Lifted TDI Volkswagen Split Window Camper Bus Build

[Pb Foot]

This is so awesome

 

[bad zuki]

Stay with me......

You didn't have to ask. Subbed

 

[Penetrode Offroad]

fucking pimp.

 

[Clb]

I keep coming back

 

[WaterH]

Very cool build style. I’m with you now.

 

[zerobalance]

Things are slowly progressing. Mostly brainstorming and gathering parts.

See here for discussion that helped me wrap my head around what to do. Flipped Diff Rear Engine Questions

I bought this jeep to get the transmission and transfer case. I thought about using the axles as well, but I'd rather sell them to help fund this thing.

The plan is to mate the same Jetta TDI engine to the jeep trans/t case in the back. Shifting will be interesting, as will making it all fit, but it will work I think. I will use my typical method of looking at it for a month, thinking it will never work, then diving in deep and screwing it up probably.

I slid a front Toyota axle under the back. Flipped upside down and here we are. Done. Not quite.

Modifications needed:

• Flip drain port and vent
• Chop off knuckles and replace with rear axle outers
• Figure out oiling
• Custom shafts
• ????
• Profit

Next up is to strip the TJ, make an adapter for the TDI and mock all that up in there.

 

[FordFascist]

Things are slowly progressing. Mostly brainstorming and gathering parts.

See here for discussion that helped me wrap my head around what to do. Flipped Diff Rear Engine Questions

I bought this jeep to get the transmission and transfer case. I thought about using the axles as well, but I'd rather sell them to help fund this thing.

I slid a front Toyota axle under the back. Flipped upside down and here we are. Done. Not quite.


Modifications needed:

• Flip drain port and vent
• Chop off knuckles and replace with rear axle outers
• Figure out oiling
• Custom shafts
• ????
• Profit

Next up is to strip the TJ, make an adapter for the TDI and mock all that up in there.

Why not find an 80 series and start there? Already offset and has all the parts you need - discs, parking brake, full float, etc.?

 

[GGRR 4555]

Land rover axles would fit the bill also. I have a set that are geared a locked that need a home.

 

[zerobalance]

Why not find an 80 series and start there? Already offset and has all the parts you need - discs, parking brake, full float, etc.?

Land rover axles would fit the bill also. I have a set that are geared a locked that need a home.

Both valid points for sure. My answer to both is cost and availability. 8" Yota axles are in my yard.

I have to be the most indecisive motherfucker on the planet....

We spent the last 7 days in the UP of Michigan camping and mountain biking. As such, I was able to spend a lot of time in my head without internet distractions to noodle on about this thing. The whole point of this is to be more reliable than an aircooled bus and able to roll along at 70mph (hopefully). This rear engine, retubing, etc stuff is making a lot of compromises and honestly I'm reinventing the wheel for no real reason. The engineer left side of my brain took over from the artist right and I went back to K.I.S.S. To be real, the chance of actually finishing this on any kind of real timeline and budget is decreased if I start building axles, and I have to deal with a lot of design challenges that are going to suck time. Not to mention that there are so many packaging issues and I'm still using the transfer case and axles nowhere near how they were originally engineered.

For a brief moment, I considered buying a ford transit and making it 4x4 (yes, I know the transit trail exists, I ain't dropping 50 large on one), but fuck that, every swinging dick instagram infuencer has a transprinter.

I rolled my head around some more to how to make a 4x4 forward control vehicle, which let me to the VW LT. Just a big ass VW bus, but they had the engine between the seats.

I had previously discounted doing this for some reason I can't remember, but it makes more sense than anything else. I get to keep most of the drivetrain using stock stuff, it packages fairly well, and it frees up more cargo space in the rear.


I set a TDI engine over the yota axle to measure quick and the engine will sit fairly high if I want to have any sort of uptravel. It's not a desert rig, so I can get away with limited uptravel, but some articulation to keep the body a bit more level would be nice. Obviously I wont be skying the engine 18" over the axle, but still, not a ton of room. The oil pump is in front of these engines, there is a bit of wiggle room to section the oil pan, but not much, and the AC compressor needds to move regardless. Front or rear engine, this is a consideration, I don't want a diesel engine living in my bed in the back of the bus.

Now comes the part where I needlessly over complicate things. Space is at a premium, and ride height is paramount. I do not want to be sky high to clear the articulation of the straight axle, which has me considering IFS of some sort. This goes back to over engineering, time and compromise. Unless I can find a bolt in cradle that has suspension, a arms, etc self contained, I'm back to building everything from scratch.

I did order a Whitbread TDI to nv3550 adapter last night though, so I can at least bolt them together and think about where they will live best.

 

[zerobalance]

More dumb behind the scenes stuff. Spending money and making zero progress, that's my motto.

I drug the jeep home.

