Winnie the Poo (update: volksworld)

Discussion in 'Show Us Your Ride' started by rob.e, Mar 5, 2014.

  1. Thanks Rick - i knew i was missing the lid, didn't know they were available - where did you get yours?
     
  2. rickyrooo1

    rickyrooo1 Hanging round like a bad smell

    just a caravan place can't remember really
     
  3. I got my wheelskins leather wheel cover on today (finally.. i've had it for several months but it's been too fr!gging cold recently..).

    I got this from the guy on thesamba who advertises- he's a vw guy so he knows exactly which size /type you need for the various wheel sizes there are. I got the brown one. They also do tan, black and a few other options too that would work in an appropriately coloured bus. This wasn't cheap but compared to getting someone to bespoke trim the wheel in leather it wasn't too bad i guess. The brown colour is a perfect match for the champagne bus brown interior and wheel which is good - i also bought some brown cord to match (kit came with black).

    Pretty straightforward to fit.. took about an hr to get the cover on and stiched all around, then maybe anothe 10-15 mins to gradually work the cord tight all the way around (a wire hook type tool is essential for this bit).

    Overall very pleased with the end result;

    Just started:
    [​IMG]
    Wheel skins leather steering wheel cover
    by Rob E, on Flickr

    Stiched all the way around but not tightened up yet:
    [​IMG]
    Wheel skins leather steering wheel cover
    by Rob E, on Flickr

    Finished:
    [​IMG]
    Wheel skins leather steering wheel cover
    by Rob E, on Flickr

    I also fixed my picnic set on the underside of the buddy seat. It's a good way to maximise the storage as it's out of the way, plus it's easy to find stuff when the seat is full of foodstuffs :) this was a great ebay blag - 8 quid for an unused john lewis picnic set, brown leather trim matches spot on with the rest of the interior too, and i have the wicker basket in the back for storing picnic blankets.

    [​IMG]
    Picnic
    by Rob E, on Flickr

    A quick clean (last chance i think before volksworld show) and one last pic before it goes back in the garage:

    [​IMG]
    Vintage Autohaus
    by Rob E, on Flickr
     
    Fil6 and Barneyrubble like this.
  4. Anti-Roll Bar:

    My vintage autohaus / french slammer beam doesn't have an anti-roll bar. Apparently this is normal for a narrowed/lowered beam - search the interweb and there are lots of posts saying you won't need one. To be fair there is some truth in that, given that the stiffer KYB dampers and the effect of the turned torsion leaves in the beam means there is increased stiffness in the front already, and the van drives fine.. could it drive better though with an arb? Ok, it's a 40 year old camper and it'll never handle like a sports car but i'm curious to see how it'd feel with an arb fitted.

    I've picked up a second hand bar off ebay for 20 quid and its currently with the engineering shop up the road from work to see if they can bend it to my cad (cardboard aided design) specification that brings the mount points in 8cm to fit the mount holes whilst also maintaining the angle you need to clamp to the trailing arm. Unfortunately they're going to need to heat it up to make the bends which might affect the springy-ness of the steel. I've found one example of someone doing the same thing on vzi and it seemed to work fine for him, so fingers crossed. Worst case it won't work i guess.
     
  5. davidoft

    davidoft Sponsor

    Chop it in the middle, then flatten the cut ends, make a clamping plate to fix them back together.
     
  6. yep, that's plan b :)
     
    davidoft likes this.
  7. Just read through this thread and loved seeing your ideas for Winnie evolve and develop! So much useful info included - going to have to use this as a reference point for my own van - as well as some cool ideas I hadn't thought of!
    Any chance you could provide the dimensions of your buddy seat? It looks to be similar to what I've got in mind for mine...
     
    rob.e likes this.
  8. Thanks.

    The seat is just a standard westfalia design from an prototype bay:

    [​IMG]
     
    Cov1987 likes this.
  9. Thanks! I can get designing that now...
     
  10. ok, ok, so you were right.. i was, er.. less right :D

    chopped in the middle
    machine a "key" into both of the cut ends so they lock together
    make a sleeve to cover the join
    drill through the sleeve and the bar and pin through

    :)

    No application of heat so it won't have lost any of the properties of the spring steel, the narrowing will have made it stiffer (good) plus the additional material at the join should also increase stiffness.

