THE TRASH SYNCRO DEBUT
The Tale of the Trash Syncro
Since 2014, there’s been a red tin top Syncro van floating around the shop. It was not running and pretty beaten up. For years, it was effectively a parts van—completely disassembled and without functioning elements. But the van wasn’t always like that. In fact, it came to us in 2013 as one our first large projects—the customer was hoping to do a full body/paint restoration and Subaru conversion. After taking the deposit and slowly getting to work, the customer ultimately decided to not complete the project. In exchange for the work we already completed, he offered to sign the title over to us. So, we accepted.
Honestly, we never had a plan for this Syncro. It sat around for years, occasionally getting pushed from one spot to another.
About nine months ago, I was in the shop on a Saturday morning and—to my surprise—this van was sitting on a lift. “That’s valuable real estate. There’s no reason for it to be there,” I immediately thought to myself. Well, word caught fire that a clandestine effort to revive this vehicle was underway. Not just revive the van, but build a monster out of it.
Over the last 9 months, I watched the Peace Vans team pour hundreds of hours of off-the-clock time into something that was meant for the junkyard. We affectionately named it the Trash Syncro and set a goal to finish the van in time for the cult event known as Syncrofest in Hollister Hills, California.
You may not draw this conclusion by looking at Peace Vans from the outside, but the team generally doesn’t enjoy being in the public eye. With the exception of myself, the rest of the team likes observing events from the background. This is particularly true in the Vanagon world—we’ve always worked hard to be respectful, quiet members of that community. We really just prefer to let our work do the talking. When we attend events like Syncrofest we’re usually off in a corner camping with our crew and casually engaging with everyone else.
Syncrofest, for those of you who don’t know, isn’t just a plain old VW event. It’s kind of the “big boys playing with their big boy toys” sort of deal. There’s all types of 4-wheel drive vehicles, climbing hills and ripping up off-road trails.
A few weeks before the event, the beast started roaring to life. Test laps were taken around SODO, kinks worked out and final touches added. As departure day approached, we all stood back and admired what the shop team built. To the naked eye, it did kind of looked like a pile of … well … trash, but if you crawled under the van and knew what to look for, it was a true work of art. At this point, the team was dying to set out on their 14-hour journey to Synrofest.
Let’s just say, the Trash Syncro crushed it. There was not a trail, obstacle or path it couldn’t take on and defeat. While I wasn’t there, the reports via spotty cell phone connection were nothing but smiles and fist bumps of triumph.
When it came time to award the King Syncro trophy (effectively Best-in-Show) at the end of the weekend, the Trash Syncro won! As the team reached a reliable cell phone connection, word got to me about the honorable award.
Proud is a word that just doesn’t seem to say enough. But, that's all I have. I was insanely proud of the team and particularly Corey who had poured so much effort and passion into the Trash Syncro. There really is no better feeling than being acknowledged by peers, and it was so rewarding to see the team's accomplishments.
-Harley Sitner