Joe Ernest

https://reading.craigslist.org/cto/5993537778.html Up for sale is my 1970 Peugeot off road buggy mounted on a 1985 Toyota truck chassis with a 22r motor and five speed trans will need some work but is running and driving the way it sits have title asking 2000.00 any questions you can call or text me at(610) 960-8749 thanks

Prologue (Draft): Ensconced in my recliner after the workday, laptop on lap, I performed my daily scans; CL for 'Vanagon', SearchTempest for 'Peugeot' and 'Citroen', 505turbo for everything, the Samba for 'TDI, Passat, Eurovan and Vanagon', recycle, back to 505turbo, then SearchTempest.....Huh? 'Lemons'....back to 505turbo. No Lemons for sale or wanted. What lemons? More forum scanning, and there towards the top of the preview pane I find it....something about Moscow to Paris Le Mons. Being quite familiar with PD, and having just binge watched this year's Dakar, my mind was already in that long distance rally mode. I was excited to hear that the Lion of Africa would be roaring from Moscow to Paris, perhaps even extending it's claws in the snow and ice coating the bituminous surfaces between. I made a mental note to revisit the forum and check for progress reports. A few days later, again ensconced in my recliner, I returned to the forum, and horrors! Team Lion had lost all its team mates. The Lion would still roar, but now there was an invitation for replacement Lion-izers. Interesting, no, fascinating, enticing.......but no, I am a responsible, alimony paying, cautious engineer type. I do not engage in such irresponsible frivolity. A few hours later, there I was again ensconced in my recliner, like a moth to a flame, drawn back to that 'Le Mons' post. I put the laptop away and pushed all thoughts citric and de Monic out of my mind. Ah, good, 'Wheeler Dealers' are working their magic on an HY van. It had been a rolling garment store and later maybe a produce van in the south of France. Produce? Citrus? Oranges....and lemons? Non, non, non, pas pour moi. And then the moth was inexorably drawn into the flame, and it sent Arun a message asking to communicate via email or phone. A day and a phone call later the moth was crawling across the Expedia screen. Holy insecticide, batman, those big aluminium birds do not fly as efficiently or parsimoniously on petroleum as moths do on bug guts. So the moth morphed into a weasel and sent Arun a weaseling out email. But then Arun responded with an email expanding or explaining the full extent of his generosity, and the weasel was shamed back into his previous incarnation. The Expedia tabs were still open in my browser at work so booking both legs of my journey took but a few clicks of the mouse. I had intended to forward my itineraries to Arun that evening, while again ensconced in my recliner, but on my drive home, my phone rang. It was Arun, calling to ensure that I fully understood the full extent of his generosity and the resultant minimal impact on my ability to pay alimony that month. He concluded with an ardent request that I reconsider my decision to weasel. I asked if my forwarding itineraries within the hour was sufficient evidence of adequate re-consideration, and proof of sufficient de-weaseling to warrant riding the Lion. Mais naturellement, but of course. Now came the biggest challenge so far, or since spraying WD-40 and applying a crowbar to the cover of my checkbook - getting my derrière out of bed at 3:30 am, and making the pre-dawn frigid hike from long term parking to the terminal. Contrary to popular belief, it does get bloody cold in this salad bowl part of sunny California, thousands of feet below but only tens of miles from California's snowy ski slopes. Allons-y! Onward ho! To the Peugeot.

Hi Arun, Could you p-mail me at Joelandy @ a o l dot com? or call me at 5 ten 5 twenty sixteen thirty. Thanks......................JoE

I've decided to sell the 86 505 Turbo wagon I got as a parts car for my 86 505 SW TD. One headlight assembly was missing and I've removed the tow hitch - and 9removed absolutely nothing else. The wagon was apparently a good driver but the engine went bad. The retired Peugeot dealer mechanic PO parked the wagon in a shaded area over 10 yrs ago. The interior is very nice and the body is straight and rust free. It was originally burgundy, but had been painted white. The white paint is peeling all over. The car is in Yucaipa, CA , on the far east outskirts of Los Angeles. Sorry about the photos, More photos when I get to the car. [email protected] 510

The 86 505 TD Sedan appears to be back on ebay at a $2500 buy it now.....5 days left.

