Ben's 72 Bay

[ozziedog]

Lookin good. I also have some left over stuff for mine, but mines click lock stuff and I’m a little worried it might be a bit tooooo slippery. It’s like a glossy tile type finish. I can just imagine me with several Stellas on board having my skating lessons in between the bulkhead and the rocky roller. Might just buy something. Oak looks good though and I reckthats about as sound deadened as you can get.

Ozziedog,,,,,,,,must do mine too,,,,,,it’s on the list,,,,honest ! :mrgreen:

 

[matty74]

Great work [emoji106] … you’ll not regret fitting that full width Rusty Lee. My Mrs sleeps better on that in the van than in our King Size at home [emoji1787]


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[fallingoffalot]

Looks fantastic, nice work. So were the Saab seats no good? I must say I do prefer the Porsche seats though. I've been meaning to get something more comfortable for mine. 200+ miles back from Cornwall and my backside was numb!

Was there any welding involved to mod the base to take the seats?

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[Ben72Bay]

Thank you! @fallingoffalot
The Saab seats were perfectly comfy but I had these seats in the garage already, having been working on them for years!
I bought them about 6 years ago to go into a 993, but at the time they were a project too far (kids and 2 house moves!).

I took them apart, removed the backs, removed the map pockets and filled and sprayed them.
Then removed the leather and fitted heated seat elements!

To fit them into the bus I removed a few location studs from the bottom of the runners, then bent a tab up so the runners were flat.
The slide locking pins protrude through the runners which is why I used some spacers to lift them up about 5mm.
To fix them in place I used high tensile bolts, opened up existing holes in the runners to bolt through. Then used race seat spreader backing plates which included welded nuts to bolt through to.

Having ordered new, coloured, seat belts I was also to fit new receivers which bolt directly to the Porsche seats.


None of it was difficult, just took a bit of time to ensure it was all safe and secure

Hopefully some of that made sense?! But if you need any help just let me know. Always happy to help!

 

[Ben72Bay]

Bit of progress today:
Got the Rusty Lee full width R&R bed fitted and insulated the rear load area.
And a diesel heater arrived - so plenty to keep me busy

 

[Ben72Bay]

Today’s efforts see the rest of the oak boards cut and in place, along with the seat base and back.
Load area in boot finishes off nicely. Think I’ll fix some D rings to the board then have a cargo net to keep stuff from flying around.

Need to cut the table top to size, then spray seal it all.

 

[Ben72Bay]

Front seat back black edge trims on today and buddy seat fitted.
Each bit now brings it a bit more together


Then rear seat belt brackets fitted.

 

[fallingoffalot]

Seatbelts look good, what did you bolt into at the bottom? I put one in mine, but the captive nuts caused the bracket to be at a funny angle.

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[Ben72Bay]

Seatbelts look good, what did you bolt into at the bottom? I put one in mine, but the captive nuts caused the bracket to be at a funny angle.

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There’s a M6 threaded bolt hole already in the bodywork on my Bus.
So I used a 1 inch, high tensile stainless steel bolt with washer.

In the image the red ‘bolt’ is the normal seat belt thread with a 17mm bolt top.

 

[bmxburner]

Following. Coming along nicely

 

[Ben72Bay]

So one of the many little projects I’ve been working on has been the pop top roof.
The one currently fitted to the Bay is painted with a black bitumen rubberised paint, not that it shows any signs of leaking.
I was in a local garage a few months back and spotted a VW pop top roof wedged in the corner of their workshop taking up space.
Turns out it had been there ages and they didn’t know what to do with it.
Did a deal and brought it home on the roof of the Disco!



Gave it a blast with the pressure washer and it cleaned up ok.



It was a solid top, same as mine and in decent shape.
I’ve set about cleaning it up.
Took everything off the top and sanded it back to bare metal and primer








Removed the bellows if anyone needs some?!



Cleaned it all off and then got it inside.
Once upside down I removed the polystyrene that was stuck to it



Then took it back outside and used an angle grinder and sander again to smooth out any adhesive that was left.
Then hoovered and cleaned it all with panel wipe.



