Volkswagen t5 1.9 Tdi camper/day van AC. T6.1 out T6 Inside cab. Fully rebuilt

2009 Volkswagen T5 1.9 TDI T28 Air
Con, Camper van / day van.

I apologise for the long winded
description. I know it should be short and factual but this is a very
unique van and needs describing as such.

For sale is my much loved 3 year
completed project. I purchased this van May ’23 as a base to build a
camper for me to get away at weekends. I have been a mechanic for
over 20 years. Specialising in VW diesels. It was purchased with a
full shell rebuild in mind. So that is what it has had.

For me the actual year of the base van
was key, I know the which years and engines to avoid. Ive fixed
enough over the years. 2009 was the last year a VW van was produced
without DPF, and fitted with the 1.9 PD TDI. There is only two
engines worth having in these vans the 1.9PD and the 2.0 CR in the
5.1. All the engines after that in my opinion are ticking time bombs
and its like winning the lottery if you get a good one. So with that
said it has the easiest engine to work on and simplest to fix.
Without the hideous DPF, and Adblue systems to cause constant
headaches and other faults in the later vans.

It came with a Cat from the factory and
it still has it in place.

I do prefer the looks of the later vans
though. Inside and out. So I have converted the outside to 6.1, and
the cab to 6. The 6 dash looked better to me than the 6.1, and it
worked better with the original t5 components. So I went down that
route.

It looks the part inside and out. With
a good solid drivetrain to move it along.

I removed the original engine and
gearbox first. Opened up the engine. It was done. The gearbox not far
behind. So gearbox went off to a local specialist for rebuild and I
set about the engine. The bottom end is a large journal block, and
the head off a BRS T5 1.9. The replacement engine was fully
inspected while stripped and rebuilt using genuine seals and gaskets
from TPS. New oil pump, rebuilt injectors and obviously a new genuine
timing belt and water pump were also fitted at the same time. I did
have a used turbo at work and fitted this at the time. This has since
been replaced with a reconditioned unit as the veins were sticking.
The power is increased with long-term reliability in mind and
supporting modifications done.

The rebuilt gearbox was fitted, along
with a new clutch and DMF. I drove it daily for a year before
converting the inside covering over 10k miles. No problems
whatsoever. Pulls like a Train and returning reasonable real world
mpg of 28 to 35 round town and up to 45 on a run.

All the suspension components have been
replaced. The shocks and springs are from a delivery mileage T6.1 I
fitted air ride to at work. I purchased them off the customer. Its
not lowered and I didn’t want it lowered on 20’s as they feel a hard
ride. But they are genuine and still have the factory stickers with
date of manufacture. All the ball joints and drop links were replaced
with heavy duty alternatives and genuine mountings from TPS. The arms
are poly bushed. Again Just over 10k miles on these.

It was parked up for 14 months while I
converted it. The brakes looked a mess so before its MOT its had new
discs and pads on all 4 corners and I even treated it to new dust
shields and gave the calipers a quick coat of paint too. So to sum it
up. Other than the block and head. Everything else has done 10k miles
or less.

On to the body. T6.1 front end parts
were sourced. All genuine parts used. Other than the wings as they
were hard to find at the time. A mixture of genuine used and new from
TPS parts were used with the rest. A splitter was added and black
parts painted gloss black. The badge was painted blue and now houses
the 240v hook up connector. My intentions down the line were to
tailgate the rear end to add a shower. So other than rear lights I
have not done a great deal there. The full van was then sanded right
back. Epoxy primed and re painted. Its not changed colour it has
always been Ravenna Blue or LA5W if you prefer. Just a fresh coat.
The wheels have been refurbished in satin black. Done just before MOT
so tyres are as new.

Two Renogy 200w solar panels are fitted
to the roof. These are proper panels not stick on. So will last
longer and not overheat. I don’t particularly like the look of them,
so I have added solid roof rails to hide them best I can. A permanent
Necvox Digital Aerial is also mounted on the roof for the TV.

Moving on to the interior starting in
the cab. First the whole van was sound deadened then covered with
dodo mat. Fleece was then added on top and in all the voids.

T6 Caravelle dash and door cards have
been fitted. Re-trimmed in black Alcantara. As are the roof, and A +
B pillars. Other than the steps no plastics are on show anywhere. The
sun visors, grab handle, and switch panel are black to match the rest
of the cab. Air conditioning was fitted when I had the engine and
dash out. The controls are added to the dash.

