Project: Kombi

More painting

2011-12-28T17:52:00.001+11:00

Today I finished off painting the instrument cluster and air vents. Shiny! Also painted the interior door cards as brown should be illegal as a colour for interiors. They're a bit rough but they will do until I can get them covered.

Dashboard blues

2011-12-27T17:07:00.000+11:00

This was a lot harder to put back in than it was to take out. Lots of bolts in awkward spots and hard to get a spanner on nuts but we got there in the end.

Let there be light!

2011-12-26T16:09:00.001+11:00

After spending quite a bit of time sorting out the mess of cables under the dash we were able to get to a point where we were able to connect the battery and test some of the electrics. To our pleasant surprise nothing caught fire, nothing shorted out and we even have functioning lights!

Wheelie good

2011-12-24T15:57:00.000+11:00

Gave the wheels a coat of white while we were at it

Underbelly: Kombi

2011-12-24T14:17:00.000+11:00

The underside, suspension and a bit of the engine bay has been given a coat of chassis black to tidy it up a bit. Looks alot better than it used to.

Painted

2011-10-27T06:33:00.000+11:00

Colour: Volkswagen Deep Blue Pearl
Manhours: about 70

Engine Komplete

2011-02-06T17:10:00.000+11:00

The engine has been rebuilt and reconstructed. All components are stock standard except that electronic ignition has been fitted.....I'm too old to adjust points!

It's taking shape!

2010-11-07T11:40:00.000+11:00

Well after 50-odd man hours at the panel beater, the Kombi is getting closer to a lick of paint!
In the end only one panel had to be replaced, all the rust has been removed and zero bog was used to get the old girl back to a near original state.

The engine is also nearing completion, just trying to source a few odds and ends to allow the mechanic to finish it off.

We now have 2 Volkswagens in the family!

2010-08-08T09:59:00.000+10:00

2010 Mark VI Golf TDI Comfortline

An update....finally

2010-05-31T17:10:00.005+10:00

Well, it's been a while since I have had a chance to do any work on the bus, or update this blog. (moving cities will do that) Progress has been made. My dad and I have moved the Kombi onto concrete to make it easier to work on. We have jacked it up at the rear to make engine installation easier than when we removed it.

The engine is almost ready to be put back to together. All the internals have been tested by Retorque in Tamworth (I can't say enough good things about these guys, their service has been exceptional). The pistons, conrods, heads, case and crank are all in good order. The camshaft needed machining but it is also good to go and 8 new valves have been put in. The carbies need to be rebuilt but that is no major hassle as kits are readily available. Still scouring the net for a used factory EFI setup, but no luck thus far. Missed out on one 2 weeks ago and have been kicking my self ever since, as it was 90% complete. Shit happens.

Going to start some serious body work in the coming months in preparation for a respray. As I have mentioned before we have been very lucky with the condition of the Kombi and it's general rust-free state. The vehicle has obviously been in a rear end collision at some point and that it now evident as we have found a fair bit of bog in the rear panels.

As you can see this panel is not really worth saving so it will need to be replaced. This is another thing that amazes me about the whole V.W after market, I can purchase a brand new panel to fit this vehicle 30 years after it rolled off the showroom floor. There aren't too many other vehicles this can be said for. Sure makes my job easier!

Same story on the other side. Too much bog, so off it will come.

The gearbox has also been removed, there is a brand new clutch assembly to go in when we put it all back together. Going to take the gearbox over to the Manual Transmission Factory for a complete overhaul. The fuel tank has also been removed, going to check it's innards for rust and make sure the sender unit is working.

Below is a pic of the engine bay sans engine, gearbox and fuel tank.

Well that's about all for now, hope to have more updates soon.

Engine disassembly

2009-10-14T10:26:00.003+11:00

Well, we finally got the engine pulled apart. Due to the amount of oil caked up around the crankcase it made it difficult to find the last 3 bolts but we got there in the end.
Thankfully most of the internals are in good condition. The crank, conrods, pistons and cylinders are ok. There is some wear on the camshaft so I am not too sure if that can be machined or I will need a new one. All the bearings have some wear so those are going to be replaced, as well as the rings. The heads need some work so I will need to get new valve guides put in and new seats also. I might as well get as much done as possible while the engine is out then I won't have to worry about it for a while.

Engine before

We spent a good day just cleaning all the muck off the crankcase. I couldn't believe how stubborn oil could be. Shiny!

Rust

2009-10-07T09:14:00.000+11:00

Have started doing some body prep work. There is quite a bit of surface rust on the vehicle. The roof was pretty bad. Luckily it had not eaten into the body work.

So after some "wax on, wax off" with some wet and dry sandpaper it was back to bare metal.

It was just a matter of doing one section at a time and sanding it back until smooth and all traces of rust removed.

Then I applied some rust proofing metal primer for protection and to prevent rust rearing its ugly head again.

Bel says, "It looks like a kid has gone crazy with lipstick"

Painting

2009-09-27T20:53:00.001+10:00

Today we got the tinware, heater components and some other stuff that surrounds the engine, gave it a good clean then painted it.

Before

After (clothes lines have more than one use you know!)

Spolsion!

2009-09-26T18:28:00.006+10:00

Well we found the culprit that was causing the engine problem: a severely damaged exhaust valve.
The give-away is the large piece missing! Looks like I need to add 4 new exhaust valves to my shopping list.

Bible

2009-09-21T11:48:00.000+10:00

This will be my new best friend for a while.

Engine

2009-09-20T21:59:00.001+10:00

2 litre 'Boxer' 4 cylinder, aircooled. 70 HP @ 4200rpm.

Engine out. I have read and heard on a few occasions that these engines are famous for being able to be pulled out in 20 minutes. After 4 hours I can say with confidence that record was in no danger of being broken today.....

Engine with exhaust, heater and a few other bits removed.

The engine was missing badly when we had it going prior to removal. (Yes we got it to run after being in a paddock for a couple of years!) Next job is to identify problem and fix it.

Brakes

2009-09-15T20:12:00.000+10:00

The front discs are a bit rusty, but I have it on good authority that they can be saved.

Assessment

2009-09-13T20:02:00.007+10:00

Well, today we started stripping out the interior and giving the old boy/girl* a clean up. As you can see from the pictures, most of the fit-out is beyond repair and will need to be re-made.
*name pending

At least the sink is still in good condition!

The same cannot be said for the fridge, which is kaput. (Yes that's tartan on the fridge door! MacCleod!)

The pop top was actually in pretty good condition, apart from a few holes.

First floor: sleeping quarters

"Look, this is where the table goes"

"How the hell does this work?"

Rust. Luckily this one does not have that much.

The cockpit.

The back section sans junk

Kombi

2009-09-12T19:51:00.001+10:00

Well....here we go!

I have just purchased a 1976 Volkswagen Kombi Type 2 camper van for the princely sum of $1000. As you can see, it's seen better days and need quite a bit of work.

It is my intention to restore this van to it former glory....and then some!