1982 Aircooled VT20 Autosleeper

Hi,

Just joined the forum whilst searching for a seal for the pop top to solve a water leak; thought I'd join up and share out VT20, this has been copied from detailingworld, so apologies if it doesn't quite read correctly. But hopefully you'll find it a good read?

Looking forward to chatting AS VW   

Cheers,
Dan

***

In August last year we bought a T25 from a close family friend with the idea being that we could enjoy some cheap family time and holidays with the kids and perhaps tour around the coast of England, Wales and perhaps Scotland.

The van itself is an Autosleeper Conversion, their VT20 model, which in essence is a basic entry level camper. From factory it is based on a 2ltr aircooled panel van which was converted prior to ownership direct by Autosleeper.

From Autosleeper the VT20 model camper was fitted with a full width rock and roll bed, sink and water tank, cooker and grill, interior lighting plus a shed load of storage space. Not forgetting a "pop top" which has the capacity for 2 people making it a 4 berth. So a perfect base for us being a 2 + 2 family. :thumb:

The van originally started life in an off-white colour with Autosleeper decals in maroon, however we join it at 31years and 6months into its life where our friend some years ago decided to have it painted brown...

One of the reason's we decided to buy the van was to intervene in some form of mini rescue attempt to try and get looking a bit better and use it.
When we picked the van up in mid August 2013 it was sitting like this:





The van is mechanically solid having a whole load of receipts and history from new. Also an engine strip down and rebuild approximately 2 years ago. Its covered approximately 120k miles from new and this is all documented. :)

Only modification to the standard set-up is the suspension, sporting a 50mm drop around.

Only issues being aircooled is that heat exchangers are old, knackered and most of the pipework is in a sorry state, so there is no heating into the cabin area. Ok in summer but bloody freezing in the winter.

When we got the van home the first thing we did was to give it a thorough clean inside and out. Trying to tidy bits as much as possible and get out and use it. So to make it more presentable the interior got a good clean, the curtains fitted and tied back properly, we got rid of that horrible chrome panels and the pop top wooden panels resealed with the appropriate wood paint.





On a positive note all of this interior is original, as it left the showroom, and its worn well 32years old.
With rust holes repaired around the windows we decided that a bit of cream would break up the brown, so as the cosmetics of the van aren't 100% paramount a few coats of cream hammerite smooth were done and extended down over the old chrome panels (which were stripped back and primer'd beforehand), handy to cover and protect the bare metal bits from the rust repairs.
On our first camping trip at the following week the van looked like this:


But sporting some serious issue lurking beneath the skin...





I started to attack these when the camping season came to an end. Endless dremel bits for cutting out the rust were use. All exposed parts were treated and sealed with Vactan and ACF50. Once dry the holes were patched, filled, sanded and painted.





Painting was fun, not in the pursuit of perfection, more functionality and coverage...

Having read on excess the "roller for van" threads and getting to the point of ordering paint to change the colour, but we U-turned and decided the brown actually worked on the van and with the cream it had really grown on us - something a little different at least...so the decision was to spruce up rather than re-new.

With a close match from a rattle can for the wing the mission was on to repair it! The rest was painted using the roller method with the 2k paint left over from its previous body work exploitations.

The 2k paint went on so well with a roller, far better than I imagined, I plan to redo the wing so it matches colour wise, then flat back and cut it to finish.

I am under no illusion that the wing will need doing again - There is no way the Vactan or ACF50 on this section to stop the rust and damage that exists. I know this will need to be cut out and a replacement panel welded in at some point.

The passenger side was also repainted in sections where the rust was treated and sections sanded.

