1968 Campervan conversion

[joaonar]

after a lot of work and water, it became more presentable and also a lot more desinfected :mrgreen:

I ended this task about 6 pm.
the "drying machine" was working at 100% :mrgreen:

and a couple of minutes later, I started taking the bus apart:

... and so it stayed, waiting for the next day.

 

[joaonar]

Next day I needed to get some more working material: 1 ton of sand for the sandblasting machine.

.... but filling it with a 1 ton of sand and driving it with a low air pressure on all tires wasn't a smart idea. These 50 km's turned to be the worse I ever drove. :roll:

... but I did managed to get to Hugo's bodyshop safely.
Meanwhile another area that needed hugo's work:

but because I didn't find a new replacement part, Hugo made a new one himself:

and after sand blasting this area, it will be welded in place
:wink:

 

[joaonar]

the second bus started loosing some parts:

But the temperature was really high and working under this blazing sun isn't easy:

(while driving on the main road to hugo's bodyshop, my car thermometer was showing 37.5º 8) )

.... still not clear whether we are in a workshop or a sauna :mrgreen:
But I needed to make some progress so regardless of the heat, parts were being dismantled:

But as the minutes passed, one would expect that the temperature became more acceptable ... but no....
Not even with the gate fully open and a breeze coming in:

... at the end ot the day, there were still a few parts in the bus: steering box, gear box...

Then the main task was to remove the roof. But with that scenario ....

... it was very hard to make it.

 

[joaonar]

A few days later I returned to Hugo's bodyshop and this was the scenario:

The "new" roof was in really better shape than the original one... and fortunately, because frankly, we were not sure :mrgreen:

... and the original one:

 

[joaonar]

And while I was looking for what he had done in those couple of days, he was taking out the roof frame from the "new" bus, since the 68 bus had these areas completely rotten:

... and here's hugo taking out the roof frame:

 

[joaonar]

I then realized that he had taken out a lot of roof parts from the 68 bus :shock: :

... the bus didn't even have the parts I took from the yellow westy.
Not even the "roof supports" and the spring system for the trunk lid.
:shock:

 

[joaonar]

while Hugo was removing the roof frame from the blue bus, I started sand blasting the roof:

fortunately (and once again) the roof is in much better condition than the original one was:

... and here is a picture of the few small rotten areas:

...and compared to the original ....

... makes this new roof, a great replacement panel!
8)

 

[joaonar]

while I was sand blasting under this blazing sun , Hugo was still removing the frame... so manny welding spots :roll:

and some 1.375.236.502 welding spots late, this task was almost over!

While I was sandblasting, firefighting planes flew over us me. This kept going on all day long:

 

[joaonar]

Next day, when I arrived to Hugo's bodyshop the blue bus was already outside and without the roof frame.
It's for sale :mrgreen:

.... and the roof frame was already sandblasted:

I then decided to start using Marine Clean and Metal Ready in it. Hugo was :shock:
:mrgreen:

... especially when I started using the water jet machine and washed the frame to remove the excesses of both products :mrgreen:
Despite the 37º, I started drying the frame with a hairdryer

 

[joaonar]

meanwhile it was necessary to sandblast the '68 bus, where the new frame was going to be welded. So, I moved the frame aside so we could push the 68 bus outside:

... and hugo started cleaning it

.. under a hellish heat and dress like it was winter :mrgreen: :

-".... the sand rebound will hurt my arms...."

What a ***** :mrgreen:
the best way to have a private sauna :lol:

 

[joaonar]

While hugo was sandblasting, I removed all this sealing mastic:

and some areas that we needed to clean:

 

[joaonar]

meanwhile I was still treating the roof frame:

Hugo was still very reluctant about these products...

Buses all around :mrgreen:
Parts and buses everywhere...

 

[gninnam]

Wow :shock: , some serious work going on there and also in that heat :mrgreen:

Keep the updates coming and the pictures as it is making a great story

 

[joaonar]

thanks Andy....

some more :mrgreen:

In the portuguese forum, a member made me this question:
"Wouldn't be easier to cut and weld the roof by the bus pilars?"

yes.. it would! But that was not the plan. The question goes far beyond the simple exchange of a rotten roof for another one in a better exterior shape.
The plan was to change roofs and prepare the new one for several years (maybe decades) without rusting. For that, we had to unweld all the roof "components", and clean/treat them individually.
So, maybe using some pictures this is easier to explain.

Once again, my original roof was rotten in these areas:

O lot of this corrosion came from all my familly breathing inside the bus during our sleep and also from a lot of meals prepared inside it.
Meanwhile the blue bus was in far more better shape in some areas but a lot worse in other ones:

.. it even had a dead mouse in it:

As you can see, corrosion was everywhere

 

[joaonar]

so, when Hugo decided to remove both roof frames, it became possible to sandblast and treat all the rusted areas:

... and after being cleaned, Hugo paited all that area with Aluminum Protective Paint from Wurth (and this time, showing to us all that afterall he's not a *****) :mrgreen:

.... he's not wearing a breathing mask although I've told him so
:roll:

 

[joaonar]

 

[joaonar]

same aluminum spray was used in the frame:

... and after the paint dried, Hugo began placing the frame in it's new place 8) :

~

 

[joaonar]

and then he began welding it to the bus:

 

[joaonar]

and in the midle of the task, this was the result:

 

[joaonar]

meanwhile I was treating the roof... but to prevent it from becoming a swimmingpool we had to open some small holes:

First I used Marine Clean....

It's a good product. The hotter the better:

and finally I used Metal Ready:

Hugo kept saying that he would never use them in one of his cars.
:mrgreen: