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Jan 21, 2019 18:45:46 GMT
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Nice to see a different approach to a camper conversion. Looking good. Thanks for that Fred, and what i really like about the conversion is you´ll hardly be able to tell from the outside once it´s all finished. Here´s a few pics fom todays´antics in the garage. I´d already pepared the side panel for removal by drilling out all the spotwelds and welding in some boxsection to support the structure, so i took a deep breath and got the anglegrinder warmed up (about the only thing that is warm out there at the moment) et voila, a big hole where the side panel used to be....it´s difficult to see in that pic but the old side panel is stacked up against the wall in the background.  I´ve started making up the C post as you can see in the next pic, it´s not finished yet but at least it´s all nice and solid again.  The sill is not going anywhere either, i just need to weld the outer panel to the new frame and tidy it all up a bit.  I´ve started making up the support frame for the B post, once i get the curvature right i´ll weld it all up on the bench and then attach it to the remains of the old B post and the new frame. Then all i have to do is close the gap and make it look half decent again. I got the side panel out in one piece so i´ve got two options how to close the hole up. Either i reuse the old side panel and make a door out of it or modify the spare sliding door to fit. We´ll see, whatever looks better will be the way forward. Cheers, Dave
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Last Edit: Jan 22, 2019 5:36:20 GMT by Oldbus
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Jan 21, 2019 18:51:09 GMT
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brilliant..!! if you hear a knocking at the door it could the men in white coats though.
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'80 s1 924 turbo..hibernating
'80 golf gli cabriolet...doing impression of a skip
'97 pug 106 commuter...continuing cheapness making me smile!
firm believer in the k.i.s.s and f.i.s.h principles.
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Jan 21, 2019 23:34:12 GMT
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It's an ambulance, not an asylum transporter. ;p
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time will tell.... but the more bonkers the better in my book. one thing is for certain , this wont be one of those t4's that looks like every other one you see!!
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'80 s1 924 turbo..hibernating
'80 golf gli cabriolet...doing impression of a skip
'97 pug 106 commuter...continuing cheapness making me smile!
firm believer in the k.i.s.s and f.i.s.h principles.
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jamesd1972
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 2,921 
Club RR Member Number: 40
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Door has nice folded edges and a handle / latches ? Might make life easier?
How far do you want it to move out ? About 50 cm or so, going to look epic.
James
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Jan 22, 2019 11:36:16 GMT
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This is a brilliant thread, very innovative approach to the various issues assoiated with campers,
Just wanted to ask, what will the impact be weight wise when the whole van is finished ??
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BMW E39 525i Sport
BMW E46 320d Sport Touring (now sold on.)
BMW E30 325 Touring (now sold on.)
BMW E30 320 Cabriolet (Project car - currently for sale.)
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Jan 22, 2019 12:47:40 GMT
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This is a fantastic build!
Having owned a rusty T4 until recently i have a bit of advice.
The front wings fill with debris because the windscreen scuttle drains into them. You can fit flexi hose or something to make drain tubes that run through the wing and drain under the van instead. Some mesh helps trap leaves and things.
With it being an ambulance it probably has heavy duty springs on the back already as well as the brake bias valve being set up for added weight. If not, you can get heavy duty springs possibly off a pick-up version or something. I fitted these to mine by accident and i could go over kerbs without feeling them.
If you want to lower the front end, be careful what version of torsion bar you have. I un-wound mine and it hit the bumpstops, then one day one torsion bar snapped. That's when i read up on there being different stiffnesses available. In the end, i got new ones and left them standard for comfort, then with the heavy duty rear springs, my van looked very A-Team Van, with a lowered front end. Made it ace on rough ground and campsites. Very comfortable too.
Incidently i too had Audi 16" wheels with 50mm profile tyres i think - and they were load rated tyres too so i could inflate them to a much higher pressure than on a car. - A mistake alot of people make.
I don't know if this model has the twin radiator fans but they can be notorious for burning out. The air flow around the radiator is regulated by a thermal expanding spring that moves fins on the back of the radiator. This can become sticky causing the fans to come on prematurely. The fans are also wired with high current cable, and use big strip-type fuses in plastic boxes in the engine bay. It is worth carrying extra fuses with you. On the short-nosed T4's the radiator assemble hinges outward by undoing the bolts on the slam panel. On the long-nose i'm not sure.
If you ever take the dash out, there is a nut in the engine bay holding it on. It is known as the jesus-nut because it is usually one that catches people out and when they finally find it they say "jesus" !
