Lee C
Well-known member
WOW just looked at this post all the way through!!!
Woodwork is lush & so is the paintwork!!!!
Can't wait to see it finished!!!!!
Woodwork is lush & so is the paintwork!!!!
Can't wait to see it finished!!!!!
How I built my Interior units for my '72 Bay. FINISHED!!!
- Thread starter Hotrod
- Start date
Help Support Early Bay Forum:
Hi guys,
Got back from Devon last night and was down there for a week. I think now we're beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel!
First up will be alterations to the front gear linkage rod under the cab floor. Those of you who will know, if you've got twin adjusters on your beam, the bottom adjuster can fail your link rod as it did mine. So first up was to make a jig to sit the gear linkage rod in so we could keep absolute dimentions correct of length and angles. This was done using a scrap piece of floor board and some blocks, ten minutes work but well worth the effort.
The next stage was for Carl to cut the middle section out so we could lower the middle to clear the beam adjuster. Once that was removed, Carl then made some drop plates. We then trimmed the section we had removed in the length so it would fit nicely between the two drop plates. Once we was happy with the amount of drop we needed, everything was sat back in to the jig, clamped in to position and then welded up. We then added some gussets to either end to add strength. We could then confidently fit it back to the bus knowing all the dimensions in length and angles were correct.
You don't need a massive drop, just enough so that it clears as you'll see in the photos below. This then went in the box for powdercoating.
After this we then tackled the belly pans.
I don't know if any of you out there have tried to fit these repro belly pans? Nicely made but don't fit! First up was the outer lip which goes up against the inner seal, it's the wrong angle! This was the first thing Carl and I had to address but unfortunately I didn't take any pictures of this. It's about an hours work. Once we had corrected the angle, they then had to be trimmed so that they'd fit in between the outriggers as the existing ones did. The existing ones were then welded to the outriggers but I wanted to make mine removable. So the next job was for Carl to make some angle sections which were then welded in to place on the inside of the outriggers (see photo below for this).
The next step was to readjust all the slots for the bolts where the belly pan bolts to the chasis rails. After we were satisfied that we now had a perfect fit, we then drilled a series of holes around the edge where it butts up on to the inner seal and also down the two ends where we welded the new support brackets on. Once this was done, we then put the belly pans in to place once again and could then drill through these holes which we had done to the belly pans and mark the corresponding hole on the brackets on either end and also on the underside edge of the inner seal. These holes were then drilled and threaded inserts were then clenched in (as you'll see in the photos).
We then had a perfectly fitting pair of belly pans which look factory. I already had my original belly pan which was then sent off for blasting and all three went for powdercoating in gloss black.
On my previous visit when I fitted the servo, it sits inbetween the two chassis rails on the near side under the floor, left of the centre belly pan near the front. I then decided it would be nice if we had a belly pan made to cover the servo which Carl once again worked his magic and produced. Once the belly pan was made, it had a small hole drilled in to the middle so any moisture that should get inside, will drain through. Once we was happy with this and it all fitted up perfectly, this also went in the box for powdercoating in black gloss and also the front belly pan which covers all the steering mechanism.
We always planned to run any cabling underneath the floor rather than underneath the ply or carpet so the way I did this was to use some flexible copex which is what is used in the construction industry, really nice stuff to use and very flexible.
I started out by drilling two 20mm holes through the floor which would come up inside my rock n roll bed, just infront of the wheel arch. I then did another two which will come up in my seat locker base which is behind the drivers seat. I then fitted the ends to the copex tubing, the ends just literally snap on. I then pushed up the fitting on the underside of the floor and then secured it with the lock nut on the inside. I then set about clipping the copex round the chassis rails and repeated the same operation the other end where it comes up in to the locker. I then threaded through a draw wire. One of these tubes will house the speaker cables, the other will carry any power cables. The advantage of doing it this way is that you don't trap anything under your floor plus if you ever need to get another cable in to the locker area, you just leave the draw wire in.
Once up inside the seat locker where the TV is housed, there is then a hole in the back of the seat locker which corresponds with the back of my centre console so the cables would then come up through the hole in the floor, in to the locker, through the back of the locker and in to the back of the centre console where the amp sits. This means all wires will be accessible should I need to change anything in future and nicely all out of sight. There will also be 240v in the bus inside the seat locker and also in the living area but outside.
I casually mentioned to Carl one evening as we was finishing for the day, what was the plan for fixing the front numberplate. Carl reply was that they were usually fixed to the front panel or the front bumper. After a short discussion, we decided we didn't want to do this so we came up with a new idea of constructing a mounting in tube which would bolt to the underneath of the front chassis rail, come up straight out underneath the front bumper and then return upwards with a plate on. The front plate which will mount the numberplate was then profiled to follow the curvature of the bumper. This will allow the numberplate to be bonded on to the plate with approximately 3-4mm behind the numberplate and the face of the bumper. This will make cleaning the front bumper easier and also give it an effect that the numberplate is floating. Once again, something else for the black gloss powdercoat box!
Carl has also made a new carpet threshold strip as you step in to the "chilling zone" 8) which is all hand beaten. Simply amazing!
I've also given the bus a first coat of spray on Waxoyl. Still more to be applied.
We've now refitted the curtain rail back in to the bus. This has been detailed in satin black with lots of little tricks done to it which will be revealed later! We made a gauge out of a piece of scrap tin so we could keep the correct margin throughout the bus as you'll see in the photos.
We've also detailed the window surrounds which as you'll all know, is normally silver. This is no straight forward job to do it properly! First you have to remove the scraper rubber from the bottom, then the frame work has to be prepared in various builds of primer and paint. Once this is all acheived then the scraper was bonded back on and then it's a two man job to re-revitt. To acheive the correct finish with the rivetts, as you all know how frail these frames are, we chose to take a pop rivett, remove the pin from inside, cut the rivett down approximately 4mm to length and then with myself supporting the frame work, the rivett was then pushed through, flared and then peened over. Delicate job but it's doable and time consuming!
