1969 project Bluebell - STOP, STRIP DOWN AND START AGAIN!

[benveedub]

Heres my bus project...
1969 T2 camper
80k on the clock
1600 twinport





now the worst area....



but look at it.......STUNNING ( this is a personal opinion which some may not agree :lol: )



inside.........



best badge in the world!!!



hopefully we'll be able to have years of family holidays in it like i had as a kid! (had a t2 bay and a t25) those are the holidays you remember!! haha

thanks for looking any help along the way will be welcomed with open arms!!

Regan Clan

 

[Jailed up]

Welcome to the world of Bus ownership...

Needs some work,but dont they all?? (mine anyway!!)

Good luck 8)

 

[sparkywig]

Can't beat a '69.

Good luck.

 

[ozziedog]

looks absolutely wonderfull and I like the rhd, that rear corner is just the newness wearing off and won`t take a jiffy to sort out at all. :mrgreen:

Ozziedog,,,,,,,,,,,, See you at a show soon then :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

 

[68_early_bay]

Welcome and good luck with the resto

 

[benveedub]

right finished stripping the inside out and waiting for the gasket kit for the oil strainer so it will of had a oil change

just been looking around and here are some pics of the worst affected areas....

here's the bit behind the step into the cab, trying to work out if it's an MOT failure
and you can see a hole in the foot well too i'll be ordering the panel soon.





then the window sills need some attention luckily i'm replacing these windows anyway as the quarter lights are knackered.





cleaned up the front dash and put in the new ignition



main bit of the floor is solid just on the corners need a bit of work



found this in the back and sorted it out (rust treated and fibreglassed, will probably buy a new one in the future)



then some new parts arrived.....



picked up a small mig today too so hopefully some things will start to happen

i'll get pics up of the wings too as they're both a bit poorly and the sills may need a little work too..

 

[Marriedblonde]

Looks like a good project, as others have said you can;t beat a 69

Why have I not got a painted dash in my 69 though ???

 

[benveedub]

from what i've read some 69's didn't have the painted dash??? must of been the transition year! :lol:

I'm driving the missus mad atm....the van has become my life!! i love it!!!

 

[benveedub]

just done the oil change and had it run for a while...

a knocking noise started to come fromn the engine.....guessing its not good

the v belt does seem loose...

 

[benveedub]

hey everyone finally got a chance to sort out the belt and tackle the knocking!!

just want some thumbs up, i'm not very mechanically minded so this is time to learn....

turned the engine to open up no.1 is this correct.....



the rocker covers came off and went to check the the valves to see if they had any play in them....



the furthest one doesn't move and the next one to it had slight play...does this mean that they're too tight?

hope this post makes sense?

cheers

Ben

 

[benveedub]

Hey everyone, i've just reset the valves to 0.15mm.....

2 of them were really tight to where i couldn;t get the feeler gauge in!! havin sorted this i put the rockers on a tried to fire it up and it struggled for a bit when it eventually fired it idled really slowly then when accelerating it picks up really slow!!

have i done anything wrong?

cheers

Ben

 

[sparkywig]

Looks like a good project, as others have said you can;t beat a 69

Why have I not got a painted dash in my 69 though ???

If it's a US bus it'll have a padded dash.

 

[benveedub]

had a bit of trouble getting it started again after valve adjustment ended up being the ignition timing....
that knocking noise dissapeared as the engine warmed up! and the smoke went too.... :lol:
all fairness it's been sat for 4 years!

Oil change has been done and sparks too

 

[benveedub]

finally started some body work



i admit not the tidiest job but it improved further down, now that i'm getting to know the welding machine a bit better....

may start some "patchwork" this week just booked off some time off work!!

any tips welcome

 

[benveedub]

right a bit of body work done today operation sand and smooth this weekend

this was inside,





and this just under the window, i have lifted up the rubber and to my suprise the frame is fine





got a few papers for the orbital sander to tackle it all over the next few days then it's over to the other side for the serious work!!

 

[creationblue]

Keep up the good work mate 8)

 

[benveedub]

hey everyone
well done a little more today.....pure fluke!! but learning slowly... but please any tips are most welcome!

alot of rust on the passenger side floor......
cut it out...


used the old cutting for a rough idea on size....


having cut the new one, measured and cut a slight groove in to bend it easier....




trial fit.....seems ok?




then sanded the fibreglass filler on the rear arch and filled with fine filler.....


and my new ignition set up

 

[Mickey Sam]

looks absolutely wonderfull and I like the rhd, that rear corner is just the newness wearing off and won`t take a jiffy to sort out at all. :mrgreen:

Ozziedog,,,,,,,,,,,, See you at a show soon then :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

"Newness wearing off " !! - you'll get to love Ozzie :lol: :lol:


Looks like you've made a great star Ben, keep it up , take plenty of pics, and good luck with the rest of it ,

Mick

 

[benveedub]

some new things in the post.... finally sorted out a temp exhaust not bad for £25 and the front white badge! (will go on when the van is finished) so i won;t be using it for a couple of years!! :lol:



i know it's a long way off before these go on but something to look forward to

 

[Shorty]

Can't beat a '69.

Good luck.

^WHS!