Hello everyone. Heres some pics of my '75 1600 called José. He was imported from Mexico approx 4 years ago and I have had him just over 2 years. We saw no end of ‘rust free imports’ that were anything but! At least it gave us a better idea of where the rust traps were and what to look out for. We contacted a couple of local clubs as well, and one of them put us on to a solid camper that was not even on the market as yet. I called the owner straight away and after overcoming the confusion of how I had heard about the camper, arranged to go and see it. Once we arrived at the seller’s house, we were greeted with the gorgeous green José. He had obviously had a re-spray in his recent past, but the paint looked good and with magnets at the ready, we could not see too much obvious filler. The gutters were good, the doors were solid and the underneath was unbelievably clean! He is a 1975 LHD camper – probably originally a minibus. There were a few mechanical issues such as no engine bay seal, no heat exchangers (just J tubes) and the brakes seemed a bit iffy, but overall the van seemed as solid as we were likely to find. An offer was made and accepted and we arranged to pick him up in a few days time. On the day of collecting him in early June the sun was shining and the drive home started fine. However, only a few minutes up the road a light came on on the dashboard. I couldn’t tell what it was, as the plastic cover over the bulbs had melted in the distant past, but I knew it was either the oil or the charge light. Fearing a snapped fan belt I pulled over quickly along with Dad who was following me. Having checked everything, it seemed to be the oil light, but the oil was not low? After cleaning connections on the oil sender we were off again, but hills were a struggle, as it seemed that the brakes were also binding – what had we bought! We eventually arrived home with a hot engine and very hot brakes and started planning what to do first. Along with a general mechanical check over and overhaul where required, we decided that the interior needed to be redesigned to meet our needs – we wanted to fit a fridge and a small toilet as our son has a bowel condition requiring a special diet and access to a toilet at short notice. The list of work included a new exhaust, engine bay seal, air filter, oil change, gearbox oil change, new distributor with Petronix electric ignition, new set belts, a leisure battery/split charge system, new front & rear brakes, hoses, pipes, hand brake cables, oil pressure sender, new tyres, new alternator and other general service items along with a good Waxoiling underneath. Soon after picking up José the petrol needed topping up and in my optimism I decided to fill the tank up…..and promptly watched at least a gallon pour back our under the engine somewhere – eek! I stupidly decided to drive the van a mile or so back to my Dad’s place, dripping petrol as I went. Please no-one else ever do this – I have since seen You Tube videos of campers on fire and shudder to think what could have happened. I reversed the van up the sloping drive and the dripping seemed to stop. On closer inspection it seemed that the petrol was coming out under the firewall and after a bit of surfing on some VW forums, the general opinion was either the filler pipe or the petrol tank breather pipes. So out came the engine to replace these. This was where we started to discover the notion of ‘Mexican Mechanics’. ‘Mexican Mechanics’ is basically make do and mend/bodge it and scarper mechanics at its best. I had decided to replace all the fuel pipes whilst the engine was out and found some of the pipes secured with twists of rusty fencing wire rather than proper clips. Reaching in to inspect the breather pipes on top of the tank I discovered the mechanic had stuffed his T-shirt in and a cut up piece of road sign to stop the petrol tank from rattling – he obviously could not find bolts to replace the 2 missing from the tie down straps! In the interest of keeping the Mexican Mechanic spirit alive, I have kept this T-shirt for my Sunday best (who cares about the stains anyway). I also managed to reuse some of the road sign to make up a small piece of tin ware that was missing underneath. The flexible parts of the breather pipes could well have been the originals as they were so hard and brittle that they snapped – rubber shouldn’t do that should it? We also found that one of the engine bolts was missing as well some of the engine tinware. Where possible (and affordable) new parts have been used, but we have also sourced a second hand mph speedometer as the kph one did not work properly. The plastic insert over the dashboard lights was also a second hand find – so now I know what the lights are for. The interior was stripped out and a new full width R&R bed was installed along with a cut down original cupboard in the rear. As the van is not a walk through model, we have installed a chest/seat along the bulkhead, which house the Waeco compressor fridge, some storage and a toilet. I know what people say about toilets in vans, but my little boy was born with a congenital bowel condition, so emergency toilets make the difference between being able to go out or not. In the process of building/fitting the interior, everything was completely stripped out and we were pleased to find a solid, rust free floor and original seat belt mounts. Karen & my Mum stitched up all the new rear seat covers. The van is used daily as my drive to work, so has had plenty of opportunity to show me what other jobs needed doing. These included, clutch cable, accelerator cable and accelerator linkage. My colleagues at work find it highly amusing that I keep most of these spares in the van and fix it by the roadside, but it’s still quicker than waiting for the AA to arrive. I can’t talk about the camper at work without being told I am an anorak – but who cares, at least I have a smile on my face driving home every day. Karen and the kids also love going out in José at every opportunity. They have also decided that he needs to keep in touch with his Mexican roots and as such he is gradually becoming adorned with all things Mexican – such as chillies, sombreros etc. The engine and gearbox have been the latest project and have now been replaced with a Laurie Pettitt engine and a recon gearbox. The mexican mechanics T shirt
I reckon it was fate. I was already on the JK forum searching for a van and had called myself chillicamper.....then Jose turned up from Mexico - so I had an excuse to fill him mexican chillis and tortillas Jose was a bit sluggish in the snow - he does feel the cold a bit, bless him. I'm hoping that with the new engine having the thermostat back in place he will warm up quicker - all the flaps/linkage had been removed from the old engine. Here's a pic of the old engine. From looking at other vans, I have not seen the little bowl thing before on an air filter - I have been told its a sort of pre filter thingy that lets larger particles of dust/dirt drop and collect to save the paper filter clogging up as quick in dusrty roads??? It was certainly filled with plenty of dirt and dust when I got the van.
The kids generally bag the camper and we get the awning : obviously not got them trained well enough yet. The joys of a tintop - no bunk beds for the kids - but then again there's no chance of getting a leaky canvas or seal either.
A new present for Jose today. Lovely 1930's suitcase now being used to tidy up all the tools/jack/spare parts etc. maybe if I didn't carry so much he would go faster!
