1972 Crossover Dormobile - Full Restoration Work In Progress

[Guest]

That was one ugly looking spider. My uncle has been bitten a few times he lives in phoenix AZ. He has to pile all his stuff in the middle of the garage as they nest up and around the outside. I was asking him what it felt like to be bitten and the response was like being hit on the hand with an iron bar after a few minutes and it does make you dizzy and out of breath.

 

[Haveacamper]

So a bit of an update...after a week away with work i was glad to get down the bus last night. even better news was that there is still no spiders web

so the bench seat key hole plate is now fully welded into th floor and primered. as a temporary measure i drilled the couple of small rust holes out of the cab floor and put some blanking grommets in. i hope that the MoT man wont mind

then last going off i moved the bus to one side of the barn ready to roll the bus next time i am down there. when its rolled, the fuel accumulator,filter and pump will be mounted, and the oil cooler frame welded in place.

NaFe

 

[Gadget Boy]

Nafe

Re Spiders

While doing a bit on buses I came across two of the damn things . Now if you phone a Zoo or the Vets etc they will tell you its a dangerous animal and You need a licence to Keep it
:evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: I know its dangerous ,Thats why im foneing You :shock:

So if you pop to your local garden centre and get a cockroach Bomb They cost 6 quid ( Its the BEST 6 quid you will Ever spend ) You can then gaffer tape plastic sheeting all around the bus and let the sheeting drop to the floor to make a sealed tent around the bus, Then lift the sheeting and pop a bug bomb under the back usually under the front gearbox mount ,drop the sheeting back to the floor then light the bugbomb and leave it for 24hrs :msn4:

When you come back the next day Any nasties should be on there backs under the van , THIS doesnt mean there dead Its just knocked the stuffing outta them.... A good size 9 usually means there dead

AND Just for the record one of the black widows I found had survived a 3 month ship ride to belgium then a 2 month stay in belgium , then a 1 month stay in the UK before I found it :shock:

If you see any fresh webs strung down to the floor then someones back .... And Black :shock:

Keep Em Peeled


Gadget

 

[lard]

Nafe

Re Spiders

While doing a bit on buses I came across two of the damn things . Now if you phone a Zoo or the Vets etc they will tell you its a dangerous animal and You need a licence to Keep it
:evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: I know its dangerous ,Thats why im foneing You :shock:

So if you pop to your local garden centre and get a cockroach Bomb They cost 6 quid ( Its the BEST 6 quid you will Ever spend ) You can then gaffer tape plastic sheeting all around the bus and let the sheeting drop to the floor to make a sealed tent around the bus, Then lift the sheeting and pop a bug bomb under the back usually under the front gearbox mount ,drop the sheeting back to the floor then light the bugbomb and leave it for 24hrs :msn4:

When you come back the next day Any nasties should be on there backs under the van , THIS doesnt mean there dead Its just knocked the stuffing outta them.... A good size 9 usually means there dead

AND Just for the record one of the black widows I found had survived a 3 month ship ride to belgium then a 2 month stay in belgium , then a 1 month stay in the UK before I found it :shock:

If you see any fresh webs strung down to the floor then someones back .... And Black :shock:

Keep Em Peeled


Gadget

Was that the one you found on my van? recall that it was bug bombed whilst in the workshop.....I've just ripped out the interior and was jumpy as hell.....sleeping in it was an experience the first time :shock: - perhaps I'll go do it again just to be sure :msn4:

Loving the progress btw!

 

[Haveacamper]

Nafe

Re Spiders

While doing a bit on buses I came across two of the damn things . Now if you phone a Zoo or the Vets etc they will tell you its a dangerous animal and You need a licence to Keep it
:evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: I know its dangerous ,Thats why im foneing You :shock:

So if you pop to your local garden centre and get a cockroach Bomb They cost 6 quid ( Its the BEST 6 quid you will Ever spend ) You can then gaffer tape plastic sheeting all around the bus and let the sheeting drop to the floor to make a sealed tent around the bus, Then lift the sheeting and pop a bug bomb under the back usually under the front gearbox mount ,drop the sheeting back to the floor then light the bugbomb and leave it for 24hrs :msn4:

When you come back the next day Any nasties should be on there backs under the van , THIS doesnt mean there dead Its just knocked the stuffing outta them.... A good size 9 usually means there dead

AND Just for the record one of the black widows I found had survived a 3 month ship ride to belgium then a 2 month stay in belgium , then a 1 month stay in the UK before I found it :shock:

If you see any fresh webs strung down to the floor then someones back .... And Black :shock:

Keep Em Peeled


Gadget

hardy little fellas hey?!?

i'm going to go over the us gently with an oxy acetylene torch when i roll it onto its side, and get into the chassis members.

 

[Haveacamper]

ok, last night got a couple of hourse on the bus which basically meant i rolled the bus onto its side for the first time. very nervous.

loxy my dad and i seriously struggle to roll a complete empty shell onto its side - possibly because we werent 100% sure of the best wy to do it. anyway we got there and here is the result:

really please with the underside. looks like the PO has repainted the front and back areas but there must have been belly pans on at some point as the middle is pretty OG. only surface rust to quite please.

next time i'm down there i'm going to get at it with the wire brush on the grinder and get all the paint off. to protect the underside. also it means i can now convert the beam. and weld the oil cooler brackets etc in place.