Here's Carl once more beavering away, cutting and polishing the paint work!
Most of you guys will know, about a year ago I made two new brackets to mount the table which would screw on to the panel opposite the sliding door. I didn't like the Just Kamper ones I had bought so I handmade them from a block of aluminium which took me approximately 10-12 hours! When I looked at the table top the other day, bearing in mind it's never been fitted, just stored away, the Just Kamper table top bracket had just shattered across the screw holes! I never did like these ones either so set about making these also in aluminium all by hand as previously described. I didn't take any pictures of the manufacturing process as I had done previously for the other half a year ago and the same technique was used. Both brackets were once again completely made from hand from scrap blocks of aluminium but this time it took me four days to make the pair! So in total, to make these table top mount brackets was 5 days work but I'm chuffed with the results.
Now for the more exciting stuff!
As you all know, we've gone for the completely smooth look on the dash. To do this correctly, this is one hell of a job because the face of the dash needs to be perfectly flat to take the gauges and also when you cut all the middle out of the dash so it can be plated over, you have to temporarily put support bars in the back so it will stay in the correct shape. If you was to just cut it out and weld the plate in, the dash could twist and cause lots of problems. Also I wanted a fully functional dash which required quite a bit of redesigning. I wasn't particularly bothered about the flaps opening behind the front grill as I never really used them much before so we just blanked them off with clamps on the inside just to keep the flaps shut tight. I am now fitting quarter lights so I can just open these if I want some fresh air so that did away with one lever.
We then redesigned the heater control lever which took the air from the windscreen to the footwell. This will now be operated from underneath my parcel shelf, similar to the early bus but with a slight twist, no pictures of this yet but it's fully functional. This then left just the heater control from the heat exchangers. It was decided a long time ago that this would still have to be fully functional. The mounting bracketry that used to house all the mechanism behind the dash has been dismantled, cut, extended and moved back further away from the face of the dash and then Carl designed and built a very clever link rod which now operates the heat exchangers as originally but instead of coming through the dash, it now protrudes underneath the dash, out of sight. The length of the rod which operates the mechanism has yet to be trimmed to length, this will be acheived once I have fitted my parcel shelf. Once it is cut to length, there will be a nice aluminium knob fitted to the end. The mechanism is so smooth in operation as it runs through a nylon guide block, there are no rattles or squeaks and it operates fully functionally. Once again, a tribute to Carls design and build skills (See photos below).
Carl has also been busy wiring all the gauges up and redesigning the wiring harness. Again even though it's never going to be seen once the dash is all back together, it is still a work of art!
Carl made a couple of brackets to support the outside two corners of the over head locker. We'd already put threaded inserts in to the cross member before the bus went off to Lee the trimmer. Fitting the locker was a piece of cake, just lifted in to position and Carl reached inside and put the bolts in. There is also a bracket in the centre of the front as well. Once this was bolted up, we then screwed the back edge to the cross member on the inside of the tailgate. Everything worked really well with the draw sliding out ok which enables me to retrieve my table top from inside.
This is where we're at, at the moment. I hope you can all understand why we've had so many deadlines for this bus which have come and gone, but to design and build this bus has just taken an age but I know it'll all be worth it shortly!
Thanks as always for looking and all your comments as it keeps me inspired.
Cheers.
Steve.
Got back from Devon last night and was down there for a week. I think now we're beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel!
First up will be alterations to the front gear linkage rod under the cab floor. Those of you who will know, if you've got twin adjusters on your beam, the bottom adjuster can fail your link rod as it did mine. So first up was to make a jig to sit the gear linkage rod in so we could keep absolute dimentions correct of length and angles. This was done using a scrap piece of floor board and some blocks, ten minutes work but well worth the effort.
The next stage was for Carl to cut the middle section out so we could lower the middle to clear the beam adjuster. Once that was removed, Carl then made some drop plates. We then trimmed the section we had removed in the length so it would fit nicely between the two drop plates. Once we was happy with the amount of drop we needed, everything was sat back in to the jig, clamped in to position and then welded up. We then added some gussets to either end to add strength. We could then confidently fit it back to the bus knowing all the dimensions in length and angles were correct.
You don't need a massive drop, just enough so that it clears as you'll see in the photos below. This then went in the box for powdercoating.
After this we then tackled the belly pans.
I don't know if any of you out there have tried to fit these repro belly pans? Nicely made but don't fit! First up was the outer lip which goes up against the inner seal, it's the wrong angle! This was the first thing Carl and I had to address but unfortunately I didn't take any pictures of this. It's about an hours work. Once we had corrected the angle, they then had to be trimmed so that they'd fit in between the outriggers as the existing ones did. The existing ones were then welded to the outriggers but I wanted to make mine removable. So the next job was for Carl to make some angle sections which were then welded in to place on the inside of the outriggers (see photo below for this).
The next step was to readjust all the slots for the bolts where the belly pan bolts to the chasis rails. After we were satisfied that we now had a perfect fit, we then drilled a series of holes around the edge where it butts up on to the inner seal and also down the two ends where we welded the new support brackets on. Once this was done, we then put the belly pans in to place once again and could then drill through these holes which we had done to the belly pans and mark the corresponding hole on the brackets on either end and also on the underside edge of the inner seal. These holes were then drilled and threaded inserts were then clenched in (as you'll see in the photos).
We then had a perfectly fitting pair of belly pans which look factory. I already had my original belly pan which was then sent off for blasting and all three went for powdercoating in gloss black.
