Hi to the group.
I'm a newbie here from the Isle of Skye saying hello, I've just bought an '86 1.9 petrol watercooled 4 speed (dg) camper and have allready needed info i've found on here so thanks for the forum.
She's a bit of a nail to be honest, with the usual rust, oil and water leaks etc and cars behind me choke on the fumes so I guess she's burning oil, my plan is to work through the worst bits and keep her on the road without doing a full restoration. I'm mechanically minded and can rebuild the engine if it comes to that but I'm wary of snapping head studs. I bought with the heart not the head as a wedding present to ourselves and so we can take our greyhound away with us. I should really have known better and walked away but i'm starting to enjoy her quirks and she's simple to work on.
So far I've replaced the fuel tank (leaking)and the oil pressure switch (that had been fitted with a 2 bar one instead of 0.25 bar.
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I've also adjusted the gear linkage so I don't have to hunt about half way to reverse in order to find first.
Other jobs to do include wheel bearing tightening or replacement (theres a slight knock when I pull on the wheels) and improve the interior unit under the cooker and sink. I don't know who did the conversion but it needs a tidy up at the very least and maybe a swivel passengers seat.
I also need to get the Clarke brothers (grinder and welder) out and tidy up underneath and on the sliding door as well as the cab steps.
Oh yeah, and the speedo wobbles so it maybe needs a new cable.
On the plus side, someone put in a stainless exhaust system at some point.
Here she is in all her rusty glory, the previous owner painted her with gloss house paint and a four inch brush but she did throw in a wee generator, pi$$ pot, new bedding and genuine harris tweed curtains. hahaha....
5 months on and after a lot of blood, sweat and spanner throwing, welding, grinding and painting, she's finally ready to use in anger.
Still a lot to do to get her as we want but I'm glad to see the back of that Tesco's gloss.
Sills welded/replaced, several other panels welded/replaced. engine seems fine after a bit of fettling, new good quality oil and wynns in the water, it'll be coming out for a rebuild at some point but ok for now. ditto gearbox which needs synchromesh ring for 3rd replaced but if you meke sure you're below 30mph before you engage 3rd it's drivable. due to family illness it's more important that it's usable rather than perfect at this stage.
and a "during" shot.
here's the latest pic I have.