'89 Blue Star Vanagon Project

[turbobaja]

Hahaha, dang thing IS an obsession alright. We're hoping to make it on the cruise for the cause, day after springmeet. I dont plan on attending anymore shows inside that concrete parking garage, it's miserable in there.

[ajdenette]

Looking Great Carl I hope my next Syncro build will compare to what you have done.

[Leatherneck]

Your attention to detail is second to none. When I start on my Baja you mind coming down, I'll make some room in the Garage for you to sleep. Oh bring all your tools too. LOL. Ok I can dream.

[turbobaja]

Pushing forward, did the vapor barrier dance on both front doors and cleaned up all (3) power window switches before trimming and assembling the new ABS door panels and bolting them on. Also used ABS panels for the slider and rear hatch doors. The "deluxe" panel retainers from GoWesty used to mount their ABS panels are a PITA to install, but I found a trick that made them work pretty well. Sound deadening foam and mass loaded vinyl are behind the panels.











I made a cover for the rear bed/engine lid area to help cut down on noise. I glued a layer of mass loaded vinyl onto a layer of closed cell foam and trimmed out an area for the engine cover so it can be removed separately.





With all the doors and windows on it now, I drove the Van into work and did a thorough 4 wheel alignment on it. We washed it for the first time and found I needed to do a little adjusting on the doors to get all the gaskets sealing good. And with that done, we've been driving it around a little, about 100 miles so far. I made an extension harness for the Subaru Data Link Connector and ran it from the ECU box up to the steering column so I can plug in and get live ECU data with a scanner while driving. I'll probably end up going with an APP of some kind for my phone so I can check on things even easier. I re-torqued the CV bolts and ran over the entire undercarriage to double check all the hardware, all checking good so far. We pushed it up over a local mountain pass (only about 1,300ft elevation, Tiger Mountain Summit) and it pulled well and maintained 194-196F coolant temps @ 3/4 throttle, pulling the whole way just under 3,000 rpms and just over 60 mph. It sits about 187F cruising the freeway 60-70 mph very easily. Pretty happy with the 4 gear and 4.57 R&P swap, seems like a good combo with the EJ25.

[Clonebug]

If you have the OBD plug you could use this device from PLX.

I haven't tried it but it looks like it has a lot of features for the $100.00 they want for it.

Check it out...

http://www.plxdevices.com/Kiwi-3-OBD-Ca ... 002832.htm

[turbobaja]

We needed some privacy for overnight camping in the Van, so my Wife made a nice set of curtains that snap into the Van and can be rolled up. Slider door curtain can be up/down and not interfere with door function. The material is light-blocking and 2-tone, with a grey interior color and floral outer surface.









I had previously connected the fuel feed line to the engine with a hose clamp onto the Subaru fuel pipe. Without a barbed fitting to hold it secure, it didn't feel safe for long term use. So I installed a quick disconnect fitting with barbed connection for the fuel hose and correct sealing connection for the Subaru fuel pipe. Peace of mind.





I felt like the engine oil pan needed some protection, so I used a late model GM front diff skid plate and trimmed it down for a better fit. I cut out a small access hole to the drain plug for easy service.

[turbobaja]

We barely got the interior installed in time for our maiden voyage with the Van. We loaded up with tools and spare parts, and 10 days worth of camping gear and headed south. From our house in Auburn WA we drove down to Sacramento CA for a friends wedding and then headed towards the coast to head back north. The Van did not miss a beat and performed better than expected. Averaged 22mpg on the over 1,800 mile trip and provided us shelter and security to boot. Some pics from our trip.

[turbobaja]

Well folks, I've just learned that Photobucket wants $400 from me to allow 3rd party hosting, sorry, but that's not going to happen...

[ajdenette]

There are a number of us on this site trying to figure out what to do about that.

[ajdenette]

There are a number of us on this site trying to figure out what to do about that.

[turbobaja]

Seems pretty rediculous. I'd pay 100 if it would stop all the adds and BS, but 400...? Wow

[Clonebug]

Since I have a $29.99 account for 22 gigs of storage they are letting me go until December of 2018.....then they will try to extort more from me too.
My build page will then be pictureless......

[turbobaja]

Wow! Just about 1 year later and we're having a blast with our Van. Photobucket decided to allow my pics to show (for now) so figured I'd continue the progress

We've been camping as much as possible in "Blueberry" as we call her. This was out on in the Puget Sound where we went crabbing with 3 people, 2 coolers, 2 crab pots and that small dog my Wife is holding, all aboard that Easy Ryder canoe on the Van. The loudest 1.2hp aircooled 2-stroke outboard ever made pushed us around while the tides shifted, tons of fun!



However,... on the way to that camping trip, we managed to get rear-ended by a friend of ours. It destroyed the pretty little fiberglass rear bumper, took out the taillight, pushed in the body and managed to puncture a large hole in the right rear corner.



I fixed it all up "good enough" and installed a proper rear bumper with a hitch so we have more options.



I installed a house battery, auxiliary fuse box and a Webasto heater that burns fuel from the gas tank and puts a smile on my Wife's face



Then,... I made the ultimate rookie Van Pilot maneuver and side swiped a 3ft tall concrete post at the gas station. It destroyed the fiberglass side cladding and did a number on the slider door and right rear quarter. I was pretty devastated and it took me 6 months to get it straight and find a solution for the paint. I decided to remove all the remaining fiberglass panels and do a truck bed liner repair rather than match this aftermarket paint. I made it to the Summit of Mt. Rainier when I was a younger man, so I thought it would be a good opportunity to cover the damage with a beautiful mountain . I still want to add some details with some black/white accents, but it's fixed enough to go camping again!!!















Now that it's back on the road and providing lots of fun again, we've been picking away at small projects like finally making a headliner and installing it, and adding some USB/12V outlets and battery monitor for the house battery that's now hooked to ALL the power consumers when the key is off. And I can jump my cranking battery with the house battery (large deep cycle beast) if it's dead for some reason. We also got rid of the 12+ year old 14" BFGs and factory alloys and replaced them with some Mefro 15" steel wheels and 215/75R15 KO2s. Aired-down with the Peloquin diff and this thing just climbs up hills. Going down is a little more stressful, lol.

[turbobaja]

With the interior coming together, the missing rear trim panels were looking pretty lame, so we made a panel for each side in the back and upholstered them to match the inside of the window curtains (gray panels on right rear upper and left side of bed area).





The Webasto controller pokes through the left rear panel, so my wife can crank it up from bed . And I made an outlet with an angled plate inside to help direct the air rearward from the driver's seat base.



Heading out this weekend to escape the heat and find views like this if possible!

[Steve Arndt]

I always check your project updates. looking good.