GLADYS: GOING "BACK TO BEIGE' 68 RESTO.

[Mickey Sam]

UPDATE:
Few more photo's of the prep work for the record:


More bare metalling on the panels. Fibreglass over the welds..

 

[Mickey Sam]

Rear, left side and rear panel in bare metal.
Hole for rear light cut to shape in new rear corner repair panel and ready for etch primer..

Right hand side:

Big dent on front panel under the bumper needed sorting ..

As it is double skinned I borrowed a slide hammer and pin welder ( cheers Butch ), what a blindin' piece of kit !!
Butch gave me a quick demo on how to use it and in I went.

Finished pulling the dents under the bumper.
Filled the dent repair, glassed over the PO's weld and filled.
Prepped headlight bowls and air intake area in zinc primer , nearly ready for high build primer...

Bottom right and left you can see where I was trying to keep the original look where the new
front wheel arches meet the front panel. Remember the pieces of spanner, cut and welded in place to keep the look?

Heat shrank the floppy areas and sprayed all the bare metal in etch primer.

Just started the nightmare job of flattening the long R/H side panel and managed to put my back out !!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Back soon ( hopefully ) ! :roll:

 

[Nick-Rackham]

Go Bud looking good Looks like you've turned the corner!!! be on the road in no time!

 

[gninnam]

Looking good 8)

But why are are you glassing the welds ??

 

[Mickey Sam]

Nick, hoping to be on the road by April 2012 ( in my dreams ) and you gotta have a dream !!

Andy, I was told by a couple of panel beaters that this improves the strength of the panel.
I guess it's the DIY version of using lead ?
Anybody else heard of it ??

 

[Nick-Rackham]

Any updates?

 

[Mickey Sam]

UPDATE;

Had a short break, went to Run To The Sun in Newquay and spent a bit of time in Devon and Somerset on the way back. 'LEGBENDER CIDER !! :shock: :lol:
It's given me a kick up the jacksy to get the bus finished as I've had enough of camping in a tent for a while !!
Also lost a lot of time with doctors appointments and hospital etc so not too much progress over the last couple of weeks.

Anyway, back to the crack....

Been cracking on getting prepped for paint. Trial fitted the doors after all the welding and , hopefully , the fit is not too bad
but still needs a bit if tweaking.
Spent days trying to get the side panels straight and filling all the smaller dents and scratches all around the bus.
Also spent ages getting the sliding door straight. At this stage I feel like I'm gonna be filling and blocking panels for the rest of my life !!


In between the prepping, I have stripped the steering wheel column ready for an overhaul.
Robin at Custom and Commercial has cut me a new ignition key , 'cos I lost the originals
Just been on the phone to Adrian at VW Engine Co , gonna get him to do a compression test on the 1600 SP, so , fingers crossed !!

Hoping to get a bit more heat shrinking done on a couple high points on the long panels tonight.

Having trouble uploading photo's today , will try and get some pics up in the next couple of days.........

 

[gninnam]

Glad you got that 'kick' and you are back to moving forward with the project :mrgreen:

Get those pics uploaded

 

[Mickey Sam]

Yeah, really need to get the old beast back on the road.

RTTS is not quite the Monaco Grand Prix though Andy :lol:

Working on the pics.......keep cracking on with your bus .

 

[Nick-Rackham]

Come on Mickey, race you to an MOT? :lol:

 

[Mickey Sam]

Nick, what's an MOT ?? I've heard of them but never actually seen one :lol:

Found this on Saturday, don't suppose this hole in my front beam helps my chances of winning .....

More bodywork....

When I stripped the US imported 'rust free' engine lid I bought it had loads of filler in and a lovely dent or two,
but to be fair ....... it was rust free :lol:

Stripped and etch primed

Then I pulled the dent out and skimmed the rest of the lid ready for primer..

Also had another dent in the rear valance..

Sorted..

Few more hours trying to get the long sides flat...

It's a patience game, that's for sure...

Back soon,

 

[Mickey Sam]

UPDATE.

Stone me !!! How long does it take to get the long sides of a bus straight and flat !!!!

Anyway, no point in posting any more photo's of the filling and blocking until there's something to shout about.
Suffice it to say that there's a hell of a lot more work to do until it's ready for primer.
I'm getting pissed off with high bits , low spots, guide coats, filling, and blocking every night and weekend but
hopefully the hard work will show on the finished job.


Anyway, ' carry on rewardless ' as the saying goes ...What's the name of that fella on DIY
S.O.S. ??? :lol:

 

[gninnam]

Yep - its all in the prep

Hopefully you will see all this prep work coming to an end (try not to get to anal with it though) and the base-coat will give you a clue as to whether it was all worth it :mrgreen:

 

[Mickey Sam]

Cheers Andy, trying not to get too anal with it but I think I'm past that and getting close to OCD !!
Mind you, I'll take that comment back if looks like crap when the basecoat's on :lol:

 

[Mickey Sam]

UPDATE...


Decided not to weld the existing front beam and picked up a rust free replacement with adjusters....

Still prepping the body work and doors for primer ( and feel I will be for the rest of my natural ! ) but managing to get a few little bits done in my lunchtimes....

