I Bought a Doka! From Poland! VW Vanagon Truck Build

[@meatmanifesto]

Chaotically funny video, love the polish spec repairs 🤣🤣 loving the videos all the best from the UK 🇬🇧

[@TheBarefootForge]

Oh ya, it’s insanely hacked together.

[@meatmanifesto]

@@TheBarefootForge a masterpiece of bodged engineering 🤣

[@chrishomel9558]

Very entertaining. Man, the effort they put into patching this thing with literal garbage is just astounding. It's almost a work of modern art. Love these videos. Thanks, and keep Forging ahead on this beauty.

[@TheBarefootForge]

It's "Modern Art" for sure!

[@lGuileWilliamsl]

You know, I think I need one of these. This would make a great work truck! ☺

[@TheBarefootForge]

Heck ya! That’s my plan, they’re cool as Shit!

[@rarerides]

Whether you like it or not, this is the content we all want.

[@TheBarefootForge]

Thanks for the support! Keep the engagement up, because otherwise these projects will end due to lack of funding. I’d love to keep buying the crappiest vanagons and putting them back on the road- that’s the dream!

[@jackmehoff2961]

I`m enjoying your videos, so I signed up . I had 3 bugs and a rail buggy , I Love VWs ! Your channel helps fill that void . Thank You for sharing your video, and letting us hang out .

[@TheBarefootForge]

Hey jack! Thanks man, welcome to the crew! That’s an impressive set of vehicles ya got! Which has taken you on the best adventure?

[@jackmehoff2961]

@@TheBarefootForge My first one. A 65 that thing was awesome in the two tracks. I got it stuck in snow once. I put the snow brush to the gas pedal, jumped out, and started bouncing & pushing until it got going. I ran along side, hopped in, and drove off .

[@stubenmoebel]

great video I bought one just like it last week. 1.6 L turbo diesel, but with 5 gears. Mine also smokes very strongly, as soon as the engine is warm it stops again. The 2nd gear falls out also like times...Hope there will be a small video series on the Doka. My subscription remains there for now. Greetings from good old germany

[@TheBarefootForge]

Awesome! Ya, they all smoke a little.

[@JackStolz]

Craig watching you work on pigs like this makes me so happy dude. Please keep making these videos. I learn so much from them and I appreciate it immensely.

[@TheBarefootForge]

Someone’s Gota adopt all the worst cars!

[@GoodVanGarage]

Love it!!! Keep this series going!!!!

[@TheBarefootForge]

Absolutely! Chapter 2 is nearly done, hopefully will be out in a week or so.

[@RawInSeattle]

I've been looking for a crimp tool and connecters to replace in my 87", REALY apreciate what you use

[@TheBarefootForge]

The wire crumpets and heat connectors?

[@RawInSeattle]

@@TheBarefootForge I wanted to swap out all my connector on the groun lug and the ones on the chasis eng groun/distibuter.. been having a hard time finding the right connectors to replace those oem...

[@kapteinsuperskoot6986]

Happiness on joining the DoKa club! The extra wire in the rear light cluster seems to be for the European-style fog light ~ you didn't get fog lights on those, so people inserted and wired the fog light bulb to the brake light and made a double brake light out of it. Would usually be the same bulb as reverse. L-body Mk1 Golfs also had that "feature". Enjoy the DoKa!

[@TheBarefootForge]

Thanks man! It's been a great, legendary vehicle already! Some day I'll get those lights to work CORRECTLY.

[@nealart]

Nice. Thanks for uploading

[@TheBarefootForge]

I’m here to entertain! What did you like about this video? I Just wana keep making them better!

[@nealart]

@@TheBarefootForge Problem solving - very satisfying!

[@leroythegreat]

keep these series coming! i love it

[@TheBarefootForge]

That’s the plan! What did you like most so far?

[@leroythegreat]

@@TheBarefootForge seeing the entire process from start to finish. I know nothing about cars but want to own a syncro one day so i love it

[@jackzacks]

Just found your channel. Keep it up.

[@TheBarefootForge]

Thanks man! I enjoy sharing these wild stories and recoding them in a way that I can relive in the future. It’s a fun way to record your own history in real time. If only I started this back in the yachting days…. : )

[@johnkempf1808]

"Sometimes you need to wiggle the shaft a little bit to see how much play " Winner of the double e'ntrant award of the year.

[@TheBarefootForge]

It’s true!

[@souffle3134]

Dude killer ass video thank you so much!! Nice brick hauler. Completely jealous!

[@TheBarefootForge]

I’m definitely confident that I’ll be able to “use it “ without any concerns or damaging a priceless antique! This truck, gets to do truck stuff.

[@souffle3134]

@@TheBarefootForge as an artist it’s a great platform to play with. keep it coming

[@Ford_TImelord]

Have a T3 in Australia we never got Westys but got Trakka campervans from the Australian distributors. but we still get rust here. and our spiders are huge! Great videos BTW!

