Anyone with a Kubvan?

Hi All.
Ive been kind of lurking for awhile now just trying to soak up some
info. I just got my Kubvan back after having sold it about eight years
ago. Its a mess and I am trying to redo it, I bought a Rabbit diesel as
a donor and bought a few manuals/books so I am ready to start.
Right now it is having a new head and injector pump installed and the
auto tranny is being redone. When I get it back here I am going to
replace the entire brake system. Alot of the work I can handle but some
stuff has me kind of stumped and I was wondering if I could possibly
get a few answers here?
For starters I pulled the entire wiring harness and dashboard out of
the Rabbit, both engine and dash harnesses. I think it will be a pretty
simple operation to install the Rabbit harness in the Kubvan. The
reason I want to install the Rabbit wiring is to have a wiring system
that I can use the manual diagrams to repair/troubleshoot. I want to
install the Rabbit instrument cluster as well as the factory air
conditioning system. Now I know that this will make the Kubvan kind of
non stock/original but honestly I am not that worried about originality
because I dont have plans to sell it. Here is problem number one. I
will need to recable all the controls. The heater and ac control cables
as well as the choke and hood release are going to have to be replaced.
Since there is no standard cable for a Kubvan with Rabbit
instrument/heat /air parts can anyone tell me where to get the cables
necessary and how to determine what the proper length should be? I mean
I do know enough to measure the routing and all but is there a need for
allowances ie: pull distance? How would one go about ordering the
cable, I mean there are different types and I am sure and sizes etc.
What determines what size the cable should be and what nomenclature
would one use to describe the cable. Is it as simple as getting
standard choke cable and cutting it to size? I did notice some of the
cables were covered with a rubber or vinyl is this for a specific
purpose? I just cant seem to find any information concerning these
cables.
The other thing is I have discovered there are two different types of
alternators. Each of the diesel motors had a different alternator. One
is considerably larger in size than the other but there doesnt to seem
to be any specifications as to what is the best alternator to use on
the diesel. Considering that I am going to install AC I would guess I
want the higest output but is that a voltage regulator thing or is
there a definate difference between the alternators?
I apologize for the overkill with the information but I did want to
provide as much information as possible so I might be able to get some
help. Any help is greatly appreciated.

On Sat, 19 Jan 2008 02:47:18 -0500, A J <mr.a2l1atgmaildotcom> wrote:

>Hi All.
>Ive been kind of lurking for awhile now just trying to soak up some
>info. I just got my Kubvan back after having sold it about eight years
>ago. Its a mess and I am trying to redo it, I bought a Rabbit diesel as
>a donor and bought a few manuals/books so I am ready to start.
>Right now it is having a new head and injector pump installed and the
>auto tranny is being redone. When I get it back here I am going to
>replace the entire brake system. Alot of the work I can handle but some
>stuff has me kind of stumped and I was wondering if I could possibly
>get a few answers here?
>For starters I pulled the entire wiring harness and dashboard out of
>the Rabbit, both engine and dash harnesses. I think it will be a pretty
>simple operation to install the Rabbit harness in the Kubvan. The
>reason I want to install the Rabbit wiring is to have a wiring system
>that I can use the manual diagrams to repair/troubleshoot. I want to
>install the Rabbit instrument cluster as well as the factory air
>conditioning system. Now I know that this will make the Kubvan kind of
>non stock/original but honestly I am not that worried about originality
>because I dont have plans to sell it. Here is problem number one. I
>will need to recable all the controls. The heater and ac control cables
>as well as the choke and hood release are going to have to be replaced.
>Since there is no standard cable for a Kubvan with Rabbit
>instrument/heat /air parts can anyone tell me where to get the cables
>necessary and how to determine what the proper length should be? I mean
>I do know enough to measure the routing and all but is there a need for
>allowances ie: pull distance? How would one go about ordering the
>cable, I mean there are different types and I am sure and sizes etc.
>What determines what size the cable should be and what nomenclature
>would one use to describe the cable. Is it as simple as getting
>standard choke cable and cutting it to size? I did notice some of the
>cables were covered with a rubber or vinyl is this for a specific
>purpose? I just cant seem to find any information concerning these
>cables.
>The other thing is I have discovered there are two different types of
>alternators. Each of the diesel motors had a different alternator. One
>is considerably larger in size than the other but there doesnt to seem
>to be any specifications as to what is the best alternator to use on
>the diesel. Considering that I am going to install AC I would guess I
>want the higest output but is that a voltage regulator thing or is
>there a definate difference between the alternators?
>I apologize for the overkill with the information but I did want to
>provide as much information as possible so I might be able to get some
>help. Any help is greatly appreciated.

What is the mess? I would think that the wiring cannot be that
complicated. You have lights but no engine management wiring. It just
does not seem that there can be that many wires.

Now the desire for AC is a different story. The Rabbits did not have a
history of great wiring and that wiring harness is a bit complicated.
I suspect most of the complaints on Rabbits were centered on a leaky
windshield which flooded the fuse and relay box causing major
corrosion. That said my two Rabbits did not seem to have any
electrical gremlins.

The vinyl covering is probably to keep moisture out of insides.
Moisture equals corrosion and causes stiction. I would install the
standard cable and see if you can make it work. If it does not work
measure how much longer you need. Then off to a big junkyard in search
of something that may work. Look at any vehicle that may have a
similar cable. Big old dump trucks with diesels or tractors.

The gas Rabbits had 55, 65, and 75 amp alternators. I suspect the
diesels had 75 or larger to recharge the larger battery which takes a
bigger drain operating glow plugs and a bigger starter. I do believe
that the gas Rabbit with ac had the 75 to keep up with the radiator
fan that runs when the AC is on.

The amperage comes from the windings inside the alternator. The
voltage regulator controls voltage not amperage. Usually bigger amps
means a larger physical size.

Not a very helpful illustration.
http://www.autopartswarehouse.com/shop_parts/alternator/volkswagen/rabbit.html