1972 Crossover Dormobile - Full Restoration Work In Progress

[Guest]

top notch work 8) , im bare metalling next week and im sure ill be back to check out how you did 'this and that'!

i have to say this is one of the best explained resto threads as you had to do so much!

 

[Loxy]

top notch work 8) , im bare metalling next week and im sure ill be back to check out how you did 'this and that'!

i have to say this is one of the best explained resto threads as youR DAD had to do so much!

^^ WHS ^^ :lol: :lol:

 

[Guest]

:lol: :lol: :lol:

i forgot :lol:

 

[Haveacamper]

thanks very much guys. it means alot as i have never attempted anything like this before!!!

i do sometimes sit in the camper a bit overwhelmed by the work needing to be done

 

[Trikky2]

thanks very much guys. it means alot as i have never attempted anything like this before!!!

i do sometimes sit in the camper a bit overwhelmed by the work needing to be done

I know exactly how you feel. Years ago I bought an E type which turned into a two and a half year rebuild. What I thought was an original but tatty car turned out to have been bodge repaired, which meant the rust was much worse than expected and the "repairs" made it a nightmare to get everything right again. Everything from the windows down had to be replaced with the exception of the upper half of the outer wings, top of the bulkhead, floor over the rear axle and the transmission tunnel !

When I look at your "before" photos its astonishing how bad it was underneath that shiney bay exterior.

The work you have done/are doing is excellent and to such a standard that the vehicle will be as good or better than new. This thread will be very useful to others doing work on their bays as an inspiration, as a reference and a "how to do it properly".

Well done, keep up the good work, looking foreward to your next installment

 

[Haveacamper]

cheers trikky2

i had my mates stag do on the weekend so thought i'd start the week slowly

i popped down the van eventually after work yesterday and started trying to pick the O/S rear inner wheel tub off. i've managed to get the rear part that joins to the battery tray bracket and the whole section that goes around the damper. the is a little bit left near the front that is still attached to the webbing of the rear quarter panel and the outer most part of the tub that is connected to the rear quarter panel.

my dad should be ordering a sheet of 1.2mm this morning and he's hoping it'll be delivered today so he can cut the section out for replacing the bulkhead scoops.

thereofore, this evenings progress will either be continuing with the wheel tub removal or starting to cut out the bulkhead sections to be replaced.


one query i do have for all you kind people - i've noticed that there is a fair bit of filler, even when i've cut as far as aaprox 12" fromm the bottom of the rear quarter and its still a good 4-5mm thick. i'm starting to get a little concerned that i wont be able to remove the filler as all of the panels are out of line. i'm hoping that its just the fact the the lower replacement panels that i am removing were just put on badly and the filler this high up is becasue the needed to create a new body line???

 

[Guest]

could have been put there so they could cut a seam line between the panels? i would use a certain amount of filler then sand down to get the seam to get the original look, if you know what i mean.

 

[Haveacamper]

could have been put there so they could cut a seam line between the panels? i would use a certain amount of filler then sand down to get the seam to get the original look, if you know what i mean.

fair point, i was just a little concerned in the amount being used so far up i suppose. i suppose that i wont really get a feel for the amount of filler used until it gets bare metalled

 

[andewilson]

i bare metalled my van first so i could see how far back the bad repairs had gone then etch primed it to stop it all rusting. the filler on mine was an inch thick in places with complete seams cut into it. it was disheartening at the time but you can pretty much replace any panel on these vans. mine is back on its axle stands now for yet more welding. one day we'll look back on this and forget the bad bits. that is why people end up getting stuck into another project straight after.

 

[Guest]

exactly... do it right once and you dont have to think about it for a very long time. :wink:

 

[Haveacamper]

ok so you wil quickly realise which of my two options i opted for this evening. that material was ordered but didnt come in today for my dad to make up my lower bulkhead sections so i plodded on with removing the old O/S rear inner wheel tub. there were so many spot welds and patches it took a while to get the dam thing off but here are a few progress pictures for those who are thinking of doint the same as me. i may draw up a mock up in autocad or viso just to outline to everyone where the spot wwelds were.

slightly shacky one after i had the sander in my hand

the section spot welded to the fuel tank shelf and running forward between the two tubs inside the van

the section towards the rear of the tub that the original air filter shelf is spotted to from inside the engine bay.

section that i new will require a patch... is the bracket that is mounted to the chassis meant to be fixed to the bump stop braket??? mine isnt!! if it isnt meant to be attached, then what is its purpose???

