Andyo11's 1969 Kombi - Shortys Old Bus

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Shorty

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Location
Blackwood, South Wales
I have traded my Westy in for a '69 Californian Kombi... nothing wrong with a westy, I just always loved these and when I clapped my eyes on this beauty I just could not resist!

Well, here it is, this is the start point.. where the journey goes... who knows at this point!

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There are bumpers, and a tow bar, these have been removed to take the engine out...

A new headlining has been bought for it, as well as deluxe window trims...

Its not yet UK registered and doesn't have an MOT yet either...
 
68_early_bay said:
Nice looking bus :D engine inners look clean too, this is the size I want to go to this winter :) I'll keep an eye on this one :D

I'll be a neighbour of yours soon, you can come round and see it 'in the flesh'!
 
Shorty said:
68_early_bay said:
Nice looking bus :D engine inners look clean too, this is the size I want to go to this winter :) I'll keep an eye on this one :D

I'll be a neighbour of yours soon, you can come round and see it 'in the flesh'!

Saw in another thread that you were heading up this end, have you decided on where your Gunna settle??


Shaun :D
 
68_early_bay said:
Shorty said:
68_early_bay said:
Nice looking bus :D engine inners look clean too, this is the size I want to go to this winter :) I'll keep an eye on this one :D

I'll be a neighbour of yours soon, you can come round and see it 'in the flesh'!

Saw in another thread that you were heading up this end, have you decided on where your Gunna settle??


Shaun :D

Haven't found anywhere to buy yet... likely to be in, or very close to Ashby-de-la-Zouch....
 
For future reference: the Front End Set up thread - http://forum.earlybay.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=42566&p=0&e=0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
 
Indeed, this van is gonna rock!

In fact it's going be almost as nice as mine! ;)
 
New roof lining has arrived so time to do some prep - windows out time!

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It had 3 x 3/4 opening windows, but these were found to all be corroded past the point of salvage, so solid windows will be fitted in their place...

Gave the cab area a good sweep out..

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and finally offered up the badge, just to see what it looks like....

patina'd or new chrome... now there's a question!

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and those with a keen eye will notice the new inertia seat belts fitted - to hold the rear facing baby seat...
 
While the windscreen is out I wanted to repaint the dash top and replace the split dash pad...

Not easy to get the padded section off! For those wondering, there are it is held on by 4 threaded studs at the intersection of the 3 dash parts, you'll need a 10mm socket and a contortionist..! you'll also need to undo the two nuts holding the grab handle one. Once all 6 are undone you can persuade the pad off...

I've rubbed down the dash top... need to go over it again with some finer grit paper before a few coats of primer and a couple of top coats of satin black... watch this space!

heres the pictures of this weeks progress..

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finally, the crankshaft, pulley, flywheel and clutch plate are all in the engine specialists (Lyons in Brynmawr) to be dynamically balanced before I rebuild the engine.... A new Engle 110 cam arrived last week too!
 
Updates:

The windows have been removed and the frames treated with an anti-rust agent with a view to preventing any future rust occurances - I want to protect the near perfect frames and know that buses in the UK are proned to rust in these areas.. for the same reason I have done the floor in the back too. No rust there, just want to prevent any in the future!

The dashboard has been filled where it was slightly pitted and is currently primed. I need to sand back and put another coat of primer on there before I apply a couple of top coats of satin black.


While the engine is out I am giving the engine bay a good clean - I really like the 'clean' look seen in several other threads, but, as my bus is OG paint throughout, I was reluctant to paint the engine bay - and in fact, after a bit of elbow grease, it's starting to look very nice...

Finally, a friend who is a bit handy with a polishing mop has started work on the bus, we are refreshing the paint before applying a gloss top coat to protect the Californian patina.

Pics of all the above on my camera and will be posted herein very soon!
 
Some more pictures:

The Engine bay before I started cleaning it.... it's not finished yet, I'm up to about 16 hours of rubbing with a cloth and white spirit.. getting there slowly!

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And the dashboard has been rubbed down, treated with anti-rust, primed, primed again, rubbed down (this is where the photo's below were taken) and since primed again. Plan to get a a very fine grit paper and lightly rub it down again tonight before applying the satin black... watch this space!

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i was lucky enough to see this bus in the flesh last week and its a beauty, i will keeping an eye on this thread keep up the good work. :D :mrgreen:
 

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