It would also be interesting to check your VIN. If the number starts WVW1 (or something like that) it means it is a panel van that has been converted. If it starts WVW2, it means it is a Caravelle or people carrier version. The reason i mention this is because the Caravelle version had factory fitted windows and rear seatbelts and as such the two skins of the rear window openings were either spot welded or bonded, strengthening the C pillars for seatbelts. The pillars also had load plates welded in them. Alot of people get a panel van, fit windows a rock-n-roll bed, fit seatbelts to the pillars and don't realize the body needs strengthening.
Interestingly, in 1995 (when my van was made) VW messed up registering some vans here in the UK and as such some panel vans were given Caravelle VINs by accident and registered. It was too big a mess to undo, but it meant my van was listed as a Caravelle on the logbook even though it had no windows or factory rear seat. Arguing the model type with the insurance companies was interesting when i told them it was a people carrier according to the paperwork but their criteria meant it was still a panel van. The plus side was, i got away with driving at car speeds on the motorways. Unfortunately i did hear of some vans that people had converted with seatbelts, correctly checked the VIN and assumed their van had already been strengthened.
Anyway, good luck with your build and thanks for sharing!
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Jan 23, 2019 16:01:08 GMT
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brilliant..!! if you hear a knocking at the door it could the men in white coats though. ..not to worry mate, they know the way and they don´t knock these days  It's an ambulance, not an asylum transporter. ;p  time will tell.... but the more bonkers the better in my book. one thing is for certain , this wont be one of those t4's that looks like every other one you see!! well not from the inside anyway Door has nice folded edges and a handle / latches ? Might make life easier? How far do you want it to move out ? About 50 cm or so, going to look epic. James Hi james, you´re right, i´ll probably end up using the door but i won´t be needing any handles or latches. It just remains to be seen if a righthand door fits properly in a left side hole. Regarding the slide out, the fridge/kitchen will be about 60cm deep so that´s about how far it´ll all be going out. This is a fantastic build! Having owned a rusty T4 until recently i have a bit of advice. The front wings fill with debris because the windscreen scuttle drains into them. You can fit flexi hose or something to make drain tubes that run through the wing and drain under the van instead. Some mesh helps trap leaves and things. With it being an ambulance it probably has heavy duty springs on the back already as well as the brake bias valve being set up for added weight. If not, you can get heavy duty springs possibly off a pick-up version or something. I fitted these to mine by accident and i could go over kerbs without feeling them. If you want to lower the front end, be careful what version of torsion bar you have. I un-wound mine and it hit the bumpstops, then one day one torsion bar snapped. That's when i read up on there being different stiffnesses available. In the end, i got new ones and left them standard for comfort, then with the heavy duty rear springs, my van looked very A-Team Van, with a lowered front end. Made it ace on rough ground and campsites. Very comfortable too. Incidently i too had Audi 16" wheels with 50mm profile tyres i think - and they were load rated tyres too so i could inflate them to a much higher pressure than on a car. - A mistake alot of people make. I don't know if this model has the twin radiator fans but they can be notorious for burning out. The air flow around the radiator is regulated by a thermal expanding spring that moves fins on the back of the radiator. This can become sticky causing the fans to come on prematurely. The fans are also wired with high current cable, and use big strip-type fuses in plastic boxes in the engine bay. It is worth carrying extra fuses with you. On the short-nosed T4's the radiator assemble hinges outward by undoing the bolts on the slam panel. On the long-nose i'm not sure. If you ever take the dash out, there is a nut in the engine bay holding it on. It is known as the jesus-nut because it is usually one that catches people out and when they finally find it they say "jesus" ! It would also be interesting to check your VIN. If the number starts WVW1 (or something like that) it means it is a panel van that has been converted. If it starts WVW2, it means it is a Caravelle or people carrier version. The reason i mention this is because the Caravelle version had factory fitted windows and rear seatbelts and as such the two skins of the rear window openings were either spot welded or bonded, strengthening the C pillars for seatbelts. The pillars also had load plates welded in them. Alot of people get a panel van, fit windows a rock-n-roll bed, fit seatbelts to the pillars and don't realize the body needs strengthening. Interestingly, in 1995 (when my van was made) VW messed up registering some vans here in the UK and as such some panel vans were given Caravelle VINs by accident and registered. It was too big a mess to undo, but it meant my van was listed as a Caravelle on the logbook even though it had no windows or factory rear seat. Arguing the model type with the insurance companies was interesting when i told them it was a people carrier according to the paperwork but their criteria meant it was still a panel van. The plus side was, i got away with driving at car speeds on the motorways. Unfortunately i did hear of some vans that people had converted with seatbelts, correctly checked the VIN and assumed