1970 DORMOBILE - COMPLETE RESTO - IT PASSED :)

[CockneyPlayboy]

Mate I LOVE these mild "custom bus" threads......your project looks the business, well done!

I was gutted when I finished my project Splitty (also considered by some as a mild custom)
http://www.ssvc.org.uk/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=3986" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
and ended up having to sell it but I am looking at perhaps another project but this time an early bay and I'd like to do another 'mild custom' so your thread is giving me more inspiration!

Cant wait to see it finished!

 

[pinheaduk]

cheers dude, im happy with it sofar, but will be doing the paint again to make it sweet after ive had some fun with it as i love the colour, its grown and grown on me

ok managed to feed most of the wiring for the leisure battery underneath the bus from front to back and from engine bay to underseat, for the interior lights, the LEDs and the stereo and amp. i put the fusebox on the inner arch as its easy to access and i also trial fitted the dash unit but i might makr a modification to the dash to sit it level due to the screen

then it was back to the garden due to the weather and to crack on with the roof.

i started by using a wirebrush and sandpaper to get rid of the flakey old paint and then used some stopper to fill any little chips and tiny crack that had formed in the old layers

 

[pinheaduk]

that was thursday, on friday i started to wet flat the stopper back to see what i was left with

i did find a crack on one of the large window edges but i am getting my dad to work his fibreglass magic on that

then i dragged my comrpessor and spray gear up from the garage to the garden and the dog went nuts when the compressor kicked in and was trying to bit the air from the blow gun

but i stuck 2 coats of high build primer on there

thanks to the heat it had dried within 3-4mins so i mixed up the white and this was after the first coat

and afer the 3rd

over the weekend ill flat it back to remove the thousands of flies that love wet paint, if only they could read they would have seen the signs

 

[gninnam]

Poptop is looking good - don't forget to put laquer on at the end otherwise the dirt will start to ingrain in the paint (forgot to do that on mine, so will have to redo sometime soon )

:mrgreen:

 

[pinheaduk]

cheers for the advice dude, much appreciated

i have got to add my custom touch to the roof this aft but if you look at a dormobile roof you will see an elongated pattern of a certain symbol so i am going to highlight that and then i shall be laquering

 

[Benyon]

Cracking job fella, I love to watch the custom rebuilds/restos and yours is awesome!!

the wiring for the LEDS and speakers has been partially fitted with the amp screwed into place under the rear seat

I have just bought one of these amps and have been struggling to get it wired in. The first thing I have identified is that my head unit isn't up to the job but could you give me details of what you're running from your head unit and from your amp...?

cheers ears :mrgreen:

 

[dubscum]

really strong work, 10 out of 10 :!:

 

[VWAIRCOOLED]

cheers for the advice dude, much appreciated

i have got to add my custom touch to the roof this aft but if you look at a dormobile roof you will see an elongated pattern of a certain symbol so i am going to highlight that and then i shall be laquering

I never noticed that before,That would look cool. 8)

 

[lard]

Just read through your thread and it's coming along well - can't wait for the next update - really impressed with your work so far! Certainly giving me some ideas!

/subscribed

 

[Guest]

thats a great job on the roof 8)

 

[pinheaduk]

ok over the week i took a few photos of he work done but never got round to putting them up.

my dad finished the top of the coolbox by using fibreglass paper and then wet flatting back and painting in white

then i thought id do the pattern on the roof, was quite happy with it

however after doing it i didnt think it looked right so the next day i flatted the area back and painted it white, as i thought stickers all over the roof would be cooler rather than all over the windows, so back to white it went

then for the first time in over 1 1/2 years the van ventured outside for about 15mins whilst i cleaned up and you can see the slope of the drive which is stopping me from going lower

i also noticed one area that needed welding which i had missed that was the o/s rear bumper mount area, only a small patch about 4" long

 

[pinheaduk]

i had also misplaced the piece of metal that holds the indicator switch to the dash so i made a made and templated and cut one from some steel and then painted the casing white

i also fitted the wipers but as usual the drivers one always sticks out due to the curve of the screen

then on wednesday the weather turned a bit wierd couldnt tell if it was going to rain or not so brought the roof in from the garden and placed it back on the van and bolted it into position

the bay has go his hat on

then started to refit the vents and seals

both on and the roof up

i also dug out the rubber bung thingies and put them on the van and the roof so i feel satisfied the roof wont fly up on its own

i also started to make a template for he glass but one of the windows is 5mm larger all the way round which is wierd as it doesnt look like it has been altered so im not sure about that one and the only way i found out was trial fitting the template and the seal

fits here

but not here

 

[gninnam]

Regards the window appetures - welcome to the wonderful world of British craftmanship

Looking good still and I think you are right regards the painted pattern on the roof

Are you putting the felt on the inside of the roof - stops condensation from building up on the large expanse ofr fiberglass during the night :?:

 

[pinheaduk]

ok managed a bit of time on the bus, scraped and sanded the windows back to remove that horrible red paint that was on them and put the inner and outter scrapers on the doors and put the main glass in, just waiting for the rest of the seals to arrive then can finish the doors

ewww

the trim is awful to put on, one tiny move and you bend the damn stuff

and the glass

i also got the cooker in place but im not too sure if its correct, its mounted in the right place but its the support bar and the way the seat rests thats confusing me

i also gave the van a move and i will have to sort out the exhaust, i damaged the drive hehe

and back in the garage the other way round as i was putting the three pedal seals on and wanted a bit more room, also the van has been undersealed

 

[pinheaduk]

ok put the fron kick panels in after cuting a few holes for the front speakers, nothing too big just 4" pioneers

i am also going to be taking the cooker out after trial fitting as its a bit manky and needs a bit of a tart up, so to start i have the grill platform thingy and given it a few coats of black, not 100% concerned of the finish as it will be getting scratched etc with the grill pan

after looking at the front of the van i kept thinkinf it was missing something, apart from the obvious grill , BUMPERS, knew id forgotten something. decided not to go for white as i want a bit of a ratty feel to the bumpers as im bound to prang something, so i have given them a wire brush to remove most of the flakey old paint and a quite coat of gloss black and trail fitted without the steps and i like it

thr front steps will need a bit of work as there in a poor state, typical of this project really

rear bumper irons in black

and the front and rear bumpers after a few coats

 

[easy]

Nice work dood 8)

Take it easy but you can bend the wiper blades so they match the curve of the screen

 

[71Dormobile]

Great work dude getting thre now should be out on the roads soon :mrgreen:

 

[61 stu]

liking the colours dude 8)

 

[pinheaduk]

right after a nice week off in the isle of wight, i have done a few things on the bus before i mot it, which im tempted to do either this week or next

i have finally got a replacement dash top handle rubber thingy and painted it and now its fitted and looks great and really finishes the dash off

also put the rear bumper on but its pretty bent and mangled and doesnt fit as it should but for now it looks ok and will do until i get a replacement

also i have removed the rear hatch panel and covered it with comics and clear vinyl and i am way happier with it than the sliding door as this has more colour in it due to being 90's comic annuals rather than 70's/80's so might take off the sliding door and do again but its not a major thing to be honest

more to come

 

[gninnam]

Looking 8) The rear bumper in the pics doesn't look to bad

So jealous :mrgreen: