My baja kombi build....Almost finished a new rear bumper bar.

Hey guys,
Thought i would post a topic about my baja kombi build.
Ive been a long time fan of baja kombis and have wanted to build my own for quite some time. Ive owned kombis in the past but have always had nice ones which i wasnt game to cut up, but the van i have at the moment is rather rough and will be perfect to baja 😎

Its a 77 model that i bought dirt cheap from a mate. Ive been driving it for the past 3 years slowly fixing rust and other problems. Its done its fair share of trips away camping and has been driven up some 4x4 only tracks that i never thought it would handle!

Ive been wanting to baja it since i first got it, so when Simon, guru here on the forum offered some baja kombi gear for sale i knew it was time.


I dont expect this to be a quick build, but am hoping to have it done for valla.

Plan is to fit the lift kit and wheels, along with a 1600 kombi box i have to get it on the road, then work on other things that arnt needed straight away. Ive done a few custom tube bumpers, rock sliders etc for mates 4wds, so im sure i should be able to make up some for my van.

Being my first baja, im sure ill be asking plenty of questions here, so any answers would be appreciated.

Alex.

Looking foward to watch the progress. How much lift are you looking at giving it??

WOW, very impressive, can't wait to see more.

Hope your not going to fit the inverted tranny and reduction hubs as even John Alder will tell you it will drive like a pig .
As for the front end are you going to extend the chassis down or the beam up .
I would recomend the chassis down method myself as it is much stronger and can be made to look like part of the original chassis if done right .
If you do , do the beam up conversion i would highly advise fitting some brace bars from the bottom of the beam heading up foward to brace the beam from trying to fold back under.
Other things to keep in mind are that you need to either lay back the master cylinder or make a dog leg rod between the brake pedal and the mastercylinder, make a longer U rod for the sliding door or the back of the door will hit the flares , remove the front jacking points , cut the bottom back corner of the front wheel arches back .
If the front crossmember of the cargo floor behind the front wheels is rusty behind the front wheels then do your self a favour and replace it now too as with the removal of the jacking points this member will eventually sag . i replaced mine with a 50 x 50 x 3 mm shs , it is a bugger of a job as you need to unpick the floor and any tubes to remove and refit the shs but well worth it when building a baja .
I have plenty of mods to my bus including a EG33 subie flat six , and climate control ac , all of which are unfinished at present but hopefully that should be done by Valla .
To see the build on our bus log into Manx Club Australia and check it out in buggy and baja builds section under the heading " Our Baja Bus "

To make the extension for the sliding door, an old kombi tierod is the perfect diameter tube. Andrew should be able to measure his, but I think its either 75mm or 100mm you need to extend it.

100mm

This is the post Andrew is talking about.


http://www.manxclub.org/phpbb3/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1582


And here is some of the earlier work here on AVD


http://forums.aussieveedubbers.com/viewtopic.php?tid=66146


Enjoy!! Can't wait to see your progress, I've always wanted a Baja Bus. That might be my next project after my Buggy, Bug Bug and 1500 Beetle are finished 🤪



Smiley 🙂

Wow, didnt expect so many comments so soon!
Nope, dont have the reduction hub/ irs set up.
For lifting the front i have plates that bolt to the beam and lower it away from the body 100mm. I have read here on the forum about boxing the chassis in the front to lower it and how its stronger etc. Ill start with the plates i have, i can always mod the chassis later if i want. Im a ex panel beater, but left the trade and have been a qualified boiler maker for the last 6 years, so the chassis mods shouldnt be to hard to do later if i feel its needed.
Im thinking ill need to cut out the front jacking points and mod the cross member etc. The front wheels have 225/75/15 tyres now, but im thinking ill get some 235s. A friend has some bf goodrich all terrains i can get at a very good price.
The kit i bought came with a dog leg brake rod so that shouldnt be a problem, and i can mod the sliding door rod my self. Makes it easier now knowing it needs to be 100mm 😎
Ive checked out the bus on the Manx Club Australia forum and must say its one of my favorite baja busses!