On my previous visit when I fitted the servo, it sits inbetween the two chassis rails on the near side under the floor, left of the centre belly pan near the front. I then decided it would be nice if we had a belly pan made to cover the servo which Carl once again worked his magic and produced. Once the belly pan was made, it had a small hole drilled in to the middle so any moisture that should get inside, will drain through. Once we was happy with this and it all fitted up perfectly, this also went in the box for powdercoating in black gloss and also the front belly pan which covers all the steering mechanism.
We always planned to run any cabling underneath the floor rather than underneath the ply or carpet so the way I did this was to use some flexible copex which is what is used in the construction industry, really nice stuff to use and very flexible.
I started out by drilling two 20mm holes through the floor which would come up inside my rock n roll bed, just infront of the wheel arch. I then did another two which will come up in my seat locker base which is behind the drivers seat. I then fitted the ends to the copex tubing, the ends just literally snap on. I then pushed up the fitting on the underside of the floor and then secured it with the lock nut on the inside. I then set about clipping the copex round the chassis rails and repeated the same operation the other end where it comes up in to the locker. I then threaded through a draw wire. One of these tubes will house the speaker cables, the other will carry any power cables. The advantage of doing it this way is that you don't trap anything under your floor plus if you ever need to get another cable in to the locker area, you just leave the draw wire in.
Once up inside the seat locker where the TV is housed, there is then a hole in the back of the seat locker which corresponds with the back of my centre console so the cables would then come up through the hole in the floor, in to the locker, through the back of the locker and in to the back of the centre console where the amp sits. This means all wires will be accessible should I need to change anything in future and nicely all out of sight. There will also be 240v in the bus inside the seat locker and also in the living area but outside.
I casually mentioned to Carl one evening as we was finishing for the day, what was the plan for fixing the front numberplate. Carl reply was that they were usually fixed to the front panel or the front bumper. After a short discussion, we decided we didn't want to do this so we came up with a new idea of constructing a mounting in tube which would bolt to the underneath of the front chassis rail, come up straight out underneath the front bumper and then return upwards with a plate on. The front plate which will mount the numberplate was then profiled to follow the curvature of the bumper. This will allow the numberplate to be bonded on to the plate with approximately 3-4mm behind the numberplate and the face of the bumper. This will make cleaning the front bumper easier and also give it an effect that the numberplate is floating. Once again, something else for the black gloss powdercoat box!
Carl has also made a new carpet threshold strip as you step in to the "chilling zone" 8) which is all hand beaten. Simply amazing!
I've also given the bus a first coat of spray on Waxoyl. Still more to be applied.
We've now refitted the curtain rail back in to the bus. This has been detailed in satin black with lots of little tricks done to it which will be revealed later! We made a gauge out of a piece of scrap tin so we could keep the correct margin throughout the bus as you'll see in the photos.
We've also detailed the window surrounds which as you'll all know, is normally silver. This is no straight forward job to do it properly! First you have to remove the scraper rubber from the bottom, then the frame work has to be prepared in various builds of primer and paint. Once this is all acheived then the scraper was bonded back on and then it's a two man job to re-revitt. To acheive the correct finish with the rivetts, as you all know how frail these frames are, we chose to take a pop rivett, remove the pin from inside, cut the rivett down approximately 4mm to length and then with myself supporting the frame work, the rivett was then pushed through, flared and then peened over. Delicate job but it's doable and time consuming!
Here's Carl once more beavering away, cutting and polishing the paint work!
Most of you guys will know, about a year ago I made two new brackets to mount the table which would screw on to the panel opposite the sliding door. I didn't like the Just Kamper ones I had bought so I handmade them from a block of aluminium which took me approximately 10-12 hours! When I looked at the table top the other day, bearing in mind it's never been fitted, just stored away, the Just Kamper table top bracket had just shattered across the screw holes! I never did like these ones either so set about making these also in aluminium all by hand as previously described. I didn't take any pictures of the manufacturing process as I had done previously for the other half a year ago and the same technique was used. Both brackets were once again completely made from hand from scrap blocks of aluminium but this time it took me four days to make the pair! So in total, to make these table top mount brackets was 5 days work but I'm chuffed with the results.
Now for the more exciting stuff!
As you all know, we've gone for the completely smooth look on the dash. To do this correctly, this is one hell of a job because the face of the dash needs to be perfectly flat to take the gauges and also when you cut all the middle out of the dash so it can be plated over, you have to temporarily put support bars in the back so it will stay in the correct shape. If you was to just cut it out and weld the plate in, the dash could twist and cause lots of problems. Also I wanted a fully functional dash which required quite a bit of redesigning. I wasn't particularly bothered about the flaps opening behind the front grill as I never really used them much before so we just blanked them off with clamps on the inside just to keep the flaps shut tight. I am now fitting quarter lights so I can just open these if I want some fresh air so that did away with one lever.
We then redesigned the heater control lever which took the air from the windscreen to the footwell. This will now be operated from underneath my parcel shelf, similar to the early bus but with a slight twist, no pictures of this yet but it's fully functional. This then left just the heater control from the heat exchangers. It was decided a long time ago that this would still have to be fully functional. The mounting bracketry that used to house all the mechanism behind the dash has been dismantled, cut, extended and moved back further away from the face of the dash and then Carl designed and built a very clever link rod which now operates the heat exchangers as originally but instead of coming through the dash, it now protrudes underneath the dash, out of sight. The length of the rod which operates the mechanism has yet to be trimmed to length, this will be acheived once I have fitted my parcel shelf. Once it is cut to length, there will be a nice aluminium knob fitted to the end. The mechanism is so smooth in operation as it runs through a nylon guide block, there are no rattles or squeaks and it operates fully functionally. Once again, a tribute to Carls design and build skills (See photos below).
Carl has also been busy wiring all the gauges up and redesigning the wiring harness. Again even though it's never going to be seen once the dash is all back together, it is still a work of art!
