[WIP] Voltswagen T2 -76

Tell us about the project you do with the open inverter
Cera
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Re: Voltswagen T2 -76

Post by Cera »

Hm. Also I have these with the battery pack for contactors, but now I also learned that without economizer circuit these are no good?

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Need to start looking for alternatives...

Although I also have the original TM3 BMS, shunt, and all other bits that belong to the battery pack (except the physical housing) so I might be able to get around with these somehow especially seeing lots of progress being made on TM3 BMS hardware lately. :o
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Re: Voltswagen T2 -76

Post by Bratitude »

they are useful for sure! id recommend using the HV controller. its actually quick simple to get all the data you need from it. id 0x401 and 0x332. heck even just a obd dongle and scanmytesla phone app gives a nice simple battery interface
https://bratindustries.net/ leaf motor couplers, adapter plates, custom drive train components
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Re: Voltswagen T2 -76

Post by Cera »

Zombie is alive :)

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Thanks to local hackerspace people for soldering the most difficult chip and teaching me how to solder the rest on my own. :)

I also received Pimoroni HyperPixel 2.1" display finally for testing if this'll fit my plans for dashboard setup.

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And of course, Xeyes:

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Front suspension is still "on the table", facing slight issues with torsion arms being quite badly damaged and I haven't been able to source replacements yet. Otherwise leaf springs, spindles, and the beam body are in pretty nice shape;

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The current issue:

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Current plan is to clean the axle beam properly inside out, then use an endoscope to check the inner bushings on which the scratched section of the torsion arms rides on to see how damaged they are. Apparently replacing those is not easy, parts aren't being made anymore and damaging the bakelite sleeve on which the bushings sit risks making the whole beam unusable so gah! it's bit.. demotivating. (see https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewt ... p?t=695301 for why)

I might just end up tossing it back together with these scratched torsion arms and a few kilo's of grease, then refuse to acknowledge I ever saw anything damaged there. :lol:
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Re: Voltswagen T2 -76

Post by VWJoe »

Cera wrote: Wed Mar 08, 2023 2:13 pm

Current plan is to clean the axle beam properly inside out, then use an endoscope to check the inner bushings on which the scratched section of the torsion arms rides on to see how damaged they are. Apparently replacing those is not easy, parts aren't being made anymore and damaging the bakelite sleeve on which the bushings sit risks making the whole beam unusable so gah! it's bit.. demotivating. (see https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewt ... p?t=695301 for why)

I might just end up tossing it back together with these scratched torsion arms and a few kilo's of grease, then refuse to acknowledge I ever saw anything damaged there. :lol:
Classic case of lack of grease in the front beam. Putting them back as they are would likely result in the Van failing a vehicle testing due to play in the arms. Removing and replacing the inner bearings is not easy.

You could try these a lot easier to fit. https://www.heritagepartscentre.com/uk/ ... -beam.html

You may be able to use the original arm as long they are on burrs on them.
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Re: Voltswagen T2 -76

Post by Cera »

VWJoe wrote: Wed Mar 08, 2023 3:34 pm Classic case of lack of grease in the front beam. Putting them back as they are would likely result in the Van failing a vehicle testing due to play in the arms. Removing and replacing the inner bearings is not easy.

You could try these a lot easier to fit. https://www.heritagepartscentre.com/uk/ ... -beam.html

You may be able to use the original arm as long they are on burrs on them.
Yeah... :(

I've been considering those urethane bushing kits, but I've not heard/read about anyone using them so I dunno. I'm bit afraid they won't last very long. But if I'll end up using these same arms then I'll most likely go with those.

Bus-ok does sell the inner bushings: https://www.bus-ok.de/T2b-Metallbuchse- ... genprodukt

But that still leaves me with the difficult work in replacing those as well as finding replacement torsion arms.
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Re: Voltswagen T2 -76

Post by VWJoe »

Cera wrote: Wed Mar 08, 2023 3:44 pm Yeah... :(

I've been considering those urethane bushing kits, but I've not heard/read about anyone using them so I dunno. I'm bit afraid they won't last very long. But if I'll end up using these same arms then I'll most likely go with those.

