71 Westy Resto Begins

[marsh]

Well its about time I stopped lurking and started posting so here she is courtesy of Graham at Midland Earlybay!! Its a 71 Westy imported from Texas and probably fair to say that it's in need of some TLC!! :lol:

Unfortunately it seems to have had an accident in its previous life and ended up with a late bay repro panel so clearly that needs sorting!

Reckon these tires will have to go!!

It even came complete with Rats nest courtesy of some US rodents.

 

[Nick-Rackham]

Sweet What's the underneath like? solid?

Welcome you'll get loads of inspiration, motivation and advice here

 

[marsh]

Cheers fella. Being lurking for an age but finally took the plunge and splashed the cash!

Well its getting there after a fair amount of elbow grease. No rust found so it has been cleaned up and painted, pics to follow.

 

[froggy]

Wash it, drop it and drive it :lol:

 

[marsh]

:lol: Wish that was the case. So the next step was to address the errr rust issues. Decided to have a go at soda/shot blasting. Really pleased with the end result!

Finally shiny metal!

Slapped on a coat of etch primer to protect the metal from the rust monster

So apparently brakes are rather important so I decided to renew the system. New brake lines, flexis, backing plates, shoes, pads etc, etc

Engine removed with some gentle persuasion!

With the limitations of my rather basic knowledge reached it was time to head over to Ron at VW Endangered Species for a bit of a facelift. He is based near Trowbridge and I cant recommend him enough. He is fairly priced, honest, a real perfectionist, even makes a decent cup of tea and I have been really impressed with the standard of his work. Work required includes: front clip, complete cab floor, front wheel arches, rear hinge panel, both battery trays and both sills.

So Ron removed the hideous late bay front but kept the A pillars intact to maintain structural strength.

Earlybay front clip in place and welding complete. A very tidy job and well pleased with the end result.

Replacement cab door sourced from FBI VW and fitted.

Sourced a complete LHD earlybay cab floor from Etienne at Evam Classis. Really pleased with the quality of the pressing. Apologies for the geeky pics!

Ron replaced the lower section of the front wheel arch. Finally feels like its starting to come together now!

The rear hinge panel is shot so ordered the part from Autocraft Engineering who were really helpful. Ron will have this fitted as soon as it arrives.

Both battery trays needed replacement.

Various repairs were needed to the lower 6 inches on both sides. Nothing too serious thankfully

 

[Mickey Sam]

Marsh, are you sure that the bus wasn't just in Texas for a holiday ? So much for the rust free USA buses.
Good to see another legend being kept alive. Good luck with the resto. Any plans sorted yet? , paint , ride height, wheels ??

 

[gninnam]

Some very nice work going on there 8)

How long to get to the stage in the pictures above?

 

[AxlFoley]

Looking nice, I would have just slammed it on some nice rims though lol

 

[marsh]

Thanks for the comments guys, certainly not rust free and not sure why it needed snow tyres in Texas?? To be honest I will keep the stock wheels/ride height for a while purely because of finances! I reckon it must of taken about 6 months to get to this stage and its due to have a respray in the next couple of weeks, thinking of going for a light savanna beige!!

 

[issit]

loving the pics that westy had some sweet patina , love the Work that Ron Does 8)

 

[marsh]

Cheers fella, Ron has been a legend couldn't have got this far without him!

 

[dubscum]

:shock: wow quite a transformation going on there. goes to show not to judge a book by its cover, under all that surface rust the rear panels are a treat underneith, i'm worried mine is the other way round :?

keep the snow tyres they look so tough on standard height buses 8)

 

[marsh]

Here are the latest pics with the work being done at VW Endangered Species (Rocket Ron). Firstly the rear hinge panel was replaced as it was rotten, with the panel being sourced from Autocraft.

Couple of repair patches to the cargo floor needed:

Finally the complete cab floor (sourced from Evam Classic) is in and seam sealed. The panel fitted perfectly and we were really chuffed with the quality

 

[Mickey Sam]

It's comong together nicely now Marsh, good progress. Can't say I've ever heard the term 'panel fitted perfectly' before...result !!!
Keep it up mate, you'll soon be there,

 

[marsh]

Well, when I say it "fitted perfectly" that actually means that it only required some gentle persuasion with the hammer! Still, well impressed with the panel tho :lol:

 

[gninnam]

Looking good dude 8)

 

[faux]

My bro's bus came from Texas and I was surprised at the rust on it. I think the worm got yours Bad!

Ron is certainly looking after his customers, everything lines up sweet!

Can't wait to see it in paint 8)

 

[marsh]

Yeah likewise, its off for a new coat of paint next week!! Bring it on

 

[Mickey Sam]

Marsh, how's the paintwork coming on , any progress ?
Nearly ready to paint mine so don't be shy with the photo's, the more the merrier !

 

[marsh]

She is currently being prepped for paint at the moment and won't be back until the new year but will post some pics of the progress asap