Dear Larry,

Thank you very much indeed.  I am impressed.  I once owned a 1982
air-cooled
T3 Caravelle and dreamed about finding a wrecked Syncro and cannibalising
it of its Syncro components.  Eventually, I sold my 1982 air-cooled (with
much regret) and bought a 1992 Wasserboxer Syncro.  Then within days I came
across an engine-less Syncro wreck for sale! (It is still for sale and,
should anyone in Australia want it, contact me.)

I now plan on aquiring a good CV, CU or CJ series 2.0 litre Type 4
air-cooled motor to keep in storage for my Syncro for when the current MV
series 2.1 litre Wasserboxer eventually gives up which seems a long way off
now that I have rebuilt it.

Anyway, thank you.  I shall keep your "Syncronise" E-mail for future
reference.

Simon Glen, Toowoomba, Australia
1992 VW T3 Transporter Syncro van
1969 VW 411

Larry Hamm wrote:

> Dear Simon, Ben, Mark, Chuck, Bill, Sam, David, et al.
>
> This is a general post about doing a Syncro conversion. If it does not
> answer your questions, please feel free to drop a note and I'll try to
> go into greater detail.
>
> I am only going to address the high points of the conversion, not try to
> explain where every wire and hose goes. If you don't have the ability to
> work out the details, it may be best to pass on a project like this. I
> know many of you could do this better, faster, etc. Please feel free to
> post those suggestions that you feel could help another listee complete
> his conversion in a better or safer way.
>
> I did this job with basic hand tools, a floor jack and stands, some 2x4,
> 4x6, 6x6, and other assorted lumber to support the vans. Power tools
> included a half inch drill, recip saw with metal blade, angle grinder,
> and circular saw with metal (cutoff) blade. A welder or access to one is
> also handy.
>
> A Bentley is recommended reading, and be sure to spend some time on your
> back under both vehicles checking out the similarities and differences
> in construction.
>
> The vans:
>
> An '82 Westy diesel, in pretty good shape, with '87 Jetta I4 gas engine.
> I decided the buzzy, low powered I4 had to go. With big tires and the
> added weight of the Syncro bits, I settled on the Legacy 2.2L engine.
>
> An '87 Syncro, purchased with the original intent of converting to a
> Westy. When I realized the work involved in adding a poptop roof, and
> considering that my skills at bodywork leave much to be desired, I
> canceled those plans. Unable to sell the van at a price less than what I
> paid, I started to explore the possibility of donating the AWD bits to
> the Westy. Wish I hadn't sold the trans first!
>
> The stages:
>
> 1. While the engine and trans were out of the Westy for the conversion,
> I pulled the fuel tank out of the Syncro (engine and trans out of that
> one, too). The space above the trans in the Westy appeared too small to
> take the tank, but it fits. Removed the hoses and wiring from the tank,
> then unhooked the mounting straps. The tank has an extension on the
> right side that fits over the frame rail, so when the tank comes out of
> the Syncro, the left end drops down first, then the tank is encouraged
> to move to the left a bit, and then out. Sounds easier than it is.
> Reversed the procedure to fit it into the Westy. Mount straps had to be
> fitted, and great care was used when levering the tank into place that
> the brake lines weren't disturbed. I measured the location of the filler
> assembly, and cut out a hole in the body sheetmetal to fit the plastic
> surround and the filler. The Syncro has a boxlike structure welded in
> behind the plastic, and it might have been good to drill out the welds
> and use it in the Westy, but I used 1" angle aluminum to build mounts
> for the filler spout and plastic surround. I think it's nearly as sturdy
> and was easier for me. (No welder in my garage) I used a curved piece of
> electrical PVC to provide armor for the filler hose where it exits the
> engine compartment into the wheel well, on it's way to the tank.
> When this was finished, I stopped to decide whether I wanted to
> continue, or just have an extra fuel tank! After a few days rest, I
> decided to continue.
> The front tank had to go, so I dropped it. I did leave the filler in
> place in the hopes of adding a small auxiliary fuel tank in the spare
> tire well. There was a small crossmember to the rear of the tank that I
> removed, it was the anchor point for the tank straps and would have
> interfered with the driveshaft.
>
> 2. Rear suspension. Piece of cake. Removed old springs and shocks from
> Westy and replaced with Syncro springs and OME shocks.
>
> 3. Front suspension and drive train. All of this lives on a subframe in
> the Syncro, so it "relatively" easy to swap. I dropped the driveshaft,
> unhooked wires/hoses, removed the wheels, removed the front springs,
> removed the spare tire, and unbolted the top control arms. (Refer to
> Bentley for details) The steering rack is on it's own crossmember, so
> it's hoses were disconnected, along with the rod from the steering
> gearbox, and it was dismounted and allowed to rest on the subframe. Two
> bolts on each side hold the sway bar to the frame. After removal of
> these, the bar also rests on the subframe. The subframe is attached to
> the frame in four locations, two on each side. The front mounts were
> attached with three bolts each (but there were six holes in the mount
> pad). The rear mounts are held by two bolts each, screwed into nutplates
