1968 Campervan conversion

[joaonar]

there were a lot more small parts to remove: wheel bearings, seals, etc....

... from here, for instance:

and with the help of some tools....

Although I tried to protect the interior from these parts while I was sandblasting, some sand got inside them... So, I had to clean them....

until....

 

[joaonar]

and using the same method....

and from the rear brake drums...

 

[joaonar]

I finally managed to separate these two pieces... Nice!

... afterall with the proper tools, it was an easy task:

... but before that I had to disassemble all the braking system:

 

[joaonar]

and almost done:

 

[joaonar]

Another hard task to be done: removing the bearings....

I used an small metal plate to push them out:

 

[joaonar]

without the seals we managed to remove these pieces.... A lot of fight without any proper tool (is there any?)

some of the bearings already had some dirt and sand on them...

 

[joaonar]

some parts already sandblasted (there were pieces from both suspensions)

... and both steering boxes already sandblasted:

... before....

... and after....

... the servo from the westy....

.... and the brake master cylinder...

And sanblasting at 23H....

... with 0º celsius.... cold!!

 

[joaonar]

next day morning, 11 am.....

1º celsius... days were getting colder....

... but although it was very cold I went to finish cleaning my gearbox. During the night all the oil came out...

but at the end, a lot cleaner and lighter (at least 5kg lighter :mrgreen: )

(before)

(after)

as well as my starter motor:

 

[gninnam]

Sandblasting seems to do a very good job 8)
Your not wearing latex gloves in the messy shots - the oil and crap can make a mess of your hands (makes me sound like a woman :shock: )

Keep it coming

 

[joaonar]

Your not wearing latex gloves in the messy shots - the oil and crap can make a mess of your hands (makes me sound like a woman :shock: )

:mrgreen: .... but you're right. It took me some days to clean my fingers completely :mrgreen:

(...)
Keep it coming

:mrgreen: ... and here they are...

Here are some of the parts I cleaned, already prepared to be painted and assembled. They will never rust again...
We call this treatment in Portugal as "metallized".... I'm not sure if in UK it means the same

... and more or less organized ....

.. and the ones already "metallized"....

 

[joaonar]

... my front axle waiting for his turn....

... and some parts to be zinc coated and others to be "metallized"....

Both casts for the water tanks already made....

... and some parts with metal-ready...

... in action....

(before)

 

[joaonar]

Already Lisbon I went to Vlad's bodyshop and asked him to give me a hand in my second hand splash pans...

... meanwhile I turned my camera and took some (offtopic :mrgreen: ) pictures :mrgreen:

...and after a few minutes....

... they were like new ...

:mrgreen:

 

[joaonar]

... a few days later I received my screws and nuts already zinc coated...

Kamax screws... like new :mrgreen:

... asked them to do the same in these rear brakes tubes....

...and some parts "metallized"....

and here, some pictures I took while in Viseu from my cab doors....
There were some rust appearing on these corners so I used my sandblaster to clean them ....
:|

... and after 7423 pictures, my digital camera died....

Last picture taken with it....
:mrgreen:

 

[joaonar]

a few days later I receveid this Christmas present:

it still needs some polishing...

... but I guess I will need a new corner piece....

and another one:

... and inside the same package there was this....

... poorly packaged :evil:

But I resolved this issue with the seller and with the refund, I got another one:

:mrgreen:

 

[joaonar]

a few days later and for these front bumper trims....

... I received these rubbers with a huge help from Johnny ....

Now I'm missing the rear deluxe bumper trims.
However I'm not sure if these are the correct ones for a 68 Bus so I'm not sure I will use them :roll:

 

[joaonar]

... and a half year had pass since I sandblasted the bus (or almost)... I finished it in November and these next post's are from June...

And here is where the funniest part of this 5 years saga starts :mrgreen: (and it's still going on)....

Fortunately that this garage doesn't have any moisture in the ar or at least, the moisture is kept at a very low level. So, after 6 or 7 months the parts and the underside of the bus were as you can see in the following pictures:
(some parts already had Metal-ready in it)

and as you can see, when I sandblasted the underside some rust holes appeared:

 

[joaonar]

but these weren't the only ones... I found a lot more:

(here, in these red areas)

and here....

and more in here....

all well covered with putty by my father in law :roll: .....

So during those 6/7 months I mentaly prepared myself for what was coming

:mrgreen:

I laugh and joke with what's going on but in reality this is not funny. I ended up throwing a lot of money away....
:evil:

 

[T2-Nate]

Hey man, laughing is what we all do to hide the true cost of the restoration. That's money AND effort-wise.
In many ways the bus is like a woman, Invest a lot of time and money and whaddayaget - A nice ride :lol: :lol: :lol:

Just repair the parts that really need it, don't go overboard because every patch you repair wll take the better part of a day...

Remember that the POR-15 will cure a lot of those problems,

5 years in the making huh, are those last pictures up to date? Must be anxious to drive it by now...
Mine is 3 years and going on now, just have to paint it and get a new engine.

 

[Guest]

i learnt my lesson baremetalling the whole bus then not finding the time to paint it.... alot of flash and surface rust over a year but i know it will come off and its all on show. Like Nate says POR 15 will take care of a lot of that. this is a really detailed resto and shows us alot of stuff gone into the resto we take for granted, thats what makes it a great thread .

im glad your happy with the bumper trim

 

[joaonar]

Hey man, laughing is what we all do to hide the true cost of the restoration. That's money AND effort-wise.
In many ways the bus is like a woman, Invest a lot of time and money and whaddayaget - A nice ride :lol: :lol: :lol:
Just repair the parts that really need it, don't go overboard because every patch you repair wll take the better part of a day...
Remember that the POR-15 will cure a lot of those problems,
5 years in the making huh, are those last pictures up to date? Must be anxious to drive it by now...
Mine is 3 years and going on now, just have to paint it and get a new engine.

Thanks T2-Nate....
You're right: laughing is the only way to forget all the mistakes along the way.
But I'm going straight for the third paint job when I should not have done the first one.....
Restoring the bus should have been done the right way, the first time... and how I belived it was... I really believed it!
... and how wrong I was!
These pictures have one year old... they were taken last June.
The bus is completely differente now :mrgreen:
I have at least, more 2 years ahead until the bus is ready to hit the road again... and I'm being an optimistic :mrgreen:
but see for your self on the next post's....