Carl made a couple of brackets to support the outside two corners of the over head locker. We'd already put threaded inserts in to the cross member before the bus went off to Lee the trimmer. Fitting the locker was a piece of cake, just lifted in to position and Carl reached inside and put the bolts in. There is also a bracket in the centre of the front as well. Once this was bolted up, we then screwed the back edge to the cross member on the inside of the tailgate. Everything worked really well with the draw sliding out ok which enables me to retrieve my table top from inside.
This is where we're at, at the moment. I hope you can all understand why we've had so many deadlines for this bus which have come and gone, but to design and build this bus has just taken an age but I know it'll all be worth it shortly!
Thanks as always for looking and all your comments as it keeps me inspired.
Cheers.
Steve.
68_early_bay
Well-known member
Nice work as always Steve, 
the overhead locker is looking awesome 8)
the overhead locker is looking awesome 8)
surfbus
Well-known member
Forgot to watch for a long time..
You made big progress!!
You made big progress!!
Hi guys,
Went to Devon over the bank holiday and got a few more bits done on the bus. Carl's more or less finished building the engine now which looks stunning!
Here's the engine spec as far as I know:
2007cc.
Brand new race crankcase.
Brand new chrome molly crank (Can't remember what size).
Brand new barrels and pistons.
Engle 100 cam.
Stock heads with bigger valves, three angles on the valve seats. Valves are stainless steel and the heads are ported and polished by Carl.
The engine is fully balanced.
8 dows on the crankshaft.
Bolt up rocker shafts.
Cut to length pushrods.
New oil pump.
Probably lots more but I'll need to find the spec out from Carl. Apart from the heads, everything is brand new. All built by Carl. You can see in the pictures, Carl lapping the oil pump in to get the correct end float on the pump.
We also fitted in my Propex heater which just needs rewiring now so that it can be switched on and off from the centre console. When I fitted it before, I had it piped in to the centre heating tube in the bus but found it kept going out. Carl and I had a chat about this and came to the conclusion that the turbo fan pushes out more power than the Propex does and it was backing up and blowing the Propex out. So now we'll just have it blowing out the front of the locker. Should be nice and warm because it's all fully insulated.
We've now fixed the rock and roll bed permenantly. I will be returning on Monday to help Carl refit the dash and then I can fit my parcel shelf and the kick panels.
Lee also came down and part fitted the front carpet. He has sewn in some really neat gators in leather for the handbrake and gear levers. These are stitched in to the carpet itself. Really neat job as usual!
I also checked for clearance with my Subwoofer backing on to the Propex. By moving the Propex up slightly I was able to get 20mm clearance which is fine. I'm also going to wrap the exhaust on the Propex as they get extremely hot and I don't want it scorching the carpet!
I've also painted the back of the speaker covers and all the subwoofer ready to be fitted.
I will post up some more pictures when I come back from Devon.
Cheers for looking.
Steve.
Went to Devon over the bank holiday and got a few more bits done on the bus. Carl's more or less finished building the engine now which looks stunning!
Here's the engine spec as far as I know:
2007cc.
Brand new race crankcase.
Brand new chrome molly crank (Can't remember what size).
Brand new barrels and pistons.
Engle 100 cam.
Stock heads with bigger valves, three angles on the valve seats. Valves are stainless steel and the heads are ported and polished by Carl.
The engine is fully balanced.
8 dows on the crankshaft.
Bolt up rocker shafts.
Cut to length pushrods.
New oil pump.
Probably lots more but I'll need to find the spec out from Carl. Apart from the heads, everything is brand new. All built by Carl. You can see in the pictures, Carl lapping the oil pump in to get the correct end float on the pump.
We also fitted in my Propex heater which just needs rewiring now so that it can be switched on and off from the centre console. When I fitted it before, I had it piped in to the centre heating tube in the bus but found it kept going out. Carl and I had a chat about this and came to the conclusion that the turbo fan pushes out more power than the Propex does and it was backing up and blowing the Propex out. So now we'll just have it blowing out the front of the locker. Should be nice and warm because it's all fully insulated.
We've now fixed the rock and roll bed permenantly. I will be returning on Monday to help Carl refit the dash and then I can fit my parcel shelf and the kick panels.
Lee also came down and part fitted the front carpet. He has sewn in some really neat gators in leather for the handbrake and gear levers. These are stitched in to the carpet itself. Really neat job as usual!
I also checked for clearance with my Subwoofer backing on to the Propex. By moving the Propex up slightly I was able to get 20mm clearance which is fine. I'm also going to wrap the exhaust on the Propex as they get extremely hot and I don't want it scorching the carpet!
I've also painted the back of the speaker covers and all the subwoofer ready to be fitted.
I will post up some more pictures when I come back from Devon.
Cheers for looking.
Steve.
Geeze
Well-known member
I love reading your updates because the workmanship is beautiful 8)
God is in the details
God is in the details
68_early_bay
Well-known member
Geeze said:I love reading your updates because the workmanship is beautiful 8)
God is in the details
Same here, can't wait to see the finished bus
68_early_bay
Well-known member
Hi Steve,
Any new progress??
Any new progress??
Hi guys,
Here are some pictures. I got back from Devon about 6 weeks ago but haven't had a chance to upload them until now.
Here's Carl Waxoyling the inside of the passenger door prior to it being hung back on the bus. If you look along the closing edge, you'll see a little rubber gator. This connects to the door frame on the bus so we can run all the cables from the speakers through the body of the bus like a modern day vehicle.
Once the bottom was Waxoyled, Carl would heat it up with a hot air gun so that it would liquify and run right through the bottom of the door to give it the best chance of protection.
Carl has now fitted the flywheel to the end of the crankshaft on the engine. It is an 8 dowl crankshaft and flywheel. Here in the pictures you can see the end float being set with a dial gauge, the only real way to set it correctly. If my memory serves me well, Carl said the end float is set at 3 thou.
