1972 Crossover Dormobile - Full Restoration Work In Progress

[Haveacamper]

Ok, my dad chatted to a friend of his who works in a bodyshop – not the guy who messed my previous bus up . He immediately said it was because the stonechip was sprayed on too think. Pretty difficult to spray a consistent thin coat on.

Having said that rubbed back the worst of the wrinkles and set about spraying a couple of thin coats. And what do you know… take a look…

 

[gninnam]

Result 8) That looks much better and so tidy

 

[Haveacamper]

I managed to get a couple of hrs down the barn

Mocked up the oil cooler, thermostat and hoses

It appears that it all lines up

Matches up with the oil tank ok. The loose hose should line up with the engine side of the oil system

NaFe

 

[gninnam]

Looking very professional 8)

 

[Haveacamper]

Cheers mate, at last the hoses are finished. Let's hope they don't leak lol. Just have to buy a couple of 27mm P clips to secure them and make sure it doesn't rub

Also started to refit the brake lines and hand controls etc

 

[VeeDubMan]

Cheers mate, at last the hoses are finished. Let's hope they don't leak lol. Just have to buy a couple of 27mm P clips to secure them and make sure it doesn't rub

Nice hoses! Where do you get those and how do you go about getting the correct fittings/lengths etc.?

Cheers

 

[Haveacamper]

i know someone who works for a sister company of Pirtek. the hoses are stainless steel flexi hoses with welded rather than crimped ends.

as for size of fittings i took the oil cooler, thermostat and oil tank to them for them to ensure the connections were the right ones.

as for length - i installed the tank and cooler and positioned the thermostat where i inteded to install it and measured it. i had some room for error as my cooler and thermostat were fixed.

as for cost - they were alot lol

 

[Haveacamper]

ok, i think i've had the best night on the camper that i've had for a long time last night. managed to do alot more than i was thinking. originally i was frustrated that i couldnt remove the servo while the beam was mounted, because it fowled on one of the lugs behind a beam bolt hole. so...i the lug off. i checked the length of the beam hole and checked the depth of the lug and cut!

that meant that i could remove the servo unit with the beam in situ and the bus on its side. then removed the servo brackets, mounted them onto my new servo unit setup and hooked up the brake rod betweeen the servo and pedal to ensure i mounted it correctly. After that it was a matter of removing the steering damper and welding it on the other side. I felt this was easier that buying a set of new adjusters and lowering the lhd stock beam i already have
RHD to LHD lowered Beam

also with the oil cooler setup all setup and correct, i set about fully welding the oil cooler brakets in and the oil cooler thermostat bracket in and giving it a coat of paint.

thermostat bracket

i'm very pleased with the amount i got done - especially with the beam conversion. it means i can give the area behind the beam a brushed paint and install pretty much everything underneath while the bus is on its side. Because before, when i thought i had to remove the beam to convert it, i couldnt have fitted the cables due to them going through the beam.

NaFe

 

[gninnam]

Good news about your beam - would have been a pain rolling it over etc so saved yourself lots of time and effort :mrgreen:

Looking really good my son 8)

 

[Haveacamper]

He it would have been alot of extra hassle connecting the cables up while lying on my back. I can't wait to start the final hurdle now

 

[gninnam]

I can't wait to start the final hurdle now

Your a lot closer than me

 

[Haveacamper]

ok, so managed to get a alot of little things done last night.

handbrake cables fitted (minus the adjustment)
speedo cable
fitted brake servo, master cylinder
fitted brake pedal lever
shift rod that goes through the beam and conencts the main shifter rod to the gear knob.
fitted all new flexi brake hoses
fitted the fuel accumalator, fuel pump and fuel filter

rear brake hoses

front brake hoses

fuel pump, accumalator and filter moutned above gearbox (outside the engine bay)

i've replaced the fuel hose from the pump to the accumalator

i also started replacing the flexi hoses on the engine as some of these were kinked and must have been stopping the air flow - which wouldnt have helped the engine thats for sure. The trouble is, because its so tight i'm unsure how i'm going to route the hose without causing it to kink. i think i could really do with a silicon hose 45 degree elbow with i.d. about 16mm not sure where to get it from...any ideas?

i'm now awaiting delivery of track rod boots from megabug so i can replace the slipt ones and fit the settering arm from the steering box to the idler.

one question. i was trying to do up the fix track rod yesterday and when i tried bolting it up to the idler the ball joint was just spinning around inside...is there a way to bolt this up without it spinning or does it call for a new track rod? i've tried hammering the taper in to bit it but this didnt work.

