71 resto@ vwclassics

[scott wilson]

if we all shirked away from a rhd british bus then there would only be cali lhd busses on the road ..oh and the odd sa and oz bus which if they are not looked after will need this exact kind of treatment within 8 yrs :roll: :msn4:

 

[sparkywig]

if we all shirked away from a rhd british bus then there would only be cali lhd busses on the road ..oh and the odd sa and oz bus which if they are not looked after will need this exact kind of treatment within 8 yrs :roll: :msn4:

Well said Scott.

 

[scott wilson]

works so far have been an obvious complete stripdown followed by shotblasting. The blasting removes the evil Still we dug around some more and...well to start with the cab floors were a patchwork quilt of previous mot repairs done on the cheap to prolong the life of the bus.

so out they came

The front tubs weren`t much better either and after seing the securing positions for the seatbelts we decided that it would be a better job to replace the whole panel.

The front clip......need i say more nice one SKP.

 

[scott wilson]

the roof was a complete hack and someone had bodged it with fibreglass and filler. After hearing what the owner wanted it was decided a westy roof was in order so...off it comes

revealing this horror

more of that later though as we are awaiting corner cuts to solve these problems too

 

[scott wilson]

have we mentioned the chassis yet?

as you can see there were a few areas that needed attention but nothing too dramatic

 

[scott wilson]

in "dude wheres my car stylee"....AND THEN
the floors were shot...well they would be wouldn`t they and as usual patch and bodge are not in our language so

did i mention the rear tubs?

outriggers and top hats too.
So far theres been almost 110 hours of cutting grinding, stripping and general cursing. For that much work it looks like a skeleton but the easy stuff is about to start and will come together quickly enough. Thanks so far to the staff at vwclassics, SKP,Schofields( yes we get along nicely),duchy fastners, hex, GSF, and our ever present "cherry"
If you think this is enough to keep you busy check out the 72 thats just started

 

[froggy]

Its threads like this that scares me as to what my 71 UK RHD is like underneath the paint :shock:
Although it hasn't needed and chassis work so ............better not to know i think

 

[PanosK GR]

This is restoration 101 lesson and at the end of all this it will be a good solid bus.

The question there is if all this is worth the efford/money but I am not the one to answer.

I have followed the same route when I restored my scooter but this is another story.

Keep the pics comming.

 

[easy]

Fantastic work Scott, really nice to see a 100% resto on a UK bus 8)

 

[Nugsy]

I know it all looks a bit scary when you see it in one go, but i'm doing my bus at the moment and it has pretty much the same issues as this and most other UK Bus'.

If i were to cut everything out first and stand back i would pretty much have the same thing and then think SH*T what have i done :shock:

Luckily i only work on a bit at a time so am convincing myself that its only replacing and arch here or outriggers here etc

P.S One day i will start a post as i have took over 150 photos so far

 

[scott wilson]

Well after a long delay for reasons of a workshop rebuild we have finally taken back to robs bus.The rear roof section was in need of replacement and after getting a good deal with graham at FBI we ploughed in...

Not to be undertaken lightly and fortunately for us we already had the roof skin off....i really wouldn`t want to do this with it on!!!!!!!

 

[scott wilson]

so onto the westy roof skin

count em...278 plug welds

 

[ant]

Fantastic work Scott, really nice to see a 100% resto on a UK bus 8)

whs x 10.... fair play Scott, good thread

 

[scott wilson]

the front clip is next...go on ben :mrgreen:

 

[scott wilson]

well lots been happening.Front clip is on, doors are on all door shuts are lined up, slider is on, tailgate is one, engine lid is repaired and ready to go on, cargo floors are done wheel tubs are done, inner and outer sills are done arches are done, rear corners are don, rear valance done, lhd to rhd conversion is done...yeah i know its a rhd bus but the clip was lhd....be warned! it aint a simple job
front clip

sills inner and outer

rear arches

rear corners

floors

 

[scott wilson]

today it looks like this

next week we start prep for paint...watch this space

 

[gninnam]

Great job 8)

With the bumper steps on, it reminds me of a crab

 

[r73]

FANTASTIC WORK GUYS 8)

 

[Barkafer]

WOW :mrgreen:

 

[Guest]

nice work