Whilst I was down, I decided to run the gas piping to the Propex. I decided to put the gas bottle in the bottom of the seat where the TV is. I started by taking the gas pipe through the floor and then ran it through the chassis rails. Where it passes through any sections of the floor or chassis rails, I sleeved it with pieces of fuel hose. I then brought it up inside the locker and terminated it with a fitting on the end to take the rubber hose which would then eventually feed the Propex.
I made some aluminium mounting plates for the fittings just to keep everything neat and tidy. Some of this may seem a bit boring but it was all nescessary to be done.
Carl has told me that all the wiring is done for the sound system right up to the head unit in the centre console. I've also fitted the consumer unit for the 240 hook up behind the TV in the TV seat plus I've also fitted a fuse block in there as well and a zeig metre. The zeig metre is wired in such a way that to operate it I've fitted a push button. The reason for this is as Carl says, if we wire it in as normal, it'll draw a small amount of current all the time. By taking a loop wire off of your feed and then running it through the push switch, it will only show a reading when you push the button. Doing it this way, if you wanted to, you could wire in your vehicle battery and your leisure battery both to be read off the same Zeig. I forgot to take a picture of all this but will do so when I go back down at the end of next week.
We're almost ready to fit the engine now, just need to drill and tap the head and take the sensor for the cylinder head temperature gauge. I have now aqquired the tap which is an American thread so this can also be done when I go back down and then hopefully we can put the engine in and fire it up. Once the engine is up and running, Carl can then check out all the wiring, making sure everything is 100%. Then and only then can we assemble the dash and put it in properly! Once the dash is back, we can again fit the windscreen. Carl has told me that the passenger cab door is now complete with all the glass and quarter-light. Again I shall bring pictures back with me upon my return home along with photos of whatever else we can get done whilst I'm down there for the week.
And now for the good bits. I've saved the best for last!
While I was there last time, I did a trial fit of the parcel shelf just to see how everything would go together and look. Really happy with the way it's gone together. I only fitted it for about 20 minutes before taking it all out again and returning it home for safe keeping. Also trial fitted the kick panels so you'll be able to get a good basic idea of what it's going to look like now looking at the inside front panel. Carl has also fitted the covers that he made to go over the two little pockets which are either side of the walk through area and it looks very smart. I've taken a couple of shots through the windscreen and from the side of passenger door to give you an idea what the cockpit of my bus is going to look like. Can't wait to get it all cleaned up and all the chrome work in! Should look really good!
Here are the pictures:
Here you can see the handmade cover over the little pocket under the drivers seat. They have clips on so that they can clip in and out when you need access. The inside of the pockets are lined in black carpet as well but are not visible in these pictures.
Here you can see the two covers together with the centre console in the middle.
Here you can see them from the side through the passenger door. I've also got the Gene Berg gear lever mounted up as you can see.
Here you can see the trial fit of the parcel shelf. I haven't clicked the centre section on fully at the moment (where the handbrake comes through) but it's in position. You can see on the left hand side the access to the fuse box which is really simple for me to access. You will notice on the right, the rod protruding down from under the dash, that's the rod which operates the heating system. It's got to be trimmed to the correct length so there won't be much visible when it's finished. Nice and stealthy but fully functionable.
I also trial fitted the kick panel on the passenger side. You will notice at the top that there is excess of carpet, this is done deliberately because once the parcel shelf is in permenently, the excess carpet will be trimmed off just leaving enough to tuck up the back of the parcel shelf. The next kick panels go right to the underside of the parcel shelf. You'll also notice around the centre of the totum, we have made a cover which is also trimmed in the carpet. This now allows the sides of the carpet to push hard against the kick panel which in turn will keep the kick panels in place and you won't see the gap at the back where the panel dissapears behind the totum on the standard bus.
Here you can see the excess carpet to be trimmed at the top and also the cover which fits around the totum.
Here you can see the access for the fuse box. You can also see the cut out in the totum where the louvres used to be. If you look at one of the previous posts, they're missing on the totum. The louvres were cut out deliberately because once the kick panels are fitted, they will be fitted with satin black grills.
Sorry some of it was probably a bit boring but as I said earlier, it still had to be done.
Thanks for taking the time to look.
Regards.
Steve.
Here are some pictures. I got back from Devon about 6 weeks ago but haven't had a chance to upload them until now.
Here's Carl Waxoyling the inside of the passenger door prior to it being hung back on the bus. If you look along the closing edge, you'll see a little rubber gator. This connects to the door frame on the bus so we can run all the cables from the speakers through the body of the bus like a modern day vehicle.
Once the bottom was Waxoyled, Carl would heat it up with a hot air gun so that it would liquify and run right through the bottom of the door to give it the best chance of protection.
Carl has now fitted the flywheel to the end of the crankshaft on the engine. It is an 8 dowl crankshaft and flywheel. Here in the pictures you can see the end float being set with a dial gauge, the only real way to set it correctly. If my memory serves me well, Carl said the end float is set at 3 thou.
Whilst I was down, I decided to run the gas piping to the Propex. I decided to put the gas bottle in the bottom of the seat where the TV is. I started by taking the gas pipe through the floor and then ran it through the chassis rails. Where it passes through any sections of the floor or chassis rails, I sleeved it with pieces of fuel hose. I then brought it up inside the locker and terminated it with a fitting on the end to take the rubber hose which would then eventually feed the Propex.
I made some aluminium mounting plates for the fittings just to keep everything neat and tidy. Some of this may seem a bit boring but it was all nescessary to be done.