The roof was looking a little tired so a splash of cream was applied (3 coats), albeit it hammerite....!!! At this point I was more interested to see the colour and affect, which works well and obviously matches the surrounds on the back windows. On a whole the finish is actually alright.  :ok
So all being said this is how it now looks and will stay with some minor additions in the future. :)



Currently working on some minor mechanical bits - one of the carb's is sticking closed so flooding out with fuel. All minor stuff really and the enjoy of owning a 32year aircooled machine. :D

It amazing the good reaction the van gets when we are out and about. It doesn't have enough power to pull the skin off a rice pudding but its great fun to drive, just a totally different pace of life.

***
Jan '14

We've just booked up our first camping trip for 2014; a short break to the Forest of Dean with the kids. :)

The pressures on to sort a few bits out namely;

Carb refresh/services and tune
Service plugs, leads, dizzy cap
Rewire the auto choke and coil wiring
Refresh fuel lines and filter
Install cigarette lighter for the sat nav
Install leisure battery, LED lighting and TV
Sort out heating.

Some more pressing than others.

***

Feb '14

Not much of an update but ordered a few items for the van:

Rear tailgate struts,
3 point rear seat belts,
Dizzy cap and rotor arm,
HT leads with shrouds for the aircooled tinwear,
Exhaust tip and gasket,
Air filter,

Today I started to fit the rear belts, got most of the passenger side done but the following on the inner seam halted a bit of progress...



Another area to add to the watch list...otherwise the seams will go from the inside out. Treated with ACF 50 and vactan today to hope stop it a bit.

It really is difficult to stop this in as the window seals are * Inappropriate Word *, so water (only tiny amounts) and condensation collect in this area.

Just something to treat every 6months and visually check quarterly :)

***
Feb '14

Seat belts complete on the van. First one took ages, but the second one went together in double quick time. Didn't take any pictures putting these together, but you can see in the following pic where it's mounted from and it's orientation to the bench seat.



Took a bit of faffing under van to sort the belt clicker (technical term...) out! Thankfully as the van had lap belts the existing mounting put was used.



They could have done with slightly longer straps though as with all the seats back in they are a little short.

Also installed the cigarette lighter for the nav (and a heater for the feet!!). I've been at a bit of indecision where to put this, didn't want it in the original dash, didn't want to drill an unsightly hole somewhere, so put it in the passenger side centre vent low down. Out of the kiddies eye line here too, so stops little fingers playing with it, as it permanently live.




Also noticed that the van has a water leak somewhere and the pop top was damp...great! :/

When this awful weather stops I'll whip everything out so it can dry properly. But for now I am keep my eye on it.

Hi &  

Hi and   a great looking van there, love the colour scheme, keep up the good work, looks like the kiddies are loving it already.

Thanks for the welcome :)

The kids absolutely love the van, as do I. Cannot wait for the weather to warm up a bit.

Welcome from N.E Wales  

Hi there,

What a great read and a super little van! Thank you!  

Those kids look to be full of mischief so I can well understand wanting to get them out and about and tired out; there's nothing quite as satisfying as a sleeping child is there!    

You can bet your bottom dollar that when they get older they will regale their friends and own children with descriptions of every trip out!!   

Best regards,
 

Hi Dan,

Glad I found your thread - I have a T25 VT20 that we picked up a week or so ago. One question I have at present is did you ever have to replace the seal at the front just above the windscreen that the pop top sits on.

Mine is cracked at one end and I guess it will need replacing

Thanks in advance

From Warrington

That's quite an intro,thank you for putting it in.

I saw one of these similar colour at a VW meet at Oswestry last year. We happened to be camping at the Rugby Club next to the showground

....welcome, from an owner of a VW T5 Trooper that, even after all these years, still uses the same solid-sided roof...

Hi Jimmies, Roli and Repoort,, thanks for saying hello :)

It's been over a year since my post, but our Wally is still going strong. Second year on the trot no advisories on the MOT. He even supported our friends at their wedding.





Roli - I've not had to replace the pop top seal where it joins the windscreen. Our is also cracked at one end too but doesn't affect its performance. If you get to it let me know how you get on. :)

Cheers,
Dan