I decided the best course of action was to sell the Jeep D44s and transfer case. I want to run the pass drop yota axles and really have no need for a 4:1 tcase in this with a diesel. Also they bring stupid money. Parting the Jeep is funding the TDI to trans adapter, as well as picking up this dana 20 case and buying a novak adapter to the 3550. I choose the 20 because they are cheap, strong, twin stick ready, and package small, which is needed here.

Ive been looking all over the interwebs for inspiration on this thing. One obvious one is the VW LT, basically a giant bus, not imported officially to the US. Straight axle, engine between the seats.

The engine bay. There things are huge compared to a bus, but you get the idea.

Further looking at inspiration form forward control 4x4 vehicles, the Jeep FC comes to mind. Interesting to compare the sizes to a bus, which gives me hope this might work.

Here's one with a 4.0 swap. Room for days. I think the FC is a good reference for making all this shit work in a bus.

 

[crispins]

impressive!

 

[bdkw1]

So your making a pinzguer......

 

[zerobalance]

So your making a pinzguer......

In essence, yes, or a FC, or a Rover 101. Just a better looking one that is going to be weird. There was a guy who swapped a bus onto a pinzgauer chassis a while back but cut the whole bus a apart.

I scoped this one out in Copper Harbor, MI last week when we were up there.

 

[zerobalance]

Got a bunch of work on this thing. I played musical busses and got it on the lift.

Unbolted and dropped the old front beam.

Mocked up the toy front.

From there I decided I needed to get the drivetrain mocked up and figure out if this is all a pipe dream. I've been saving this particular ALH tdi for a while. Only 130k miles, but was it ever grimy, and still had full harness, egr, etc.

Off with the EGR and all the other unneeded stuff, and a date with some oven cleaner. It cleaned up great. The block looks brand new with zero rust, which is rare on these.

Unboxed the Whitbread adapter. What an incredibly nice piece. Very pleased with teh quality and packaging.

Popped off the NP241 to send to it's new home, selling that paid for the entire jeep purchase. Them stabbed everything together. Compared to the cummins to zf6 I just did, this was a cake walk.

And up on the cart. The absolute only way this will work is if the engine sits behind the front axle. otherwise the engine will sit way too high, both in the interior and I think it will make the COG unsafe.

To be continued to attach more photos.....

 

[zerobalance]

Here's where shit gets dicey and will require thought.

This is what I'm working with inside. I really don't want to protrude above this pedestal with the engine, to make future interior plans work.

The view from below. I don't mind encroaching a bit into the cargo area with the engine. It's really not losing that much space. So far so good I think, it will all package with some cutting. Total lift is going to end up around 10", including going from a 27" to a 34" tire. Planning on limiting uptravel to around 3".

Here's an issue. The stock shifter is going to end up in the middle of the cargo floor. That is a no go for me.

Opening it up, it looks like I can lose a good 6-7 inches in height, I still need to work out remote shifting it. Cables seem like the best bet, just have to engineer a setup or find one.

Next issue is the front shaft. It is close but for sure a problem. I think the solution will be to shave off the original starter hump on the bellhousing and weld a plate over it.

So that's enough for today. I'm going to sleep on it, but a new pack of sawzall blades just arrived, so expect me to further ruin this poor bus tomorrow. I still need to contemplate cooling and intercooling this engine as well. Maybe a radiator up front under the floor.

 

[zerobalance]

Slept on it. Got crazy with teh sawzall. Here's the before:

After abuot 400 mouse turds fell on my head, there was a hole.

And the engine fits like a glove.

The transmission does hang lower than I would like, but it still will end up with about 18" clearance under the belly. Not horrible for a VW bus.

With it actually in a spot, I started thinking about making engine mounts. This is one option, using OEM passat isolators, the crossbar would be more stout than just flat stock, but it gives the idea. There are some bosses on the sides of the block as well, but there isn't much space to cram them around the turbo. I need too look at some sammy tdi mounts for inspiration.

Another problem to solve is reworking the intake manifold to be lower. I would like to drop the inlet down 4" or so to get more seat space. Deciding if I make a new one from scratch, or attempt to chop and reweld the oem part.

My plan for the interior so far is to use a rock n roll style bed up front, converting into a bed, then have a bed up in the pop top for my daughter. Our boys are old enough that they can start sleeping in their own damn tent. Front seat will be something similar to this. Need to find a junk conversion van to rob the mechanism.

Lastly, I have decided to remove the remaining stamped steel "frame" and build the rest of the chassis in 2x3 rectangular tubing. That will give a positive mount for the trans crossmember as well as something real to mount front suspension to. Speaking of, I need to plan the front suspension. Leaning currently toward radius arms for packaging and simplicity. Leafs would have to be super short, and I don't know if a 4 link will fit. Possibly a 5 link mopar style, but I think radius arms are the move. Will likely do leafs in back though.

