Star Wars Volkswagen T3 Syncro bus - planning the interior

I cant wait for this.. A change from the norm this is what the whole retro scene is about as far as lm concerned..
Simply awesome

These wheels have the look your after

Ahhh yes a good point well made haha in that case go for 15/16" steelies and farbricate your own trims

looks like you not the only one for arty syncros:

Not much to report right now as family commitments and the crappy weather have stopped play.

I spent a little time on Paint messing around with the front end design - in particular the grilles. I don't want to cut the metalwork about as the van is solid and straight. Modifying the grilles will bring about enough visual difference and can be done without body surgery.

I'm looking at cutting up another upper grille to make covers for the headlights like this:


And perhaps a different lower grille that is full width, with inbuilt spots:


Taifun made the lower part and they do crop up on Ebay from time to time. I think first I will modify an upper grille and see how it looks alone.

The work on the rear aircon unit has stopped as I needed to find out how it would have been mounted. After a conversation with Mike I managed to find some original exploded drawings and photos which point out the brackets and fixings used. Unfortunately the key weight bearing fixings were underspecced by VW and often broke when removed. But at least now I can see how they were fabricated, where they fastened to and what with. From this information I can make improved parts more suited to my van.

I've decided to fit Blaupunkt speakers in the unit, 10cm is the correct size for the existing holes which won't be powerful but as they are directly behind the passengers ears that isn't the requirement. There will be 8-10 speakers in the van so overall depth and quality will be good. Placement is key.

I also discussed the interior layout with Mike. I have been weighing up the pros and cons of two layouts A)full width bed, buddy seat, removable kitchen unit and swivel cab passenger seat or B)full width bed, buddy seat, removable kitchen unit and cab bulkhead. I have previously used a swivel cab seat but found the swivel process a pain, sometimes resulting in cut/bruised fingers and trim as the seat needs to be rotated and slid. I also dislike the clutter that inevitably fills the cab when we camp. The bulkhead takes both issues away but it needs to be made use of. With a practical mounting face between the cab seats storage of maps/tools and all the other dash clutter can be organised there, while on the other side there will be a useful space between the kitchen unit and buddy seat for perhaps a bin, TV mount, table, dog bed etc. It also provides the option of using the double passenger bench seat, though I am unsure we would benefit from it.

I'm still toying with ideas and researching what others have done and will post up some layout drawings soon for comparison. During the conversation Mike mentioned he had a half height bulkhead so I have bagged it in trade for a steering wheel and some other old van parts he has picked up from me over the last few months. We always manage to swap something eventually.

Here is a half height bulkhead of the same type in a crewcab T3.


Today I ordered new oversize steel wheel inserts from the US. These allow the existing insert hole in the wheel to be opened out to a larger diameter covering the existing hole with an offset to correct the 2.3mm PCD difference. Many wouldn't bother I am sure but this is a heavy vehicle and passenger safety is paramount.



Carrying on with the interior I have been researching the materials for the flooring panel and side lining. In my last few vans I have struggled to source ply wider than 1.2mx2.4m with which to cut a floor panel from. The T3 floor area is nearly 1.5m square so I have had to join pieces together to make a floor - something that really grates. Today I found a supplier that offers a 3mx1.5m sheet which although slightly short will cut into two usable floor panels. The small gap left (behind the bed area) will be hidden and allow an accessible channel for cable runs. The other half I don't use will go into Jon's van as his also needs the same treatment inside.

I will go with a moisture proof 3mm ply sheet for the van sides. This should be flexible enough but also strong and lightweight.

Another week, another (minor) update.

The weather has again been rubbish and I have been in London and training. This morning though there was sunshine and the world looked a little better.

I ordered some gym mat (10mm) to insulate the floor which has a ribbed pattern. The 10mm sheet will fill the gaps and can be cut easily with a craft knife. I'll do a full post on this soon.

Matt (not mat) came round this morning and we had a look at the squealing PAS belt. It took 10 mins to swap and is now no longer embarrasing in car parks.

Further messing had me trying out another daft idea. I think it will work nicely but I need to be mindful of opening the rear hatch and relocating the number plate and lights when I carry the mod out. I'm going to need two more lower front grilles and an upper soon to get busy.



I also managed to separate a Polyroof window glass from its surround which took ages as the silicone was very thick and I didn't want to damage the glass or fibreglass trim. I can now get around to cutting the sliding door and measuring the new panel for the opposite side up.

Looking very good, with the current weather I'm really wishing mine was a Synchro!! Maybe next time ;-)

More happenings.

An oil temperature sender has arrived, along with the Prestige wheel inserts. I haven't done anything with either as both require more work and time. I'll gather everything required before I dive into these. I'm hoping to pop the old wheels back on and send the wheels away for the inserts to be fitted, then into the powdercoaters.

As for the oil temperature, Mike spoke at length with me about the GTI lump needing work to keep the temperatures down. The sender will be mounted in one of the spare ports in the standard oil cooler housing. I'll be fitting a remote oil cooler later but really want to tie this sender in with the dash now so it's seamless. I'll be testing it beforehand with a temporary VDO gauge - just to ensure it works.

Speaking of the dash. I broke out the Dremel today and tidied up the edges of the Astra unit where I had removed the plastic cover. This will help it sit right in the pod. I also braved the pod itself and roughly chopped out the hole, then gingerly trimmed it back to fit. I'd say it's 95% there now but to do a proper job I will need to make some infills as the pod face is curved and the dash is flat. A pain, but this should actually work to my advantage in blocking glare.





I think it's looking the part already. Not sure whether to paint the whole face black or a grey to match the cover part. I'm leaning towards a matt/satin black over the entire face though as it would tie the instruments in with the switches, making it look almost OEM.

More sketches have been made as I had a few ideas in the evenings.





I'm hoping to pick up a white Omnistor roof box next week which will serve to store wetsuits and some bodyboards. The red line would be reflective vinyl. Side markers are taken from a VW concept van I admire and would close the front of the line down - a detail I have never loved on the T3.

I have also been working on the seats. The Recaro crossbars are a great bit of kit and some M6 bolts saw them fitted. I tried the runners the seat came with, but after much deliverance and fiddling decided not to use them as they were awkward to fit and remove. Instead I managed to pick up the correct T3 runners from Ebay.de cheap. It's still going to bump up the cost of fitting the seats but for me the knowledge the Recaros are correctly mounted and fully adjustable will be worth it.