https://orangecounty.craigslist.org/cto/5742611578.html Seen on CraigsList in Los Angeles 1986 peugeot 505 fuel: diesel paint color: black title status: salvage transmission: automatic 1986 505 4 SPEED AUTO TRANSMISSION A/C POWER DOOR LOCKS LEATHER 180 K MILES TEXT 714-3 six two -77six two PS : Please forgive me if I violate forum rules or etiquette by re-posting this ad.............JoE

HI Hugh, I will bring the car to my house in Fresno, and park it where an MB 300 SD sat until Thursday. Talk about a lawn art upgrade! I can tarp up the 604, or better maybe to erect a tent over it to keep tarps off the paint. What would I want for the 604 body? Don't really know, I have absolutely no idea what a 604 body is worth. So, make me an offer, and don't worry, I'm not easily insulted. JoE

I am in Fresno, CA 93705, Where are you? JoE

Hi All, I came across this 604, a running, driveable project, I'd love to keep it, but I've already got 5 cars registered and insured, and just the 1 driver. The transmission does not work in reverse, the brakes barely work (bad booster diaphragm?), the carpets have been removed, door cards and seats are shot, as is dash, ignition switch, There is a minimal exhaust system, with sidewinder trumpet. The roof had lots of surface rust so the owner cleaned and panted it with a bed liner type sealant. but the body and paint are in remarkable condition. I drove it around the block while the civilized world was at prayer, and the engine pulled well, the steering and suspension were tight. I am interested in the car, mostly for the engine and maybe the goofy low bean LEDs. I plan to buy it.. The car seems like an ideal candidate for a restoration, the body is so nice it really should be saved, Would anyone be interested in the body (complete car, less engine) or trading the car for an engine,

Hi All, I came across this 604, a running, driveable project The transmission does not work in reverse, the brakes barely work (bad booster diaphragm?), the carpets have been removed, door cards and seats are shot, as is dash, ignition switch, There is a minimal exhaust system, with sidewinder trumpet. The roof had lots of surface rust so the owner cleaned and panted it with a bed liner type sealant. but the body and paint are in remarkable condition. I drove it around the block while the civilized world was at prayer, and the engine pulled well, the steering and suspension were tight. I am interested in the car, mostly for the engine and maybe the goofy low bean LEDs. I plan to buy it.. Would anyone be interested in buying the body (complete car, less engine) or trading the car for an engine,

If I remember correctly, Pat Whale at Revolution Motors in Austin, TX built several 505 SW 5 spd TDs back in the 80s or 90s. More recently (2015) Pat's brother (in San Marcos, TX?) was selling off a bunch of Peugeots and Peugeot parts. I owned an 84 3 spd auto wagon, then an 85 5 spd wagon, so yes, 5 spd wagons (non turbo) were sold here.

Hi Rabin, Thanks for the response. I too would prefer to wait till I have tried and tested results to report, but, sometimes inquiring minds want to know what you've figured out so far. Thank you for sharing. If I understand correctly: On the fuel side - you've had Jeremy build you a hybrid AAZ - XD3T pump, and you will have AAZ injectors rebuilt with Monark nozzles, recalibrated to AAZ pop pressures. Could you send me Jeremy's contact info (to [email protected])? (yes, I have a 1967 Land Rover 109 diesel Carawagon. - loaded! Freewheeling hubs, Fairey OD, Capstan winch. A/C? Yes, the pop out vents below the windshields are screened to exclude hayseeds.) On the air i.e. turbo side - the XD3T turbo's standard T3 flange allows for some substitutions, a suitable turbo has yet to be identified. A turbo with a VNT controller may be the preferred option. My near term need is for a turbocharger. And I might as well upgrade rather than just replace. For my Vanagon TDI I installed a K03/K04 hybrid - 03 exhaust side, 04 compressor side - awesome with a 11mm IP head, Bosio 520 injectors/nozzles and Stage 4 tune. I haven't come across a similar beast for the XD3T. JoE

You appear to be working on several avenues of upgrading your XD3T, turbocharger, VNT, AAZ pump and 2 stage injectors. Any progress on your projects? Can you recommend a turbo upgrade? And any other upgrades I might make as component replacements become necessary? Thanks....................JoE

