Campervan in crisis!

[bigbluebullybus]

Here is my 1971 bay, Eve. Bought unseen off of Ebay for £500. Call it folly if you wish but one day we know she will be beautiful again...

My other half is nice and busy stripping away her many and varied bodge jobs...

Ready to start on a lovely rebuild...

 

[Snakey]

:shock: I hope it's not been 'repaired' like that all the way round :?:
Double the work in fetching the nasties out....nightmare

Good luck with the resto

 

[Scampi]

Good luck with resto dude and keep us updated :wink:

 

[bigbluebullybus]

If there's any nasties you can rest assured that my other half will search and destroy! He tends to take no prisoners in that department and being a Leeds lad he can't kick a football for toffee, but what he doesn't know about welding and fabricating can be written on that rather irritating stringy bit of Billy Bremner's thong!

 

[baron]

good luck!

those tatty things on the front bumper are deluxe trims, in case you didn't know

worth around £50 the pair, so don't bin em!

 

[rjb63]

like you, I can see beyond the obvious to the beauty within, set it free!

 

[gninnam]

Good luck with the work, looks like your other half is enjoying himself

 

[bigbluebullybus]

Enjoying himself? - Look what we did between us today!

Ain't she pretty?

Cheers for the lowdown on the bumpers etc - They was destined for the Kirkstall tip but have now been safely stashed away!

Whereabouts in Leeds are you Baron? - obviously we're in the posh bit (Ha!)

Lots of stuff acheived on this fine Sabbath day, although not immediately obvious. Chassis rail and outriggers added on driver's side (rhd) and inner sill ready to go. Sun better shine tomorrow!

After Monday work will be slow due to other stuff to do and other places to go but will definitely keep you posted on our progress.

PS Ere' boys, ladies can be handy wiv a grinder and welding torch too! Got a degree in engineering shite and don't need to be referred 2 as dude

Cheers muchly, Debby

 

[gninnam]

PS Ere' boys, ladies can be handy wiv a grinder and welding torch too! Got a degree in engineering shite and don't need to be referred 2 as dude

Cheers muchly, Debby

Hows about 'dudette' then :wink:

Looks like you have both got the bit between your teeth.
Keep those pics and updates a coming as it might inspire me to get out and do some more

 

[baron]

Cheers for the lowdown on the bumpers etc - They was destined for the Kirkstall tip but have now been safely stashed away!

Whereabouts in Leeds are you Baron? - obviously we're in the posh bit (Ha!)

no, I'm in the posh bit, chapel allerton dontchaknow :wink:

you look like you're in moortown/alwoodley type area, right?

have you got the trim on the rear bumper too? always handy to have a pair. i can probably point you in the direction of some new rubber inserts if & when you need em

sounds like your household is oversupplied on the tech expertise front, which probably makes up for mine and the missus' total lack of knowledge - handily our neighbour is a mechanic at beetle people in morley

 

[MMMC]

Another person in Leeds..superb. Leeds earlybayers growing in number!

Baron - not heard much about beetle people in Morley - they good with buses?

ps....Now listen...I'm in the posh bit - far headlingley rah rah rah.

 

[gninnam]

I've not heard of Bettle People either, have heard of the Herbie Hostpital and told to stay away........

I'M in the POSH bit of Leeds - Garforth (and typing with my little pinkies in the
air whilst sipping my Pims, what what...... :lol: )

 

[Danbury Doug]

Hello bigbluebullybus.

My parents had this Danbury from new....

We had her for 16 happy years.

Looking forward to following progress on your bus! 8)

 

[bigbluebullybus]

Bramley is by far the poshest area of Leeds! It has a lovely bus parked on one of it's most sought after drives!

We managed to get a bit more done today but that's it for a while and wouldn't you know it my camera's given up the ghost and won't connect to the laptop. Anywhoo, inner sill on right hand side is now in place and the ugly hole we made yesterday has been plugged with a panel bought from the Local GSF boys in Kirkstall.

Interesting to hear that Herbie Hospital dun't get right good reviews - Someone contacted me recently telling me this was one to consider - apparently Leon is the font of all VW knowledge here in the north! (?)

There's another bloke we've been told about that's based in Armley - a lover of splitties as I've seen him driving around in quite a nice looking bus and also some lowloader van thing (?) Might check this one out...

PS Afraid Eve didn't come with a back bumper; or cab seats; keys; interior; tyres that were even half way blown up; dashboard; engine that isn't possibly horribly seized up; wire loom in one piece. I could go on... and on...

