New to air-cooled VWs

Hello,

First post here to introduce myself before diving in with the questions.

I am not the owner of a 1979 VW T2 Devon conversion - but my employer has just bought one and, as I do the machinery maintenance for him, I appear to have inherited sorting some issues out on it.

A 2 owner vehicle that the 2nd owner had professionally rustproofed at 2 years old, it seems generally sound.
The van has been standing garaged for a long time - some 15 years altogether, with a short period of usage 7 years ago. It was supposedly serviced & MoTed by the garage the original owner used prior to being driven home & I was asked to look at several issues that became apparent on the journey. Some just seem to me to be "older vehicle" differences - non-servo brakes are never going to feel great compared to modern car, for example - but the lack of cabin heating turned out to be the new exhaust heat exchangers not being connected to the ducting (one hose missing, the other too short) & the heat exhanger valve cables not being connected ! That and the "newest" tyres being 24 years old (the oldest being 40 !), complete with the sidewall cracks that were painted over - but they passed the MoT as they had "plenty of tread".

I guess the best way to proceed will be to start threads with the particular issues I can't seem to find answers for in the Technical section rather than here ?

This is a bit of a steep learning curve - most things are rather different to what I am used to - though from what I have read here you seem like a helpful, friendly lot & hopefully my knowledge gaps can be filled relatively painlessly

Regards,

Nigel B.

 

First thing to check is fuel tank breathers and fuel pipes before it goes up in flames @Nigel B

 

Hello, put pictures up, inside outside , engine bay , underneath, helps a lot with people answering questions!

 

Not your van? Run as fast as you can

 

He's a poet and he don't know it ! ^^^

 

As mentioned first call safety get those fuel hoses and breather, filler hoses checked & changed. It’s worth using ethanol resistant hose or they will crack again. Fuel performance do it & list it on ebay. You need the 5.5mm bore. It’s quite expensive but worth it if you don’t want to be replacing them every couple of years.
Also get those Tyres changed. Our van had some Michelins on with very little wear, they were 12 years old though so I changed them. It transformed the ride with much less road noise.

 

Hi from West Lancashire . Sounds like you have the worst of both worlds - all the headaches of sorting it out ( unpaid?) and none of the pleasures of driving around with camping .

 

Welcome along

 

Welcome, you'll get used to us on here, but there is a wealth of knowledge. Sadly, it sounds like you have all the pain but none of the gain

 

Hello again,

Thanks for the welcoming comments.

The tyres are in hand - wheels away being blasted/powder coated, then new tyres (Hankook Vantra LT) & valves all round - first priority when I saw the state of the things it arrived on & tyres the owner's choice. The Hankooks do get favorable mentions on the motorhome forums for heavier vans & being M&S should offer a bit more traction on grass without being too noisy.

I'll get some fuel hose on order. The two pieces I can see (to & from the fuel pump) look to have been replaced - possibly when it was used briefly 7 years ago, as the (correct type) hose clamps are still bright plated & the non-braided hoses are crack free, though it may well be that only the "easy to get at" bits have been changed & 40 year old stuff lurks elsewhere. . The van is currently inside a closed workshop & there are no petrolly smells, but I have experience of the modern carp sold as petrol rotting fuel hoses on my wife's BMW motorcycle so do appreciate the situation.

All the pain & non of the pleasure ? Well it makes a change from fixing CNC machine tools day in, day out. And I get to make out large parts lists & don't have to pay the bills, which makes a change from my own projects. I'm more of a motorcycle enthusiast than 4 wheelers, though I have a motorhome as well (Carado T339 on a 130 Ducato) - couldn't see how I could fit a full size shower in a T2 when we decided to go down the MH route !

The questions will begin (very) shortly - I'll start a new topic for each, as they are quite widely differing.

Nigel B.

 

Hello and Welcome from The Colonial Contingent

 

Welcome Nigel. Sounds like you know what your doing. Some very clever people on here so you shouldn’t be stuck with anything for long.
Good luck.