Next was removing the metal work (which I’m going to sand blast and powder coat)








Then a visit to my local magical nut and bolt place to source all stainless steel replacements.



Then a layer of Dodo mat Pro sound deadening.



That’s about where I’ve got to!
Next is paint the outside.
Let that dry.
Fit the roof vent.
Turn it back over and finish the interior insulation and roof panel.
More images to follow

 

[Ben72Bay]

Few more steps forward.
Pop top now painted:
Removed all metalwork (hinges, brackets etc) and cleaned it all up.
- Sanded the top back to smooth metal.
- Hoovered it.
- Tac rag.
- panel wipe.
- Tac rag
- coat of White Gloss Rustoleum, applied with a roller.
- let it dry over night.
- second coat.
- Drying overnight.

Now planning to leave it for a few days to full harden before assembling everything else.
Still need to sandblast the brackets and get them powdercoated.

 

[mike202]

Nice work! What sort of pop top roof is it?

 

[Ben72Bay]

Thanks Mike,
It’s a replacement for my Devon top.

 

[Ben72Bay]

Well that was a bit stressful!
Fiamma Roof vent now in.





Had to trim the underneath of the vent to ensure a nice tight fit.
Having pre-drilled all the fixing holes I then laid down a thick layer of Sikaflex.



With the vent in place I then positioned all 20 bolts and worked my way round tightening them all down.
Didn’t want to use the self tappers that came with it so I sourced some Stainless Steel bolts, washers and nylocs.


It was too warm where I was doing it which caused the Sikaflex to set quicker, which added to the time pressure to get all the bolts in and tight.
Resulted in Sikaflex all over me, the tools and then some swearing!!
But a decent job done in the end. It’s neat and defo water tight so I consider that a win.
Need to leave it a few days for everything to fully cure, then to finish up insulating the underside.

 

[ozziedog]

That roof looks great Ben and is on my list too. Mines a later Devon 75/76 onwards that I’ve fitted to my early and it’s just about ready (spring) for the rustoleum and roller treatment. I’ve lined mine with celotex solid insulation which has a U value of approximately treble of polystyrene and same weight, then I used 3mm foamex as a ceiling glued to the celotex and had a nice graphic made to cover it all. That roof you have there seems to be the best solution to the early Devon roof issues, was it a stock Devon thing as an upgrade perhaps or a premium style? Or maybe an aftermarket improved idea. I’ve heard of these but not seen one stripped down like yours plus not sure where they’re from :mrgreen: Anyway, it looks really really good.

Ozziedog,,,,,,,,,,, hope mine ends up somewhere near that standard :mrgreen:

 

[Ben72Bay]

Thanks @Ozziedog !
It’s gone on far too long! But getting there now.

On top of the first sound deadening layer I then put 50mm Dodo Fleece.





Then on with the 5mm ply sheet I had already cut, shaped and sanded.
Fixed in place with stainless steel countersunk screws.






And put the seal around the outside edge.

With the ply fixed in place it was then covered in 4 way stretch material, held in place by high temp spray glue:





Finally the underside of the roof vent trimmed and installed.
And call that stage done!

Should be well insulated for temp and noise and I’ve picked a colour that should be bright enough so as to not darken the interior too much

Next I can focus on sand blasting the brackets (I’ve rigged up a sand blasting gun to my compressor!)

 

[Ben72Bay]

@ozziedog Have been thinking about your post.

As I’m new to Bay ownership I think I just got lucky.
I wasn’t searching for a new roof, just happened to find one that happened to be the same as mine.

This gave me the opportunity to Refurb the whole thing without the rush of leaving a hole in the roof of the bus.

For me this is defo the easiest way of doing things and when I’m done I’ll be selling the current roof set up and bellows so someone else can do the same thing.
Will only aim to cover my costs so hopefully it will help out someone else.

I’ve tried to put as much modern Dodo insulation in there to make a big difference for noise and temp retention without being too heavy

When you come to do yours message me and I’ll happily share what I’ve learnt!

