This Vanagon has been all over Colorado and Texas, New and Old Mexico. From Boulder to San Miguel De Allende. Accually, She has been coast to coast with the Krsnas before I got her. I've personally covered a lot of hot miles all over the desert southwest, and loved every bit of them. With free-flow air conditioning.(windows all open that is.) This van was bought and intended for a cargo moving van for our Art Gallery in San Miguel de Allende. It's only real purpose was to move Art and supplies to and from Neuvo Larado. Please Rate my "Ride", vote in my Poll, and give "Props" to my girl. Please check back often and see the progress before your very eyes. I will be doing a step-by-step Flame and Stripping "how to" piece when winter is out here. Stay Tuned.... Oh, Yah...LOOK at My Links too. My Brothers "My Space" site is interesting as well.
Jai Jaganath Do you know the Mantra? ... Hari Krsna, Hari Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hari Hari, Hari Rama, Hari Rama, Rama Rama, Hari Hari. When my friends owned this Van, it was used as a book mobile for Rathi Yatras (A Krishna festival) for the Devotees. When I ended up with Her, She had 40K on it. Now the odometer reads 105K And talk about rust ... It just does'nt have any at all. In fact, I try to keep it as detailed underneath as on top. I am INSANE. I Really should re-shoot the images of her. She was a bit dirty and molested at the time these images were taken. And oh yah ... The Monsoon season was in full swing. We only get about 15 inches a year however, all in July only.
This van has been the most in-expensive project ever. I have about $1500 in it and that's about how much I paid for it. I had the Heads re-worked by a "Hot-rod VW" guy in Albuquerque and replaced the faulty head gasket. I replaced the water pump and did a tune-up. And then, of course the tires and Moon Caps. The rest is personal labour. Whats interesting is, The vanagons cooling system. As long as you have airflow, you can't over-heat when the waterpump is out and no water in it. Watch your guage at stoplights. IMPORTANT. They are basically Hybrid Air/water-cooled motors.
Now here's a problem. The Ideal 1.9 waterboxer puts out about 90hp or less(LESS). When you put the largest tires possible(enlarges the total outer diameter) on something that puts out the equivalent of a lawnmower(The V-DUB) you forget that this is an important equation. Not to mention the head-wind factor(W) and hill factor(H), which is also part of that equation. So, Well... Bottom line is, If I can pass You going up hill,Then You must be trying to Park. Now. . . Down hill driving ROCKS.
It may be hard to notice but, this Vanagon has a lifted profile. I put vanagon ambulance springs on the front and "Air Lift" air bags in the rear with an on-board air compressor management system. This really stabilizes and stiffens the ride. It tracks straight and does'nt road-walk. I did this in San Miguel de Allende due to the Cobble Stone roads there. I could get a better ride out of faster speeds as a result. Not to mention when She is "Loaded Up", It handles a lot different. I have hauled as much stuff on top of the van as inside. These are great for "Moves".
When I first got started on the Vanagon I had no real direction for her. The plastic hubcaps had to go first. They made great Frisbees for the little Traveosos in the Bario in San Miguel de Allende GTO. Then, I buffed out the paint and matched a "Sign Painters One Shot enamel" so I touched-up the ugly spots. I then sprayed the grill and painted the Steel wheels. I also painted the rear air vents white to get a simpler look. The stickers just came Naturally.
Being in Southern New Mexico now, This sticker is more natural than most.
The rear bumper was missing when I got her. A good friend could'nt handle it. So he bought me a chrome bumper. Being very gracious, I left it chrome for awhile until I found these German plates on a Vanagon in San Miguel. I then wanted them to really stand out, thus the black paint. I really like the simplicity. NOW, what's really cool is that you don't have to open any hood to check the oil and water. It's tucked away behind the rear plate. Dipstick and coolant over-flow however, The Brake Fluid you have to check under the dash panel. The Windshield fluid is under the Drivers side carpet . It's like hide-and-seek. The Battery is under the passenger seat.