> inside the frame. These nutplates were removed by pulling out from the
> front after the bolts were out. The subframe is very robust, and with
> the weight of the rack, swaybar, diff, axles, hubs, control arms, etc,
> it was dropped with the help of the floor jack and lots of lumber. After
> the subframe was out, I removed the steering rack crosspiece. Since it
> had to be reused in the Westy, I drilled out the spotwelds and removed
> it intact.
>
> The Westy needed a bit of work in preparation to receive the Syncro
> subframe. After removing the wheels and disconnecting the brake hoses,
> the springs were removed, along with the upper and lower control arms,
> radius rod, knuckle, etc., as a unit. The spare tire and all the
> mounting bits would have had to be removed, but my spare lives on the
> rear bumper, so I saved a bit of work there.
> Now I stood at the "point of no return". There are cross pieces that
> need to be removed to fit the Syncro parts, and once gone, could be
> tough to replace. (Well, OK, you welder types would have little
> problem.)
> First to get cut was the U-channel piece that provides the mount points
> for the lower control arm. I cut a big chunk out of the middle, cutting
> just inboard of the control arm mounts holes. Later I discovered the the
> front mount holes had to go, too. The steering rack crosspiece, being
> different than the Syncro's, was removed, leaving about four or five
> inches on each end. The front crosspiece is the one that provides the
> anchor points for the radius rods, and it was a bit tougher to remove. I
> started with the cutoff blade in the circular saw, and made cuts flush
> with the bottom of the frame on the outer ends of this piece. The inner
> sides of the frame were too tight for the circular, so I used the recip
> saw to make the final cuts, removing the last barrier on the Westy. You
> torch guys could probably do it easier and faster, but the saws leave a
> nice, clean surface.
>
> Then it was time to put it all back together. The steering rack mount
> was installed on the Westy with bolts, attaching it to the stubs of the
> old rack mounts. Welds will be added later to assure it's permanence, a
> good thing to have in a steering rack mount!
> When I first started checking out this project, I was concerned about
> locating the subframe in the exact position it was in on the Syncro.
> Luckily, the boys in Graz used existing holes in the Vanagon frame to
> position the rear subframe mounts, so I just used the same holes and the
> subframe is dead on. The rear nutplates had to be skinnied into the
> frame from a wider hole further to the rear, but that wasn't a serious
> challenge. In the front, I attached the mount pads with five bolts,
> instead of the three used in the Syncro. The Syncro had a second piece
> of sheetmetal at this spot on the bottom surface of the frame, and when
> my welder guy is commissioned, I'll have him add one also. Then it was
> just a reversal of the removal of parts from the Syncro. I took the
> opportunity to replace the front axles, wheel bearings, calipers, pads,
> and shocks (OME's). I probably should have done ball joints and control
> arm bushings while I was in there, but mine were in good shape, and my
> wallet wasn't!
>
> There are other minor items to deal with. The speedo has to be traded,
> the fuel tank sender wires extended to reach the rear tank, difflock
> control panel added and plumbed, etc., but as I said, anyone tackling
> this conversion should be able to work out most of this stuff.
>
> 4. Meanwhile, back in the engine bay...
> The Suby engine was installed using KEP's Syncro engine mount. Anyone
> converting a standard WBX van would need to get a Syncro mount or
> otherwise drop the engine down to the proper position. The Syncro
> skidrails look to be, umm, less than adequate for the job, so as soon as
> I get my shortened oilpan from KEP, I'll be putting in new
> rails/skidplate made from heavier stock. I am currently using a stock
> trans, mounted in the Syncro position, until I can find another good
> trans. (Cheap, since I'm now overbudget on this project!) One last
> problem to overcome is the crossmember that takes the trans mounts. I'm
> not sure about later bodies, but my '82 has a large hole built into the
> crossmember, evidently for the heater duct for aircooled engines. Again,
> my welder guy will need to modify that to provide for the new trans
> mounts. The Syncro crossmember was flat all the way across, and later
> bodies may be, too.
>
> So, there it is. As I said, just the high points. If you are seriously
> going to tackle this, I'll help where I can. I've tried to cover all the
> salient points, but I may have left out something somewhere. Just ask if
> you have any intention of doing this one.
>
> Since the "accident" my mind may not be up to par, so please forgive any
> major omissions. You see, there is one particularly sharp projection on
> the subframe, and in an effort to get a better look at what I was doing,
> I hit my forehead against that projection. Sharp, stabbing pain, and I
> reflexively jerked by head back, slamming the back of it onto the
> concrete floor. Seeing stars, I jerked my head up, only to hit my
> forehead again on the subframe! This cycle continued until I lost
> consciousness. My wife found me later and pulled my out from under the
> van by my ankles and provided first aid. (OK, I started this on Friday!)
>
> Larry Hamm (I own this name, all rights reserved!)