Focal component speakers are fitted to
the doors and tweeters in the A pillars. Two Apline 250watt
amplifiers are mounted under the passenger seat. One powers the
components and the other a JBL sub fitted in a custom box under the
same seat. The Amps are covered to still enable storage at one side
of the seat base. The door cards and under dash area are fitted with
LED’s that come on with the vans lights. They can change every
colour of the spectrum and can be turned off permanently with remote
if preferred. Electric windows and switches were fitted at the same
time as the door cards.

The seats have been trimmed at the same
time as the bed cushions were made. So have literally been to the
test centre and back. Seats are black with blue Bentley stitch, and
the cab is carpeted.

Into the rear. I only purchased 1 item
for the back. The unit the sink is fitted in. I liked the tamber door
and I didn’t fancy my chances of replicating it. The rest has been
custom made. And to be honest I should have made that unit as the
amount of modifying it needed to be useable was crazy and the tamber
door simple to do. The unit has a Dometic sink and twin ring hob
fitted as well as an Alpicool cr50 12v compressor fridge/freezer with
LG compressor.

The rest of the units are built around
a 25mm steel box frame. Split into compartments to house and separate
equipment and storage. The area underneath the seat next to the sink
is used to house a 230 AH deep cycle gel cell battery. (I raced RC
cars for years and couldn’t sleep above a giant lipo. Ive seen many
fires). On top of the battery are all the clearly labelled main fuses
and isolators. A separate section in this box houses the Renogy MPPT,
solar panel isolator, and main lower current fuse box. This box is
vented for cooling. To the rear of that seat, under a separate hatch.
The 240v to 12v Victron charger is mounted along with the EHU RCD
box. Ive been running the fridge< lights and inverter to charge
my tools. The lowest I have got the battery down to is 93% on a
cloudy day. When its sunny its stopped at 99-100 % fully charged. So
it shouldn't need the EHU really and be totally off grid.

Under the seat at the rear of the U
shape is mainly storage with the gas box fitted in here. It has a
Sterling power 60 amp DC to DC charger hidden the opposite side. The
sliding door under seat area has storage at the front and a Cotek
sinewave 12v to 240v inverter in the rear with remote switch. Two
sockets are fitted to this unit. One is for use on EHU and the other
the inverter. They cannot be used at the same time by design. All the
under seat areas are fitted with lights and will light up when
opened.

The table is the bed panel and has a
removable leg. The Table is stored at the back by the doors during
transit.

I made a Halo roof panel, its fitted
with colour changing LED's and can change any colour of the spectrum,
flash, dance etc. Also can be left off. These are controlled by
remote. Door operated courtesy lights x4, 6 x Dimmable spots, and 2x
flexible reading lights with USB sockets are fitted at the rear. The
roof is trimmed in black Alcantara to match the front.

The rear walls are carpeted in quality
black carpet. Not the cheap 4 way stretch. Mounted to the walls are
the controls for the laverna Pro 2kw diesel heater, Renogy smart
shunt monitor for the battery and the dimmer switch for the lights.

A Cello 12v TV/DVD combo is fitted.
This is connected to the roof mount Necvox aerial and mounted on a
bracket off the B pillar.

This van is a full custom built van.
Built by a time served mechanic and general car nut. I set out to
built it to look the part, be functional for what I wanted and needed
from the van. And most importantly as simple to maintain and repair
as possible going forward.

I realise the fact it doesn't have a
tent strapped to the roof will put some off but I am not a fan of
taking a perfectly good steel box and fitting a piece of fibreglass
and canvas to it. The van was built with long weekends in mind and
not to be lived in. I can deal with the low roof just fine for the
time I would actually spend in it.

Also it being an older base vehicle
that has covered some miles now will put others off. The shell, front
subframe, rear arms and hubs are all that is left of the original
van. This van looks like a £50k+ van. Has the best engine produced
by VW full stop in my and many other mechanics opinion. Has been
completely rebuilt and all the inside is brand new. No DPF or Adblue
worries in the future and is completely MOT legal in the future
should the laws around testing diesels be changed.

I challenge anyone to find a better
equped van and finished to this standard. I welcome any inspection
or trial. The van has 12 months MOT and is ready to go out and enjoy
the sun straight away. Private plate include in the sale.
I have made plans to leave the uk permanently now. So unfortunately I wont get to enjoy my hard work and it must go.

Any questions please ask

Thank you for your patience and
interest.