Vanagon_S’s Volkswagen Vanagon
“Syncro Scout”

It started out as a standard 1986 Vanagon GL Syncro. Previously had 2 owners. The last owners had it for over 10 years and it was maintained very well. Body wise it was a sad puppy. It had at one time been hit by a train!
The owner had lost interest in the Syncro after an Ice storm had frozen the street and sent a fullsize pickup sliding down into it's front end. His insurance totaled the Syncro, so he passed it on to me. I found out that he recently installed a factory rebuilt engine and transaxle, so mechanically it was set!

I started by installing a home fabricated 2" lift kit. Then came a set of "Eurovan" 16" wheels with Michelin XZL tires ( military style ).

I removed the rear bumper and installed a "smitty built" Toyota SR5 tube bumper. Luckily the mounts line up perfectly with the stock Vanagon bumper brackets.

The front bumper mount was cut off and a hand made tube bumper was fabricated along with a light bar. The attack angle was increased to 40 degrees.
The Body work started, I welded in a new front nose clip to replace the large dent. I also removed and welded up the rear side markers.

Next came the camo paint. 3 colors, starting with green as the base coat. Then using original pictures as my template I put down the black and the brown.

The wheels got a coat of green, and the rear bumper highlighted with green.

This was my first outing. With a locking rear differential the Syncro can go just about anywhere!

VIDEO CLIP #1Jordan Creek trail # 41 going down hill

The front and rear markings are authentic German "Bundeswehr" and stands for "Remote scout".

Just added a rear tire carrier, modified from another vehicle.

Putting the Syncro to use
This is our latest outing to Tillamook forest

The camo paint seems to blend nicely in the woods


Latest mods:

I've added a front locker and a decoupler with a solid shaft. What does that mean? Well, it means that this is now a true 4WD. All 4 wheels locked means it can go pretty much anywhere!