1991 Syncro Westfalia in Portland, OR

Last Updated: 4/23/2020 | Ad Source: Craigslist

Asking Price: $45,000

 

More Details & Pictures

Updated: This van was originally advertised with body damage on the driver side rear quarter panel. That damage has been repaired professionally locally. During the repair other minor dings and scratches around the van were repaired. Body is in excellent shape.

I’ve been the owner of this amazing syncro for the last four years. Babied and well maintained during my ownership. Since my purchase I’ve only accumulated roughly 8k miles on the engine. It was not my daily driver. It was used predominantly for ski days up at Mt Hood in the winter, and camping adventures in the summer. Otherwise it was stored under cover. The Subaru engine has roughly $87k miles, and the odometer reads 263,865. That’s a bit misleading because as you’ll see most everything but the shell/body of this van has been upgraded/replaced.

Prior to me there was a heavy investment into this vehicle by the previous owner. I’ve captured to the best of my ability everything I know that was upgraded to this vehicle with great detail below. His goal was to vastly improve nearly every ability of what a stock one can do and that is already a lot. No expense was spared, not built on the cheap.

Improving off road performance:

1. Ground clearance:

This is of course one of the easiest modifications. Having more ground clearance allows you to clear rocks and boulders which would otherwise get caught on the undercarriage. Larger tires and suspension lift kits are plentiful and go a long way to making a syncro more off road capable.

But installing larger tires also robs all important torque at every rpm. So just installing much larger tires will set you back in other ways. You may have to drive much faster than optimal to make it past the obstacle, or you may have to slip the clutch to prevent bogging down. This syncro has FACTORY GERMAN VW 5:83 ring and pinions which make up for the 29” tires. No burning of the clutch, it can crawl over obstacles with ease as well as climb steep hills at the slowest speed appropriate for the situation.

This syncro has an upgraded suspension system which allows for excellent articulation as well as providing a super comfortable road ride. Fox coilover shocks in the front with progressive springs, progressive springs in the rear as well with high end reservoir shocks to handle the heat of the high travel rear suspension.

In the photos shown, the actual suspension lift is only 1″, the rest is tires which are 235/70/16 Goodyear Adventure with Kevlar.

2. Better traction:

The more power you can apply to the ground the better of course. The viscous coupling has been replaced with a solid steel shaft. By replacing the VC with a solid steel shaft, the syncro can be modified to be a part-time four-wheel drive vehicle. Immediate and without any slipping, the solid shaft will outperform the viscous coupling in off road conditions.

Most but not all syncros came with a rear locking differential, a huge improvement in traction over a non-locking rear differential. Adding a front locking differential creates the ultimate get out of anything driveline system. This syncro has the three knob, get through anything as best as possible driveline system.

Replacing the solid shaft with a good/new Viscous coupling will return it back to an all-wheel drive system and thanks to excellent ground clearance, gearing, power and sturdy drivetrain you should be able to go pretty much anywhere.

3. Durability

Because the final build of this syncro would push the weight close to 6000 lbs when fully loaded with gear, food, fluids etc the driveline needed to be as strong as possible to not only get to the awesome destination but to also make it back.

The rear axles have been replaced with much stronger race type axles and the rear CV’s are much larger stronger Lobro 930’s. The front axles have also been replaced with race type axles with inner 930 CV’s and rare factory VW outer 16” CV’s

The driveshaft is a smooth/strong slip yolk design. Rear trailing arms are factory VW 16″ longer ones, with matching syncro 16″ factory VW fender flares.

Syncro Transaxle:

In many ways the heart and most important component of the entire drive line. Many upgrades have been developed in the last several years which can improve the durability of the factory transaxle and this one has most of them. Stronger aluminum case reinforced main gear carrier housing, VW factory oil splash plates, heavy duty 3-4 slider, and Swepco oil.

4. Power

Installed is the variable valve 2008 2.5 Subaru phase II single overhead cam OBD II. It went through a major service with in the last 10k miles by a specialist who installed rebuilt heads, new better head gaskets, new head bolts, many new seals, new timing belt, new water pump, new oil pump seals as well as some other parts. There is roughly 87k miles on the engine.

Yes, some Subaru motors can have head gasket issues but this one is now ready for years of trouble free service thanks to much improved replacement head gaskets.

Comfort and convenience modifications :

The original 3-way fridge is small, troublesome and really only operates while burning propane or plugged into 110 volts.

The goal of this van was to build a more “off grid” no plug in synchro so the first thing to go was the original fridge which was replaced with a very expensive, much larger (2.5 cubic ft vs. 1.5) modern efficient compressor type 12 volt fridge. The Isotherm Cruise 65 with ASU was selected which uses a microprocessor to detect when extra power is available from any source and runs to capture and store this energy while available, thus using less energy when only on battery power.

The stock water system has been upgraded. The factory fill port on the side is a pain and having these hookup ports on the side also invites the potential for water leaking into the interior of the vehicle, not good at all.

Our camping style was one that didn’t include tradition “campground style” camping via shore power and city water hookups. The combination of camping preference and no further need for the vent for the old propane fridge it was decided to eliminate the hookups and vent on the side completely.

Now the water fill is located where the gas would be filled on a 2wd vanagon. Put a garden hose in or get sloppy with a water jug, no risk of water getting inside anymore. The water goes into an imported German 45-liter auxiliary water tank and then gets pumped into the factory water tank inside the cabinet. Total water capacity has been increased to 26 gallons, which included an Isotherm 4-gallon hot water heater that’s installed in the front spare tire cavity.