Stripping the last of the 'dulux ' off the bumpers..

Back to bare metal and rust treated..

After a touch of gentle adjustment :roll: with a club hammer and a coat of etch, ready for the final touches..

Few more bits bare metalled and etched ready for some filler primer to lose the pitting....

Still got the original petrol cap...

Not too sure about my idea for the steering wheel and steering column but the wheel needed a lot of repairing and the colomn was in a right mess so
it stripped it all down, repaired it.....

..and decided I'd see what it looked like in VW Pastel White and laquer :shock: .....

I think it looks good but not sure how it will stand up to knocks..

It looks a bit white and lary in the photo but actually looks more ivory or cream.
I think it will look OK when the rest of the bus is in Savannah Beige .

This was how it looked when i got it :?

The dashboard had a few dodgy holes hacked out of it so now welded and filled...

The fitting of the interior seems along way off yet but couldn't turn a set of bed hinges down..

The drift wood was thrown in the deal for nothing :lol:

Meanwhile, in the evenings and Saturday's I'm starting to get somewhere with the panels..

It's started to look a lot flatter and smoother now but still a long way to go....


The plan is to get the paint on before the weather changes.
The underneath, engine compartment and inside are all in primer, just a few bits of seam sealer and tidying to do.
The roof and bumpers will be L581 Cloud White and from the gutter down it will be L620 Savannah Beige as it was originally.

Can't make my mind up on what wheels to use. I've got a set of Empi wide 5's in Anthracite in my loft but not sure about
what colour they would look best in , or I might stick with the original steel 14's .
Still got plenty of time to make my mind up though.......

Later.

 

[gninnam]

Nice work dude 8)

Think the plastic trim parts look really good

 

[Mickey Sam]

UPDATE:

After all the welding and at the start of the prep , a mate politely described the bodywork as looking like a " bag of nut & bolts " because
there were so many dings, dents welds and heat warps in it !!

So after months of pin welding and slide hammering, panel beating, filling, blocking, dolphin glazing and more blocking through the different
grades of sandpaper I am finally ready for a fine coat of filler primer to take our any last slight imperfections and scratches.
I reckon I could have painted a small car with the amount of black aerosol I 've used for guide coating :lol:


I must admit I've learnt a lot about prep work etc but have to say that the biggest thing I've learnt is that
if you want a straight bus - put it in a fu****g body shop and leave it to the pro's :lol:
It's not a DIY job and I take my hat off to the guys on here who can produce a straight bus !!


Few more photo's of the prep work 'for the record'
( Photo's may get boring but not as boring as the last few months I've spent doing it. )


All the flattening and filling completed, Dolphin glazed and ready for polyester spray filler...


RH side..

LH rear...

Front...

Engine Lid..

Slider..

NS door....

O/S door...

Rear hatch..

Must admit it feels good to have reached another stage closer to painting.

Weather's getting a bit damp in the evenings so I' ve blocked off all the gaps in the garage and insulated where I can.
Need to keep the damp out for a few more weeks !!
Got a small heater going in the garage and am covering the panels at night , the last thing I want now is damp setting off the rust again !!!


Filler/primer on the doors , guide coat applied and waiting for the panels to dry ready for more blocking...

That's the prep work up to date. I've got one more night before I go to Spain for a week so might get all the doors in
primer inside and out tonight. As soon as I get back I want to get the filler/primer on the shell ASAP and get it in primer.
Once that's done, the next stages are stone chip on the primer underneath, then paint in Savannah Beige, then Savannah Beige inside, and in the wheel arches and engine compartment.

But in the meantime, it's Gatwick airport, Sleazy Jet, and as much San Miguel and Vino as I can fit into seven days..


Hasta el semana que viene !!

 

[Nick-Rackham]

Mate, that is looking superb : I know who to call when the time comes...........

 

[Mickey Sam]

UPDATE:


Doors now all in primer inside and out, and wrapped up like babies in my conservatory waiting for the final rub down.

Still got to spray filler , flat and prime the large panels on the body / shell but thought it was about time I sealed the underneath
as it's been in zinc primer for so long.

Started off with a good coat of Stonechip.....(statutory before and after pic)

Complete chassis, under side of floor, wheel arches etc all coated well in Stonechip and then sprayed in body colour (Savannah Beige) ....

What a fu***ng painstaking job that was.. - Well worth doing but never again !!

Few more pics 'for the record' ...


Middle section...

Sills, floor supports, outriggers and jacking points...

Battery tray...

Rear wheel arches...

Front wheel arches....

Front end under cab floor....( will clean up and paint the master cylinder etc when I refurb the brakes )

 

[Mickey Sam]

And....

As I was on a roll with the spray gun I set about painting the engine bay....
Not the best quality photo's ....

And then I sprayed the complete inside... Savannah Beige - of course....



Inside front panel, ready to replace the dash , wiring etc...

Cab area....

Cargo floor area....

Rear bulkhead....

Underside of roof....

Inside back door....

And sides.....

And still getting a bit done on lunch breaks ....


Front indicator and rear light houseings sanded and painted....

Back soon.