Green lifeblood spilled upon the concrete driveway. That's the bad news. The good news – that puddle is on my driveway. In Fresno. Five hours and over 300 miles north of Yucaipa where this, my phase of guardianship, began. Yep, I drove the Puggit home, up and over the Interstate 5 Grapevine. Sometimes hitting 80 mph, down to 50 mph on the longer steeper climbs. No tachometer, lazy boost gauge, no oil pressure gauge, and a coolant temperature gauge alternating between dead, randomly spastic, and steady, possibly truthful. I climbed the Grapevine by the boost gauge and the temperature gauge, keeping the former below mid gauge and the latter at least 1½ markings below red. My 504 Diesel Wagon and I separated 25 years ago, and I'd forgotten how in an old IDI, coolant temperature is directly proportional to accelerator position, road grade, load, wind speed, humidity etc., individually and severally. The Puggit just chugged on home. No air conditioning (yet) but being the tail end of winter it was plenty cool enough to cruise with the windows up, except for the driver's side rear window resolutely immobile at ¾” below fully closed......all the better to announce the approach of speedier 18 wheelers in the less slow lane. A visit to the Chevron half way between Hwy 99 Shaw Avenue exit and my house reveals 32.2 mpg from a target 70mph. Home, parked and unloaded, all's well. It was still dark at 6:30 am as I rolled out for work, coffee in hand, on a not yet sunny California Monday morning. Glow plugs. Clunk. Chime, chime, whirr, rattle, rattle, rattle, click. Door's closed, smokeless smooth idle, seat-belt fastened. Lights on, engage reverse, ease off the brake, steer clear of the tree. Glance at the front door to ensure I’d pulled it closed behind me. Front door's closed. What the bloody..?...... Green blood! Park the Puggit, jump in the Syncro Westy and off to work. Back home in the late afternoon, the drips suggest a leaking water pump. As luck would have it, a few short weeks ago I'd been unable to resist the ridiculously deep discount RockAuto was offering on its last and lonely XD3T water pump. Frantic phone calls to Western Hemispheres and the Parts Network had the radiator hoses and belts they had in stock winging their way to me. A day or three later my neighbor to the north, owner of Tower Automotive took a look in the engine bay and reckoned an hour, maybe an hour and a half should see the new water pump installed. My neighbor across the street, employee of Anytime Towing, assured me he'd have The Puggit over to Tower Automotive first thing in the morning, for the usual paperwork avoided discount. Lunchtime the next day I drove over to the Tower District to sign the work order. When I arrived Robert beckoned me to his shop computer saying “You need to see this.” The screen flashed R&R XD3T Water pump - 4.7 hours. I signed the work order. The workday done, I picked up the Puggit, after paying the bill for 4 hours of labour without the 0.7. Not on the bill were all the belts and hoses I hadn't been able to source and the time to change them all. The next day when Robert came home he found 2 cases of beer on his doorstep. Fast forward a couple of weeks to last weekend. The Puggit had taken me to Los Angeles and back 3 times. On one visit the A/C was recharged, on the next the A/C was repaired under warranty. My car was the first into the shop that morning - for the warranty work. By lunchtime the diagnosis had not yet been made. I advised the shop that I had copies of sections of the factory workshop manual in the back along with a copy of “How to keep your old Peugeot running” downloaded from an Aussie Peugeot Owners Club web site. An hour later I received a call informing me that my car was ready. They had found the electronic climate control ECU in the passenger foot-well, and re-soldered all the connections on the circuit board. Ta, matey, ‘n’ g’daiy.

Is your 1989 wagon still for sale? [email protected]

I grabbed the "Roof top Tent" from a Syncronaut in Los Angeles a couple of years ago. Used it on a friends Jeep Liberty a few times before installing it on my lightly expedition prepped Land Cruiser. The "Roof top Tent" weighs about 150 lbs if I remember correctly - but the bulk is what makes it difficult to mount and unload. I have my doubts that the load rails on the 505 SW are up to the total 500 lb weight of tent plus 2 slumbering bodies. I've slept in the back of Peugeot wagons since the mid 60's, 404s, 504s and 505s always in great comfort, I suspect a mattress/cushion of some sort will be absolutely necessary now, unless the Cotes du Rhone masks the night time body aches before delivering its morning head aches. As I'm driving my dream van, I now have a surplus of Vanagons - 1980 Air cooled Westfalia 1/2 camper 1982 Diesel Westfalia - hopefully traded for front differential installation 1985 Weekender - with 1.9 WBX bumped up to 2,1L Part trade for a turbo diesel or turbo gas motor? JoE