their van had already been strengthened. Anyway, good luck with your build and thanks for sharing! Thanks for your post and all the advice, i think you´ve written more than i have in the whole thread Regarding the front wings you can actually buy kits including hoses and brackets etc over here which i won´t be wasting my money on but there´s nothing wrong with borrowing their idea. One of the rear springs on the T4 was broken so i bought a new pair. I´ll see how i get on weightwise and if necessary get some heavy duty ones, however i don´t want it stuck up in the air so i´l probably have to play around a bit. I´ll keep your advice in mind when i get round to the front end, i wo´nt be dropping it too far though. As far as the load rating on the tyres go i´ve always overdone it a bit in the past, not only for the vans but on our trailers to so we´ve always had a bit of leeway and piece of mind, especially when you start adding towbars and start some towing. The ambulance was originally a lwb window bus when it left the factory so has all the necessary strengthening and seatbelt mounts etc. which is handy even if i don´t need them. The hole in the left hand side will be strengthen with 2mm steel so i should be ok. The T4 is going to be quite heavy once it´s done but i´m not going racing in it and it won´t be a daily driver so i´m not too worried about it not being economical. oh and i´m not planning to take out the dash but you never know so i´ll keep your advice in mind. and here´s a little update from yesterday. I´ve started to rebuild the B post  it´s not finished yet but the inner side has been strengthened up using 3mm steel and with the 2mm boxsection in there so once it´s all ben welded up proerly i should be alright. Cheers, Dave
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Jan 23, 2019 18:00:58 GMT
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just love the way you work! epic build
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Jan 24, 2019 18:25:28 GMT
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just love the way you work! epic build Cheers mate, much appreciated. I finished off the B Post yesterday so i´ve been playing around with the sliding door today. First job was to lose the sliding window which is a lot easier that the other windows as they´re not glued in place. Then i took out all the latches and locks as i won´t be neeing them either. Before i could start shortening it i needed some way of holding the door in place while i´m faffing around getting the B & C posts to fit. So i tacked in a length of boxsecton to the new sill, once the door is in place i´ll weld the inner door frame to it and cut out the tacks. The angle iron you can see is just shoved in there to give me some clearance. I could then measure out roughly how much i need to shorten the door and got the angle grinder warmed up again...
 It doesn´t quite fit as good as it looks in this pic but it´s getting there and it looks like i´ll get away with fitting a right hand sliding door into the left hand side hole. The brackets at the top of the door are only temporary until i´ve got the door fitting properly and attached to the sliding mechanism which i still need to design. But i have been giving the subject some thought, i´ve got some 35mm boxsection in the corner of the garage and by pure chance the 30mm stuff i´ve been using so far slides in and out quite nicely so i´ll probably end up using that. I wonder if my spare Mercedes wiper motor has enough power to push the door in and out? We´ll see, Cheers, Dave
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Last Edit: Jan 24, 2019 18:27:31 GMT by Oldbus
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Jan 24, 2019 19:37:27 GMT
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oh yeah...running on electrickery..that'll be something else!
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'80 s1 924 turbo..hibernating
'80 golf gli cabriolet...doing impression of a skip
'97 pug 106 commuter...continuing cheapness making me smile!
firm believer in the k.i.s.s and f.i.s.h principles.
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jamesd1972
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 2,921
Club RR Member Number: 40
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Looking good !
WHats the cunning plan to seal the edges when open ?
Will runners fit under the floor in the insulation gap so it stays neat and tidy.
Thanks for the updates, interesting to see,
James
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Jan 25, 2019 13:29:39 GMT
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This is ace.
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Jan 25, 2019 18:05:59 GMT
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Looking great
The other option is a scissor arrangement
With fold out panels and the door forming the roof and floor, the advantage being very little intrusion when its folded.
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Jan 25, 2019 18:22:35 GMT
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This is a brilliant thread, very innovative approach to the various issues assoiated with campers, Just wanted to ask, what will the impact be weight wise when the whole van is finished ?? Cheers mate, that´s a good question and to be perfectly honest i don´t know. As i´ve mentioned earlier on, i´ve taken out quite a bit of weight but nowhere near as much as i´ve welded back in so i´ll just have to see. To be fair it was slow and didn´t go around corners that well either and that won´t be changing so i´ll have to live with it, and although i don´t need one that´s always a good excuse to put more power in it once the rest is done 
oh yeah...running on electrickery..that'll be something else! Hi Strikey, don´t hold me on that just yet mate, i´ll see how i get on eh?
