• First all the 16″ parts were removed from a crashed 16″ and put on this 14″. They never made a 16″ RHD so it cannot be passed off as one.
• Gearbox rebuilt by Aidan Talbot – uprated third and fourth gear pairs, oil baffles, de-coupler and new shims, washers and bearings.
• Those are original alloy wheels – not the copies and there are five of them.
• The engine was fitted with a Eurospares kit from California. This includes a metal box and hatch to accommodate the engine at the angle it is supposed to run at.
• The engine itself has very low milage (300 miles when installed).
• New springs all round.
• Original power steering setup with transmission fluid and a pump on the engine.
• The intake cooler is in the void behind the rear left light with a little perspex window.
• The bars and covers on the popup roof have been powder coated and the canvas was new – still never been used.
• I think the seats are special Synchro seats – they have a more bucket shape.

The owners says:

I’m having to sell it! My poor – NOT original 16″ Syncro. It was originally a 14″ Syncro panel van made in 1992. One of the first owners (there have been four before me) grafted on the Westfalia roof and did all he could to make it into a 16″ – he already had a crashed 16″ so transferred all the 16″ parts of which there is a long list. Then he welded on all the plates for strengthening under and inside.

I don’t know how long this took him but from what I have heard it was four or five years that it was in a warm garage having all this done to it.

Then in 2001 my friend Trevor bought it from him. He ran a VW garage so it was in a nice warm dry garage and stripped the van down replacing and powder-coating parts as needed. It took him fifteen years to get it to the point where I bought it from him – still in pieces. It had been there for 15 years.

I was lucky that Darren Watkins of Wedgies Workshop, Newton Abbot was available at this point because he’s done a very nice job of fitting the new PD 1.9 engine and finishing it all off.

I have just recently got it back from him  – but I have to sell it now.

It was with Darren for three years so out of the 26 years since it was first registered it has spent 23 years off road – in various garages so has only been in use for three or four years.

So… The gearbox was stripped down and rebuilt by Aiden Talbot so there’s all his paperwork to show what he did. This includes upgraded gear-pairs for third and fourth gears, oil baffles, decoupler and new for old seals and bearings.  – He’s the man!

The engine was taken from a crashed Passat with delivery miles only and since then, apart from test runs, it’s only come up to Surrey from Newton Abbot and is showing 600 miles on the clock. The engine is fitted using a Eurospares kit from California fitted at the angle it’s supposed to be at. The kit includes a metal shelf with a hatch for the additional height. Darren put this on a strut so it stays up when you need it to.

It has new springs all round and those wheels – there are five of them. I don’t like them much but I’m told they are quite sought after. They are remaking them now. – copies.

It has the original power steering set-up with transmission fluid and a pump on the engine. The intake-cooler rad is in the void behind the left rear light with a little perspex window. The tyres are quite old now but they have plenty of tread.

The bars and covers on the popup roof were powder coated the canvas was new – never been used. I think the seats are special Syncro seats (Dan’s note: they’re ISRI seats).  They have a more bucket shape – so you don’t fall out I guess.