HI Andre', I attended the University of Slow Learners, initially for Pre-Med/Computer Science (Yeah, My genius Dad's brainwave), then wildlife ecology, then ....finally I got a BSc in Civil Engineering, then grad school for Stream Quality Management, and work at the Center for Louisiana Inland Water Studies, then commuting to LA Dept or Environmental Quality in Baton Rouge (in a 1984 Peugeot 505 SW gas 3 spd auto), then a semester on the CIVE faculty back in Lafayette before accepting a PhD spot at TAMU alongside my brother Andrew. I received a paper USL diploma, and a vellum Universite de Louisiane diploma, in French, the only time it was ever awarded. New Siberia! My classmate, best friend, and best man, Neal P Robichaux is from there, though he now lives in Erath- I visited him during Festival International this year. My roommates in my 1st year out of the dorms were Kirk G Thibodeaux and his brother Darrel, both CIVE majors, also from New Iberia. In my first weeks at USL, a John Mahoney, a fellow pre-med student invited me to his folks house in, you guessed it, New Iberia. All the Mahoney boys were regulars at the First Assembly of God church there - a bit much for my conservative Roman Catholic upbringing. JoE

I added a photo sequence of my 1989 Syncro Westfalia to 1988 Westfalia TDI Semi-Syncro progression. And for those of you sadly suffer from insomnia, I I have added a potential temporary cure to the "Pictures & Videos" forum, below the van photos. JoE

I'm in Fresno CA.