Here's all the inspiration that you'll need

http://www.manxgallery.org/gallery/BajaKombis

crazyfiggi wrote:Ive checked out the bus on the Manx Club Australia forum and must say its one of my favorite baja busses!

Mine too. It'd just be nice if he finished the damn thing so we can see it in action again!!!


Smiley 🙂

Whats the best tyre size for the front of a baja like this?
At the moment it has 225/75/15s but i want to change them. They seem like a hard size to get so im thinking ill get a 235/75/15. Cutting the van to fit the bit larger tyre dosnt bother me.
The rears are 32s which are big enough for me 😎

I ran 215/75R15 on the front of mine, and 31x10.5 on the rear

I made a semi baja kombi, i didnt weld on beam extensions but i spent a lot of time making my own beam adjusters and wound them as high as i could go, dropped the bumpstops down more and rewelded them, lifted the back on the torsion bars, tapped the rear wheel arch lip flat and i run 215 and 235 bf goodrich tyres on the merc rims without cutting the arches and tyres never scrape.

Thats a sweet looking bus Steve. I saw your build up thread about it and for a while was thinking about building my van in a similar style.
11CAB, now knowing your fronts are 215s im not so sure that i need to go with 235s. I wish i could get some decent tyres in the 225/75/15 size. I dont really want to go much smaller than what i have.
Im still curious what tyre sizes some other bajas are using?

No much progress on my van. I did clean up a 1600 box i had in the shed and fitted a 091 bell housing with a 1800 input shaft.

Now lifted 😎
Still need to finish a few things off, tidy up the rear arches and fit the flairs, but its getting there!

Man that looks the goods!

Thanks mate!

Man, i love how this thing is coming together.

Dude!! I am loving the look of your bus!!!

It's coming together really nicely! Can't wait to see some pictures of it out offroading.



Smiley 🙂

now thats my style of kombi 👍 Keep up the good work Alex 👍

Looking good, now go and and get that thing dirty (preferably bogged) with more photos😁

Looking good 🙂

Well i drove it today for the first time! It was only down to the end of my street and back, but i was surprised how good it felt to drive. I was expecting a top heavy feeling, but after driving about 20 meters i forgot it was even lifted!
Only a few little problems, the rear shocks are to short and top out. Is there a certain model shock baja kombi guys use? Otherwise ill just go to the local suspension place and see what they can get for me.
Also, i cant get the torsion bar caps back on. They sit to high. Here is a picture so you guys know what i mean.

Cant wait to get these things sorted out so i can get out and drive it.
Alex.

I cant remember exactly what shocks i had on the rear, but I think they were from a Nissan Patrol

There's a one year only F100 shock that's a ripper, has longer than required long length so if you get 930 cv's you can get a fair biy more down travel, '92 or '93 rings a bell.

I dont know anything about kombis but have you tried swaping the cap with the other side???? maybe just upside down

The torsion cap issue.....you'll need to unbolt the diagonal arm from the spring plate, pop the spring plate off the stop, get some longer M10x1.5 bolts preferebly with thread all the way, get them started into the threads and after loading up the bolts a little to keep everything aligned, jack up the spring plate to get it back onto the stop and tension the torsion cover bolts as you go to push the spring plate home. Swap over to correct bolts one at a time once all together.

That is awesome i dig the Baja Buses. But how do they go with engineering and regos now with the new rules.
I dont think the authorities would buy the explaination. "no thats the standard hieght officer, the suspension has sagged on the other kombis".😏

That look fantastic!

Do you have any pics of the front end set up??
What did you do to raise the rear? Just raised it a spline?

crazyfiggi wrote:Also, i cant get the torsion bar caps back on. They sit too high.

Just try jacking it up and take the weight off the wheels. It may settle the rubbers enough to drop the covers.

Man, . . . . . . . . . . every time i see a baja bus I think of how much I miss mine (and then remember how much trouble I had with johnny law man 🙁 ) Back them I knew what you needed to get those things legal in NSW, but that was a long time ago and with the amount of changes to the rulings ect won't know where to start anymore.

