Marcus MercDoctor rescued this one from a scrap yard 7+ years ago - it had been a Tischer camper and been rear ended and written off but he judged it too good to scrap
Marcus gave it up after a few months and needed it gone so I took it on, stashed at Toomanytoys for 18 months, engine and gearbox were raped to keep other vehicles on the road, then it was at the secret hideout for a couple of years where Daz helped me with the rear panel swap and
another year passed
then the Outback made it Wales and was stripped over a couple of months and the remains disposed of
then the pickup made it to Wales Clap
Si Toomanytoys did some work on the assesment for final push and some bodywork and bearings/brake work, then had to go and work for a living
and SyncroAndy did the wiring loom
and Dai came and did the heads and engine prep and installation along with producing an exhaust, welding chucks of bodywork, refurbishing and remaking a set of rear trailing arms with rear antirollbar fittings and putting it back together
Installation is a mix of RJES with LMB Technik mount and some home plumbing mods
Turbo water pump with extra returns, one used for the bypass one for the heater return a little higher up so hopefully will limit thermostat closing issues
All new bearings and brakes and power steering conversion using VW rack and uprights
Caravelle -30 springs and dampers
Mercedes Carat Duchatalet 15" alloys with VancoContinental 205/65/15
4 speed 4.86 final drive. 0.77 4th gearbox with original style LSD
SyncroSport dash upgrade
Fan and horn and headlight relay upgrades with 2.1 radiator and new fi fuel tank all wired in VW style using correct looms and new connectors
Swap to diesel engine hatch with strut as airbox on left, but means air intake uses original chassis intake for clean and cool air; airbox is french filth Xantia worked perfectly in the space with lovely bracketry by Brian at Station Works garage (01691 649649 - T3 friendly
)compare and contrast original
passed MOT on Thursday nearly 9 years since last one, not having been road tested, taxed online and later that day taken for a short run - lost ignition supply to dash on way to petrol station and broke down on the way back
as battery ran out of charge as alternator wasn't charging due to loss of ignition feedrescued back to the garage and some troubleshooting with tech support on the phone and Friday swapped the dash and got sufficient gauges to drive to Overland Adventure show, great weekend, 190 mile round trip shakedown and no issues; been round a little this week rechecking things are tight and no leaks etc and minor dash issues resolved so can be fully shakendown and put to work.
Dash needs to come out and swap the screen which has weldrash, add some insulation and sound deadening and new headlining and some sounds, new window seals and jobs a good un; paint will stay patina and dropsides when fitted are the lime green colour though I want a set of wooden Gunwales making so it can run flatback too with the hinge brackets covered and one height edge
There's a Swedish cab protector at a sandblasters in Shrewsbury to be painted and fitted when it comes back and the towbar and hopefully I'll find a straight bumper to complement this
straight back with wooden slats still on
really happy with the way the power steering connections were resolved retaining the Subaru hoses with the noise reduction and thence (including at the VW rack) using standard hydraulic fittings and 1/4" hose that can be made up anywhere; now we have sourced the fittings it is repeatable and Brian will be able to supply a basic kit to enable others to repeat without having to do the going to three different specialists that Brian had to do LOL
The rear antirollbar is still to be fitted, some of the parts are nla so we have had to remake them or find a viable alternative
When it gets back on the ramp I'll take a load of underneath photos with the shiney stuff