Inspection

Straight through. No complaints. Actually, only good words.

Caliper and disc fitment

Since my last posts about the disc upgrade I've received quite a few questions about the adapter and how the disc is fixed. So I took another bunch of images when I did the right side.

If anyone wants to make the same setup I can recommend it for sure.  I will also provide the 3D model for the adapter. Send me an e-mail.

Ford Mondeo ST V6 (99.996 % sure) calipers.
VW Sharan 288 mm discs.
Flex hose is longer than standard (430 mm) but has the same threads in both ends.
Home made adapter.
12.9 grade M12 and M10 bolts.

And yes, I reworked the centre cap in the lathe to make the rims fit. Works like a charm!

Before and after

At the same time (AKA turn around to get more space in the garage).

I hate rust

Therefore I am.

I hate rust fixing

Started to fix the door step on the left side which is gone since long time. There has been a hole in the rear end of the wheel arch too and when I started to explore I found way more than I wanted.
If you ever want to buy a T25 (vanagon) this the place to look for rust. It's not the first time I'v been fixing that area on a VW bus. Behind the expansion tank inside the wheel arch, look there.

Front brake assembled

Lefte side done with heat shield and all part in place.

Heat shield too...

...forgot that. Thick galvanized steel. Will stay a while...

An adapter and some 12.9 bolts later

A few tweaks in the CNC machine and we are done.
Now I need to make a new heat shield and then fix som rust on this side. After that I will make the right side which I believe will be much faster now when everything is set.
Oh, must mount the new shock too.

Slow front upgrade progress

Front brake upgrade á la home made. Old discs as hubs, Sharan discs and Ford Mondeo ST V6 calipers. Why Ford? Because I already had 'em. With EBC green stuff. I believe it'll bite a bit better.

Well, thermo plastic is... ...plastic.

Finding out the obvious is always annoying to me. The archs are made in thermo plastic, it's a matter of heating and bending and then everything is fine again.

Damn. This is too cool for me!

I... ...can't... ...take this... too cool... aaargh...

I think I have to make new plastic fenders. The originals are leaning inwards and they will be eaten by the bas ass tires. I think I'll make a new set that are going straight down and maybe a tiny bit wider. Or not?..

10 mm spacer makes approx 10 mm freedom between the tire and the upper balljoint. The grease cap was too fat so I shaved it off in the lathe. Tadaa!

Can't help it but I did another wheel resto.

The 17" wheels were a bit torn after some bad curb hits. Actually one of them might wobble (my wife hit a high curb in a right turn with speed and I went airborn inthe back seat) but if that is the case I will put the wheel upside down in my CNC mill and plane the back side.
Anyway, I thought it was a good idea to fix the scratches. As usual, it ended up with full sanding, new paint and a 2K clear coat.

Now I REALLY hope that the tires work... :-)

Large, larger, too larger

I picked up a new set of rubber today and now when they are compared
with the 16's I have mounted they look gigantic!!!
Hmmm... will they hit something in the chassi?
Right now the bus has Nokian Hakapeliitta 205/65 16C (load rate 107).
They are really nice winter tires but the summer heat kills them. I
have a set of 17" rims left after a car sale so I thought they will be
nice as summer wheels and got these Dunlop Sport XL 235/55 17 (load
rate 103w). They are actually mounted on VW T5's here from retailers.
A quick comparison is a bit scarying though. Will they fit at all?
Let's see tomorrow! :-)

The image with the five spoke rim is the 17's as today with 225/45.
They actually have a smaller diametre than the 16's. The new Dunlop
tires are compared with these, that's the image with the stacked
tires.