That roof looks great Ben and is on my list too. Mines a later Devon 75/76 onwards that I’ve fitted to my early and it’s just about ready (spring) for the rustoleum and roller treatment. I’ve lined mine with celotex solid insulation which has a U value of approximately treble of polystyrene and same weight, then I used 3mm foamex as a ceiling glued to the celotex and had a nice graphic made to cover it all. That roof you have there seems to be the best solution to the early Devon roof issues, was it a stock Devon thing as an upgrade perhaps or a premium style? Or maybe an aftermarket improved idea. I’ve heard of these but not seen one stripped down like yours plus not sure where they’re from :mrgreen: Anyway, it looks really really good.

Ozziedog,,,,,,,,,,, hope mine ends up somewhere near that standard :mrgreen:

 

[ozziedog]

@ozziedog Have been thinking about your post.

As I’m new to Bay ownership I think I just got lucky.
I wasn’t searching for a new roof, just happened to find one that happened to be the same as mine.

This gave me the opportunity to Refurb the whole thing without the rush of leaving a hole in the roof of the bus.

For me this is defo the easiest way of doing things and when I’m done I’ll be selling the current roof set up and bellows so someone else can do the same thing.
Will only aim to cover my costs so hopefully it will help out someone else.

I’ve tried to put as much modern Dodo insulation in there to make a big difference for noise and temp retention without being too heavy

When you come to do yours message me and I’ll happily share what I’ve learnt!

That roof looks great Ben and is on my list too. Mines a later Devon 75/76 onwards that I’ve fitted to my early and it’s just about ready (spring) for the rustoleum and roller treatment. I’ve lined mine with celotex solid insulation which has a U value of approximately treble of polystyrene and same weight, then I used 3mm foamex as a ceiling glued to the celotex and had a nice graphic made to cover it all. That roof you have there seems to be the best solution to the early Devon roof issues, was it a stock Devon thing as an upgrade perhaps or a premium style? Or maybe an aftermarket improved idea. I’ve heard of these but not seen one stripped down like yours plus not sure where they’re from :mrgreen: Anyway, it looks really really good.

Ozziedog,,,,,,,,,,, hope mine ends up somewhere near that standard :mrgreen:

Hi Ben, my roof will be a slightly different ball game as it’s all fibreglass as it’s a 75/76 and onwards Devon top, and yours was alloy. The 69 /75 Devon roof was normally exactly like yours with the fantastic crinkle cut pop top fabric but the roof top that you’ve just painted was a separate alloy ‘rim’ with a separate alloy flat sheet both joined together with a rubber gasket which was never a really good idea as it would hold water and eventually bow then hold more etc etc then leak like billyO :shock: The one piece ally is the real deal and most factors places sell a fibreglass roof cap to go over the original so it looks like yours and does away with the gasket idea. Yours is possibly the best for water tight, but as I said before ,I’ve never seen one in the bones as it were. I still don’t know if they’re aftermarket or a premium roof when ordered. Mine has had a few fibreglass issues with stress cracks and fatigue I’m guessing but I reinforced the whole thing with bonding a 25mm celotex sheet to the underside then sorting the cracks, I’ve now run it like that for a few years to know that the repairs are good and the reinforcing did indeed work and it appears to have worked really well, so rub down time come spring and I like the nice finish you’ve achieved I think it looks ace. I’m looking for the same thing but I may need to prime it first because it’s fibreglass and research is confusing to say the least. Have you painted your shroud too ? And is it fibreglass or ally?

Ozziedog,,,,,,,,whatever,,,, it looks fab :mrgreen:

 

[Ben72Bay]

The construction of the ‘new’ roof seems to be very good. Minimal twist in either direction, especially with the ply panel fixed in place to brace it.
No chance of fibreglass delamination either.

Haven’t refurbed the shroud. I’m planning to just clean up the one that’s on there now.
If when I get up there it’s in really poor condition then I have the other FG that came with the top.

Defo need to replace the seal between shroud and roof as it’s too gappy and not weather tight at the mo.

Don’t think I could get any more insulation in there so that’s as good as it’s going to get for now!