If you're interested in that stuff, I think "custom bugs and busses" used to do legal baja busses, are they still around?

jealous as, had the best times of my life in a baja bus

do i detect another baja bus idea nills😂

nils wrote:Man, . . . . . . . . . . every time i see a baja bus I think of how much I miss mine (and then remember how much trouble I had with johnny law man 🙁 ) Back them I knew what you needed to get those things legal in NSW, but that was a long time ago and with the amount of changes to the rulings ect won't know where to start anymore.

If you're interested in that stuff, I think "custom bugs and busses" used to do legal baja busses, are they still around?

jealous as, had the best times of my life in a baja bus

Yeah CBB is still around. They are based in Penrith. Recently got a custom box done by them. As far as legal buses I haven't seen a baja bus in the shop but know Mike used to have one himself, he does do a lot of modification work though.

vwsteve wrote:do i detect another baja bus idea nills😂

Nah, I got enough project to last me another 5 years at least.
Speaking of, shouldn't you be working on one of yours?

PHAT BUG wrote:That look fantastic!

Do you have any pics of the front end set up??
What did you do to raise the rear? Just raised it a spline?

Ill get some pics of the front end up soon, it has plates that bolt to the beam and relocate it 100mm down from the body.
The rear is just raised one spline.

nils wrote:Man, . . . . . . . . . . every time i see a baja bus I think of how much I miss mine (and then remember how much trouble I had with johnny law man 🙁 ) Back them I knew what you needed to get those things legal in NSW, but that was a long time ago and with the amount of changes to the rulings ect won't know where to start anymore.

If you're interested in that stuff, I think "custom bugs and busses" used to do legal baja busses, are they still around?

jealous as, had the best times of my life in a baja bus

I would love to try and get this bus legal and engineered.
I might look into it soon. I was thinking of boxing the front frame rails to drop the beam to replace the plates i have in it at the moment, but after seeing the trouble my mate is having with his tubbed hq im not game to. Anything with a modified chassis is almost imposable to get legal!
Would like to hear more about what it took to keep yours legal.

Havent had much time to work on my van lately, been flat out at work.
I fitted some longer rear shocks which are originally for a GQ patrol. They are the perfect length with about 2 inches travel more than i need at the moment, which will be good in the future if i decide to go 930 cvs for more travel.
Talking about cv joints, i dont think mine are to happy with the angle they now have to work at. When i took the van for a drive yesterday there was quite a loud clicking noise coming from the rear.
If i need to replace one i may as well up grade. I would love to go porsche 930 but just cant afford to buy everything need for the conversion, axles, output flanges etc.
So after some research on the blind chicken racing site im looking at getting some type4 ones. We didnt get type 4s or the 181 over here, but i read they are the same as porsche 924/944? If so i might be able to find them through a porsche parts place.
Alex.

When you set up your new CVs make sure that you 'time' them on the axle correctly. Let me know if you need more info.



Smiley 🙂

Smiley wrote:When you set up your new CVs make sure that you 'time' them on the axle correctly. Let me know if you need more info.



Smiley 🙂

Yep, I need more info 😎
I haven't herd of timing them before?
Thanks,
Alex.

crazyfiggi wrote:

nils wrote:Man, . . . . . . . . . . every time i see a baja bus I think of how much I miss mine (and then remember how much trouble I had with johnny law man 🙁 ) Back them I knew what you needed to get those things legal in NSW, but that was a long time ago and with the amount of changes to the rulings ect won't know where to start anymore.

If you're interested in that stuff, I think "custom bugs and busses" used to do legal baja busses, are they still around?

jealous as, had the best times of my life in a baja bus

I would love to try and get this bus legal and engineered.
I might look into it soon. I was thinking of boxing the front frame rails to drop the beam to replace the plates i have in it at the moment, but after seeing the trouble my mate is having with his tubbed hq im not game to. Anything with a modified chassis is almost imposable to get legal!
Would like to hear more about what it took to keep yours legal.

