[mattwilde66]

Right, my turn to give this a shot. I've been loving looking at the rest of the builds on here so I thought I'd try and document a little of mine for posterity.

I'm Matt by the way and I've been after a T4 for many many many years. I foolishly bought a Renault Kangoo trekka once which was a very bad idea (Beer & eBay do not mix at all). Anyway, my best mate found this little peach on eBay when I was in Norway for crimbo. Simon (top lad) from scarborough was selling and when I eventually got back home i went straight down to Scarborough and basically it was love at first sight.

I'll try and document all the little bits I do along the way. My aim this year is to take Syd up to Norway to my Girlfriends parent in Beiarn and then back again the scenic way. This site is already a font of the best information around so I thank you all in advance the help

This was me on new years eve when I finally handed over the cash and then half an hour later I had to get the train back to work offshore

The van I a peach so theres no major work involved (which is nice) A:

 

[mattwilde66]

Whilst I was away my best mate had the keys and he loves to fiddle. The first job was to put the wheels on the front to the back to even the wear out. He had some spare under seal so they got lashings and lashings of love

 

[mattwilde66]

Also the brakes were pretty much shot. Metal to metal aint a good look

Also the calliper bolts were seized solid! He managed to get most of them off but a couple were goosed to a quick trip to Benfield in Stockton got some more and a couple spare.

 

[mattwilde66]

Also the end of the spring fell off when jacking it up. Thats three springs on three separate cars in three months!

I got a couple from GSF part number 511VG0220 for £62 a pop for Lesjofors. They fitted a treat. Just dropped the shock absorber off and on the popped!

 

[mattwilde66]

Another job was the ability to see out of the back so I found this nifty little reversing camera on eBay:

Eventually we got it fitted but it works a treat. I had issues at first if it would work properly as mine is a barn door and slightly offset but it was fine.

The new head unit is a little peach too. £170 from halfords with all the things I need, SD card, USB & most importantly, a camera input.

Initially the wiring on the ISO connector was the wrong way round so the switch and permanent live were back to front. Also there was a wire for a mute function that was getting voltage which I ed me off for a few days before I worked it out

 

[mattwilde66]

I'm also trying to steer clear of the "too many sticker" route. I found this cheeky one harking back to the good old T25 syncro to match "adolf" which is my girlfriend's fathers old bus back over in Norway

 

[mattwilde66]

I was having trouble finding what pressures the Bridgestone duelers were supposed to be but I think I've worked it out now and the last owner had 44psi. This is me doing the 32psi dance

 

[mattwilde66]

Next job is a weepy rocker cover gasket

 

[mattwilde66]

And I can't wait to give this little button a try when the going gets to tough for normal van's

 

[hugabug]

Hello Matt ..clean looking syncro you got yourself T:

Looking forward to your build T: and pics from your trip :ILU:

 

[mattwilde66]

Just purchased a Fiamma F25 220cm side awning on special offer from Just Kampers for £237.58 all in. Not a bad price considering they are over £330 on the Fiamma website. I'm going to bolt it directly to my roof rack so I see how I get on.

 

[mattwilde66]

More bits bought now. This this keeps getting longer but I dont mind spending on the bus, not one bit

VSR relay kit: £83
G.T. Power 130A Watt Meter and Power Analyser: £26
Travelvolts RCD hook up kit: £66
6 Way fuse box with common negative: £16
240v auto select switch: £39
Sterling12600 600W Inverter: £76
TVS1220M Battery Charger: £62
Banner 110ah 12V Leisure Battery: £110

Now I just have to fit it all!

 

[mattwilde66]

I love my van but if your above average height (i'm 6'6"), the T4 can be a bit awkward. I've tried getting lowered seat bases and different seats but neither seemed to work for me. I've now tried smaller steering wheels after seeing a few posts on here. At first I got a cheap £50 deep dish wheel off eBay to allow me to get me knees under. This was fine at first but it was black suede and kept turning my hands black! After sending that back and getting a refund I treated myself to a Momo Prototipo Leather wheel with a slight dish and 350mm diameter which is not too small. Now look at my knee's T:

I'd already bought the boss and there was a handy post on here about changing the old T4 wheel (you just need a 24mm socket). Now I can get my knees in just perfect and I can keep the original captains seat :ILU:

The only problem was the boss kit needs a horn centre ring to get the horn button to fit right. £5.99 off eBay so hopefully that fits

 

[mattwilde66]

Just got the centre ring on eBay. Worked a treat

 

[mattwilde66]

Finally got the Awning fitted that I've had sat on the stairs for months! My good mate Breckon used his welding skills and kit to fashion a vertical bracket from the tilted mount for the roof rack:

I'm not a fan of making holes in the van if I don't have to. All that we needed was a few scraps of 2.5mm sheet steel from Cleveland Steelworkers up in Lingdale. Very kind chaps indeed. Got the strips for nowt! Quick spray after it was welded and the awning went straight on. We'd made the bolts out of some carriage bolts a couple of months ago:

It just sits high enough not to foul the doors. I'm reet chuffed with it T:

 

[mattwilde66]

 

[mattwilde66]

Tried to fix the rocker cover gasket today but we didn't realise the issues with the AAB 2.4 engine. I'd ordered a replacement gasket a few months back from JK for a few quid. When we managed to get the cover off, we soon realised it wouldn't fit! The seal is part of the cover on mine. I've seen a few threads now with similar problems with the late 1995 and early 1996 AAB not having the same seals. In the end we cleaned it up and put down some sealant to try and stop the problem. It looked like the leak light have been through one of the threads for the cover so sealed that too.

Here is the new one that wouldn't fit

A couple of the internals which looked all in order

 

[mattwilde66]

Syd now has a older brother. I picked up my second Syncro from eBay from a nice chap up in Nairn just outside of Inverness. It needs some work but the engine is brilliant. An Audi 2.3 5-cyl conversion which sounds amazing! We took them both down to the Volkspower festival down Redcar which was a brilliant weekend out.

 

[mattwilde66]

I've finally got around to fitting the new split charge and mains hookup kit. I've not got any pics yet but its dark outside now. I got carried away and the daylight just went. I managed to get the banner leisure battery under the front driver seat (just). The new 140 amp split charge went in fine next to the main battery.

 

[mattwilde66]

Over the lovely weather we've been having this past fortnight, I got the eberpacher D2 installed (well my mate did whilst I was away on holiday). He did a lovely job. Just a couple of hole saw required for the mounting plate and then it slotted straight in. The kit was the T5 specific one on JK but its just the same for the T4. I decided to mount it on the floor to the rear of the drivers seat after moving the existing tambour unit back about a foot (This also meant I could put my seat back as I'm a big lad).

Untitled by Matt Wilde, on Flickr

This also acts as a nice mounting for the cool box and also the 240v sockets in a convenient location.

I went for a Banner 110aH battery after reading a few reviews on the forum saying the plates are a lot thicker so the rating of 110aH was a lot more genuine than others on the market. I didn't think it would fit under the seats but it did (just). I had resigned myself to fitting it in the back units but this was a massive bonus.

Untitled by Matt Wilde, on Flickr

I've fitted the charger unit and the 12v supplies & negative rail next to the battery under the seat on some 9mm MDF board. I got some flexible metal band to secure the board and the negative to the existing studs for the seat pedestal. Looks agricultural but it does the job.