I always wished for better lighting when backing up my van at night, and last summer I built a custom system that provided that and much more. In addition to wanting reverse lighting, I wanted the ability to light up the area around my van while driving or in camp or while loading kayaking gear […]
LED lights, Smart Switch, Vanagon, Westfalia
In May of 2011, I embarked on several projects to improve the functionality of my 1985 VW Vanagon Westfalia camper. After installing a Bostig turbo charger and designing & building an Arduino-based battery monitor, I designed and installed a solar panel system to keep my beer cold all summer long. But of course, just as […]
photos, van, video, Westfalia
It began with a sketch on a whiteboard just under a year ago, and today the device is functioning beautifully in my van. Granted, I only worked on this project for about 2 weeks last year before kayaking dragged me away from it and during the past 2 weeks, but it is still gratifying to […]
digital, van, video, Westfalia
Warm days are beginning to grace us along the Front Range of Colorado and with that comes my annual yearning to get back on the water in my whitewater kayak. Although I have kayaked and owned my van for many years, two years ago I made deliberate choices about both that have had significant positive […]
kayak, stories, van, Westfalia
When the day was over, I had been asked this by at least four separate individuals. And to think that I had never heard of this trick before this week. Unfortunately it didn’t help, and I needed a bigger metaphorical hammer to get my van moving in the snow again. The spring snow storms have […]
outdoors, stories, van, Westfalia
Today marks the second week I have had my Zetec up in running in my 1985 Westfalia! I had already put 300 miles on it, so yesterday I gave it a thorough check out and everything looked great. This morning, I drove it up I-70 in Colorado to go skiing, which was the final exam […]
Bostig, gps, stories, van, Westfalia
I can’t believe how incredible the Zetec is in my Vanagon! Joe came down and provided a tremendous amount of help to me this weekend, and we got the van running beautifully today, 8 days after I tore out the old VW waterboxer engine! I will let video speak for itself (PG13 for language)! Bostig […]
Bostig, stories, van, Westfalia
It was another long day and a great conclusion to the weekend to be able to see the Zetec mounted in the van! There was a lot of incidental work like figuring out how to take apart (put back together) CV axles, mounting brackets in the engine bay, transferring equipment to the new transmission, and […]
Bostig, stories, van, video, Westfalia
I am moving forward quickly with preparations on my Zetec engine prior to the transplant into the Vanagon. I have completed the SK-A (adapter) and SK-C (cooling) steps of the conversion process which means that I am a few steps away from being ready to pull the old engine out and put the new one […]
Bostig, stories, van, Westfalia