Pity the camera's on the blink but there you go - all the more to show you later...

Cheers, Debby

 

[Bus'Tup]

not much more satisfying than doing your own resto! Wish i had the know how instead of relying/paying others to do it all!


good luck!

 

[baron]

PS Afraid Eve didn't come with a back bumper; or cab seats; keys; interior; tyres that were even half way blown up; dashboard; engine that isn't possibly horribly seized up; wire loom in one piece. I could go on... and on...

that really was a step into the dark buying it off ebay then! fair play though

there seems to be a good deal of dissing herbie hospital on the web. personally I think they are nice guys and i would use them again BUT they didn't really give my bus the care and attention I'd have hoped for

so having a neighbour who works for beetle people I thought I'd let him have the work, either on my drive or at his garage. the minor tweaks he's done to the bus have been all good

and I demand a leodian posh off! pimms & pinkies at dawn :wink: :lol:

 

[bigbluebullybus]

Wish we could say we have the know-how. We're just relying on a Haynes manual and bluffing it all the way!!!

It's early days yet - just wait till I flood the technical forum with messages for HELP...

We think we've got what it takes to make her look pretty and have enough technology to have a go at rebuilding her into something a bit more solid and rust free. Access to panels etc ain't too bad for us (with GSF just down the road) and we've sourced a few bits from VW Relics and Volksheaven. Luckily my other half is also a coded welder and pretty good at fabricating stuff so that saves some pennies (and headaches).

Every so often we glance at wires and other bits of jiggery pokery but have decided it's not time to worry about that lot yet!

The camera's still playing up but I'll search out the first pics we took of her and you can see just what sort of view we have of the world through our happily rose-tinted retinas. Bless

:wink:

 

[bigbluebullybus]

Here's those first pictures. Just look at the poor little love

It was an all day trip to pick her up from Surrey and bring her safely back up North. We knew she was in a bad way but were a little bit shocked at just how bad. Still, full of optimism and fuelled by the fact that I was likely to have a hissy fit if we left empty handed, the deal was inevitably done. Look at the happy smile of relief when she was finally tucked up on the drive...

In the cold light of day we assessed what we'd got... initially it felt like not a lot!

There was an engine of sorts - look hard and you'll spot an old tomato sauce bottle and part of a bosch drill - that's what I thought it was anyway!

There was a little hole...

Which kind of lived near to a few more...

What larks we had as I attempted to enter the driver's side to test out the steering, only to put one foot through the floor and send the cabstep on the bumper hurtling earthwards! My other half was greatly impressed at the talent I was showing when it came to stripping her down and then and there got going with the grinder and a couple of cutting discs!

He made this, which is impressive by anyone's standards, and is henceforth to be known as Big Bri the Butcher of Bramley!

Very Flintstones!

This is the look we are currently after. I think we're doing exceptionally well...

The engine is now living under a piece of plastic sheeting - makes her a lot lighter to jack into an accessible spot on a small drive...

And the headliner is coming up a treat thanks to some Oxy action stuff...

I will endeavour to do some technical jiggery pokery tonight with the digital camera and try and upload the latest piccies that show more progress from those first heady days...

She's not that bad really - we've just found a much worse one living just round the corner from us complete with foliage and wasp's nest. The bodyworks about 2 inches thick (that's just the rust) and he wants £1000 for it! He's having a laugh methinks...

PS The holes in the chassis that some of the more eagle-eyed amongst you may have spotted are not as bad as you'd think - the chassis is reet solid and those few bits have since been plated. Not too bad under the belly pans either - result!!!

PPS A Leodian posh-off and pinkies at dawn? My pedigree alone makes it a certainty I'd win hands down - originally a Lytham lass (extremely posh Blackpool). There's no competition!


:lol: Debby

 

[slammedkustom]

looks like your getting stuck in, good on you! :wink:
at least the other half can weld, once its solid your halfway there!

re books n info, get a copy of john muir "how to keep your vw alive" it will prove invaluable

good luck :wink:

 

[bigbluebullybus]

I've been trying to get this book through Freecycle - being northern and tight with the purse strings! Looks like I'll have to check out Amazon though. I did thumb through a few pages of this hefty tome and thought it might be one to bear in mind for the future...

In the end I didn't like the price that Waterstones were charging and it was in a worse state than the bus! Plumped for a copy of Campervan Crazy - nice pictures to look at and I can wind the other half up with ideas for the eventual paint job.