Start of lower dash mods to house handbrake lever (billet) and central AC vents:
Pimple come dimple for handbrake
Recessed slot above lever is for audio processor controller (like a head unit that controls all the audio)
Custom steel fresh air (one) and heater (one) levers to replicate original and keep to the 'chunky' brief delivered by the owner
More hand fab'ed metal work including this storage box which resides in the centre console - shape is to allow room for custom hinges which enable lid to flip right up and out of the way to access the storage compartment
Rear corner tray rail repairs
Been a while since the last update but no shortage of work in the interim, here is an abbreviated recap. First up the centre console is complete including the rear centre speaker mounts, plus outer housing that flows through the front console, AC switches recessed and centre AC vent
Buttys Bits splitty accelerator linkage modified to suit the early bay
Central locking was another major undertaking but eventually was sorted with persistence and fair bit of swearing 🙂
PS console will be wrapped in leather so rear section won't look so much like 'Bender' once trimmed 😉
Drains for engine access hatch seal aperture directs water away from the recess in the tray to avoid any rust issues down the track
AC hoses were mocked up so retaining brackets and tabs could be welded on the body before the rear trays were welded on
Porsche engine ancillaries were either painted, powder coated, polished or zinc plated for some factory appearance, and slight custom touch
The DC was towed to a company that applies 'Rhino Liner' which is a urethane liner typically used on pickup (ute here in Australia) beds…but this time on the inside of bus for protection from any sand/water that may find its way in!
After the interior floors etc were done, a different company was contracted to apply a similar urethane coating on the underside - had to be a different product as Rhino Liner can't be applied upside down. The owner wants the DC to be very resilient and last a long time, hence the unconventional finishes!
After the urethane dried, it was over coated with the necessary primer then some two pack black gloss paint for resistance to dirt/mud etc
EFI pump, pre and post filters plus tap round out the fuel system
Oil thermostat
Engine lid was dimple died (will be hidden behind number plate backing) to allow the fan to suck fresh air straight in to aid cooling
Body is in its final prime:
Roof bracing was added after the Webasto sunroof was mocked up again
Doors received their final prime as well
Just to be a little different, JW Speaker LED headlights were fitted (after fighting the mounting rings for a while)
That brings us up to date finally….now the last push to paint then off to the upholsterer, still loads of work to do but the light at the end of the tunnel is drawing closer slowly!
Al
Just brilliant!
keep the updates coming....
88 Caravelle Syncro Camper
89 Caravelle GL microbus - 5 speed
69 Microbus
05 Mk5 Golf 1.9 TDi DSG
Some great stuff here, looking forward to seeing the end result 👍
It's been a while between updates, but work has progressed fortunately….including paint on the interior which was body colour (metallic black) but with PPG matt clear over the top to tie in with the leather.
And after lots of sanding, the interior was masked off and the exterior shot
The clear was laid on lightly and a little dry to make colour sanding easier (than trying to lay the clear down heavy and chunky which is harder to cut flat)
Lots of prep and painting of interior and exterior components all to keep in line with the blacked out theme
Also some painting for the upholsterer (platinumtrimming.com) for pieces like the overhead light assemblies and AC vents (bezel originally silver)
DVD screens in front seat head rests were a prick to paint, but couldn't be left silver as they would stand out too much
Some pics from Willem at Platinum…..front seats were originally out of a Mercedes van:
Some reshaping:
And some deep red leather (which will flow into the door cards to break up the black):
Black perforated leather headliner
Pic doesn't show the detail but the bulk head is a combo of perforated and non perforated leather
Porsche 3.2L Carrera engine has been rebuilt at a specialist workshop and ready for the final pieces
Manifolds were blasted and clear powder coated for longevity
Wanted to keep the motor as the factory intended (except for some additional detailing)
My old Turbo type 1 2442cc (sold to a customer) may make a little more horsepower than the Porker, but would be a little more highly strung 🙂 The 3.2 should be a real pleasure to drive with loads of torque for the heavy DC
More updates soon as we push towards the finish line….
Wow. That looks amazing Al.
Keep the updates coming!
Well, bloody hell its been a long time between drinks (i.e. updates) again, seems time slips away awfully quickly when you're having fun 😉
The DC is still not quite finished but getting very close. So here is a pictorial update from the last few months:
Love them or hate them, we wanted to be a little different with the wheels:
Hard to get much visual differentiation underneath for photos when its all black, but these shots will give you an idea:
The bay window washer reservoir was relocated under the nose along with an electric pump"
The heavily texturised underside is due to a urethane coating (like a pickup bed liner) that the owner wanted for resilience and longevity - whilst the standard of the DC is very high, at the end of the day its not being built as a show car
Bosch EFI pump and oil filter (anti drain back) tucked away (accessed when rear wheel is removed)
We took one step forward just before taking two steps back (more on that later), some assembly started, but halted soon thereafter
Dual AC evaporators hidden under the centre console up front:
This was the final mockup before the engine came out for final time for the last pieces (more info later)
The rear end settles down with the weight of the engine and ancillaries in (the car was never built to be slammed, but still has to have a decent stance 😉
More mockup - dry sump tank and breather plus oil filler
Dimple died cover plate under tank plus Aeroflow fittings (black of course) plus black braided hoses throughout
Space is tight everywhere when you cram enough components in (AC centre vent for rear plus two centre mid bass woofers
The mess of wires and ducting eventually find their way neatly into place
👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
Futue te ipsum!!!
