'69 Westy resto thread

[Pad]

Evening all,

I recently purchased a 69 Westy import with the specific purpose of re-kindling my interest in fiddling with cars again and if this one works out then I may be bringing some more in to do up and sell on. I realise that I may be putting myself up for some criticism (van bandwagon/money grabbing etc..) but I will be doing all the work myself with my wife and it means another bus will be kept on the road. In any case, this is never going to be some high scale, fortune generating outfit - just me on my drive annoying the neighbours :msn4:

Anyway, enough pre-amble. The bus in question came from Texas although looks to have been imported to Philadelphia first. It is remarkably solid and an excellent base to work from, with only minimal panel work required. It needs engine and gearbox fitting, and possibly a rewire as whoever took the engine out didnt stand on ceremony when it came to getting pesky wiring out of the way. The interior needs new headlining and panels, but seat covers and units are generally in good nick.

In terms of plans, they are fluid... my head is telling me to get it roadworthy, do the interior and sell with the paint as is, but my heart is saying full on respray back to the original perlwiess - having done a few paint jobs before, this is not a decision I am going to take lightly, nor do I need to make it now.

Here are a few shots of the bus as it stands today before any work starts.

So, not too bad. 3 panels need attention; battery tray, drivers cab floor and a section on front panel. I bought the battery tray from VW Heritage on Friday and got the floor section on order - was going to patch the front but have decided against this and will be going in tomorrow to order a repair panel.

This evening I got to work on the battery tray and I soon remembered how deeply unpleasant grinding in confined spaces is... constantly worrying about something going up whilst getting showered with sparks is no fun. Some pics..

the offending area..

Back removed

crappy area in more detail

and out she comes.

now, I was going to cut out the section of the panel I required and seam weld it into the surrounding metal as I like to leave original where I can, but after thinking about it, I have decided to remove the whole area and replace with the new panel untouched. This will make welding easier and on the face of it should look better. Time ran out on me though; my aim is to get this part welded in by the weekend (evenings only for me..)

(Many) more updates to follow...

Cheers,
Pad

 

[Guest]

good progress so far

 

[gninnam]

Looks like a good project van - looking forward to the updates

 

[cyberdyne systems]

I've subscribed to your thread to, always enjoy seeing a van gettting improved, would you be able to remove the top coat to reveal the original paint underneath?

 

[Pad]

Thanks guys...

@cyberdyne: that would be my preference but it all depends how much whoever painted it flatted back prior to putting the red on. They defo didn't take the whole of the white coat off, but the small bit I tried to take back was very thin so I am not holding out much hope. Will give it a go though....

Cheers
Pad

 

[Pad]

and the answer to that 18 month old question is, no...

Ok, I appreciate it's been a while but shortly after getting the bus, I started travelling abroad a lot for work (such is the fate of the UK manufacturing industry...) and progress has been slow and not particularly steady. My wife can take credit for the vast majority of the rubbing down. Other jobs done are:

Battery tray welded in
Opposite battery tray welded in (with an upside down battery tray, couldnt source a LH panel)
New cab floor repair section welded in
New lower front panel including some fabrication on the back section which cant be seen unless you get underneath it
Interior, glass, dashboard and all trim removed

Now in the depths of pre paint prep, so filler, guide coat, sand back, repeat to fade.. I wanted to put quite a few photos up but last night found out that I have randomly lost about 400 photos from my phone.. I can only assume this is from when I dropped it a week ago; not that bothered about the bus photos tbh, its the ones of the family that smart. Anyway, some photos as is stands now:

Got some motivation back after Brighton Breeze a couple of weeks ago and have managed to get agreement to get a garage built in the next few weeks so hopefully I can wile away the winter evenings when I am in the UK getting this done for next year.

Promise I'll be more diligent with the updates and photos from now on!!

Cheers,
Pad

 

[OLIVE-BAY]

nice 8) this is going to be a great thread opcorn:

 

[Pad]

And another year passes.... :msn4:

Got to the point earlier this year when the realisation set in that this was never going to get done on my driveway. Every time one bit was done and left for a couple of weeks, I spent hours putting right what had succumbed to the elements again - basically wasting my time. Not withstanding the fact that it took me an hour to get out and put away all my tools every time, it got quite frustrating.

About 2 months ago, I managed to find premises in the form of a unit on a farm - very reasonably priced, brand new and enough room to nearly get two buses in there - winner . As a result, things have progressed well to the point where tomorrow I am hoping to lay the filler primer coat.

Anyway, not been the most well documented resto, but this is where I am now..

zinc'd engine bay...

Hopefully, I'll be able to show it primered tomorrow!!

Cheers,
Pad