 

[kevinhall]

Great work again

i also started replacing the flexi hoses on the engine as some of these were kinked and must have been stopping the air flow - which wouldnt have helped the engine thats for sure. The trouble is, because its so tight i'm unsure how i'm going to route the hose without causing it to kink. i think i could really do with a silicon hose 45 degree elbow with i.d. about 16mm not sure where to get it from...any ideas?

Try SFS for the elbow, looks like they'd do something suitable:

http://www.sfsperformance.co.uk/elbows.asp" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Lots of people on the clio scene use them for engine/intake hoses and seem to have a good reputation.

 

[Haveacamper]

thanks mate, i've subsequently bought some off ebay. i will be redoing all of the hoses when the bus goes to the paint shop to get sprayed.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/16mm-5-8-135-degree-elbow-Black-Silicon-Silicone-hose-/270617102651?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item3f0209493b" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

i'll be needing some more when i redo the pipework so will keep these to hand
cheers

NaFe

 

[Nelly]

What hoses are you talking about Nafe?
If its the oil hoses none were ever kinked and you cant use ordinary silicone hoses for oil as they break down and go all mushy inside chucking crap straight into your motor.

 

[Haveacamper]

Hey nelly,

no worries, its the air hoses i'm replacing.

none of them were kinked when i got it off you, but i decided to replace some of the air hoses (hoping that i may have had an air leak). one of the ones i had replace had bent and had a kink. possibly from when the engine was installed and the copper pipes were pushed up against my firewall.

the one i've replaced is the air hose that diverts the butterfly valve in the throttle body and the one that was zip tied to the throttle body base and connected to the copper pipe circuit.

NaFe

 

[Nelly]

Cool, just wouldn't like you to use standard silicone for oil mate
Did you try to leave fire wall between tank and engine in?
I'd taken it out on mine for more clearance.

 

[Haveacamper]

Ye i remember you saying that you removed yours... if i can get away with leaving it in i'd feel a bit more comfortable. it fits, but only just.

when i get around to modding the copper piping into gucci hose and mouting the regulators on the firewall it will free up some clearance. i think the only other thing that goe close to the firewall was the cold start valve.

cheers for checking mate much appreciated

 

[faux]

one question. i was trying to do up the fix track rod yesterday and when i tried bolting it up to the idler the ball joint was just spinning around inside...is there a way to bolt this up without it spinning or does it call for a new track rod? i've tried hammering the taper in to bit it but this didnt work.

Wow, coming on a treat!

This a two people job, one person with a lump hammer and the other with a spanner, whack and turn......the turn has to be at the same time as impact. :mrgreen:

 

[Haveacamper]

cheers Jon,

i tried this by myself but it didnt work. i was thinking if i could get the taper to bite then i'd be sorted. i've got the track rods with the nylock rather than the split pin. a guy in work suggested a used a standard nut to get the taper to bite then take it off and put the nylock back on - hey presto! it worked a treat.

trying to think what i did down the bus last night....
i sorted out that track rod.
i stone chipped the brackets i put on the other day.
i struggled to remove the stock fuel tank because the PO stuck the tightest hoses on - yes i remembered to remove the jubilee clips .
i also routed the vacuum line to the engine bay.
zip tied the vacuum line and the wiring loom in place.

i should have some P clips for the oil hoses, elbow air hose for the engine, and track rod boots for the steering arm arriving this week.

i think i'm almost ready to roll the bus back onto the four wheels.

i'm thinking about how i can modify the tinware to fit the complex shape of the engine bay. I'm not sure whether it will be better to get hold of some VW tinware as this is have the shape needed for the engine bay seal. what do you guys think??? anyone have any cheap tinware spare for a 72 import - i think that makes it a type IV engine tinware