Carl has told me that all the wiring is done for the sound system right up to the head unit in the centre console. I've also fitted the consumer unit for the 240 hook up behind the TV in the TV seat plus I've also fitted a fuse block in there as well and a zeig metre. The zeig metre is wired in such a way that to operate it I've fitted a push button. The reason for this is as Carl says, if we wire it in as normal, it'll draw a small amount of current all the time. By taking a loop wire off of your feed and then running it through the push switch, it will only show a reading when you push the button. Doing it this way, if you wanted to, you could wire in your vehicle battery and your leisure battery both to be read off the same Zeig. I forgot to take a picture of all this but will do so when I go back down at the end of next week.
We're almost ready to fit the engine now, just need to drill and tap the head and take the sensor for the cylinder head temperature gauge. I have now aqquired the tap which is an American thread so this can also be done when I go back down and then hopefully we can put the engine in and fire it up. Once the engine is up and running, Carl can then check out all the wiring, making sure everything is 100%. Then and only then can we assemble the dash and put it in properly! Once the dash is back, we can again fit the windscreen. Carl has told me that the passenger cab door is now complete with all the glass and quarter-light. Again I shall bring pictures back with me upon my return home along with photos of whatever else we can get done whilst I'm down there for the week.
And now for the good bits. I've saved the best for last!
While I was there last time, I did a trial fit of the parcel shelf just to see how everything would go together and look. Really happy with the way it's gone together. I only fitted it for about 20 minutes before taking it all out again and returning it home for safe keeping. Also trial fitted the kick panels so you'll be able to get a good basic idea of what it's going to look like now looking at the inside front panel. Carl has also fitted the covers that he made to go over the two little pockets which are either side of the walk through area and it looks very smart. I've taken a couple of shots through the windscreen and from the side of passenger door to give you an idea what the cockpit of my bus is going to look like. Can't wait to get it all cleaned up and all the chrome work in! Should look really good!
Here are the pictures:
Here you can see the handmade cover over the little pocket under the drivers seat. They have clips on so that they can clip in and out when you need access. The inside of the pockets are lined in black carpet as well but are not visible in these pictures.
Here you can see the two covers together with the centre console in the middle.
Here you can see them from the side through the passenger door. I've also got the Gene Berg gear lever mounted up as you can see.
Here you can see the trial fit of the parcel shelf. I haven't clicked the centre section on fully at the moment (where the handbrake comes through) but it's in position. You can see on the left hand side the access to the fuse box which is really simple for me to access. You will notice on the right, the rod protruding down from under the dash, that's the rod which operates the heating system. It's got to be trimmed to the correct length so there won't be much visible when it's finished. Nice and stealthy but fully functionable.
I also trial fitted the kick panel on the passenger side. You will notice at the top that there is excess of carpet, this is done deliberately because once the parcel shelf is in permenently, the excess carpet will be trimmed off just leaving enough to tuck up the back of the parcel shelf. The next kick panels go right to the underside of the parcel shelf. You'll also notice around the centre of the totum, we have made a cover which is also trimmed in the carpet. This now allows the sides of the carpet to push hard against the kick panel which in turn will keep the kick panels in place and you won't see the gap at the back where the panel dissapears behind the totum on the standard bus.
Here you can see the excess carpet to be trimmed at the top and also the cover which fits around the totum.
Here you can see the access for the fuse box. You can also see the cut out in the totum where the louvres used to be. If you look at one of the previous posts, they're missing on the totum. The louvres were cut out deliberately because once the kick panels are fitted, they will be fitted with satin black grills.
Sorry some of it was probably a bit boring but as I said earlier, it still had to be done.
Thanks for taking the time to look.
Regards.
Steve.
89Rallye
Well-known member
Did someone say Trophy Trap?
Wont be long now by the looks of it 8)
Wont be long now by the looks of it 8)
68_early_bay
Well-known member
Nice
0sborne
Member
What an amazing resto!
The quality of work is superb!
Nice one!
The quality of work is superb!
Nice one!
Quincey
Well-known member
I think this guy should be referred to as "Saint Carl of Devon". I have only just stumbled over this thread. Once I wipe the tears out of my eyes, I'll read some more.
Just amazing. Very jealous! :mrgreen:
Just amazing. Very jealous! :mrgreen:
A
Anonymous
Guest
Quincey said:
Yeah, Carl is sure that, Carl restored mine a while back, he is also a gentleman with it. I've seen this bus in the flesh and met Steve when I was picking mine up and it's certainly a work of art. I don't know how Steve can be so patient not having his pride and joy for so long.
Hi guys,
Sorry for the delay in posts but wife's been seriously ill. Found out she had breast cancer in May but luckily found early and has finished her treatment and it's been all good news.
Been down to Carls from the Bank Holiday onwards. We're now flat out to get the van finished for the Chill n Grill on the 22nd September. I've taken lots of pictures of the engine installed but forgot to upload the pictures this time so they will follow towards the end of the week.
Carls been busy this week sorting out all the wiring behind the dashboard making sure everything is wired correctly and also installed the chrome steering column. He's also plumbed in the oil cooler which includes a fan mounted above it with an electric stat which will switch the fan on when needed. We've also included an oil stat so the oil won't flow around the cooler until the engine reaches operating temperature. The plumbing which Carl has done on this installation is a work of art as usual!
While this was going on I've been busy inside the camper wiring all the leisure side of things. I can't believe the amount of cable that's gone inside this bus! There are four flexible conduits running under the chassis to feed everything! Two take the Hifi speaker cables which are heavy duty gold wire and the other two do the Propex and the rest of the installation plus the mains hook up. I built all of the leisure system in to the back of the TV seat behind the panel where the TV fits which you can see in the pictures below. Also everything I've installed runs two cables back to this unit which is live feed and earthed. The object of this was to connect the live feeds in a to new fuse block plus I could then terminate all the earths in to one solid earth block and then take one master earth lead which is then secured to the vehicle. This way should I have any earth problems, I can easily access it behind the TV. I also picked up a neat little charger which if required, allows me to charge my leisure battery if stationary on the site for a few days. I've already fitted a split charging system so both batterys will be charged as normal. I've also fitted a zeig metre which when wired was done on a link wire broken by a switch, the reason it was wired this way, because if you wire direct across the terminals you always draw a small amount of current from your leisure battery where if you interrupt that feed with a push button switch, you can then take your reading of your battery and once releasing the button of the switch, there's no more current draw. The advantage of doing it this way as well would be that you can also do the same with the wire from your main battery, again wired in to this zeig, allowing you to use one zeig to read two batteries instead of having to buy a double zeig metre!