Centre console wrapped in leather by Platinum Trimming (who is doing all the upholstery in the DC) -
http://platinumtrimming.com/gallerykombis/
All the fiddly bits not even seen wrack up the hours like one of the switch panels (for audio when not on ignition plus windscreen washer, Dakota Digital control buttons and lighting dimmer)
AC compressor paint detailed and ready to go
S&M Bender
🙂
More trim photos from Willem at Platinum:
Okay, so the two steps back resulted from the frustration of seeing a few ripples in the side panels and front doors where the inner strengtheners were vertically…whilst most people wouldn't even pick up on it, it annoyed the crap out of me given the calibre of the build…..so we re-bodyworked the rear quarters and cab doors then prepped the entire exterior and I repainted it (Ferrari Nero Daytona black metallic base coat first then PPG Deltron clear)….
Before it rolled out of the booth this time, I wanted to colour sand it to get the process out of the way (long laborious task!), few pics post buffing:
Update almost complete! Now the DC is buffed, reassembly can resume inc new rear light housings with LED bulbs
Smoked lenses front and rear
Quick roll down to the 'clean shop' (i.e. our parts store - dasrestoparts.com.au)
Next on the agenda was the flywheel - we enlisted the expertise of Dave Butler who turned this slug of steel into a custom flywheel to mate the Porsche 3.2L engine to the 091 2L VW box:
Dual ring gears were required - one for the starter and one for the EFI sensor
AJ fabricated steel door pockets front and rear which will be trimmed in leather
Finally the JW Speaker headlights were slotted in place
Trim piece around the vent intake went on after this pic (forgot to install first time around!)
Alright that's it for now, will try and remember to update again a little sooner than later!
Al
dasrestohaus.com.au
uuhhmmm........bloody!
😂
👍
Quality work, as always!👍👍
That is looking fabulous!!
Can't wait to see the finished result.
Bravo Al & Co. Major respect to you and the owner for a dream come true Duelly. 👍👍👍
Customer service is not dead in Australia.
Always after HAZET & MATRA & VW factory tools
Really beautiful work has been done here, more art than anything, my only concern is the box even with the owner tooling around it will be the torque that will bring it undone in second or third, I had a similar box and 4.4 litres sneaking away from home early one morning trying to not upset the neighbours when it all came undone, went to the the G50 after that and never had a problem in 15 years, hope I'm wrong, but none the less an awesome job, have you calculated just how many hours have been spent on this project, I can't wait to see the finished product, the owner will be one lucky person, cheers Greg
69 fastback daily driver gone, 66 beetle next resto job,
sold my 76 camper after 21 years years ago and now all the prices have gone up, moving and re building houses has slowed down VW love, Greg Martin
Well it was a monumental day today (for me at least) as the owner picked up his DC! As with any major build with so much custom work, it will come back for a few tweaks in a couple of weeks, and also so we can check over everything underneath....but for now it was nice to see the owner so happy. It has been a great collaboration between someone who had a clear vision of what he wanted to create plus the commitment to see the project through...and our team at DAS Resto Haus to put those ideas into reality.
Anyway, I have some catching up to do for the last few months....
Boring pic to start off with just to give an idea of how the central locking is set up:
After consultation with the dyno tuner, we decided to ditch the factory 1989 Porsche ECU and upgrade to Autronic SM4, plus MSD for some extra 'spark'
We had an excellent auto electrician jump on board to create a complete plug and play engine harness including auxiliary fuse panel and associated components
Hydraulic clutch plus EFI fuel filter
Some subtle advertising with the approval of the owner on the CNC machined number plate housing and laser etched website detail
AC lines going through the floor in tank cavity....charcoal canister we made to vent the tank fumes....
All the wiring is braid wrapped or PVC sleeved....the firewall plug is aircraft spec but makes engine removal (if needed!) a one connection deal (apart from fuel etc)
Fuse panel distributes power to reverser camera, reverse sensors, and LED reverse lights plus a few other components in the engine bay....earth distribution block avoids having a heap of wires running to body grounds all over the place
Custom dry sump tank vents to catch can (breather filter not fitted yet in the pic)....obviously this is during fitout before all connections were finalised
Micro switch under the bus controls the heater booster fan (on the engine fan shroud), operated by the lever on the dash
Dual optima yellow top batteries
All engine management electronics were mounted behind the rear seat but had to be up high to clear the sub box
Oil thermostat (-12 lines), fuel shut off tap (makes fuel system maintenance a lot easier)...and other stuff...
Two four channel amps power the 8 mid range woofers and 4 tweeters (all controlled via the Alpine processor)
LED strip light in engine bay helps to see oil level (sight tube on tank) at night...
Great result Al. Credit to you and the team
As you said- great someone had the stamina, money and understanding to see something through.
Now........ what is next?
Futue te ipsum!!!
Awesome Al! So neat.
EVERLAST CONCRETE TANKS
1800 552 123
Few more pics for perusal...
Engine update:
Engine bay wiring....
Licence plate backing serves a couple of purposes (other than the obvious)....it also hides the dimple die holes for fan ventilation, and also provides a mount for the reverse camera
Mid way through rear bumper wiring
Bit of sunshine through the Webasto electric sun roof
Scissor jack, wheel brace and fire extinguisher tucked up under the back seat out of the way but accessible
Decided to stick with factory mirrors (painted in gloss and satin black) as everything aftermarket just looked wrong
Tray was Rhino Lined for protection and longevity
Love the build! One question, what steering wheel have you used?