That was the problem, in queensland it never was. The only really reason i sold it was i could no longer afford the fines i was getting. and the work involved in lowering for the pits every few months, then raising it back up when I got home.
Thats why I insisted on the ammount of blue plate work that is done on the baja, because at the end of the day it still cheaper than the fines

crazyfiggi wrote:So after some research on the blind chicken racing site im looking at getting some type4 ones. We didnt get type 4s or the 181 over here, but i read they are the same as porsche 924/944? If so i might be able to find them through a porsche parts place.
Alex.

Depending on how you feel about buying overseas, Try appletree auto in the states. They will sell you T4 lobro "kits" (boots, cvs, bolts, clips, grease) for about $50. with shipping and the strong aussie dollar you should have then in your hand for under a hundred clams.
A point of note, if you polish and clock these the stock boots will no longer be up to the task, the axle will actually chew them up from the inside out. Running a universal toyota boot has worked well for me, (sorry no part numbers for these)

That looks awesome!!

Thanks for all that info! Just sent a email off to appletree to see what price they can do on the postage.
What do you mean by polish and clock? Ive replaced cv joints before but never in a offroad application, so this is all a bit new to me 😊
I found this site with some good info on "race prepping" a cv joint. http://www.race-dezert.com/forum/showthread.php/45208-Race-prep-a-CV-joint...
Would something like this be needed for my new cvs?
Alex.

http://www.dune-buggy.com/techtips/cv_joint_polishing.htm
Another good site i found about race prepping.
Im almost thinking of trying this with my stock cvs first and seeing if it makes a difference. If im thinking of buying new ones i really have nothing to lose playing with the old ones first 😎

crazyfiggi wrote:Yep, I need more info 😎
I haven't herd of timing them before?
Thanks,
Alex.

Timing or clocking, means the same thing.

It is where you line the CVs up in orientation to each other on the axle.
You say that you have worked with CVs before, then you know that when you put them together you line up a narrow point with a wide section when fitting the star to the outer race. If you don't do this the CV will be very tight.
When you time a CV you do exactly the same thing over the length of the axle. Line up a narrow section with a wide section. This can give you slightly more travel when the CVs are on the limit and prevent binding.
Here are some pictures to show you what I mean.
You need to imagine that the little red line that leads out onto the axle goes to the other picture and meets the other little red line.







Sanding and polishing CVs is also a very good idea. I recently bought a brand new CV, and even when assembled correctly it was very tight and didn't move freely. I disassembled it and hand sanded it with progressively finer grades of sandpaper. Made a world of difference and allowed it to move freely.

And here is the handy thread that Nils was talking about with the Toyota Hilus front IFS boots.
http://forums.aussieveedubbers.com/viewtopic.php?tid=85212

Enjoy!




Smiley 🙂

Good pics Smiley

That makes sense now looking at the pictures, thanks for that!
Im pulling them out this weekend and having a look, i havent done anything with the cvs in this van so i have no idea what condition they are in.
I like the idea of the toyota boots, ill have to get a set.
Alex.

Well i pulled the cvs out to find one was on the wrong way around! Im guessing thats what was causing the clicking noise. They were rather worn so i thought i would have a go at prepping them like in those links i posted. They looked really good after doing that so i "timed" them on the drive shaft, as per smileys pics, re packed them and fitted them up. All seems fine with them now with no bad noises! I also refitted the torsion caps using a big g clamp to pull them down to where they should be before getting the bolts back in.
Im really happy with how the vans coming together😎
What size tube does everyone use for their bar work on busses, bugs or buggies? I scored a heap of offcut 48mm and 42mm od pipe from work that im thinking will make good (and cheap) barwork.
A rear bar will be first on the list as i think ill put a swing out spare tyre rack on it because its about the only place i can think to fit tyres on this bus. What do other use? Its hard having two tyre sizes!
Im thinking ill build a twin tyre rack and carry two spares in 225/75/15 like the front tyres, that way i dont have to lug around a big tyre like the 32s it has on the rear, and if i damage a rear tyre beyond repair while traveling i could fit the pair of 225/75/15s on the rear. The van would sit a bit nose high but i would be good enough to get me out of trouble!
Also having all that weight over the back of the van might help it ride a bit nicer. At the moment the rear is rather light and it rides choppy with the spring plates sitting on the lower stops most of the time!
Alex.