TDISyncroWestfaliaSaga: Ohhhh, my Syncro Westfalia TDI……cue violins, grab Kleenex, remove drain plug from bank account…… Prologue: In my final undergraduate year my Dad had me buy a 1973 VW Microbus for the family to use in a post -graduation cross-country expedition from Lafayette, Louisiana to Los Angeles, CA, from where my parents would then fly back to Fiji. We got as far as Albuquerque, NM, before the engine locked up, courtesy of a bearing locator pin having been installed in an oil port by the rebuilder/van seller. My Dad had the local VW dealer install a new engine in the van, and a few days later they flew out from Albuquerque, and my brother and I drove the ‘Orange Peel’ back to Lafayette. Back in Lafayette I stuffed an undersized '69 camper interior into the van and added a plastic milk carton box as a courtesy step for the sliding door. Orange Peel took us on day trips with a friend’s handicapped father, to Friday night ‘Down-town Alive’ block parties where we drank cheap, cheap red wine from a cardboard carton because we didn't like and couldn't afford the $1 beer. The van was the unofficial International Student Association Airport bus/ welcome wagon, as well as the tour bus for all visiting parents, relatives and friends. I couldn't count the number of roommates, friends and classmates I moved in that van, and almost every semester each of us found an apartment that was either cheaper, closer to campus, or came with a different set of roommates. My closest friend (later my wife, now my ex-wife) used to call it the "Orange peel" - it was orange below the waist, white on top, with a cheap aluminium luggage rack and a fold down CB antenna. The back end was higher because the cheapest used tyres I could find to fit were off american luxo-yachts. I seem to remember the letter G being the tyre size. I also convinced myself that I got the additional bonus of an overdrive, and a Kamm-back aerodynamic effect. The PO had ripped out the 1800cc sized EFI and installed a 2300cc sized Ford Pinto carburettor, so it idled at about 1500 rpm. That increased to 1800 rpm when the remnants of the muffler system were replaced by a single unit, sized for a Ford LTD - because it was, again, the cheapest way to go. Even with the oversized tyres it would cruise at an indicated 85mph between College Cesspit, TX and Lafayette, LA, allowing me to almost keep up with traffic. This sustained high speed did apparently have a tendency to cause the piston rings to spin and align their gaps, losing engine compression, and out of ignorance, and lust for a Peugeot 504 Diesel Station Wagon, I sold the Orange Peel for a pittance to Rusty, my good friend, mechanic and owner of "Bugs & Bunnies Auto Repair”. Fortunately or unfortunately, Rusty sold it at a loss to his seldom sober sometimes mechanic so that he and his toothless common law wife would have a place to live in, with her 3 children. I had sold it so cheaply to Rusty because I had wanted him to have it to enjoy and was rather disappointed that he had sold it on, but I guess it was for a good cause. My last memory of the Orange Peel is seeing it wallow past me, shimmying on bent rims, body bent but unbroken from numerous drunken encounters with ditches, trees and gate-posts, carrying a full complement of happy, unclean and unkempt full time campers and all their worldly possessions. And the engine; it still ran like a top, idled at 1800 rpm, and you could hear the muffler, or inadequacy thereof, a good 5 blocks away. The Peugeot 504 was a dream to drive, as long as you were in no hurry to get anywhere. On the weekends we would cruise the surrounding towns searching for savoury kolaches, and whatever we might be able to afford at the swap meets and junk stores. As we climbed the steps to one such junk store, a wiry septuagenarian with a weathered face under a tattered straw hat queried “Is that one of them there Pooo-gots?” “Yessir, indeed, that there is ma Puggit.” He was quite pleased with himself, probably because even at 10 feet, he could still read the 3 inch tall letters emblazoned across the top of the windshield proclaiming its automotive manufacturer. My classmate, best friend and best man had named the 504 “The Amblance,” it now had a last name – The Amblance Poo-got. After several failed attempts to get the crankshaft rope seal properly installed, the Amblance and I parted ways. A couple of years later I escaped from Texas S&M, three years into an Environmental Engineering PhD sentence, and ended up in Nevada County, the county with the lowest per capita income in California. There I bought a 1980 Vanagon Country Homes camper from my boss. On our first trip, from Grass Valley to Los Angeles, the engine expired in Madera. I should have heeded my boss’ stern warning, “DO NOT drive this van until you have the engine rebuilt.” That van, with rebuilt engine, served us well for the next several years until engine issues started to crop up again with excessive frequency. Red Van: I sold the Country Homes van, again to a mechanic, and began the search for another. But I knew that this time air-conditioning and a more powerful, i.e. water-cooled engine, would be the minimum requirements. I stumbled across a van for sale in Idyllwild, CA, so we loaded up the 1985 Peugeot 505 S station wagon, I snicked it into first gear and let up the clutch. I had not been able to get any indication of price from the seller, and I had no cash, but I did have a blank check from Citibank, a cash advance on a new credit card, $6,000 limit. When the seller introduced himself to me as (Forgottenfirstname) Schumacher, my then 5 yr old son just about launched into cartwheels, “Are you Michael’s dad?” Mr. Schumacher was well aware of which Michael my son spoke. Mr. Schumacher told us he had bought his van to take his sons to Laguna Seca and similar venues to watch another Michael and his father, Mario, scream around the distorted circles. The Schumacher boys took annual camping ‘guy trips’ to the IndyCar/CART races until the sons’ interests changed. It was those changed interests and the resulting lack of use of the van that prompted its sale. With my son looking up at him with star-struck eyes, Mr. Schumacher finally revealed the price for his van. He offered it to me for the trade in value the dealership had offered him, less a few hundred dollars to fix a wheel arch that the dealership had dented, and fixed. The price sounded reasonable to me, and more importantly it was a few hundred bucks below the limit of my Citibank cash advance. I filled out the cheque. Mommy drove the Peugeot, and I drove the camper van. I had been monitoring the Vanagon email list and was aware of a VW campout in Pinnacles, and as Pinnacles was essentially on our way home, I decided to show up, unannounced and uninvited. Being friendly VW camper van types we were welcomed by them to the campout, and to the group. Of course they all had to inspect my recent purchase. A fellow camper offered me a trade – my van for a 1 year newer camper van with half the mileage of mine, plus double what I had paid for my van in cash. I thought he was either joking, or crazy. They then pointed to an emblem on the rear hatch – “Syncro” it read. I had just bought a Vanagon Westfalia Syncro. Of all the Vanagons imported