Bus Jesus DE

VW T3 Multivan (Vanagon / T25) · built 1990 · mocha brown

One bus.
Lots of sweat.
All the way to the Himalayas.

This is where I show how I turned my T3 into an off-road-capable camper – with parts lists, costs and everything that went wrong. And the trip it was all meant for: 10,000 km to Nepal.

New: the Syncro conversion All builds
The mocha-brown VW T3 with Westfalia pop-top on the beach near Bar in Montenegro
On the beach near Bar, Montenegro – November 2021
Engine
AAZ turbodiesel
with JX injection pump, over 80 hp
Drivetrain
Syncro 4WD
converted 2025, selectable, diff locks front and rear
Roof
Westfalia Mosaik
pop-top, converted myself
Heating
Diesel, 4 kW
parking heater under the driver's seat

NewBuild log · Drivetrain & chassis

Syncro conversion

A Finnish Syncro panel van as parts donor, a new front axle in the 2WD frame, AVK gearbox, 70-litre tank and pneumatics for the diff locks – and finally the switch to selectable four-wheel drive.

Donor
Syncro panel van, 1990
Today
selectable 4WD
Read the report

Build log

Not a full restoration, but a lot of time and love. Every post comes with a parts list, my own experience and – where possible – the time and money it took.

Drivetrain & chassis

Syncro conversionNew Turning a 2WD Westfalia into a Syncro – with the running gear from a Finnish donor AAZ engine swap Donor Golf, parts list with OE numbers approx. 5 days · approx. €1,400 Oil cooler & gauges Always keep an eye on oil temperature and pressure

Electrics & heating

Rev counter retrofitNew Used diesel rev counter, new circuit boards and 3D-printed parts Parking heater Fitting the diesel parking heater – now 4 kW under the driver's seat

Interior & add-ons

Westfalia pop-top My experience fitting the Mosaik roof Furniture & water system My own design instead of Reimo or Westfalia Exterior carriers Spare wheel, jerry cans and sand ladders

Travel diary · completed · 2021–2022

Journey to Nepal

In a 30-year-old T3 all the way to Kathmandu – in the middle of the pandemic and through a region in upheaval. 16 weeks of travel diary, followed by the Annapurna Circuit, India, Georgia and Central Asia.

Distance
10,000 km
Weekly reports
16
Annapurna Circuit
200 km
  1. 01Dress rehearsal
  2. 02Weeks 1–16: to Nepal
  3. 03Annapurna Circuit
  4. 04By train through India
  5. 05Georgia
  6. 06Kazakhstan & Kyrgyzstan
  7. 07The way home
To the travel diary
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Why Bus Jesus?

A silly idea my friends came up with: back then I had long, golden hair, liked wearing sandals – and was in the middle of converting my T3. The name stuck.

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