So that's where we are today. I need to order some tube tomorrow and decide on engine mounts.

 

[bdkw1]

Mine before I finished the inlet. It's about flush with the valve cover. It would be better if the plenum was larger, but space is at a premium under a Sami hood.

 

[zerobalance]

I like that. Seems like the perfect setup. I don't know how critical plenum size is on a turbo diesel? Boost can cure a lot of ills.

 

[rockmup]

Love this

This is how builds used to be thought out and solved before the internet showed everyone how to do it and supplied all the parts

 

[zerobalance]

Love this

This is how builds used to be thought out and solved before the internet showed everyone how to do it and supplied all the parts

Well, thanks for the kind words. I have a tendency to not only change horses in the middle of the river but also shooting the horse, stealing a donkey, and ending up in the wrong state. I would be miles ahead if I did a better job of planning and following through.

I need the drivetrain to sit higher. So I cut some more out of the floor. I think I have an idea to make the front seat/bed work out with the center part of the seats being higher to accommodate the engine. Kinda one of those things that has to be accounted for but can't really compromise too much on either and have a functional vehicle.The shifter is going to be interesting to figure out, but I think I have that solved in my head too.

Much better belly height, raising the engine is also going to alleviate the front driveline problems.

Didn't loose a ton of room in the center either, If I was willing to sacrifice cargo floor height, I'd go higher.

And I think I have settled on axle location. It looks like I can squeeze a 34" (true measurement) tire in like this. I just tossed a trailer wheel on to help me visualize everything.

I ordered more tubing today to get the frame fabricated, and am either going to order or draw and cut some engine mounts this afternoon. I hope to have the frame completed and engine mounted this week. With the actual engine situated, I'm going to play with the 3 link calculator and see what I can fit in here.

 

[bdkw1]

I like that. Seems like the perfect setup. I don't know how critical plenum size is on a turbo diesel? Boost can cure a lot of ills.

I was more concerned with the air making the corner into the first port. It might not see the flow that it should. I have a contigencey plan for that if it becomes an issue.

 

[zerobalance]

I was more concerned with the air making the corner into the first port. It might not see the flow that it should. I have a contigencey plan for that if it becomes an issue.

With the manifold pressurized, it shouldn't be an issue. If it were NA I could see it causing a lean condition, but shoving air in will feed it in just fine.

 

[Penetrode Offroad]

You got more projects than Projectjunkie

 

[zerobalance]

This ain't the half of it, I have a fox mustang getting a coyote, another VW bus we need to restore in the next 2 years for my kid to drive, I have about 1 million home projects and we are considering buying another farm.....

 

[Penetrode Offroad]

Can I get some of that motivations please?

 

[zerobalance]

Still planning out as much as I can before I settle on springs. 99% sure I'm going to do leafs all around, either waggy or YJs up front and i think ranger in back. Once the Spring selection is done, I can get rolling, fabricating the frame and hanging the engine and trans.

I bought this thing from Speedway motors to determine wheel placement, because i think backspace is going to make or brake the success of this thing. Of course the center wasn't big enough to fit over the big ass yota front hubs so I had to trim it.

In the rear, there is all the room in the world to fit a 35 x 9.5.

Up front, not so much.

It's doable, for sure, but will require cutting into interior space and I just can't justify it. I have a 285/75 R16 coming to test fit. I think that's a way more reasonable size to make work. I can stay a lot lower, keep gearing in check, and hopefully keep parts alive longer. That tire will be here thursday and I'll give it a shot.

 

[zerobalance]

Lots of dirty work, not a lot to show. I got some leaf springs from summit. I think they are lift springs for the front of older squarebody chevy? They are the right length to fit the front, and the arch is pretty good. I'll prob end up pulling leafs to tune them a bit.

I started cutting the floor out and quickly realized this thing was about to be come a slinky, so I got it on my chassis cart to be able to support the body and square everything.

With that done, I started at the back, and squared up the frame rails i added way back when. Then cut and welded in the left side rail as well as a rocker/rock slider. This gives a sturdy spot to tie the body into before I cut the rest of the frame out. Also hopefully get some side impact protection.

Then out with the rest of the floor.

This bus was pretty tweaked. Both from me cutting on it and just being 60 years old and rusty. I spent the better part of 3 hours with the laser, tape measure, screw jack, and level, going around tacking supports in before I went farther.

Managed to cut and mock up the right frame rail. I'm out of tube and will have to get another stick on monday.

I'd really like to have the chassis wrapped and be ready swing axles under it by the end of next week. I still need to decide on wheels. Speaking of wheels, I picked up a 285/75/16. Way better fit and looks more proportionate. I think this is my tire size to build around.

 

[Sceep]

Badass

 

[7.3_6speed]

This thing is baller.

 

[Frodo]

When I started reading this, I didn't realize you have at least 2 more project threads going right now. Damn you're ambitious!