Vanagon Syncro Project: Luggage rack

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Luggage rack

Since I have an liquid to air intercooler and the engine and transmission oil coolers are watercooled also, I needed an large cooler in front of the van and I thought that instead of mounting it in front of the radiator and adding more heat to the engine radiator, I could mount it in the luggage rack on top of the roof.

I never carry anything up there anyway and it is out of the way, so I cut two luggage racks up so that I could extend it about six inches and create a air scoop. (just like the early vans have)

I ran two 3/4" lines from the intercooler and oil coolers up though the tray and out through the roof to a VW Jetta radiator, an electric waterpump circulates the cooling fluid and pumps when the diesel engine runs.

A screen keeps the crows out and the over hang also keeps the sun out of my eyes.

24 comments:

ajtk said...: Herman:

would love to come up to see your work some weekend. I have followed your blog for sometime now and am quite taken by the projects you take on. drop me a line if you don't mind.
Arend ajtk@shaw.ca; March 17, 2010 at 9:44 PM
Syncrogreg said...: Hi Herman,
I would like to put the south African mud flaps. When i look at your pictures, it seems to me that the third hole stay visible. Because I'm going to repaint it entirely i would like to know if it's a good idea to weld the holes of the stock (i have the exact same model as your).

Thanks

Greg; March 29, 2010 at 2:47 PM
Herman said...: Hey Greg, Yes, the third hole stays visible. I found out too late, weld it before you paint your Syncro.

Cheers Herman; March 29, 2010 at 9:17 PM
elphenden said...: Hi Herman,
Fantastic Syncro you've built there! I have a question about your front bumper. Did you end up using spray on bed-liner or is it powder coated? I ask because I think it turned out very nice and I would like to re-paint my van-cafe big bumpers. Thanks!
Matt; May 25, 2010 at 10:20 PM
Herman said...: Hi Matthew, thanks!
At first I sprayed bedliner on the bumpers but it looked awfull and I ended up scraping it all off, later I painted 2 coats of flat black paint on them and they look better now.

Cheers Herman; May 30, 2010 at 8:28 PM
Unknown said...: Hi Herman.
I have to say you built the perfect van. I am in total envy. I just bought a Syncro and am looking to head in the same direction...Honestly my last truck was a humvee kit car. I did all the fabrication and it took me a good 6 years...So I know the type of tim you have in it...I was wondering if your bumpers were complete new fabrication or if you modified an existing bumper set? I also have tons of other questions too, but I won't overwhelm you!!!! Anyway great work!
-wayne; July 29, 2010 at 1:04 PM
Herman said...: Thanks Wayne, the bumpers were a complete new fabrication out of sch.40 pipe and elbows, the winch brackets are about 7/16" thick.
You can do lots of stuff yourself, just take your time.

Cheers Herman; August 1, 2010 at 9:41 PM
TheAccomodator said...: I have no where near the time, energy, or skill to attempt anything like this project. But i love my westy and it's been good to me.

I need to put in a new radiator. Should I go OEM (Behr $150) or copper core (Nissen $580, supposedly "high efficiency").

I have a 2.3L courtesy of GoWesty, and it runs a little hotter and I'm guility of towing more than i should at times.

Would I be throwing money away or will I get some measurable benefits (mostly trying to maximize cooling efficiency).

Thanks in advance.
M; August 16, 2010 at 2:41 PM
didgeridrew said...: Hi Herman,

I just stumbled on your blog through theSamba...and i'm sure glad I did...your van is giving me all sorts of ideas for the future of my new Westy project (way out East, on PEI).I have some friends who are living in Whistler this summer, but I think they might be interested in taking a look at your van if you wouldn't mind.
Thanks for documenting all of this!
cheers,
Andrew; August 17, 2010 at 6:51 PM
Herman said...: Hi Accomodator, I would just install the OEM Behr radiator, it should be big enough to cool your GoWesty 2.3 ltr engine.

Make sure that you bleed all the air out of the system, I noticed on mine that it runs slightly hotter when there is just a little bit of air in it.

Cheers Herman

Hi Andrew, thanks!

I am in Vancouver quite often because my son lives there, we could meet there if they are interested.

Cheers Herman; August 17, 2010 at 7:55 PM
TheAccomodator said...: Herman,

Thanks so much for the tip. I was leaning toward the Behr after some additional research, but only pulled the trigger after reading your feedback.

