Hey all - new syncro owner

1

Hi guys.


I'm a proud new owner of 1991(92) syncro. I was actively looking for the right vehicle for more then a year and finally the van found me (I had and add on gumtree). I had to fly from Sunshine Coast, QLD to Melbourne and drive it back. So my first drive with it was about 2000km in 2 days.


It used to be a panel van, but was converted to "caravelle" by previous owner. It's got front and back caravelle seats, cutouts for windows made in the panels, prestige air con (works, but very poorly), dual battery, bull bar, decoupler, cruise control, no difflocks, dual fuel...


It's in very good condition, but needs restoration in the inside - good clean, interior of the roof, dash detailing etc etc.


A few things I'll be doing shortly:

- surface rust spots. Covered them with fish oil straight away and will gradually repair them one by one. 

- good rust protections of the whole bottom of the van (it's been done a few years ago, but it needs refreshment)

- air con: Hychill refill or upgrade the whole system. Probably Hychill straight away and then sourcing parts/installer to replace/upgrade the current system.

- cruise control - not working at the moment. Seller said it worked a while ago, so might just be wiring. It's an aftermarket one, so need to first find out, where the parts are located...

- roof interior. It's blank atm. Have to find a way to do it. Wooden plank, covered with carpet? Any suggestions? Tried to find companies, that do poptops...got two quotes yet in Brisbane (6.5k and 8k), the cheaper one is universal pop top (doesn't look too good) and the dearer one is somewhat a copy of westfalia pop top. As far as I can see, there are no more dedicated molds for poptops in AU. Maybe I'll go with roof tent afterall.

- New carpets at the back and restoration of current back interior (wals etc - maybe carpet again)

- Full width rock'n'roll bed. Does anyone have any plans/drawings? I'm good with welder, so this is not a problem.

- after the roof is sorted I will add solar power on roof. Have 160W laying around at home from previous van.

- 15 inch wheels (mine's got 14 inch ones) - haven't really looked into it much, but will definitely go into this direction in the future

-....


Anyway, it feels great to have it and to join this little community.

If there are any syncronaouts in Sunnshine Coast, QLD area, I'm always happy to meet or join possible gatherings.


Have a great day

Beau

2

Welcome aboard Beau, glad the Syncro found you. Sounds like you have a great one there, and nice plans for it. I did similar, I bought mine in Melb and drive back to Brisbane.

There are quite a few Syncro owners in the Sunshine coast, some on here and the kombi club forum, but quite a few not on either also.

On the roof, a few people down south are wrecking T3's, you might be able to pick up a factory roof lining in good condition. There are wires to support it, but in a few platec you will need clips to hold it to the roof (not sure if they will be in a van).

With a factory style roof lining there is room to fit some good insulation up there also. Will make a big difference to keeping the heat out and helping the AC work.


If you look around you might be able to pick up a R&R bed for a T3. If you want to build your own, I have a crappy one out of a T2 your welcome to. Might be handy as a template to build your own.

Aussieveedubbers - Buying, Selling & Swapping Parts - '69 type 3 fast back bits and pieces + kombi camper parts - Powered by GaiaBB

Before you put your own sealing in, find an engineer who can approve it first and discuss what you want to do. Better to build something you know will pass than find out later no one will approve it for rego.


Richard



---In Syncro_T3_Australia@yahoogroups.com, <beau.sagadin@...> wrote :

Hi guys.


I'm a proud new owner of 1991(92) syncro. I was actively looking for the right vehicle for more then a year and finally the van found me (I had and add on gumtree). I had to fly from Sunshine Coast, QLD to Melbourne and drive it back. So my first drive with it was about 2000km in 2 days.


It used to be a panel van, but was converted to "caravelle" by previous owner. It's got front and back caravelle seats, cutouts for windows made in the panels, prestige air con (works, but very poorly), dual battery, bull bar, decoupler, cruise control, no difflocks, dual fuel...


