SUNSHINE GIRLS - VW KOMBI VAN PROJECT

Sunshine is the vehicle that lights up your life

 

 

Well, here it is.  Worn and shabby, but none the less a restorable VW kombi wagon.  If you've always fancied doing up a V'dub, you might enjoy following this story to see it being done and how it is done at a leisurely pace and as and when the mood takes you.

 

To make it more fun, we decided to set a budget that any man (or woman - sorry girls) could afford.  So, £1,000 it is then.  Impossible?  Let's see.

 

 

VW Volkswagen camper van restoration rear view

 

Only a mad fool at the end on his tether would buy this - note wheels

comfortably inside bodywork

 

 

The Girls purchased this old bus for £400 - a jolly good deal and you may not be that lucky as campers are now a rare as rocking horse dung since Jamie Oliver got behind the wheel of one.  Might also be something to do with surfing!  As you can see it needs plenty of elbow grease, tyres, brakes, welding and paint................. I suddenly feel the need for a coffee.

 

 

Volkswagen van alloys fitted side view

 

Bung on some wide alloys and things start to change - note wider rear

wheels now outside bodywork - hence arches need remodeling

 

 

Fortunately, the Girls' manager has built a number of custom vehicles over the years.  They quickly smooth talked him into lending a hand, both feet and his workshop ...... ...... A bit like the dealer that sold Burt Munro his US tour car for $250 - if you've seen 'The Worlds Fastest Indian' that is - great movie.

 

We sourced a set of five BMW 5 series alloy wheels and tyres (2nd user) from a local tyre dealer. That cost £120.  Then a local VW guru, Simon Butland, arranged for some spacer  adapters to be custom made, to fit the 130mm PCD wheels to the 120mm PCD hubs...... Here they are and splendid job too. The wider alloys in combination with these adapters and the change in offset, give much improved handling, cornering, etc.  Obviously, it's not possible to widen your track this much without altering the wheel arches.  This single factor will put off all you bolt-on merchants.  However, for those of you adept with a welder and shears, it's actually not a big job.  We'll probably glass over the steel arch (not yet shown) to smooth into the bodywork - strong, light and corrosion resistant.

 

 

Wheel adapters custom 5 stud 120 to 130 mm PCD VW kombi to BMW 5 series

 

Solid machined adapters take 120 to 130mm PCD

 

 

The bus was rusted through in all the usual places.  The front valance was completely gone, not even joining to the body at bumper level.  On these later models, VW put a huge bulbous lump in front, onto which the bumper bolted directly, rather than use extensions.  We cut this ugly lip off completely.  Some readers may notice the interesting tow-bar conversion at the rear, where the body has been replaced by the bar, making engine removal a cinch. This addition bolts in at six locations and can be removed easily if needed.

 

 

VW kombi van BMW 5 series wheels fat boy look

 

 BMW 5 series alloys give 'Fat Boy' look - Note Continental Eco tyres

 

 

VW camper van rear arch flaring preparation

 

Rear arches needed flaring considerably for full load clearance

 

 

This particular V'dub has been used for some serious towing and may need an engine overhaul.  The green oil pressure light keeps coming on - Chinese worry balls anyone!  Also, this must have been one of the last vans to roll off the production line in Germany.  It has two side loading doors (one of which fell off in our producers hands) and an alternator.  Unusual or what.  Well, that's a start - now for some serious welding......

 

 

VW camper van tour bus front rusty mess

 

A sorry state - Shall we scrap it - Never!

 

 

The later Kombi wagons had an ugly lip formed from heavy gauge steel which lasts, but the thinner bodywork rusts around it. Once removed, you'll need to weld in additional steel to be able to make good with flat sheet, as this sequence shows.

