Just got home from Taree. Bought myself a T3 transporter. Pretty ratty looking but only rust is a couple of small spots at the bottom of the tailgate window. Engine was a very strong runner driving home from Taree.

Several problems though.

* Speedo not working (thank God for GPS on my phone)
* Horn not working
* Very bloody noisy both inside and outside (has a hotdog exhaust)
* Drivers seat angled towards centre
* Paint terrible (4 colours on van)
* A wine in the transaxle in 4th and 5th


So far plan is to clean it up first then

weekend camper with L shaped lounge, rock and roll bed, storage under bed and seats, 2 cupboards behind front seats and nice sound system.

Also hope to have it ready to camp in for Valla since Al the baja won't be ready.


Will load photos tomorrow but too late for photos tonight.

Sounds like you bought a project

Good on ya!

Yeah Nils, she's a project but will hopefully keep it as a rolling project. Want it as a daily driver.

dark red/maroon? or was originally?

I think it was a yellow originally as that colour is under the maroon also floors inside that haven't been repainted are yellow.
Was surprised to find that dash is pressed metal. I thought that all dashes in '85 had to be padded.
Took forever to clean lunge off the tearing wheel, etc. Also fitted some window winders, it got a bit hot in there while driving when stopped.

Noticed today that it got a lot hotter in stop, start traffic than when it was running on freeways etc. Is this normal for these busses? Do they have a thermo fan at the radiator?

Found mine got pretty warm while standing idle in the pacific hwy car park for an hour last weekend. Probably 2/3 on th gauge, where as normally seems to run 1/3 to 1/2 way.
there is a 2 speed thermo fan, inside the car low is barely audible. Hi I have never heard turn on.

thermo fans only come on once they are pretty hot, normal driving mine never sees action. Only as you have said in stop start traffic, or stnding still for a period of time. Fan wont come on until needle is a little past half way on the gauge. Don't think the second speed has ever needed to come in on mine whilst driving.

Ok thanks for that, it hasn't even got close to half way has only got to max 1/3.

Brilliant purchase.

These are very under rated - cant wait to see the photos.

Finally took photos, while cleaning the interior. Removed driver's seat cover, was filthy. Has taken almost 2 tubes of cleaning wipes to remove all the grime from few plastic components. Also removed the bed previous owner started even though it was a nice large size. Have different plans.

Any suggestions for removing the polystyrene lining?
The timber dash needs to be removed. Not sure it is original and broken anyway.
Also has Mercedes rims on it, which give it wider tyres.

ha ha ha ! whats going on with that speedo console?

Not really sure Nils. I can actually see daylight through the top of it. Also timber is broken sadly. Was a very nice piece of timber just wrong for this application. Thinking a carbon fibre facia might be nice but got lots of other stuff to do first, including getting the speedo working. Still using the GPS as a speedo atm.

Good to see mate, I've always been a fan of T3's, on the money with the temps and fan altho mines noisey so easily heard. Ditch that timber on the dash, but switches are non std so you might have some electrical fun ahead. Also best if you can repair the noisey trans being noisey, the failing bearings will trash the gear sets and cw/p among other things

Yep that's the one I thought it was......never had a real good look at it though.

Yeah I guess you would have seen it around sometimes SAS. It runs well all be it a bit noisy with the hotdog exhaust. Mind you I like the noise but feel it would not be totally legal. Still very mixed on how I want to do this. Whether to lift it for some off road work or lower it to make a nice cruiser, both have their merits and all good. Maybe I should just get a second one!

all these vanagon threads.......

seriously makes me want to do the same

Join us poor people

poor because we can't afford a splitty? or because fuel and repairs?

Both for me Boozo!

Well, went to Blast from the Past at Berry. Tried to get there 3 years ago with Al (68 baja) but it broke down twice on the way there. I gave up and got trailered home. That was the last trip in the baja as I took it off the road and began restoration work (still in progress).
So glad I made it today. Had a great time meeting VW owners and in particular T3 owners, and discussing the T3's merits and camper setups.
Also got to see what the van should look like inside and out. I now understand what you were talking about with the dash Matt Berry. I believe I have sorted my parts dilemmas. I bought a non runner for parts. Some things have been removed but seems to have everything I need.
Happy days and think I should name her 'Happy" short for happy camper.

Picked up a rock and roll bed this arvo. Hope to install it on weekend. Will load photos then, and of the parts van I am picking up saturday!

Well got started on repairing the dash.
You were right Matt Berry, definitely fun with the electrics. I think a previous owner was a butcher.
Where do I start:
* broken mountings as well as whole binnacle cut up to fit the other dash gauges (at least they were VW).
* Plugs cut up in order to fit other gauges as well.
* Cables going in all directions.
Anyway here's some photos. Hope you guys enjoy them.
1st shows broken mounts
2nd shows tab off another dash inlace
3rd filler to aid in welding pieces in

4th & 5th shows new mounting tabs welded in
6th shows son learning to plastic weld using a soldering iron (would use a plastic welder but don't have one). Soldering iron seemed to work well.

7th Also had to repair a couple of cracks in the replacement dash.
8th shows the ruined wire connector (cut to fit other gauges)
9th shows wires being soldered to attach new connector.

10th shows dash installed. Still got to figure out a few issues and check all warning lights are correct, but no dash lights or hazard lights yet.
11th & 12th show some of the led lighting effects for exterior of van when camping. Will be used to help deter mozzies.

13th more of exterior leds
14th Interior led lighting for camping.
Also have some green leds for lighting up the floor in the back of camper.

All leds remote controlled, so I don't have to get out of bed to turn on and off.