Volkswagen Transporter T25/T3 Syncro
Mike and Sally spent a long time trying to decide what vehicle to take. After seeing the Long Way Round participants try the road of bones to Magadan, Siberia, we decided that this rugged road should be a significant destination to plan toward. The vehicle has to not only get there and back, but also be able to perform on the difficult roads.
Land Rovers, Mitsibushi's, Toyota's, Mercedes and more were considered. After months of looking on the internet, we finally decided on the Syncro. Why? Well, this video started the love for the syncro but as well as this, there are a few more advantages. 4x4's that are usual in the UK, (Defenders, discovery's etc) all have great off road capabilities and reliability, however, the living space in them isn't big. Roof tents are great but with the low and high temperatures of the countries we intend on going to (as well as bears, tigers, snakes and the weather!!), we thought being inside an insulated van would be warmer/cooler. Also, dust and water like to get into every nook and cranny they can. A bed on the outside of the vehicle is a no no.
A van is what we need. How big is too big? We looked at these and these and these. Too big. The reason they are too big is because of quite a few reasons. Firstly is obviously fuel consumption. the bigger the vehicle the bigger the engine (ish). Secondly, shipping is a consideration. If you want to cross over to America, the most cost effective way (so I've heard) is to put your vehicle into a container and load it onto a ship. This means you can fly over to your destination and not have to spend long periods of time on a boat. There is added safety with this too. It is possible to drive your vehicle on and off the boats you use but this will allow bad people to access your van and potentially break in. Little buggers!
So the Syncro will fit in a shipping container, and fit us two inside for sleeping, cooking etc.
Specs
This is the gunf from the seller, with annotations where possible.
- Upright 1.9 litre diesel 1z mtdi (conversion from a VW Golf)
- K04 turbo (shoves the air into the engine faster)
- .216 injectors (the size of the the nozzles that squirt the fuel into the enhgine)
- Pace 3 core charge cooler, swirl pot & radiator (it cools the air that goes into the engine
- Oil cooler
- Stainless steel exhaust (no rust........)
- Air cleaner cited in the locker (the air gets filtered before going into the engine)
- Refurbished gearbox using 4.86 diff & 0.77 4th gear (apparently good for off road situations and the 4th gear for cruising)
- Disc brakes front & rear with new handbrake cable (more efficient that the originals)
- Power steering
- 5x Goodyear/ powder coated Penta alloys (wheels, nice ones)
- 6x BFG MTs/Merc steels (more wheels, nice tyres)
- Winch with remote & isolation when not required (very good if it works.....but at the moment, it doesnt.)
- Chequer plate load bed
- Galvanised roll bar (keeps the passengers from getting crushed should it roll over)
- Tonneau cover
- Golf Recaro interior with 3 rear seat belts (quiite nice seats)
- Sliding rear windows
- 3 diesel batteries, split charged & inverter
- Dash gauges – vdo oil pressure, oil temp, voltmeter auto gauge egt and boost & turbo air inlet temp (these look cool)
- CB & Ariel (like a trucker!)
1990 mtdi 4 door Double Cab (Mtdi = mechanical turbo, so no computers or complicated shizzle wizzle)
What we aim to do.
Obviously this is a pick up, not a van. Our intentions are to build a living space on the load bed at the back, enough for sleeping and storage. Currently designing this so plans are not yet complete. Will update soon!
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