 

 

VW combi van adapters fitted to take BMW alloy wide wheels

 

Kombi sporting adapters and BMW 15" x 225 alloys

Much wider tracks, front and rear

 

 

 

With plenty of steel in the corners, new steel panels are attached to Kombi van VW

 

With plenty of steel in the corners, new steel panels are attached

 

 

With fresh steel inserted underneath, welded to chassis, you'll need to drill through the replacement sheet steel to be able to spot weld to the original frame and join to bodywork. We did this in two pieces, to get the curve right. Next we found the battery tray had rotted away. We decided to improve the mounting arrangement, with some box section supports welded directly to the main frame, onto which we welded a tray. This will last much longer and is far stronger.

 

 

The rebuilt and re-modeled volkswagen Combi van front

 

The rebuilt and re-modeled Combi van front

 

 

A new gel battery was fitted. We would advise installing a circuit breaker switch, to be able to isolate the battery if the vehicle is left for long periods. This year we also acquired a twin choke down draught Webber, complete with manifolds for just £100.

 

 


 

 

RECORD COMPANIES INDEX A - Z

 

 

BMG | CBS COLUMBIA | CHRYSALIS | EMI | MOTOWN | RCA | SONY

 

UNIVERSAL MUSIC GROUP | VIRGIN MUSIC GROUP

 

WARNER MUSIC GROUP (AOL TIME WARNER)

 

 


 

 

Twin choke Webber carburettor kit for VW aircooled engine - Nice!

 

Twin choke Webber carburettor kit for VW aircooled engine - Nice!

 

 

 

 

 

 

MUSIC INDEX A - Z

 

 