[@TheBarefootForge]

Gota love a huge spider!

[@Rob01978]

Great vid :) maybe fuel pump needs a bit of tinkering to get the injector quantities correct :) Have a great Christmas!

[@TheBarefootForge]

Definitely! Pump is off and getting some much needed love right now.

[@Rob01978]

@@TheBarefootForge great news! I’m looking forward to seeing the updates on this :)

[@oldmanad]

just stumbled across your channel and have to say I love the way you work on / chat about the bits of the vans lol Currently restoring my own van and seeing the state some of the ones you get running gives me hope for success! got yourself a sub here! look forward to lots more vanagon stuff!

[@TheBarefootForge]

Thanks man! I’m glad I can inspire and entertain! Keep at it, get yours back on the road- you’ll be happy!

[@Achilles3588]

What fun. Mine is not different - European origin somewhere, but a '91 Syncro Doka with an AFN Turbo Diesel. All the wacky wiring challenges of course.

[@TheBarefootForge]

Nice! We're probably going to end up putting a TDI in here, at some point.

[@elmarruben]

If you want an easy’r startup, hook up the diesel choke. The JX dieselpumps have one.

[@TheBarefootForge]

Oh that’s hooked up and in use! Lol.

[@karloskelly]

Not a choke. It's a timing advance, and only affects the timing at idle.

[@madhuvan214]

This is epic! Yinz got a VW club out there in the burgh?

[@TheBarefootForge]

Yep! We have a big VW club, but we have an even greater Vanagon Specific club. We meet regularly to assist and support eachother.

[@m.r.3912]

Given the colour and polish history, the Doka may be delivered by GENEX to the GDR. The GDR hadn't enough BARKAS vans for the small private owned handyman businesses. So they could purchase a Vanagon (all body types) for a lot of eastgermany's Ostmark. After the german reunion those cars sometimes went further east to poland or the baltic states

[@janesecaraway3995]

Always Crack me up!! From Montgomery al 🙏 ❤️

[@TheBarefootForge]

Glad to hear it! I’m here to entertain! What was your favorite part?

[@Gunter8571]

Did you replace the burnplates before putting the injectors in, and check the pump timing

[@TheBarefootForge]

Yes the heat shields were replaced, and the pump is being rebuilt right now (next video- chapter two, coming soon!)

[@JeremaiCann]

Hey brother l love the channel and definitely a subscriber, I had a 1987 Vanagon that blew the head gasket at 147,000 miles and found out many years later that these vehicles were meant to swap engines every so many hundred thousand kilometers and it was as easy as one could drive in the morning and they swap out and install a rebuilt engine by the afternoon and they run like forever because they are meant to change…. so every time the engine gets replaced all the accessories get inspected and you basically get a rebuilt vehicle. How cool. I Would love to learn if you know any history of their regularly scheduled maintenance record, and any suggestions for folks who like to better preserve and maintain the vehicles they have now🤙🏾

[@TheBarefootForge]

Well, that's not exactly true, the engines were designed to run 150-200,000 miles, without rebuild, and often did. It just so happens lots were not maintained well and needed work or rebuilds in shorter intervals, but since they had a similar system to the older air-cooled busses in regards to the way the engine came out- they sure are easy to swap out! The air cooled ones are even easier! This one, being a turbo diesel, is not easy at all to swap out. lol

[@AnzeFurlan]

Looking good! Reminds me a bit of my own doka i bought in 2017, similar color, similar destruction :) but now it looks a bit better, higher, and with a nato canopy... on the plus side - it looks like you have an original engine, thats a plus :)

[@TheBarefootForge]

It’s coming along! I kinda feel like I bought a really cool accessory, the parcel shelf instead of the glove box, that came with something similar to “a car” around it. As time goes on, I’m finding that the parcel shelf is indeed, in great condition, but the rest of the container…..

[@rebel98cn]

Hey did you get this from south Jersey? I was looking at it on marketplace to replace my totaled 85 7 seater lol it definitely looks worse than I thought!

[@TheBarefootForge]

Yep! It’s horrible! Lol

[@rebel98cn]

@@TheBarefootForge well hey if you need any vanagon parts mine is up for auction on iaai, it’d be funny to see it in a video lol

[@blackbob3358]

Those "jam rolls" are expedient, if nothing else. They got good practice against the krauts in WW2.

[@TheBarefootForge]

I don’t understand much of anything stated in this comment.

[@alexanderdenette5101]

The double cab license plate lenses and bulb holders are the same as a van but the black housing is truck specific, you may need to look at Brickwerks in the UK for some of the JX parts and some of the doka specific parts, they do have the proper door check strap for the rear door.

[@TheBarefootForge]

Luckily we swapped to super bright LED license plate lights, and they work great in the doka housings! I’ve actually found Ken at Vanagain has most of the JX parts I’ve needed so far!