to the US supposedly only 5,000 were blessed with the all-wheel drive Syncro system, and only 1,500 of those had been double blessed with both the Syncro drivetrain and Westfalia camping goodies. The good Mr. Schumacher had been very, very good to us. He was apparently happy that the van would continue its life with Formula 1 and camping enthusiasts, father and son. My son insisted on annual guy trips, to Syncro de Mayo, and Mom was more than happy to be excluded from the interminable de-coupler-viscous coupling debates. “Red Van” took us everywhere, including me to work each day. All through the 1990s we travelled frequently, far and wide – Interstate Highway 10 East to Courir de Mardi Gras, I-20, I-40, Chaco Canyon, Hovenweep, Canyon Tsegi, Los Padres National Forest, Crater Lake, Meteor Crater, Nanaimo, Redwoods, Yellowstone, Mt. Rushmore, Grand Canyon, Vasalopet, Hwy 50 – the Loneliest Highway, across the top of The Great Lakes to Toronto and New York, and along the southern shores on the route back. In October of 2005, Red Van met its end. A flip, a skip and a roll on Interstate 880 near Oakland led to Red Van being laid to rest under a blue tarp in the back yard. My wife had rolled Red Van on the IH-880 freeway in Hayward, with my son in it, blew a 0.23 BAC an hour later, and placed herself firmly on the path to ex-dom. Endanger my son and I have thoughts of divorce, kill my Westy Syncro and I’m dialing the divorce attorney. A lucky seven years later Red Van was stretchered to an automotive surgeon and some weeks later I returned to find that Red Van Westfalia was no more, but in its place lay pale look alike. The good doctor attached the cables and flipped the big switch, and there commenced a flash, a buzz, “Click,” a “roaaarrr,” and a then a steady “grrrrrrrr.” “It’s alive!” Frankenfalia was born! Soon rechristened “White Van,” as except for a little shoulder padding bondo on the outside, this was still very much Red Van. Indistinguishable on the inside – the same stove and sink, the same closets and cabinets, the same cozy cots. Yes, still Red Van to the core, despite the hastily applied whitewash on the exterior. The road calls, adventure awaits. Places to go, sights to see, people to meet. Having got the van beaten into a vaguely Vanagonny shape, with a used WBX stuck in the back, I headed for Syncro de Mayo. The luggage rack was trifurcated and flapping in the wind, the pop top was flared out and sunken, all the better to catch the wind. The A-pillars and door frames were not as friendly to each other as they ought to be and provided a velocity proportional whistle tone that turned into a roar at the slightest crosswind. But I made it to SdM in time to unlock the gates and prepare the site for the arriving Syncronauts. The morning trip into town to buy eggs was less successful, but arriving SdMers helped diagnose cracked wiring at the distributor sensor. And back at camp, there stood my Syncro Westy, beaten, bent, replete with herbiage sprouting from the rain gutters and poptop fiberglass texturized with a thick mat of moss. Beaten, but unbowed, my abomination, meine Frankenfalia, meine liebchen. But the van was a sad reminder of happier days, and the noise, the rattles and the creaks precluded the slightest semblance of joy. So I decided that a replacement van was in order, but with a TDI in the back of this one. I bought the 87 Sunroof Syncro that the vendor assured me was perfect for conversion, “Engine removed, transmission rebuilt & regeared, ready for TDI conversion. Minor rust, but much worse vans have been converted to TDI.” When I got it to California I saw that out west much nicer vans had been sent to the scrap yard, and that’s before we looked inside the van to see that a college fraternity and a rock band had partied in there and trashed it before inviting homeless folks to take up residence. Assuming the syncro drivetrain was serviceable, I began the hunt for a rust free body to transplant the drivetrain into. I found a lovely Carat with a blown head gasket - perfect, until my chosen mechanic reversed his stance and said converting a lowered automatic Carat to a Syncro would be too much work. The search continued, and I found a salvage yard rescue, totally rust free 1988 Westfalia in Kingman , Arizona, but, ain’t there always buts? It had a salvage title from when the estate of the late previous owner disposed of it. No mind, I bought a tow dolly, hitched it to my Land Cruiser and headed for AZ. A day later I arrived in LA with my newly bifurcated tow dolly (courtesy of AAA towing) loaded in the back of my Land Cruiser, and the 88 Westy riding high on a tow truck (not AAA, read $$$.) From the driver's seat it looked no different to my 89......just a little closer to the road. (My Syncro Westy has 2" lift Syncro.org springs with OME shocks, making it almost 6” taller than a Carat.) The undercarriage of the 88 Westy was caked in red AZ dust, a quick wash revealed it to be absolutely rust free. The interior is remarkably good, not showroom, but very, very good, and identical in colour and condition to that in my 89 Syncro Westfaila, Red Van. Sitting in the 88 Westy just feels right to me – if a little low. But as both rear springs on the 87 rustbucket were broken, I had to buy a set of GoWesty 2 inch lift syncro springs, which should get it up to the same height as my 89 on its Syncro.org springs. As the work progressed on my 1989 Westy conversion to TDI and then Syncro, I began to wonder what to do with Frankenfalia. Surely my new TDI dream van would never venture into the hazards of Syncro de Mayo. But I'd have no qualms about off-roading an already beat up Frankenfalia, but that poor van is devoid of differential lockers. I have started the process of butching up Frankenfalia - I have a swing away spare tire carrier, a $20 brush guard from an 80s Chevy, a $15 tube bumper from a Ford Ranger, a double cardan drive shaft, an aggressive VC, a diff lock panel w/ switch and tubing, a vacuum actuator with TDI friendly bracket, and the most important parts, the differential lockers, have recently arrived from Germany. The Peugeot 505 SW TD: My 88 Westy had the TDI and Syncro transaxle physically installed, but the electronics, the induction and exhaust plumbing etc. were only just about done. Then on EBay I saw a 1986 Peugeot 505 SW TD, in LA! Oh! Be still my beating heart. And then a 1995 Range Rover LWB with 300 TDI engine popped up. Which one for me? In the end I bid on the Peugeot, and won it for just over a grand. Sweet! I swapped Firefox tabs to look at the Range Rover, maybe I could get both, and choose which to keep, but the Rangie was gone, bidding closed early. When I picked up the 505, I found out that it smoked like crazy on start up, so maybe after the rebuild (which appears necessary) the cost will approach that of the Range Rover. Oh well. Back to the Vanagon - Years ago I bought a Carver/Propex P4 heater that I never had installed. I’m even looking at installing a compressor type Truckfridge and house battery. Yep, I’m going whole hog on this baby. I bet you’re now regretting ever asking me the status of my project!! I only gave you the Cliff Notes version, the devil truly is in the sadly hilarious details. Do you know any country song writers? ;-) JoE

