Lude Generation

I know this wont be to everyone's taste but figured id start a thread on this as its been the bain of my life for roughly the last 2 years, mum asked me and my mechanical friend to go look at a VW T25 van for her as it had been sitting in a driveway for roughly 6 to 7 years and the owner decided it was time it was moved on to someone who could maybe restore it to its former glory.

Here is a pic of how the van sits at the moment after a lot of work being carried out, i'll list everything that's been done since my mum took ownership.



When we first went to the van the pod for the alarm/immoblilser was lost so we had to trace all the wiring and cut the alarm out and rejoin all the old wires, the owner wasn't to happy about this but after explaining we had to make sure the van was able to run they decided it was fine for us to proceed. Roughly an hour later all the wiring was cut so we went to try start it. Turned out the ignition barrel was jammed so we had to drill the old one out. Was now time to start the van and as expected we had no success, mate said it wasn't priming but he knew a way round this, turned out it was due to the van not being started in such a long time that the system was dry so he gravity fed it and success the van fired up, while it was running he decided to pop the timing belt cover and quickly shouted to turn it off. To say the belt was on its last legs was an understatement.

Struck a deal with the owner for £1800 and they said we could use the drive to swap the belts and service the motor, parts were ordered and a week later we went back and changed everything and the van was purring like a kitten.

Went to drive of and nope, didn't want to budge, owner had left the handbrake on for the whole time it sat there, we managed to free the rears off but knew the front were needing a lot more work done so we borrowed a dolly and took it back to my friends. We then set about getting the front brakes free, once this was done and a few bulbs the van was off for an mot which surprisingly passed but we were warned that one of the main pipes for the radiator had a small leak and would need replaced, downside to this is they run the full length of the van as engine in back, radiator at the front.

Over the next few years Ive been changing parts and getting the water system, heaters etc working again including doing those water pipes as the only option we could find were stainless steel at a cost of £200!

I'll list everything that's been done over the 2 years and plans of whats next so that my mum can finally use the van for its intended purpose.

New front to rear water pipes
New thermostat and housing
New radiator
New waterpump
Full coolant flush
New alternator
New waterpump and alternator belts.
New fusebox (melted due to interior heater fan motor being burnt out and overheating as owner fitted a 75 fuse)
New interior heater fan motor (full dash out job)
All wiring behind fridge, cooker, rear heater rewired (this was by far hardest thing i've ever done to any motor)
Wired in new stereo and speakers
Replaced various leaking seals on engine.
All seals replaced on diesel tank (tank of job)

Started undersealing the motor again. Started fitting new bumpers as old ones were rusting and a bit bashed up, mum only ordered 2 end caps so having to order another 2 to complete the rear bumper but front was fitted today after the pic was taking.

Next plans for the van are to have a full respray, its on the original paint and is extremely thin in places, any rust that is there will be sorted at the same time. Rust is mainly in the seems between panels (@rattymcclelland any advice on this so I know what to expect when we try get quotes). When this is being done the plan is to replace all the window rubbers.

After that its onto the suspension bushes to freshen it up as unsure just how old they are but as there not overly expensive advised mum just to go for it.

Hopefully mum will be able to use the van soon, even if its before the respray as she hasn't used it yet due to all of the above.

It has been a bit of a learning curve for me but been extremely enjoyable at the same time. Hope you all like and any comments are welcome.

Nice.

Very nice mate I'm looking for a T4 soon to do up

nice one newkid. a mate has one of these.

W1ggz wrote: I'm looking for a T4 soon to do up

if you do get one @W1ggz , get a long wheel base one with a tail gate that lifts as apposed to one with 2 doors that open on the rear. more room for a rock and roll bed and the tail gate give better access.

Bit of a soft spot for VW vans. Brother used to have a camper. It'll be good.

Its amazing how much room is inside, I parked the 5th next to it and bumper to bumper there almost the same length bar an inch or 2, yet id hate to try sleep in the 5th as the misses makes the breakfast

Only other thing is its not exactly quick with it being just the basic 1.6 diesel but its all original as far as I can tell so that's a bonus. O and its a left hand drive as it came from Germany so takes a little getting used to when you first jump in it, headlights were swapped with UK ones and the German ones are in the original VW boxes which is handy if mum ever decided to travel abroad.

She has also stated that due to all the work I've done on it I can borrow it anytime I like which I reckon I'll take advantage off

You can fit a bed in there?

nitin_s1 wrote:You can fit a bed in there?

Ill try get some interior pics for you Nitin, you'll be amazed at what's inside them.

@nitin_s1 here is some pics of the inside to show you how a bed is fitted

First of in the rear door area, this makes one half of the bed, below there is the engine, the heat rises from there and keeps the bed nice and warm before you jump in. Ignore the crappy looking bumper a new one is to be fitted but need new end caps first which should arrive Monday to freshen up the rear, front is already fitted



Next is the rear seat that's for sitting 3, all have lap seatbelts for when driving, the rear seat folds down to create the other half of the double bed



Plenty of storage space above the rear seats and bed



The 2 hob, fridge, sink and rear heater area, the pole to the left of the fridge folds out and the top section comes off to create a table



More storage above the drivers/passenger seating area



And a view into the main driving area from the rear seats



Today I managed to finish off undersealing all the inner arches with this