 

[faux]

Nice one Nafe, it is good to see it coming on so well.

 

[Guest]

looks like you dont have too much to do under there.

 

[Haveacamper]

in a bit of a predicament to be honest. rear of the torsion tube looks to be painted ok, but if i get the bus painted over the windter then should i just strip it all back now and do it??? or do i just do the worst now and then between the time i strip it, and take it to the bodyshop do i roll it again and do it properly?

the middle i will definitely do, and either all of the front bit or at least the parts that need it.

just need some some on it now. i'm on Jury Service for the next 2 wks so hoping it will finish a little earlier than the working day and i can get some me time on it

 

[Haveacamper]

ok a little update for those who arent as fed up with myb resto as i am lol.

last couple of weeks i've been working on the underside gettting all the necesary brackets welded in and orderewd my stainless oil hoses for the mocal oil cooler. however, when they arrived on thursday evening they are wrong so have gone back to be sorted out.

i had the whole weekend to try and get the waxoyl off the ubderside of the bus and i am real pleased with my progress. i managed to get the middle third clean up and primered. the most difficult bit to clean has been the rear third of the chassis. i will be leaving the areas outside of the chassis (i.e rear wheel arches) until the bus is on all fours again. the front thrid is also going to be sprayed when we roll the bus onto the wheels and the beam is removed.

unfortunately i run out of primer as i wasnt expecting to use so much on the middle third so only managed to do middle third. pleased with the result. looking to get some red oxide primer to paint with a brush as this will be easier for the rear third bit where there are alot more awkward areas to get to with a spray.

NaFe

 

[Haveacamper]

ok, sp after using two large rattle cans from halfords to do the middle third section i decided to buy a 5L spray gun red oxide primer tin and use the compressor in the workshop. £35 compared to £6.99 for a can from halfords. only used about 1L of paint to another 2 coats of the middle third and 3 coats of the rear and front third. all i have left to do know is to touch up couple of bits, the wheel arches when the bus is back on its wheels and the bit behind the beam when i take the beam off.

here is what it looks like, pretty much ready for a coat of stone chip.

rear close up

middle close up

front close up

dont worry the central heater tube is going to be replaced, which is why it hasnt been painted

 

[kevinhall]

Looks like you've done a great job on that

 

[Haveacamper]

it would have been alot easier t just waxoyl over the top of the existing waxoyl that was there rather than scrap it all off, but i'm now getting a warm feeling that its going to look pretty sweet when its all painted

i'll give it the weekend to harden properly and then possibly stone chip on monday/tuesday. only got 2L of Stonechip at the moment so will see how far that goes

 

[gninnam]

Great job there sir 8)

At least by removing all the old wax, you know exactly what you have and can be safe in the knowledge that once finished should last another 30 years plus

 

[Haveacamper]

it was proper scary how good the metal was underneath the waxoyl. cant believe the difference between the old bus and this bus.

 

[Haveacamper]

well last night.......it started alright....

started converting my RHD beam to LHD by getting the idler arm off my RHD and LHD beam and swaping them over. also, managed to fit a new central heater tube from that i picked up from schofields of the show on the weekend.

then decided to attack the underside with a spot of the Tetrosyl Stonechip. I bought 5 L of it after i read 1L = 1sq. metre

one can down and it looked like this...

however, by the time we changed cans and were ready to spray a 2nd can the stone chip appear to react with the red oxide. having said that it was only in certin areas and not over all of the paint...

i don't know whether we applied too thick a coat or whether the stone chip is incompatible with the red oxide (although if it was all of it would have lifted)

this is a massive hammer blower for me right now as i am trying to push to get the bus to the garage. I'm down there again tonight to see if its all hardened. i hope so!! its either a matter of rubbing back the areas, or spraying over the top if its hardened and adhered to the primer. really peeved!! :shock:

reading a bit more on different car forums - it appears quite common without knowing exactly why. some people paint on top if its adhered, other say you need to spray lots of thin coats due to the aggresive solvent in the Tetrosyl stonechip.

all i know was that its put a massive dampener on my efforts over the last few weeks in stripping the underside back to good paint.

on the up side i did treat myself to a proper tool box, so i will no longer be living out of a plastic box a digging for tools...

 

[gninnam]

Gutted for you mate

Hope it doe go solid and can take a few more coats to smooth it off.

Nice chest by the way

 

[Haveacamper]

cheers mate

my dad popped down there on his way to work this morning and has informed me that its gone hard and appeared to adhered to the primer. hoping that its just that we sprayed it too thick...

its a little worrying though as i dont want to be stripping it all back off lol

 

[andewilson]

i know how you feel mate. was there still an oily residue left from the waxoil in that area that may have affected the primer in turn affecting the stonechip.

 

[Haveacamper]

i dont know mate. thats a good point though. having said that i had wiped the underside with thinners and wiped it off before primering 3 coats on.

i let those three coats then dry and harden for 3 days before last night.

i was going to post a link on your thread just to warn you cos you mentioned you were going to stonechip.

NaFe