as this is only needed for carb models.

[Envoy CDX]

Woohoo!

[3cav3]

I've always said pretty much anything turns up on ebay if you wait long enough, for my one project, I was waiting over 8 years for a gearbox part, and finally one surfaced. Bought and paid for within an hour of listing. Sadly though after the last break in we had at work two items that were stolen appeared on there and the police didn't want to know,so always be thoughtful about what you buy on there.