I did notice it was running slightly hotter than usual after I took it in for a coolant flush recenlty. I don't see how they could have bled it properly since the bleed valve on the radiator appears stripped (cannot unscrew it, just spins around, fortunately not leaking though). "If you want it done right..."

Final question: I will start using Pentosin and doing this kind of stuff myself. How much do you think this matters (vs just any phosphate-free coolant)?; August 24, 2010 at 12:09 PM
Herman said...: Hi, Pentosin is great, but I have been using phosphate free coolant from other suppliers also without any problems, make sure that it is for aluminum engines.

Cheers Herman; August 27, 2010 at 7:19 PM
TheAccomodator said...: Hi Herman,

Reading more of your blog. Inspiring!

Anyway, finally got my radiator in. Also took out the rear heater core, which was defective. Found copper T connectors connecting this to the main coolant lines. Needless to say, they were terribly corroded. I wonder if there is any more copper somewhere? I'm thinking this is a no-no with aluminum engines/radiators.

Anyway, my question: when i replaced the radiator, i noticed the cardboard baffling or whatever around the radiator was looking pretty worn (chassis has 200K). I was considering replacing these with galvanized flashing. What is your opinion? It just seems that the cardboard is a flimsy choice, considering it gets wet regularly.

Looking forward to more project ideas (or at least ones that would fall within my skill range).

M; September 13, 2010 at 9:37 AM
TheAccomodator said...: Hi Herman,

I'd like to put a bumper winch on my westy. Where did you source your parts?

Thanks,
Mark; September 20, 2010 at 1:46 PM
Herman said...: Hi Mark,I would not worry about the copper fittings too much, some of the early Vanagon radiators were copper and they worked fine.

Yea, replacing the flashing with galvanized metal would last longer, it may be a pain to put it in and keep it rattle free though.

I bought my winch at Canadian tire on special, just wait till they come on again, it is a 8500 Lbs made by SuperWinch. I paid around $380.00 for it I think.

Cheers Herman; September 22, 2010 at 7:32 PM
Anonymous said...: I am very interested in putting an HHO generator on my 91 vanagan Westy. Has your HHO system worked as advertised on you tube? Thanks, Thomas
Thomasday@healing-peace.com; November 14, 2010 at 4:06 PM
lee said...: Hey Herman,
I have a question for you. Do you think you could email me?: llaskin@hotmail.com
thanks
lee; March 9, 2011 at 8:55 PM
David S. said...: Hey Herman,
Congratulations to this wonderful piece of car-history, it seems that you exatcly know what are you doing there ;)
I saw that you are preparing a lots of parts by your self, very cool.
My Name is David and i and i live in Graz Austria. Just there where the syncros where launched. I have a 14" Syncro Caravelle C, but i want to change it to 16".
So i like a lot of your ideas and your syncro looks very cool.
If i ever come to Canada i will visit you ;)

many greatings from the home town of the syncros

David; March 12, 2011 at 6:52 AM
Herman said...: Hey thanks David, love to see you when you are in Canada.

Sorry for the late reply, we have been travelling.

Cheers Herman; May 9, 2011 at 10:50 PM
Patrick said...: Hi Herman, it's Patrick here (you and Mieke met me and Mel up at the Gathering. It was easy to find you via your van. Definitely one of a kind. One day I might want to pick your brain about Westy's. It was good to meet you both and hope to see you there next year.

Patrick
http://peaceofwildthings.com; June 7, 2011 at 10:29 PM
Syncrogreg said...: Hey Herman, after all this time do you still recommend the extended roof rack or does it creates some issues? wind trap , vibrates etc... I have it extended but I'm still hesitating

Thanks

Greg; December 11, 2013 at 4:59 PM
Unknown said...: Hello,

I found your gallery on Picasa including the photo of your prototyme shower tent [https://picasaweb.google.com/itzdshtz/VanagonSyncroProject02#5449399380673869506].
Could you tell me where you have found such tent ?

Thank you for your help
Best Regards from France; March 16, 2015 at 10:59 AM
Herman said...: Hi Jean-Yves, I made this one myself.
If you want to buy something similar, you can get one at The Bus Depot.
Its called a Rear Hatch Shelter. http://www.busdepot.com/ahg

Cheers Herman; March 18, 2015 at 10:36 PM
Rip Rook said...: This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.; January 9, 2016 at 4:49 AM