This has taken me approximately 3 visits to wire the inside of the bus whilst Carl has been working on other things. All my sitting down in the evenings over the last four years, pondering through how I was going to design and build my interior is now paying off. I built in all the access points for cables in the TV unit and centre console. There is an enormous amount of cabling underneath the centre console so I've designed the inside of the console allowing everything to be removable should anything need servicing at any time.
Carl had previously run the wiring around for the lighting system inside before it went to Lee the trimmer so the last couple of days I'd spent wiring in the lights and switching. Then the moment come to connect up the leisure battery and switch the lights on. Really pleased with the effect! I've got six interior lights running on two switches and I've wired it in a way where I can have three different "mood" settings. I can have the two centre lights on, or the four outer ones on or all six on at the same time. These are LED lights run totally cool. Carl took a reading off of his metre and said it would take 60 hours of continuous use to run the leisure battery flat so well pleased.
Since the previous post after reinstating my £12 Propex which worked fine when originally used in the bus, it decided not to work when I put it back in! So I took it back to Propex in Southampton. It could have been repaired at a cost of approximately £150 but managed to get a cracking deal on a new one so this is now fully installed as well. I put the programmer on the back of the TV seat, between the driver and passenger seat (see photo), taking great care so that when I open my centre console lid, it didn't foul up on the programmer, so now I can turn the heating on from the cab area when driving, should we need to.
I've also installed the 240v behind the TV which runs the battery charger should I need it plus a double gang socket. I've one double gang socket built behind the TV unit to run the TV and a charger should I need it. There is also another gang socket which is between the end of the TV seat and a side panel so I have fully accessible 240 but nothing on show.
While at the Skeg Vegas show a couple of weeks ago I managed to find a couple of original heat exchangers which were in really good condition for £25! Carl said the early ones are the best ones as they have more fins inside but are not always easy to find. There were originally off a Beetle but the only difference is the cable arm is on the inside rather than the outside. So we converted the lever over to the other side. I've taken lots of photos of this so people can see how to convert it. I saw another guy on the site that was asking.
So here are the photos:
Heat exchangers:
Oil cooler and fan:
This is the mounting bracket Carl made to mount the Oil Cooler stat which you can see in the pictures above:
Here's the Propex heater installed:
Here's the programmer:
Here's the electrics behind the TV:
The wiring of the Head unit in the centre console:
The head unit:
The wiring for the lights:
And let there be light!
Installing the trim panels:
The fusebox and trim panel:
Here's the steering column being installed:
Got the inside of the overhead locker pinstriped. A little treat for me!
And there you go.
If anyone needs to ask anything about the heat exchangers, feel free to ask and I'll give you a talk through.
Thanks for looking and all your comments.
Regards.
Steve.
P.S. Almost forgot to mention... We're going for an MOT on Monday!!! The end is in sight! YIPEEE!arty0041: arty0048: arty0049:
If they thought the closing ceremony of the Olympics was good then wait until you see this done! 8)
Sorry for the delay in posts but wife's been seriously ill. Found out she had breast cancer in May but luckily found early and has finished her treatment and it's been all good news.
Been down to Carls from the Bank Holiday onwards. We're now flat out to get the van finished for the Chill n Grill on the 22nd September. I've taken lots of pictures of the engine installed but forgot to upload the pictures this time so they will follow towards the end of the week.
Carls been busy this week sorting out all the wiring behind the dashboard making sure everything is wired correctly and also installed the chrome steering column. He's also plumbed in the oil cooler which includes a fan mounted above it with an electric stat which will switch the fan on when needed. We've also included an oil stat so the oil won't flow around the cooler until the engine reaches operating temperature. The plumbing which Carl has done on this installation is a work of art as usual!
While this was going on I've been busy inside the camper wiring all the leisure side of things. I can't believe the amount of cable that's gone inside this bus! There are four flexible conduits running under the chassis to feed everything! Two take the Hifi speaker cables which are heavy duty gold wire and the other two do the Propex and the rest of the installation plus the mains hook up. I built all of the leisure system in to the back of the TV seat behind the panel where the TV fits which you can see in the pictures below. Also everything I've installed runs two cables back to this unit which is live feed and earthed. The object of this was to connect the live feeds in a to new fuse block plus I could then terminate all the earths in to one solid earth block and then take one master earth lead which is then secured to the vehicle. This way should I have any earth problems, I can easily access it behind the TV. I also picked up a neat little charger which if required, allows me to charge my leisure battery if stationary on the site for a few days. I've already fitted a split charging system so both batterys will be charged as normal. I've also fitted a zeig metre which when wired was done on a link wire broken by a switch, the reason it was wired this way, because if you wire direct across the terminals you always draw a small amount of current from your leisure battery where if you interrupt that feed with a push button switch, you can then take your reading of your battery and once releasing the button of the switch, there's no more current draw. The advantage of doing it this way as well would be that you can also do the same with the wire from your main battery, again wired in to this zeig, allowing you to use one zeig to read two batteries instead of having to buy a double zeig metre!