Don´t forget i actually want to drive this sometime this year.
Looking good ! WHats the cunning plan to seal the edges when open ? Will runners fit under the floor in the insulation gap so it stays neat and tidy. Thanks for the updates, interesting to see, James Hi James, i´ve taken a pic of the right hand B post. VW just spotwelded the inner and outer metal and left it overhanging by about 20mm so that you´ve got something to attach the seal to. No need to reinvent the wheel on this one so as soon as i´ve got the door positioned properly i´ll just weld up something similar. Important is i can use an original seal which should help when it comes to keeping noise levels down and water ourt.  as far as the runners go i´ll have to see, as you quessed i´m making this up as i go along but i´m sure it´ll work out in the end. Looking great The other option is a scissor arrangement With fold out panels and the door forming the roof and floor, the advantage being very little intrusion when its folded. Thanks for that, actually that was my plan B. I´d even thought about chopping the door in half and using the top half with window as a roof when the slide out was pushed out but i´ve decided against that as the joint would have been difficult to keep watertight but maily because i don´t want to see any of the modifications from the outside once the doors are closed. Only a small update today as most of the time i´ve been faffing around with door gaps that don´t want do what i want!!! ..at least i got the C post strengthening frame finished. That´s definatley not going anywhere....  so as soon as the door is in position i can start closing off all the gaps and get it all looking half decent again. Cheers, Dave |
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braaap
Posted a lot
Posts: 2,749
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Jan 25, 2019 19:25:32 GMT
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Don´t really want to sound too negative but have you talked to a german TÜV engineer already about all those changes you did to the structures?
I mean, as long as you do not aim for a foreign (british) license plate they can always queer your pitch when it´s already too late.
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Jan 27, 2019 14:16:02 GMT
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Don´t really want to sound too negative but have you talked to a german TÜV engineer already about all those changes you did to the structures? I mean, as long as you do not aim for a foreign (british) license plate they can always queer your pitch when it´s already too late. No probs mate, i´ve already had a natter with the chap i´ve been going to for the last 15 years and he lets me get away with murder
Weekends update: i was struggling getting the door to fit because i was trying to get the outside panel of the door to overlap the sill. Well it wasn´t working so i´ve cut it down a bit so that the door now fits in the hole as opposed to shutting slightly in front of it. I´ve tacked it to some boxsection which i´ll be needing once i start playing around with the sliding mechanism.  With the door now more or less in where it belongs i chopped out those temporary brackets and tacked the door directly to the B post. This gives me a bit more room to play around with the door seal.  Sorry for the iffy pic but this shows the original VW sliding door seal in profile.  So i cut off of a couple of lengths from and old seal, made up an angled bit of plate, pressed the seal on the plate and pushed it up against the door so that the seal was squashed a bit and then tacked the plate into place. ..and after a bit of welding it looks something like this..... You can see the seal in between the B post and the boxsection that i´ve welded to the door.  So how am i going to get it all sto slide in and out? Well it´s actually not as easy as i´d thought as i don´t want to see any of the mechanism when the kitchen has been pushed out. My plan a is to weld a couple of lengths of 35mm boxsection to the floor and have the 30mm boxsection sliding in and out of that. I´ll need to weld in some angle iron so that i´ve got something to attach the floor to and that´s basically it.  I´ll then weld in a support to hopefully stop the door from warping.  and just incase that doesn´t work i´ve got a few 175kg rated wheels that will become plan B
Cheers,
Dave
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telescoping sliders?
I love the idea! what a cool solution, Dave!
will the pushout need support legs once extended, or is it not going out that far?
this is really looking great.
JP
(ps.if I misunderstood the whole thing, uhhh, its still pretty darn epic!)
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I know its spelled Norman Luxury Yacht, but its pronounced Throat Wobbler Mangrove!
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Are you going to weld the channels to the bottom of the floor or the top?
and, I bet if you geared that motor right, it would push that unit out. I also have two big linear actuators that are screw types. I hawked these from the town bin. they are designed for electric awnings. can convert to 12v.....
JP
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I know its spelled Norman Luxury Yacht, but its pronounced Throat Wobbler Mangrove!
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Jan 29, 2019 10:55:41 GMT
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