Picture time!!! (from the past!)

So here was the original posting for my VW. 

 

I got a rental rig from Enterprise (Clearly the best choice after calling around).  They had the BEST prices, beat uhaul on the truck and I saved like $300 round trip.

  

 After driving with an empty trailer, I arrive at this beauty waiting for me!!

 Its got rust in all of the usual places, but its whats underneath and inside that really make the difference.  Good bones to a vehicle are what I was after.  Remember, 30% intrinsic value.

 OMG!!!! JUST LOOK AT THAT INTERIOR!!!!   I work on the van now and I STILL cant believe how nice this van is on the inside.  Brand new, seriously untouched. 

 And, to boot, she drove right up onto the trailer.  No power issues, no startup issues, no funny shifting, clutch was great, perfect. 

 What I saw in my rear view mirror that I just had to capture......

 And, after a few weeks, the van was inside of my garage with the pop top off, and the restoration was to begin!!!  Motor before....

And after some fancy lighting work to make the removal easier.....

 Engine bay AFTER 4 hours....with 3 friends.

 Ahhh....da diesel. 

 Needs some love, but its a strong runner. 

 On the bench for some cleanup and to free up some space.  I also got some other parts of the van off while the weather was good enough to open the garage door. 

 And then, a few weeks later, more taking of things apart!!!

 Front seats out.....

 Now, in order to protect my investment, I applied something called Corrosion X to all of the rusty bits of the van.  This would make sure that no other rust started while everything was up in the air.  At this point, I am considering doing an engine swap, but some other fun opportunities at work are proving to take some of my time. 

 Rust in all of the usual places....BUT...only surface rust.  Nothing deep and nothing that hard to fix. 

 GASP!!! KEYS!!!

Onward!

So, onward from my first intro post!!  Seems I have some pageviews too which I was actually a little surprised about.  The Iphone app seemed to be working pretty well for viewing which is a nice surprise.  I still need to see how the posting from my phone works.  

Now, after my wife and I agreed on getting a bus (initially a sprinter van actually), I needed to do my research, set a budget, save up the cash, and buy one.  So, since sprinters were just way to expensive outright, I did a bit of research into vanagons and then tried to find a good starter van.  I even was looking into small diesel trucks.  One of the key things that I kept to my side as a requirement, was that I would NOT buy any type of vehicle that didnt have at least 30% intrinsic value.  Meaning I could sell it for 30% more than what I bought and put into it. 

After looking around and making some phone calls, I bought a 1982 Diesel vanagon. It came with a clean title, 82k miles, and a rusty & dirty mug only a mother could love. 

---------old forum posts below from feb of 2013----------------------------
I have been slowly working on shiggles (cold in the garage with no heat in the winter....) but now that I have insulation above my head and an extra hair dryer for heat, I have gotten some stuff done!!

So far, I think i'm coming along very nicely. Just to explain some things about the van first....

I bought the van for $2900 in Ohio. It is running, but has some coolant leaks up in the front (no surprise there) so I had to get a car hauler/truck to get her home. The interior is IMMACULATE!!! Perfect, almost untouched interior. Everything original, all accessories included, a real eye opener and a pleasure to view from the inside......

Thats where the nice stuff stops. The outside was just, battered? Rust in a lot of the usual places and the whole exterior just needs a new coat of paint. There is only rust penetrating a few spots on the body, which are very easy to access and wont be bad to repair. The underbelly of the van was coated by the factory/original dealership paid by the first owner (im the third owner). This undercoating has just started to fall off, which means Beautiful blue paint is showing (no rust)!!!! WOO!!!!

So, seems pretty simple yeah? Do a maintenance overhaul on the motor/trans, pull the windows/doors/top and de-rust, then paint, and finally, upgrade all utilities and add all of the gadgets that you would want in a vanagon!

I know, sounds SO easy right? I know how projects go......and how long they take. I have set myself some deadlines though and I want the whole car ready to move and run by the time summers over. This is my first vehicle restoration and im a total noob but, I really do love this van so far. I will admit I am very happy with how EASY these vehicles are to work on. Want that off? OKAY, just undo a few screws, and boom, its off! I love it. So that has made things a breeze to take apart and put back on.
 
To date, Feb 3rd 2013, I have finished a few things.

Ive pulled the camper top off, Interior is mainly out, rear door is off, pulled the motor and trans, pulled out all of the windows (front windshield was broken before I started and I couldnt keep the crack small....whoops), currently pulling out the rear door window, and then onto whatever else I feel like tonight.

I need to work on the trans and motor though, anything that I should take care of while I have the whole thing sitting on a table? Clutch? (starter seems rebuilt) New fuel lines?

THANKS!!!

Jim

Introduction time!

So hi,

My name is Jim and I have a wife named Antonia.  We went on a trip to visit some friends in california and happened to stay inside of their awesome 70's VW bus for the entire weekend (Jenn and Romy's blog!!! FTW!!!  Jenn and Roamys Blog).

 Roamy was under the bus working on the valve timing before the trip.

 We got to lay down and nap before we got to Lake Tahoe.  The flight was long.

 Yay finally! Lake Tahoe!

 And with that, PICTURES.....from some really excited random guy.  He told us to work it...

 

 First night in the Sierra Nevadas right after our wonderful naked night in the hot spring.

I had always wanted to get some sort of sprinter van or large vehicle to do some camping in.  The wife thought I was crazy though, "why not just use all of the camping gear we bought?" We had bought camping gear and used it very little prior to the trip.  Tenting it was never my idea of a fun & relaxing time.  Sure I've got the greatest gear suited to my comfort level, but I can never find a tent long enough for me (i'm 6'4").

 The four of us having a good time on a mountain after some lunch!

So, after the trip was such a smashing success with the bus/wifey combo, on the way home I asked if she was okay with getting a bus.  Her response was a very enthusiastic, YES!  So, now onto the adventure of how I came across my bus and what i'm doing with it!

 Ho! Mah Feets!

Hot Springs + Awesome Friends + Perfect view + Organic food EVERYWHERE = Heaven  

Jenn and Roamy, Love you guys...

Side note:

I have been going back and forth between which website to use for my new blog and I think I like this one the best.  I still have to check the iphone compatibility for uploading, but ill check it out when I get a chance.