This has taken me approximately 3 visits to wire the inside of the bus whilst Carl has been working on other things. All my sitting down in the evenings over the last four years, pondering through how I was going to design and build my interior is now paying off. I built in all the access points for cables in the TV unit and centre console. There is an enormous amount of cabling underneath the centre console so I've designed the inside of the console allowing everything to be removable should anything need servicing at any time.
Carl had previously run the wiring around for the lighting system inside before it went to Lee the trimmer so the last couple of days I'd spent wiring in the lights and switching. Then the moment come to connect up the leisure battery and switch the lights on. Really pleased with the effect! I've got six interior lights running on two switches and I've wired it in a way where I can have three different "mood" settings. I can have the two centre lights on, or the four outer ones on or all six on at the same time. These are LED lights run totally cool. Carl took a reading off of his metre and said it would take 60 hours of continuous use to run the leisure battery flat so well pleased.
Since the previous post after reinstating my £12 Propex which worked fine when originally used in the bus, it decided not to work when I put it back in! So I took it back to Propex in Southampton. It could have been repaired at a cost of approximately £150 but managed to get a cracking deal on a new one so this is now fully installed as well. I put the programmer on the back of the TV seat, between the driver and passenger seat (see photo), taking great care so that when I open my centre console lid, it didn't foul up on the programmer, so now I can turn the heating on from the cab area when driving, should we need to.
I've also installed the 240v behind the TV which runs the battery charger should I need it plus a double gang socket. I've one double gang socket built behind the TV unit to run the TV and a charger should I need it. There is also another gang socket which is between the end of the TV seat and a side panel so I have fully accessible 240 but nothing on show.
While at the Skeg Vegas show a couple of weeks ago I managed to find a couple of original heat exchangers which were in really good condition for £25! Carl said the early ones are the best ones as they have more fins inside but are not always easy to find. There were originally off a Beetle but the only difference is the cable arm is on the inside rather than the outside. So we converted the lever over to the other side. I've taken lots of photos of this so people can see how to convert it. I saw another guy on the site that was asking.
So here are the photos:
Heat exchangers:
Oil cooler and fan:
This is the mounting bracket Carl made to mount the Oil Cooler stat which you can see in the pictures above:
Here's the Propex heater installed:
Here's the programmer:
Here's the electrics behind the TV:
The wiring of the Head unit in the centre console:
The head unit:
The wiring for the lights:
And let there be light!
Installing the trim panels:
The fusebox and trim panel:
Here's the steering column being installed:
Got the inside of the overhead locker pinstriped. A little treat for me!
And there you go.
If anyone needs to ask anything about the heat exchangers, feel free to ask and I'll give you a talk through.
Thanks for looking and all your comments.
Regards.
Steve.
P.S. Almost forgot to mention... We're going for an MOT on Monday!!! The end is in sight! YIPEEE!
arty0041: arty0048: arty0049: If they thought the closing ceremony of the Olympics was good then wait until you see this done! 8)
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Sorry to hear about your wife but very pleased to hear that she is doing well. I wish you both good will and health
aogrady
Well-known member
Hi!
Sorry to hear the bad news, glad all is ok now though, trying times indeed.
Van looking great, like the latest updates, love the pin striping, want to get this done on mine, got a few ideas lined up. So many little touches on your van that reuire a second look - like your bracket for the gas pipe, and Carl's bracket for the cooler stat, nice work!
I'll be talking to Carl about the heat exchangers, i have og bug ones too with the same problem, though mine are wired on permanently.
Good luck with the mot, not that you will need it. I saw you were down the unit, but didnt get time to nip in for a mooch about..
Cheers!
Alistair
Sorry to hear the bad news, glad all is ok now though, trying times indeed.
Van looking great, like the latest updates, love the pin striping, want to get this done on mine, got a few ideas lined up. So many little touches on your van that reuire a second look - like your bracket for the gas pipe, and Carl's bracket for the cooler stat, nice work!
I'll be talking to Carl about the heat exchangers, i have og bug ones too with the same problem, though mine are wired on permanently.
Good luck with the mot, not that you will need it. I saw you were down the unit, but didnt get time to nip in for a mooch about..
Cheers!
Alistair
68_early_bay
Well-known member
aogrady said:Hi!
Sorry to hear the bad news, glad all is ok now though, trying times indeed.
Same here sorry to hear the bad news, and glad all is looking good
And the van as usually is coming along superbly 8) definitely no need to worry about the mot
Excellent work as always 8)
Hi guys,
Been practically living in Devon for the last four weeks, flat out working with Carl to get the bus finished!
Have had horendous problems with repro parts. Namely the steering rubber couplings, rear light pod and lens seals. Will post pics of these soon.
Also had problems with my front door cab seals. As you all know when you put on new seals they make the doors stick out. I had some genuine VW NOS ones from the 80's. Fitted them and the doors were sticking out 12mm! Ended up taking them off and trimming the backs down on a dye grinder. They now fit nice.
All this sucks time out of your project! I was hoping to have it finished for the Breeze last weekend but it didn't happen.
It'll now be finished by the next coming weekend in time for the Final Fling.
If any of you guys are going, please come over and say hello.
Will add pictures of the bus as soon as it's finished.
Regards.
Steve.
Been practically living in Devon for the last four weeks, flat out working with Carl to get the bus finished!
Have had horendous problems with repro parts. Namely the steering rubber couplings, rear light pod and lens seals. Will post pics of these soon.
Also had problems with my front door cab seals. As you all know when you put on new seals they make the doors stick out. I had some genuine VW NOS ones from the 80's. Fitted them and the doors were sticking out 12mm! Ended up taking them off and trimming the backs down on a dye grinder. They now fit nice.
All this sucks time out of your project! I was hoping to have it finished for the Breeze last weekend but it didn't happen.
It'll now be finished by the next coming weekend in time for the Final Fling.
If any of you guys are going, please come over and say hello.
Will add pictures of the bus as soon as it's finished.
Regards.
Steve.
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