Tech Update: When a person changes the CV joints on these, Make sure that you replace the bolts too. They will back out eventually. This is mentioned in the repair manuals (Bentley) You can grind the old bolts ends down a bit in a pinch, but replace them with new ones to be totally sure. Apparently, the bolt threads stretch and then the bolts are too long. The threads seem okay but will still create an issue later. The bolts ARE weaker and will break, not to "Freak" any one out. This will create a "Volkswagon Story". Mine just happens to be at a Mexican Toll Booth at 2:00am on the Pan American Highway.
If I had an unlimited budget, I would add the Driver's side slider door like some of the older V-Dubs had. A Hippie can dream, Ya know. Some rare Vanagons had this feature.
Moonies... A bit of advise to all steel wheel owners...A ball-peen hammer works well to straighten the rims on these Vanagons. These ones have been straightned often. Mexico is hard on wheels and tires. I put these tires on in response to the "hard side walls" review on Vanagon.com and they work beautifully. 14" steel wheels are stupid though. It seems to me that tires this size will be harder to find in the near future. Way out-dated. I feel that I may be one of the few that think 20" or larger wheels are even more stupid, especially with the ill shaped condition of our roads now-a-days.(like here.)

Part of my vision is to add these 15" Passat Alloys. This is nessessary to add a rear disk conversion (14" won't work). The dream would be to add a motor upgrade too. I really admire the Vanagon owners that have done this. Especially "Vanagon-S" on this site. I would rather put a German motor in this however. Call me a Purist. I have heard that the WRX motors are German Engineered. Humm... The wheels center had to be enlarged to fit the front disk rotor. I then had them dipped and sprayed in flat finish. I just don't know what type of tires to add to these wheels.
For years and years I searched for custom parts for this and they did'nt exist. With the help of "google" I have found a mess of new parts, However "Lambo" door hinge mod does'nt seem practical. The rear disk conversion and lowered springs does. The front disk on this van work great. I wonder If the South African front disk update is worth the money? I do plan on a serious change. I purchased wheel spacers/adapters and the H&R lowered springs. The Passat wheels are 2" wider than the stock wheels, pushing them into the Spindle and upper Ball Joint. The adapters/spacers will flush-out the rims with the body. The rear adapters are 1.3 inches while the front are 1 inch. The factory front width on Vanagons are wider than the rear by an inch or more. This evens it out.( more pics on pg.2 ) The spacers are 5x112mm to adapt 5x112mm. I am just using these as spacers. A person could adapt any wheel I believe. Just make sure you retain clearance for the slider.
This image shows my recently installed triple stained redwood door panels. This will be trimmed with some Old Growth Redwood strips. The Interior paint is being changed to black. The white is in bad shape, more so on the drivers door. The paint has got small "spider-web" cracks everywhere. So I,ll have to take it all the way down to the metal and re-primer first . The cracks could transfer threw to the new black surface. I don't have a garage so I have been waiting impatiently for the day to finish paint on Her. I still have to install my speaker trim too.
On the metal above the wood, I pulled all the glued on fabric. I then filled the dents and holes from make-shift curtains(The Devotees). Then I grinded the welds and seems then filled with Bondo. This takes a bit of work, not to mention the masking. I put the oak floor in about 8 years ago. It has held up well. I also added a bunch of tie-down points that are bolted threw the floor for serious versability of loads. I keep my tool boxes behind the front seats. This is an important lesson from "McGuyver 101". Don't forget to have Duct Tape and Bailing Wire in your kit too.
I put in an old stereo that was in several of my older car projects. An Alpine removeable face deck with Rockford Fosgate AMP and separate base and midrange crossover network speakers. I plan to update the whole system. The interior was striped when I got the Van. The rear seat was missing. I built two huge speaker boxes as my new seat base to house 4 10" speakers and the stock rear Bose speakers are being converted to house the new mid range speakers. I need to purchase a "Rowdy" new CD Changer and AMP to be FULLY OBNOXIOUS.
Humm.....Who gets the Carport? Who loves you Baby??
Finally, an image of Her all prettied up! (updated on 3-19-07)
Page 1 My Van.
Page 2 My Van and some other stuff.
Page 3 Some family and friends.
Page 4 Silver City car show.
Page 5 New Mexico Winter images.
Page 6 Daves art history (some lame old photos)
Page 7 Mikes 56' Wagon.