Abba

AC-DC

Aerosmith

A H Rahman

A-ha

Alabama

Alanis Morisette

Alison Kraus

All Saints

American Idol

American Music Awards

Amy Macdonald

Andrew Lloyd Webber

Annie Lennox

Aqua

Arctic Monkeys

Atomic Kitten

Avril Lavigne - Girlfriend Wedding

Bananarama

Band Aid

Backstreet Boys

Babra Streisand

Barry Manilow

Barry White

Bay City Rollers

Beach Boys

Beyonce

Billy Joel

Bing Crosby

Black Sabbath - Ozzy Osbourne

Blondie

Bob Dylan

Bob Geldof

Bob Marley & Wailers

Bon Jovi

Boney M

Boyz II Men

Brenda Lee

Britney Spears - Shaved

Bruce Springsteen

Bryan Adams

Bucks Fizz

Buddy Holly

B'z

Cascada

Celine Dion

Charles Aznavour

Charlotte Church

Chacago

Cheeky Girls

Chemical Brothers

Childrens Songs

Christina Aguilera - Basics

Christina Milian

Chuck Berry

Cindy Lauper

Cliff Richard

Coldplay

Comic Relief

David Bowie

Def Leoppard

Depeche Mode

Destiny's Child

Dire Straits

Dixie Chicks

Dolly Parton

Donna Summer

Duran Duran

Earth Wind and Fire

East Magazine - Eastbounre

Eddie Arnold

Elena Paparizou - Eurovision

Elkie Brooks

Elton John

Elvis Presley

Eminem

Enrique Iglesias

Enya

Eurovision Song Contest

Evanescence

Events - Tents - Moroccan

Fergie

Fleetwood Mac

Flipp's - Pop Funk collection

Foreigner

Frank Sinatra

Frankie Goes to Hollywood

Frankie Laine

Garth Brooks

Gary Numan

Genesis

George Michael

Geri Halliwell

Girl Bands

Girl Groups

Girls Aloud

Glade alternative music festival

Glastonbury

Gloria Estefan

Grace Jones

Grammy Awards

Grant Navy Fireman

Groove Armada

Guns and Roses

Gunther + Sunshine Girls

Gwen Stefani

Haircut 100

Hank Thompson

Hellogoodbye

Her Name in Blood

Hoosiers

Intraverse

Iron Maiden

James Blunt

James Morrison

Janet Jackson

Jean Michel Jarre

Jennifer Lopez

Jessica Simpson

Jethro Tull

Jimi Hendrix

Joel White

John Denver

Johnny Cash

Johnny Mathis

Joni James

Joss Stone

Journey

Juan Thyme

Julia Figueroa

Julio Iglesias

Justin Timberlake

Karaoke    A - Z of UK venues

Kate Bush

Kate Nash

Katie Melua

Kenny Rogers

Kristina Bradford

Kylie Minogue - cancer

Led Zeppelin

Lily Allen

Linda Ronstadt

Lionel Richie

Live Aid

Live Earth Concerts

Live 8

Louis Walsh

Luciano Pavarotti

KISS

Madonna - Films and Video

Mama Hoochie Bang

Mando - Manto

Mariah Carey

Marillion

Max Jasper - Mezzowave

McFly

Meatloaf

Metallica

Michael Bolton

Michael Jackson

Mireille Mathieu

Modern Talking

MTV

My Chemical Romance

Myspace.com - Networking

Nat King Cole

Natasha Bedingfield

National Anthems

Neil Diamond

Nelly Furtado

Nirvana

 

Oasis

Olivia Newton-John

Paris Hilton

Patti Page

Pearl Jam

Perry Como

Peter Waterman

Petition the Prime Minister

Petula Clarke

Phil Collins

Photography

Pink - Pink Orchid Ltd

Pink Floyd

Pop Idol

Pop Music

Prince

Queen

Reading Music Festival

Record Companies

Record Producers

Ricky Nelson

Rihanna

Robbie Williams

Rod Stewart

Roxette

Roxy Music

Rule Britannia

Santana

Shakira

Shania Twain

Sharon Osbourne

Simon Cowell

Simply Red

Snoop Dog

Songwriting

Spice Girls

Stars in Their Eyes

Steps

Stevie Wonder

Sting - The Police

Stock Aitken Waterman SAW

Sugababes

Terry Wogan

The Bangles

The Beatles

The Bee Gees

The Brit Awards

The Carpenters

The Clash

The Doobie Brothers

The Doors

The Eagles

The Jacksons

The Pussycat Dolls

The Ramones

The Rolling Stones

The Royal Canadians

The Seekers

The Sunshine Girls

The Ventures

The Who

The X Factor

The X Factor 2005

The X Factor 2006

Three Dog Night

Timbaland

Tina Turner

TOP TEN - FORTY CHARTS

Tupac

U2

UB40

USA For Africa

Van Halen

Vibes From the Vine - Concert 06

Vicky Leandros

Victoria Beckham

VW tour bus - Sunshine Girls

Wei Wei

Whitney Houston

Wicked New Year Party - Alps 07

Woodstock

World Idol

X Factor Battle of Stars

YouTube.com

ZZ Top

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Scene, a wood somewhere in England: Two lonely camper vans quietly blending into the greenery, one previously owned by Joss Stone, says to the other wagon, tearfully: "She said she'd never leave me man."

The other replies: "You're lucky sugar, mine is still inside."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kulo Luna $billion dollar whale

When a pirate whaler kills a small humpback whale, her giant friend sinks the pirate ship to avenge the death, but is itself wounded. The pirates put a price on the whale's head, but an adventurer in an advanced solar powered boat races to beat the pirates and save the wounded animal. 

 

$Billion Dollar Whale, adventure novel by Jameson Hunter

 

A heartwarming action adventure: Pirate whalers V Conservationists, with an environmental message and a $Billion dollars riding on the winner. For release as an e-book in 2013 with hopes for a film in 2015 with a provisional budget of £80m including risk share, TBA

 

 

 

 

This website is Copyright © 1999 & 2013 Max Energy Limited, an environmental educational charity working hard for world peace.   The names Solar Navigator™,Blueplanet Ecostar BE3™ and Utopia Tristar™ are trade marks. All other trademarks are hereby acknowledged.

 

 AUTOMOTIVE  |  BLUE PLANET  |  ELECTRIC CARS  |  ELECTRIC CYCLES  |  SOLAR CARS  SOLARNAVIGATOR