    [​IMG]
    -8cm front anti roll bar (sway bar)
    by Rob E, on Flickr

    [​IMG]
    -8cm front anti roll bar (sway bar)
    by Rob E, on Flickr

    [​IMG]
    -8cm front anti roll bar (sway bar)
    by Rob E, on Flickr

    As you can see it's a very neat job, so obviously i didn't do it myself : http://www.samarprecisioneng.co.uk/ in Andover sorted this for me, good bunch of guys highly recommended.

    Just need to get it on the van now.
     
    pkrboo likes this.
  11. Anti roll bar is on :)

    I played around with the location and orientation and it seems to fit fine on top of the lower arms, no clearance issues and space to flex, and doesn't hang down like some i've seen.

    I'd bought some OEM replacement bushes with the weird bracket thing that needs several sets of clamps to hold in place whilst you fit it.. but i can't seem to find those anywhere - maybe no loss as i don't have welding clamps and or a lift so i think i may have struggled fitting those anyway. I saw on ratwell that he'd suggested some "t-bar" type circular clamps might also work, and these are significantly easier to fit.

    Here's what it looks like; you need two t-bar clamps per bush to hold it properly, different sizes too as the rubber is tapered.

    [​IMG]
    Anti roll bar fitted
    by Rob E, on Flickr

    I've done about 50-60 miles or so now with it on and it seems to be working ok. No rubbing/clearance problems with the new location, bushes seem to be held in place just fine with the new clamps, and the "join" where the bar is shortened is holding up too. Driving wise, yes it is worth the effort - it's not turned the bus into a sports car but it's much improved, less roll at the front, less understeer (contrary to what you read - stiffening the front is meant to increase tendency to understeer, my experience with this is the opposite) meaning you can get on the power earlier in a bend and get up to speed sooner than before.

    Whilst the weather was good on Sunday after a few runs i had a quick go at cleaning up the new zender wheels - they were a bit tarnished and grubby from storage. Popped on my new (8 quid!) ebay centre caps and a bit of elbow grease and they come up lovely, bling!

    [​IMG]
    Polished, and new centre cap
    by Rob E, on Flickr
     
    Buddy Hawks likes this.
  12. ARB clamp info if anyone's interested:

    "W2 Mikalor Heavy Duty Supra TBOLT Hose Clamp Clips Stainless Steel T Bolt Hex" Smaller ones are 59-63mm. Larger ones are: 68-73mm.
     
  13. So, this turned up the other day:

    [​IMG]
    123Ignition
    by Rob E, on Flickr

    It had always been part of the plan to ditch the points /condenser setup and go electronic at some point, but whilst it's all working ok it's hard to justify spending money unnecessarily.. trouble is that it wasn't working ok :) pootle around locally and its fine, but on a long motorway trip when the engine's under load for a longer period and it just wasn't up to the job. I had one trip where it was gradually failing but still got me there, and a more recent trip where it just gave up and left me on the hard shoulder.

    Yes i know points and condersers are cheap and easily swapped, but i really want a "fit and forget" solution. Yes the 123 isn't cheap but everyone who's got it seems very happy. Dan @ vintage speed sorted me out with a good price via the forum which was nice.. i guess in context you need to weigh up the cost against the risk of having a bus full of family/wife/camping gear stuck on the hard shoulder in the rain (it always rains when you break down in my experience) and potentially ruining a holiday.
     
    Buddy Hawks, Fil6 and Razzyh like this.
  14. Zed

    Zed Gradually getting grumpier

    Be honest, you got the 123 because you wanted one. Your justifications are flimsy and exaggerated. :D
     
    Baysearcher, The Bobdogs and rob.e like this.
  15. Razzyh

    Razzyh Supporter

    Strangely, (or my one does) these don't have vac cans as such and it's just a bit that sticks out the side (I guess you could say vac can is inside rather than on the outside?? If that makes sense). Great bit of kit and about £180 delivered from Germany.
     

  16. ha ha.. yes.
     
    Zed likes this.
  17. yes, its the 123\VW-R-V version which has the vacuum. as @Razzyh says though, no can - it just plumbs into the side.
     
  18. Very jealous :thumbsup:
     
  19. 77 Westy

    77 Westy Supporter

    Do you have a link to the supplier? The cheapest I can find is €285 (approx. £226) plus delivery from Brits 'N' Pieces.
     

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