It's in very good condition, but needs restoration in the inside - good clean, interior of the roof, dash detailing etc etc.


A few things I'll be doing shortly:

- surface rust spots. Covered them with fish oil straight away and will gradually repair them one by one. 

- good rust protections of the whole bottom of the van (it's been done a few years ago, but it needs refreshment)

- air con: Hychill refill or upgrade the whole system. Probably Hychill straight away and then sourcing parts/installer to replace/upgrade the current system.

- cruise control - not working at the moment. Seller said it worked a while ago, so might just be wiring. It's an aftermarket one, so need to first find out, where the parts are located...

- roof interior. It's blank atm. Have to find a way to do it. Wooden plank, covered with carpet? Any suggestions? Tried to find companies, that do poptops...got two quotes yet in Brisbane (6.5k and 8k), the cheaper one is universal pop top (doesn't look too good) and the dearer one is somewhat a copy of westfalia pop top. As far as I can see, there are no more dedicated molds for poptops in AU. Maybe I'll go with roof tent afterall.

- New carpets at the back and restoration of current back interior (wals etc - maybe carpet again)

- Full width rock'n'roll bed. Does anyone have any plans/drawings? I'm good with welder, so this is not a problem.

- after the roof is sorted I will add solar power on roof. Have 160W laying around at home from previous van.

- 15 inch wheels (mine's got 14 inch ones) - haven't really looked into it much, but will definitely go into this direction in the future

-....


Anyway, it feels great to have it and to join this little community.

If there are any syncronaouts in Sunnshine Coast, QLD area, I'm always happy to meet or join possible gatherings.


Have a great day

Beau

3
Great work Beau,

You have made a wise purchase these awesome vehicles are appreciating in value.

The best rock n roll bed seats are made by Kustom Kombi in QLD as they are the only ones that are ADR approved.

I got my pop top done by discoverer about 6 years ago now and it was the last one done as the company destroyed the mould after accidentally hitting it with a fork lift about a year after mine was done.

I havent heard of any new ones since.

Solar power is great but on the roof I dont recommend as you will always need to park your camper in the sun which heats it up and makes life hard for a fridge.

Portable solar panels are great as they can be better angled towards the sun and you can park your camper in the shade and use the lead to get the best out of the solar.

Get on top of the rust ASAP.

If anyone else is in the market for a syncro I know of an awesome deluxe transporter with Camperize full fit out, rear diff-lock, 15"alloy wheels and good tyres 198000kms, factory tacho, loads of side and rear annex gear in great condition all for $20k.

Cheers,

Skot


On 12/11/2016 9:38 AM, beau.sagadin@yahoo.com [Syncro_T3_Australia] wrote:

Hi guys.


I'm a proud new owner of 1991(92) syncro. I was actively looking for the right vehicle for more then a year and finally the van found me (I had and add on gumtree). I had to fly from Sunshine Coast, QLD to Melbourne and drive it back. So my first drive with it was about 2000km in 2 days.


It used to be a panel van, but was converted to "caravelle" by previous owner. It's got front and back caravelle seats, cutouts for windows made in the panels, prestige air con (works, but very poorly), dual battery, bull bar, decoupler, cruise control, no difflocks, dual fuel...


It's in very good condition, but needs restoration in the inside - good clean, interior of the roof, dash detailing etc etc.


A few things I'll be doing shortly:

- surface rust spots. C overed them with fish oil straight away and will gradually repair them one by one.

- good rust protections of the whole bottom of the van (it's been done a few years ago, but it needs refreshment)

- air con: Hychill refill or upgrade the whole system. Probably Hychill straight away and then sourcing parts/installer to replace/upgrade the current system.

- cruise control - not working at the moment. Seller said it worked a while ago, so might just be wiring. It's an aftermarket one, so need to first find out, where the parts are located...