Replacing the tiny oem water pump with a much higher capacity variable speed on demand pump now gives you all kinds of water abilities. The stock dribble faucet has been replaced with a Shurflo one which actually allows enough room to really wash dishes, or splash your face, or brush your teeth etc, etc.

In addition to the much-improved faucet, you get a separate expanding hose with a garden trigger nozzle. Hose down your shoes or feet or bike or dog or surfboard or kid or girlfriend or all of the above with high flow high pressure water. With the hot water tank, you can vary the temperature to suit your needs at both the faucet or hose.

The Isotherm water heater option uses heat from the existing coolant lines of the van to capture and retain heat but can also be plugged into 110 volts.

For cold mornings you can turn on the auxiliary interior cabin heater, in this van it is an ESPAR diesel fueled forced air system. Currently mounted under the floor for less noise transfer, it draws interior air from the front and blows out through a vent at floor level as well as one in the ceiling of the rear sleeping area. A separate 2-gallon fuel tank for the heater is filled from the 2wd gas location on the driver side.

Don’t want to get out to put a bucket under the van to catch the sink water, no problem. There is a dedicated custom 3-gallon grey water tank which you don’t have to worry about. With a pull of a lever inside, the tank can be emptied in an appropriate location.

Parked for a while, your going to need to replace your electrical energy with SOLAR power. Three panels provide 260 watts of power to replenish the 110 AH Lifeline AGM house battery located under the rear seat. Controlled by a MORNINGSTAR solar charge controller, you will see the condition of your battery, how much solar amperage is coming in and how much amperage you are using since all lights and accessories are powered through it.

Original propane tank has been removed and system has been converted to run off 1lb disposable Coleman canisters. The line was run to the closet where the Coleman canister is stored. The gas stove is the only item running off propane since the conversion from the old fridge to the upgraded Isotherm. Less weight, more efficient, no concerns finding a station to fill the tank, and no more concerns about hauling a mini bomb under the galley.

Sound system was upgraded four years ago and included a pioneer Bluetooth head unit, four MB Quart speakers in original factory speaker locations, and compact Kicker subwoofer in compact truck mount box installed in the bench seat on the driver side next to the aux battery. Due to compact design it still allows for plenty of storage in the bench seat and prevented me from having to cut any large holes to upgrade system. Amps, and crossovers included. It’s what a modernized sound system for this vehicle should be.

Need 110 volts for something? Push a remote on button to power on a true sine wave 1200-WATT INVERTER and plug in.

There have been lots and lots of auxiliary lights installed everywhere. Some fluorescent, some LED. There are multicolor strip led lights installed on each side of the van’s exterior, underside for mood/party lighting. You’ll have a wide selection of colors to choose from. The led strips provide excellent mood/comfort lighting at night as it softly lights up the entire undercarriage of the exterior. They’re also hooked up to a sound remote. When this remote is turned on and music is playing the led strips will pulse to the beat of the music you’re playing.

In the front you will be sitting in larger more comfortable seats from a EUROVAN and the driver’s seat slides back father for those with longer legs. A huge upgrade on comfort from the stock seats

The steering wheel was upgraded to a nice South African VW steering wheel.

The pop top fabric has been replaced with a must have three window version.

You’ll have a 10′ Fiamma awning color matched in dark grey to the 16″ wheels.

Factory power windows, mirrors, door locks.

Other Modifications:

• Larger VW front disk brakes, heavy duty rear drum brakes.
• On board air system: This syncro has a high performance Extremeaire compressor mounted in the cavity behind the passenger side rear tail lights, from there the air is stored in a 2-gallon tank under the van and on each side of the van there is a quick connect hookup port. Inflate your tires after a day on the sand. Inflate bikes, inflatable SUP’s, rafts, kayaks, etc.
• Heavy duty frame mounted rear 2″ receiver hitch: Great for bike racks or towing small trailers
• Installed new imported H4 lenses and installed 80/100 bubs running through dedicated relays.

Cosmetic condition:

• No rust. The body is in great shape with only minor, small rock chips on front end.

Mechanical condition:

• Mileage on motor is now 87k and should not need anything until next timing belt change in about 80k miles.
• Rebuilt transaxle by german transaxle in Bend OR $5K ago. Purpose of rebuild was to gear van to preferred driving conditions around Oregon. Pulls 65 mph over Mt Hood.
• Lockers engage without hesitation once internals are aligned to allow engagement.
• Decoupler engages instantly thanks to bearing design. Decoupler built by AA transaxle.
• Driveshaft is perfectly smooth, no play
• Front locking differential has about 90k miles since complete rebuild with new VW ring and pinion. Locker engages readily.
• In the last 10k miles the following were upgraded or installed, New FAG front wheel bearings last week (big job) ready for the next 100k plus miles, New rear lobro 930 CV’s, new boots and packed them with Swepco 101 grease with moly, Front cv’s were also repacked with fresh Swepco Moly CV grease, New front lower ball joint on passenger side. All other moving parts are in perfect shape, New Maval power steering rack and new Maval power steering pump, Brand new Monolithic flywheel was installed as well as a brand-new Sachs clutch kit. The metal cross shaft inside the bellhousing was also replaced.
• The front clutch pedal was modified to now have a strong smooth spherical rod end (wont wear out anymore )
• Brakes are excellent, plenty of compound left.
• Living in the Pacific Northwest there isn’t much need for AC. So it has been removed.

Mechanically it needs nothing, ready to drive out there and back.

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Last Updated on April 25, 2020 by VanagonAds