[@danielswofford2047]

Did you "time the pump"?

[@TheBarefootForge]

Oh absolutely. I had that pump rebuilt three times, off at least a dozen times, and gained pit crew efficiency in re-timing the pump.

[@jimreinhardt9165]

The filter looks like something you would find on a Diesel power vehicle. It’s a hydro disseminator.

[@TheBarefootForge]

FOR SURE!

[@mikenewman137]

For a European t3 / Vanagon its not very rusty, i am in the uk and they can be quite rusty, i have similar issues on my diesel, i am learning from you ! i hope to see more on this one.

[@TheBarefootForge]

It’s not particularly rusty, but it sure is beaten to within an inch of its life! Lol What’s wrong with your engine?

[@mikenewman137]

@@TheBarefootForge The engine in mine doesnt like starting from cold, and will run rough and smoke , once been running a few minutes its running nice and starts easier, did you check the wastegate on your turbo moves ok ?

[@ljkkj2511]

It is very used, I like it ❤😂

[@TheBarefootForge]

It’s used up 7 of its 9 lives.

[@toastthemosty]

Pull the cold start knob I also have a Poland doka! 1.6 jx turbo diesel

[@TheBarefootForge]

Nah, it ended up needing an injection pump rebuild. We had pulled that plenty. Hopefully, the pump (being put in right now) solves it! Chapter two, coming soon.

[@iscariotproject]

i hate it when the shaft is firm but you find slop in the ball

[@TheBarefootForge]

That particular combination is an obvious sign it’s worn out.

[@obsessive_doka_disorder]

Doka is the best, I’ve one with a 2.5lt Isuzu diesel engine. Legalised tractor runabout 🙃

[@TheBarefootForge]

Heck ya! That engine probably makes some real nice power!

[@michaelmyers3892]

Well that might explain a little bit while you having a rough time starting it and a few other mechanical issues LOL 😂

[@TheBarefootForge]

For sure! Well, it’s got plenty of problems still. Lol

[@michaelmyers3892]

@@TheBarefootForge yeah but she's definitely a beauty but I agree with you guys what the heck was that person thinking when they built that exhaust but at least you found out why it was clogged up and a vast majority of the reason why it wasn't running right I'm definitely going to start going on the hunt for one hell I'll even take a stripped-down cargo van version LOL

[@TheBarefootForge]

@@michaelmyers3892 the exhaust wasn’t clogged up at all, that had nothing to do with the running conditions. Or a diesel the exhaust really doesn’t matter at all, unlike on a gas engine.

[@michaelmyers3892]

@@TheBarefootForge got ya

[@TheBarefootForge]

@@michaelmyers3892 but you should definitely get a bus! Most are for sale on www.thesamba.com if you’re shopping for a US market van.

[@filipnadasky9304]

20:06 thast intake no loose of boost there and also change the engine for AHU AFN or 1Z because this engine is total garbidge or order South Africa Bellhousing and put in 2.5TDI from audi 100 :)

[@karloskelly]

The JX is anything but 'garbage'. I own a 1990 Syncro 16" camper with a Reimo conversion that has toured the world, 280,000 km, with a totally stock JX powering it. Yes, a TDI is a huge power increase but if one is not in a rush the JX with a few small modifications is a great little engine.

[@TheBarefootForge]

@@karloskelly yep, that’s my hope! It should zip around just fine.

[@njorongejames5831]

I have got a Audi variant 80 1965 manufactured.a you in a position to get for me few spares

[@TheBarefootForge]

Not sure what Audi 80 was made in 1965? I thought that was an '80s sedan?

[@J.F.K.O]

You need to let the glowplugs work before cranking

[@TheBarefootForge]

I always do, did that not show? I worked hard to get the glow plug system working 100% before driving the vehicle.

[@pokerplayer6495]

Awesome

[@TheBarefootForge]

heck ya!

[@thedougmichaels]

I’ll take the spider

[@TheBarefootForge]

Doug I have set the spider aside for you. When would you like to come pick it up?

[@jglwstlnd5261]

Why would you buy that? haha Especially from Poland.

[@TheBarefootForge]

Well, we didn’t see it till it got here, so…. Ya. Anyways, you’re enjoying it!

[@richardroos5965]

I can't believe you went for a Doka in "HORRIBLE" condition. Even if one buys a Doka in "good" condition, there will still be enough to keep one (you) with your hands dirty for life, doing repairs and routine maintenance. I bought my VW thinking it was in good condition...but have found out that it needed so much work and upgrading...and still not sure it's reliable.

[@TheBarefootForge]

The beauty of a project is that it can be a sharing and learning opportunity. With the help of this platform and our great local club- this car will bring many experiences and smiles to so many people, so I’m thrilled to have found and have the honor to own what is truly “the worst one”.