Alex , as with any offroad vw you want all the weight you can get over the rear as picking up a rear wheel without a diff locker means your not going anywhere .
Now that sounds easy , but evan with the extra weight of the flat six subie in my bus it iwas still front heavy when i last had it on Fraser 3 years ago . I have hopefully solved some of that in the last few days in that i have built a nice solid class 4 towbar and refitted the rear bumper but it still a bus and lets face it they were not built with anyseries offroading in mind .
On a good note our baja bus will hopefully be at Valla this year and you are more than welcome to come by and check it out , as i'mm sure the flat six , a/c , and plenty of other custom items on the bus will answer the question of why it's taken me so long

Andrew

OZ Towdster wrote:On a good note our baja bus will hopefully be at Valla this year and you are more than welcome to come by and check it out , as i'mm sure the flat six , a/c , and plenty of other custom items on the bus will answer the question of why it's taken me so long

Andrew

It better be!!! You should hurry up and get it done!! I heard that it was going to paint this week.



Smiley 🙂

Alex,

Thats the shit man!!

I never had any trouble with cv's, and the torsion caps went on square, with new bushes.
My spring plates didnt rest on the stops at one spline though.
The best thing about this setup is you can change it back to original height in an afternoon.

Good work bloke.

Thanks Simon, really happy with how its turned out.
Talking about the bolt in plates for the front lift, i had the front wheels off the ground the other day after hitting a dirt mound a wee bit too quick, nothing bent or moved so im happy with thier strength 😎
Hopefully ill have some time soon to build a front bumper and bash plate, rear bumper and tire carrier and a few other little things.

Man that's a beast, luv those rear wheels.

looks cool😬

Well, the van is now off the road with a dead gearbox.
Im bidding on another box on ebay, so hopefully ill win that and get it going again!

I took it out yesterday to a power line trail i know not far from my place. I was told about it buy one of the guys at work who takes his mates patrol in there. Its a hard track that runs up hill to a dead end at a power line tower, about 3km into the bush. The bloke from work thought there was no way i would get the kombi up there.
Well i did make it, which i was really suprised about. Having all that ground clearance really helped. Ive been told you need a lifted 4x4 to get up there, so im proud of the old bus making it!

All was going well and i was on my way back down when i came to a creek crossing that i had no problem with going up, but trying to get back through i just kept wheel spinning. I hit it was a fair bit of speed and herd a loud crack resulting in no drive. I had lost first gear and the box was making really bad noises with the clutch out in neutral. Long story short i was determined to get out and get home so i reversed as far back as i could and hit it flat out in second. It just made it through, but i smashed the front bumper into the rock creek bank and bent the s#*t out of it haha.
I was able to drive home in second gear doing about 20kph the whole way with a gearbox so loud that people within 100 meters of it would turn and stare!
After i fit another box im building a new front bumper with a nice big bash plate running down and bolting into the front beam.

Well, i havent updated this thread in ages, mostly because i havent really been working on the van all that much. My wife and i are expecting our first child in a few weeks and getting everything ready for that has really taken up alot of my free time!

The few things i have done include new front wheels and tyres and a new rear bumper with a twin tyre carrier. Its not finished yet, i have just a few things to tidy up on it then its ready to be painted.

Alex.

DUDE!!!!

That thing is looking absolutely wicked!!
I am loving the dual spare carriers on the back. That's also going to help you offroad cause you have more weight hanging out over the back giving you traction.

Also, congrats on the little one, things are probably going to get very busy for you soon 😀
But make sure you post up any more pictures of your car that you can when you have time.


Smiley 🙂

The bus looks wicked, very impressed!