1972 Bus with a 2007cc motor

[Oslo_mark69]

Ditto all of those pictures mate , my chassis wasnt quite as bad but i've just had to replace the front end , shot to pieces everytime I roll it it gets lighter :lol: been working on it since Feb finding new rust all the time so doing it right ONCE . Plan is to be at Dubs at the Castle ,end of July , but hey ho. dont want to do the chassis again night mare

 

[dubpower83]

Thanks chaps - appreciate the messages.

The plan is to get it right first time. If it means I miss my 'deadline' then so be it, but I don't want to be back here rolling it again in three months time to sort out other bits and bobs. Besides I need to roll my crewcab and sandblast the chassis on that so it can be repainted. That vehicle might need a little welding, but on the whole it is a solid chassis but a little scabby in places. The bus however is just rotten!

We'll be back on it tomorrow first thing so I'll post up some progress pictures in the evening.

 

[dubpower83]

This week hasn't gone to plan due to a number of factors and I've only had about 5 hours on the bus - all of which have been sandblasting which proving all the while to be a very slow and equally worthwhile process. Today (after being at work for 3/4s of the day, sorting out running issues on my wife's Beetle ready for Skegvegas) I got two hours on the bus which resulted in about 3 square foot being cleaned up with the sandblaster.

Anyway, with all this in mind and for my own sanity I've decided to make this a long term project rather than busting a gut to get it done for the summer show season which means that when it is done it will be fully done complete with a fresh coat of paint which I planned to lay on over the winter anyway. I'll keep you posted on progress as and when it happens. 8)

 

[Oslo_mark69]

been working on mine since jan/feb turned out to be worse than it looked and i have the same opinion as you that it will be done once and my target is Dubs at the castle but if i dont make it i'll be pissed but I know its late for a reason.
I have cut out all the rust, replaced most of it with galvanized plate, taken all the chassis back to solid metal treated it with rust converter /stabilizer , primed it with zinc rich primer, then 2 coats of ship hull grade 2k paint and then it will have 2 coats of underseal . then its waxoyled well if that doesnt cure it , i dont know what will . Remember rust is oxidisation ,so if it cant breath it cant breed.

 

[dubpower83]

Nothing much to report on the rebuild at the moment as work has stopped for the past couple of months mainly due to the immense amount of work I have in at the moment! 8am-10pm is kind of normal and there aren't many weekends either. However, I can see light at the end of the tunnel and I may well get the odd day here and there on it during August and September, but we're going to aim to make a proper restart on the Bay in October by getting a full week on it with my good mate Drew and myself.

In the meantime - and because I know it is going to be at least summer next year before the Bay hits the road again - I've acquired a 'new' camper (a 1965 Split) which is currently approaching the end of a two week rebuild at T2D. Its a US import which became mine in June. All being well (DVLA dependent of course) it should be on the road and registered by the end of next week!

Here's a little pic of it from today that I got from T2D's Paul Medurst...

 

[gninnam]

Nice split

Don't you hate it when work and family get in the way

 

[Barkafer]

Nothing much to report on the rebuild at the moment as work has stopped for the past couple of months mainly due to the immense amount of work I have in at the moment! 8am-10pm is kind of normal and there aren't many weekends either. However, I can see light at the end of the tunnel and I may well get the odd day here and there on it during August and September, but we're going to aim to make a proper restart on the Bay in October by getting a full week on it with my good mate Drew and myself.

In the meantime - and because I know it is going to be at least summer next year before the Bay hits the road again - I've acquired a 'new' camper (a 1965 Split) which is currently approaching the end of a two week rebuild at T2D. Its a US import which became mine in June. All being well (DVLA dependent of course) it should be on the road and registered by the end of next week!

Here's a little pic of it from today that I got from T2D's Paul Medurst...

Oh what a loverly lookin Bus Mike :mrgreen:
Cant wait to see more of this one's super patina!

 

[Marvel]

I can vouch for the split. Had a ride in it on Tuesday, super ride, especially with the 2l engine from the bay in the back to push it along!!

 

[dubpower83]

Well, after a year on its side, and a change in my personal life, I extracted my Bay from my former garage yesterday putting it back on its wheels for temporary storage while I look for a new location to get to grips with the huge amount of metal work left to do.

It was something of a mission for two of us to roll the bus back over, but its done, safe and back in hands properly now. Hopefully I will be able to restart work on the Bay later in the year...

 

[Barkafer]

I hope everything goes well for you Mike! Look forward to seeing this Bus back on the road again

 

[dubpower83]

After a long break from activity the restoration of my '72 Bay is back on! 8) It is now in the hands of Den at DW Mechanical in Oldhurst and his first job is to start reassembling the centre section of the chassis as I already have all the panels in the van and the vast majority of this area has already been cut out ready for the new panels to be welded in.

This work will cover outer, middle and inner sills on the sliding door side, all jacking points and outriggers and the inner and outer sills on the driver's side.

Once this is done work will more than likely move to the front of the van where the A-frame needs to be rebuilt entirely on all four arms and a new inner and outer front valance welded in. Sounds easy when you say it like that!?!

Anyway, it was transported to its new 'home' last Wednesday on the back of a truck and Den was hoping to be able to make a start on it this week.

This is going to be a long project because of the amount of work involved (and the fact that the van donated its engine to another of VWs, so it needs a new engine!) but it will one day be back on the road!

I'll keep you posted as progress takes place.