Bus-ok does sell the inner bushings: https://www.bus-ok.de/T2b-Metallbuchse- ... genprodukt

But that still leaves me with the difficult work in replacing those as well as finding replacement torsion arms.
I've driven a few Vdub with them on (but not owned), it does tighten the handling and I've not heard any bad things said about them which by now would have been voiced.
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Re: Voltswagen T2 -76

Post by alexbeatle »

Cera wrote: Wed Mar 08, 2023 2:13 pm Zombie is alive :)


Current plan is to clean the axle beam properly inside out, then use an endoscope to check the inner bushings on which the scratched section of the torsion arms rides on to see how damaged they are. Apparently replacing those is not easy, parts aren't being made anymore and damaging the bakelite sleeve on which the bushings sit risks making the whole beam unusable so gah! it's bit.. demotivating. (see https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewt ... p?t=695301 for why)

I might just end up tossing it back together with these scratched torsion arms and a few kilo's of grease, then refuse to acknowledge I ever saw anything damaged there. :lol:
Hello VW bus buddy. I'm converting a '72 one.

Have you had a chance to test fit the Pimoroni HyperPixel 2.1" to the dashboard? It would look beautiful!

johu: removed outrageous quote, please quote precisely
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Re: [WIP] Voltswagen T2 -76

Post by Cera »

Long time no update so lets throw something here, work still in progress, still mostly just restoration phase first :)

I learned how to use lathe and made the tools necessary to remove the bushings and bearings from the front beam:

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Sandblasted the whole thing:

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Epoxy primer:

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Polyurethane top:

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"New" torsion arms from Deutschland! Nobody makes them new but sometimes refurbished are available still it seems :)

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New bushings & bearings:

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Again one custom tool from the -70's reincarnated for hammering them into place.

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Disassembled the steering box, cleaned and sandblasted the parts:

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Exploded the steering box for refurbish. Bearings are apparently also unobtainium, I took mine to a local bearing store and they checked them saying they're all still in perfect condition and recommended using the old ones. Sold me new seals and O-rings though :)

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That's basically where I'm at now. Front beam is waiting for a tiny parts kit for refurbishing the auxillary steering lever pin. Hopefully will receive them soon, then it's time to mount the beam back to the vehicle after some months :)

Also planning the brakes a bit. The original vacuum booster mounts to the front beam, mine is completely toast and I'd need to replace the whole master cylinder with booster. Looking for Bosch iBooster for electric brake booster now as it'll be much cheaper, much neater to replace the vacuum system entirely. :) Needs an adapter plate still, but the bolt holes seem very close to the original one.

Once the front beam goes back into vehicle, it's time for the rear and with that, also finally into the fun stuff and mounting the Leaf motor. :)
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Re: [WIP] Voltswagen T2 -76

Post by motorcircus »

Incredible work, well done!
I used a Volvo V70 electric brake booster on my VW T2 EV-conversion. Works pretty good in creating the pressure. It is the one part in the bus that makes the most noise tho. Don't know how silent the others are. I could have done a better job soundproofing and installing dampers to the vacuum pump for sure.

I bought it from a scrapyard.

https://www.autopurkaamot.com/naytaosa. ... 2.4b+140hv

EDIT
I chose this model because it has dumb electronics, nothing to program. It had also the vacuum sensor which also was easy to hook up.
Just +12V and ground.

Another EDIT
Cost me 80€ for the vacuum pump + vacuum switch/sensor
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Re: [WIP] Voltswagen T2 -76

Post by Cera »

motorcircus wrote: Sat Aug 19, 2023 9:06 pm Incredible work, well done!
I used a Volvo V70 electric brake booster on my VW T2 EV-conversion. Works pretty good in creating the pressure. It is the one part in the bus that makes the most noise tho. Don't know how silent the others are. I could have done a better job soundproofing and installing dampers to the vacuum pump for sure.

EDIT
I chose this model because it has dumb electronics, nothing to program. It had also the vacuum sensor which also was easy to hook up.
Just +12V and ground.

Another EDIT
Cost me 80€ for the vacuum pump + vacuum switch/sensor
Yeah I considered that option too briefly, but the costs do ramp up significantly with replacing the og booster (200e) + master cylinder (150e?) then adding vacuum pumps, sensors, and aaaa no :D

Tesla (Bosch) iBooster replaces the whole vacuum system, as it's electronic assist it doesn't require any pumps etc. Also has failsafe mode dumb electronics where it works on full assist just by connecting 12V+ and no signal. (signal could be used for varying levels of assist based on speed, or auto brake I guess?)

250-ish eur for the whole, no loud pumps required :)

Would be a different story if I'd have usable vacuum boosters already, but mine has a hole in it due to rusting, so haha no.

Btw how's your Leaf gearbox holding up? :D have you changed the oils this summer? Any metal shavings in there?
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Re: [WIP] Voltswagen T2 -76

Post by motorcircus »

Cera wrote: Sat Aug 19, 2023 9:35 pm Yeah I considered that option too briefly, but the costs do ramp up significantly with replacing the og booster (200e) + master cylinder (150e?) then adding vacuum pumps, sensors, and aaaa no :D

Tesla (Bosch) iBooster replaces the whole vacuum system, as it's electronic assist it doesn't require any pumps etc. Also has failsafe mode dumb electronics where it works on full assist just by connecting 12V+ and no signal. (signal could be used for varying levels of assist based on speed, or auto brake I guess?)

250-ish eur for the whole, no loud pumps required :)

Would be a different story if I'd have usable vacuum boosters already, but mine has a hole in it due to rusting, so haha no.

Btw how's your Leaf gearbox holding up? :D have you changed the oils this summer? Any metal shavings in there?
Yeah, makes sense!

One year and some 10 000 km after the ev conversion and everything is still working smoothly. Haven't even thought about changing the transmission oil but now you got me thinking. Maybe I will do it when the winter comes and let you know if there's anything.
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Re: [WIP] Voltswagen T2 -76

Post by Cera »

Yeah than sounds like running it in reverse is working fine. :)

I might follow your example and just toss mine in without any external oil pump at least in the beginning.

EDIT: hmm I clicked something and now my post title reads [FINISHED] which was not intentional. :D I can't find any button to remove that
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Re: [WIP] Voltswagen T2 -76

Post by henkiloasiakas »

Greetings from Finland, I'll follow the thread. I've got this kind of plans with my VW T3 TD bus also. Now just searching every useful information about conversion until I'll start to order stuff.
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Re: [WIP] Voltswagen T2 -76

Post by Cera »

Another update on resto-build. :D this is still more "general VW building stuff" than interesting conversion stuff. But anyway.

While still at the front axle, did the auxiliary steering box refurbish. This steering lever connects the tie rods with the steering box. Febi reburbish kit, still had the centre pin stamped "Made in W.Germany". Good old stock. :D

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Spring plates back into the tubes. Torsion arms connected. Then with mostly everything in place. Mounted the front axle with a help of motorcycle jack and had a friend to assist wiggling it into its place. This went pretty smoothly.

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Koni shocks, heavy duty sway bar, spindles, new wheel bearings, lots of rust removal and powder coating, and front end is done.

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8-) Happy with the results.

Then it was time to pull the other side of the vehicle apart. The darn wheel hub nuts put up a pretty decent fight. To make it worse, the vehicle of course has no brakes as it currently is. So the wheels were just spinning while trying to loosen this. Gah!

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Ended up renting a 1700Nm Makita cordless impact wrench for a day. It did the job in less than 5 seconds per wheel. :D

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What I lack in strength I make up for in stubborness and with scary machines. 8-)

After those it was pretty easy to explode the whole rear suspension. Everything's in decent shape except the brakes and the bearings etc.

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Clean.. sandblast.. powder coat.. I'm getting used to this theme!

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Got the rear suspension parts pretty much done currently. Just trying to find a time to install them back onto the chassis. :)

Also since the electric motor - unlike the petrol engine - doesn't suck, I bought a Tesla M3 brake booster to replace the vacuum powered one. This for me was a much cheaper solution as I was going to redo the booster and the master cylinder anyway, so pricewise adding a external vacuum pump on top of those wouldn't have made any sense.

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It does have a bolt pattern very similar to the VW one. Just a few mm's narrower on horizontal so I'm getting away with just widening the mounting bolt holes a bit in that direction.

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The more annoying issue is that since it sits in an angle on the M3's firewall, the reservoir is tilted also.

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I've considered making a custom reservoir out of aluminium but then I found out that same master cylinder is also used in hybrid 18->21 Honda Accord, 19-> Honda Acura, etc. and those cars have a much better looking reservoir system which resembles how VW did theirs on this vehicle (dual reservoir, with the main one inside the cabin so you don't have to crawl under the vehicle to check the fluid level).

Sadly, however, those vehicles were only sold in the US market and never in the EU as far as I can find, so I doubt I'd be able to scavenge this reservoir system from local junk yards.

