cotswoldiver
Well-known member
I've been asked a few times what am I doing now my lovely stock RHD '71 westy has been sold. Well here's the answer - something as far removed from a stock original westy as I could find - but still a westy at heart.
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Don't worry, I know this great site is for 'pure' earlybays so this isn't going to be a full rebuild thread, just the odd shot of progress which will show you the great work that Rocket Ron and his team can do down in Trowbridge at Endangered Species
It's a RHD UK westy, and I'm having great fun trying to find the missing pieces from all over the UK as well as bring in key parts from europe and the states. It's more of a project management build than a dirty hands-on full re-build in my own garage ( no space and little skill put an end to that!) but the aim is for it to be pretty much westy looking from the outside, but really personal inside with only a full size westy bed to show for its origins. The end result should be a fully practical bus, ugly compared with an early I know, but fun to use with a few treats like a gene berg shifter, one of those lovely wooden steering wheels from Mark at MCJ, a 'one-off' interior and then take it into europe - I'm a sucker for crossing(or going through the tunnel) the water, but I'm determined to have a trip next year into France where I can take it out and bring it back under its own steam not on the back of a rescue truck :lol: Tickets are booked for Bugin so the aim is to have it finished March/April time
Plenty to do, but there are a couple of other photos that show some of the work already completed - and in fact its already in the spray shop getting prepped for a fresh coat of paint in the original colour
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Ron is great to work with on this, his care, attention to detail and willingness to help get a bus back on the road by charging fair, realistic labour costs is a big help
And if you ever wanted a good reason to get a LHD from someone like Graham at Midland Earlybay, or a RHD from Scott at VW Classics instead of a UK RHD take a long hard look at the shell we are working with. It actually is pretty solid, but we just found out that the front beam was too rusted to risk working on - the dry sunny country buses are probably much more cost effective than what I'm trying to do, but what the hell, I'm enjoying this and I'll end up with a bus that will be very practical, very personal - and no worries about maintaining a stock/original bus - and if I'm really lucky, maybe some of you early guys may still wave when you see another aircooled VW on the road - even if it will be wearing a big brown paper bag on the front to hide those funny indicators and ugly bumpers :lol:
Thanks for looking, and I hope those with a nervous disposition will soon recover - and yes, I do miss my westy
Don't worry, I know this great site is for 'pure' earlybays so this isn't going to be a full rebuild thread, just the odd shot of progress which will show you the great work that Rocket Ron and his team can do down in Trowbridge at Endangered Species
It's a RHD UK westy, and I'm having great fun trying to find the missing pieces from all over the UK as well as bring in key parts from europe and the states. It's more of a project management build than a dirty hands-on full re-build in my own garage ( no space and little skill put an end to that!) but the aim is for it to be pretty much westy looking from the outside, but really personal inside with only a full size westy bed to show for its origins. The end result should be a fully practical bus, ugly compared with an early I know, but fun to use with a few treats like a gene berg shifter, one of those lovely wooden steering wheels from Mark at MCJ, a 'one-off' interior and then take it into europe - I'm a sucker for crossing(or going through the tunnel) the water, but I'm determined to have a trip next year into France where I can take it out and bring it back under its own steam not on the back of a rescue truck :lol: Tickets are booked for Bugin so the aim is to have it finished March/April time
Plenty to do, but there are a couple of other photos that show some of the work already completed - and in fact its already in the spray shop getting prepped for a fresh coat of paint in the original colour
Ron is great to work with on this, his care, attention to detail and willingness to help get a bus back on the road by charging fair, realistic labour costs is a big help
And if you ever wanted a good reason to get a LHD from someone like Graham at Midland Earlybay, or a RHD from Scott at VW Classics instead of a UK RHD take a long hard look at the shell we are working with. It actually is pretty solid, but we just found out that the front beam was too rusted to risk working on - the dry sunny country buses are probably much more cost effective than what I'm trying to do, but what the hell, I'm enjoying this and I'll end up with a bus that will be very practical, very personal - and no worries about maintaining a stock/original bus - and if I'm really lucky, maybe some of you early guys may still wave when you see another aircooled VW on the road - even if it will be wearing a big brown paper bag on the front to hide those funny indicators and ugly bumpers :lol:
Thanks for looking, and I hope those with a nervous disposition will soon recover - and yes, I do miss my westy