- roof interior. It's blank atm. Have to find a way to do it. Wooden plank, covered with carpet? Any suggestions? Tried to find companies, that do poptops...got two quotes yet in Brisbane (6.5k and 8k), the cheaper one is universal pop top (doesn't look too good) and the dearer one is somewhat a copy of westfalia pop top. As far as I can see, there are no mor e dedicated molds for poptops in AU. Maybe I'll go with roof tent afterall.

- New carpets at the back and restoration of current back interior (wals etc - maybe carpet again)

- Full width rock'n'roll bed. Does anyone have any plans/drawings? I'm good with welder, so this is not a problem.

- after the roof is sorted I will add solar power on roof. Have 160W laying around at home from previous van.

- 15 inch wheels (mine's got 14 inch ones) - haven't really looked into it much, but will definitely go into this direction in the future

-....


Anyway, it feels great to have it and to join this little community.

If there are any syncronaouts in Sunnshine Coast, QLD area, I'm always happy to meet or join possible gatherings.


Have a great day

Beau


--
Best regards, Scott Pitcher SPB Consulting
4
Welcome Beau,

I have a set of 15 inch wheels on the Gold Coast PM me I will send pics

Cheers,

Rowan


On Sat, 12 Nov, 2016 at 21:07, Scott Pitcher spbconsulting@bigpond.com [Syncro_T3_Australia]
<Syncro_T3_Australia@yahoogroups.com> wrote:
 

Great work Beau,

You have made a wise purchase these awesome vehicles are appreciating in value.

The best rock n roll bed seats are made by Kustom Kombi in QLD as they are the only ones that are ADR approved.

I got my pop top done by discoverer about 6 years ago now and it was the last one done as the company destroyed the mould after accidentally hitting it with a fork lift about a year after mine was done.

I havent heard of any new ones since.

Solar power is great but on the roof I dont recommend as you will always need to park your camper in the sun which heats it up and makes life hard for a fridge.

Portable solar panels are great as they can be better angled towards the sun and you can park your camper in the shade and use the lead to get the best out of the solar.

Get on top of the rust ASAP.

If anyone else is in the market for a syncro I know of an awesome deluxe transporter with Camperize full fit out, rear diff-lock, 15"alloy wheels and good tyres 198000kms, factory tacho, loads of side and rear annex gear in great condition all for $20k.

Cheers,

Skot


On 12/11/2016 9:38 AM, beau.sagadin@yahoo.com [Syncro_T3_Australia] wrote:
 

Hi guys.


I'm a proud new owner of 1991(92) syncro. I was actively looking for the right vehicle for more then a year and finally the van found me (I had and add on gumtree). I had to fly from Sunshine Coast, QLD to Melbourne and drive it back. So my first drive with it was about 2000km in 2 days.


It used to be a panel van, but was converted to "caravelle" by previous owner. It's got front and back caravelle seats, cutouts for windows made in the panels, prestige air con (works, but very poorly), dual battery, bull bar, decoupler, cruise control, no difflocks, dual fuel...


It's in very good condition, but needs restoration in the inside - good clean, interior of the roof, dash detailing etc etc.


A few things I'll be doing shortly:

- surface rust spots. C overed them with fish oil straight away and will gradually repair them one by one. 

- good rust protections of the whole bottom of the van (it's been done a few years ago, but it needs refreshment)

- air con: Hychill refill or upgrade the whole system. Probably Hychill straight away and then sourcing parts/installer to replace/upgrade the current system.

- cruise control - not working at the moment. Seller said it worked a while ago, so might just be wiring. It's an aftermarket one, so need to first find out, where the parts are located...

- roof interior. It's blank atm. Have to find a way to do it. Wooden plank, covered with carpet? Any suggestions? Tried to find companies, that do poptops...got two quotes yet in Brisbane (6.5k and 8k), the cheaper one is universal pop top (doesn't look too good) and the dearer one is somewhat a copy of westfalia pop top. As far as I can see, there are no mor e dedicated molds for poptops in AU. Maybe I'll go with roof tent afterall.