Red 1989 Vanagon Westfalia Syncro - rolled by then wife on IH880 Red van patched up and painted cheap white Silver 1988 Westfalia rescued from Kingman AZ junkyard now Green 1988 Wesffalia TDI, regeared Syncro locking transaxle installed, locking front diff and propshaft installation to come.

As requested, Photos of my 1986 505 SW TD uploaded to the Photos section. More photos to follow.

1986 Peugeot 505 SW TD and 1988 Vanagon Westfalia TDI (Syncro)

Hello Brian, Thank you for the advice on the XD3T, I will certainly try your suggestions before I dive into a rebuild. MY 86 SW TD has one rust spot, a silver dollar sized blemish above a rear wheel arch, and that's about it. My plan is to have it fully inspected, all fluids replaced/flushed, timing chain, valves,injectors and glowplugs all inspected, adjusted or replaced, and then cross my fingers and hope for the best when I turn the key. Hopefully that'll be all it needs, otherwise it will go on hold till when funds next come available....I'm supposed to pick up my 1988 Vanagon Westfalia Syncro TDI this weekend. My bank account quivers with fear. Thank you for the offer of parts to make an XD3T, and of presumed good N9TEs. I would need to be certain that all the needed XD3T parts are there, and certain that the N9TE is a good runner before I dove into such a deal. Back to the XD3T - Intercooling - do you know of any tried and tested or off the shelf/junkyard options for intercooling? Thank you again..................JoE

(and/or N9T? for 87 Turbo Wagon) I could not resist an 86 505 TD SW on Ebay in LA a month or so ago. On startup it rattles and smokes horribly, and then gets happier, if low on power. I also grabbed a nice 87 Turbo wagon as a parts car, but maybe an engine transplant would be more appropriate. I'm in Fresno CA, the cars are in LA. Joe Ernest [email protected] 559-297-3942