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EV Create sells this reservoir setup for 80-ish Eur (VAT inc.)+shipping which is a viable option, just an expensive one. I am considering buying this from them but it's a steep price for a plastic box and some hose. https://www.evcreate.com/shop/brakes-wh ... -ibooster/

Anyone in the US fancying tracking down this reservoir system from Honda brake booster let me know. :D :lol:

Next steps:

- Refit the rear suspension, also need to check the adjustment on the torsion bars/spring plates.
- Rear brakes. I have all the parts laying around for Vanagon (T3) rear brakes. Those turned out to be bolt-on swap and much cheaper and easier to find than the T2 ones.
- Brake lines. I ordered a kit of pre-cut CuNi lines and steel braided brake hoses, so I should have everything ready for running the entirety of the brake lines finally. Trying to mount the booster and figure out the reservoir situation while at this, so I could have functioning brakes very soon.

As we say here in the North. "Slowly, like a granny in the snow." 8-)
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Re: [WIP] Voltswagen T2 -76

Post by Romale »

Cera wrote: Tue Oct 24, 2023 10:40 am



EV Create sells this reservoir setup for 80-ish Eur (VAT inc.)+shipping which is a viable option, just an expensive one. I am considering buying this from them but it's a steep price for a plastic box and some hose. https://www.evcreate.com/shop/brakes-wh ... -ibooster/

Anyone in the US fancying tracking down this reservoir system from Honda brake booster let me know. :D :lol:
look for an option from very old fiat or look for lada stores (vaz from Russia) . they have external brake tanks small for the hose and cost 1€
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evil neodymium :twisted:
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Re: [WIP] Voltswagen T2 -76

Post by Cera »

Romale wrote: Tue Oct 24, 2023 12:47 pm look for an option from very old fiat or look for lada stores (vaz from Russia) . they have external brake tanks small for the hose and cost 1€
Yeah that's one option for sure.

Still would need something on top of the master cylinder though, and that's the trickier part than the remote reservoir. :? For the remote reservoir I'd like to use the VW original, since it has the original mounting screw holes in right places and does feature a hose outlet in the bottom.

I mean I now know how to lathe so making some aluminium plugs and drilling and tapping threads on those for the remote reservoir is an option I'm considering. That way it'd not matter what the remote reservoir is, as long as it'd have a connection for a hose.

But for safety I'd like to have some small reservoir directly connected to the master cylinder, then run the hose to that. That way if the hose is damaged and the fluid runs out from the main reservoir, there's at least some still sitting on top of the master cylinder.
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Re: Voltswagen T2 -76

Post by alexbeatle »

Cera wrote: Tue Oct 24, 2023 10:40 am
It does have a bolt pattern very similar to the VW one. Just a few mm's narrower on horizontal so I'm getting away with just widening the mounting bolt holes a bit in that direction.

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Just FYI.
I had to shift the mounting plate from the original brake booster ever so slightly. Cut the original welds, shift the plate, weld back. Reused the plate for the ibooster.
Otherwise the ibooster was interfering with the other parts.

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Re: [WIP] Voltswagen T2 -76

Post by Cera »

alexbeatle wrote: Thu Jan 11, 2024 4:33 pm Just FYI.
I had to shift the mounting plate from the original brake booster ever so slightly. Cut the original welds, shift the plate, weld back. Reused the plate for the ibooster.
Otherwise the ibooster was interfering with the other parts.
Good to know! Thanks!

I'm in the middle of painting the bus still :D but will look at this issue soon after.
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Re: [WIP] Voltswagen T2 -76

Post by Cera »

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Well. If you'd have told me a few years ago that I'd be painting a whole car on my own... :D

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Turned out better than I ever expected. VW original L90D "Pastellweiss" on top of custom shade of pastel violet. Not a perfect showroom surface, but hey it's the first (and hopefully last) car I've ever painted so what can one expect. :D

Scrubbing and oiling the old locks and hinges. Rusted ones I sandblasted and powder coated.

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Putting it together, so that I can reclaim the garage floor space all the detached doors and hatches are taking.

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Next up, CV shafts (I already have the adapter stubs from bratitude), Leaf gearbox, motor mounts, the fun stuff!

Also in search for the IVT shunt thingy for the Zombieverter purposes. If you have one laying around, let me know. :)
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Re: [WIP] Voltswagen T2 -76

Post by Jacobsmess »

Are you in the UK? I've a spare ISA Shunt for sale if interested
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