- New carpets at the back and restoration of current back interior (wals etc - maybe carpet again)

- Full width rock'n'roll bed. Does anyone have any plans/drawings? I'm good with welder, so this is not a problem.

- after the roof is sorted I will add solar power on roof. Have 160W laying around at home from previous van.

- 15 inch wheels (mine's got 14 inch ones) - haven't really looked into it much, but will definitely go into this direction in the future

-....


Anyway, it feels great to have it and to join this little community.

If there are any syncronaouts in Sunnshine Coast, QLD area, I'm always happy to meet or join possible gatherings.


Have a great day

Beau


--
Best regards, Scott Pitcher SPB Consulting
5
Hey Beau,welcome to the forum, have a full width T3 seat  bed 
 spoke a few times on the phone re you search for your van , We will catch up.soon   Cheers Pete
6
Hey all.

Thanks for warm welcome.

@Richard: can you please share contacts of those wreckers? Finding original lining would be best.

@Skot: I'm already working on rust spots. So far so good...only very minor surface spots (stone chips). It does have a little rusty teardop under windscreen, so will have to remove it in repair it properly. Regarding solars panels - I have a 160W foldable portable ones. I totally agree, that roof of the van is not the best spot for solar panels.

@Peter. Wanted to call you for previous weekend but had to work unfortunately. Am away this one, but if you'll have time next weekend, I would definitely like to come over :)

Attaching two pictures from two weeks ago: double island point.

P.S.: it;s a long shot, but worth asking... Does anybody have a dash with tacho for sale? :)

Cheers guys 

7
No worries Beau let me know what day suits and will see if its approved by the minister for everything,
cheers

On Wed, Nov 16, 2016 at 8:45 PM, beau.sagadin@yahoo.com [Syncro_T3_Australia] <Syncro_T3_Australia@yahoogroups.com> wrote:

Hey all.


Thanks for warm welcome.

@Richard: can you please share contacts of those wreckers? Finding original lining would be best.

@Skot: I'm already working on rust spots. So far so good...only very minor surface spots (stone chips). It does have a little rusty teardop under windscreen, so will have to remove it in repair it properly. Regarding solars panels - I have a 160W foldable portable ones. I totally agree, that roof of the van is not the best spot for solar panels.

@Peter. Wanted to call you for previous weekend but had to work unfortunately. Am away this one, but if you'll have time next weekend, I would definitely like to come over :)

Attaching two pictures from two weeks ago: double island point.

P.S.: it;s a long shot, but worth asking... Does anybody have a dash with tacho for sale? :)

Cheers guys


8

Well done on the new Syncro Beau,


Just a question about price if you do not mind ? what did you pay?


Just keeping an eye on the market and please send me a private email if you like? smith_leighton@hotmail.com


As i am still looking for a syncro


Thanks Leighton







9
Hey Scott is there a contact for the Syncro fore sale?

Andy
10
Hi Andy,

I think it may now be sold (pending) from what I have been told.

Arne from Melbourne, has expressed a significant interest and agreed with the Owner to come and view.

If that falls through I will give you his number.

Cheers,

Skot

On 17/11/2016 8:59 PM, andykent89@yahoo.com [Syncro_T3_Australia] wrote:

Hey Scott is there a contact for the Syncro fore sale?

Andy


--
Best regards, Scott Pitcher SPB Consulting
11
Cheers
12

I see your on the kombi club also, most of the guy's are on there.

Peter who it looks like you have already contacted on the Sunny coast can help you out.

Also down south:

Phil  Luckyphil | KombiClub Australia Forums

Brendan Special Air Service | KombiClub Australia Forums

There is Ian also down that way, can't find his details off hand. (I think he's "lowrider" on the kombi club)


Gumtree also often has parts.

Happy hunting!