tried my utmost to pick the wheel tub from the tabs but due to several layers of patches i may just need to stitch along it when the new one goes in.

thats the whole of the front half out. some of the rear quarter panel webbing that attaches tothe outer skin needed to be cut out as this was shot - not too sure how its going to be replaced

just a cheeky one from the floor looking up at what still needs to be removed

fully removed old tub and the new all fitted and looking pretty sweet!!!! think i'll get some good tuckage dont you think?!?!?! not sure my 8.5's will quite fit though.

on a serious note tho - although there is some tidynig up to do with regards to bits of spot welds still left Loxy and I managed to offer it up and it seems to be a pretty good fit!!!

to do - tidy up the area; offer the wheel tub up and clamp/tack in place; check rear cargo floor half fits ok; then stitch in place.

pleased with my evening's work

 

[Guest]

excellent work! :shock:

i just didnt think it could get any worse for you, i was wrong, very wrong! Ive got to admire your enthusiasm

 

[Haveacamper]

excellent work! :shock:

i just didnt think it could get any worse for you, i was wrong, very wrong! Ive got to admire your enthusiasm

So, do we think it was worth the £6200 it was advertised for??? i only paid £5600 but still think i was robbed. i didnt have my good friend Loxy wit me when i visited this one, and with being my first camper missed the glaringly obvious. the appear obvious now!!!

 

[Guest]

i think they saw you coming... but... you wont ever make that mistake again :wink:

i know theres some history behind this, but didnt the PO know about all the things that needed putting right? :?

I've heard of several people get a fair bit of their money back after finding what they bought was a rot box.

 

[Loxy]

i think they saw you coming... but... you wont ever make that mistake again :wink:

i know theres some history behind this, but didnt the PO know about all the things that needed putting right? :?

I've heard of several people get a fair bit of their money back after finding what they bought was a rot box.

Personally I think the PO was taking the piss when he claimed that he didnt have any idea how bad it was & that the garage he got to do the work he thought was reputable turned out to be a bodge merchant (& he wasnt bothered enough to even phone Nathan up once he found out). Lets hope given his lack of knowledge that he has stopped selling vans & bits, icos f this van had been in an accident it would have only taken five minutes to sweep up the filler dust & there wouldnt be anything else left :evil:

As you say Johnny - Nathan wont ever make the same mistake again, fortunately hes got the motivation (& money) to be able to put it right.

Been thinking for a while now if there might be a way to provide an Earlybay pre-sales inspection type service - get a few peoples names in different areas that might be able to help newbies decide if its actually their dream come true or another filler & chicken wire nightmare. No fee (or a small payment for earlybay upkeep) just expenses for travel, Main problem I guess is liability if someone says it looks good to go then something breaks/falls off - maybe some form of disclaimer?

 

[Haveacamper]

cheers loxy,

the PO mentioned that a garage did the work on his behalf - but if you know about buses and you get anyone to do your work, then the first thing that would have been done is checking the standard of work that you have paid for. dont get me wrong a lot of the jobs were carried out by people before the PO owned it, but the fact that he knew alot about VW's means that he must seen the poor work when he bought it. therefore, he just did a quick fix and cover up.

there is no argument that he couldnt have seen the bad work when he bought it, because knowing what i know now, i could have easily spotted the patches.

what Loxy is recommending is quite a good idea i think - i found it very helpful having a friend in the know come and visit the 2 buses i viewed previously to buying this. just wish i had them available for this one

 

[Guest]

its a great idea and could save folk alot of hassle/money

 

[Haveacamper]

its a great idea and could save folk alot of hassle/money

and sweat

 

[Haveacamper]

just to let you know, that my material has arrived for the bulk head so i think the plan is to work on fitting that tomorro.

think i will fit the N/S inner sill, front jacking point and rear jacking point to help with reference as i will be needing to replace alot of the lower Bpiller (inner and outer)

 

[Haveacamper]

ok, so the material has arrived so i started to mark out where best to cut the bulkhead out. i started by cutting out the Bpillar that was shot. not sure wehther i needed to brace anything to stop if from sagging. i didnt because i came to the comclusion that the wheel arch as still all in place the the door frame was still all secure:

progress picture while the required section was cut out:

the section to be filled in:

after a bit of messing around i think 've got the plate to fit pretty dam well. the inner b pillar isnt in shot but the curve follows the contour pretty well: