How I built my Interior units for my '72 Bay. FINISHED!!!
- Thread starter Hotrod
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T2-Nate said:
Hiya, thanks for your great comments.
Regarding the Double Duck, this is the black material which they use to manufacture the hoods on sports cars, I don't think they use it on bras but if they did they would be waterproof! :lol: The idea of using the double duck was so when it was finished being trimmed you wouldn't see the springs grinning through the vinyl.
Lee is presently employed by a company that restores vintage Bentley's, I think he is looking to start his own business in the New Year, he's 29 years old but extremely talented, and he's based in Exeter in North Devon. Check out the work he did on Mr Bo Jangles!
I've looked around at a lot of trimmers including Bernard Newbury who is considered to be one of the best around, but Lee's work just blows them all away and his prices are realistic. If you need any work done in the future I can always pass his number onto you.
Hope this is of some help to you.
Regards - Steve
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Hi All,
I'm sure Lee won't mind me saying that he is talented way beyond his years, and is a thoroughly nice, unassuming and modest guy to boot. I have never seen him actually stitching seats (although the gorgeous results more than speak for themselves!), however I was mightily impressed when I watched him fitting Mr Bojangles' headlining. The apparent ease with which he achieves quite breathtaking results is something that I have very rarely seen in all my working life, whether in industry or the VW scene. Can't wait to send the shell to him after painting - I'm now nearly as excited as Steve.
I'm sure Lee won't mind me saying that he is talented way beyond his years, and is a thoroughly nice, unassuming and modest guy to boot. I have never seen him actually stitching seats (although the gorgeous results more than speak for themselves!), however I was mightily impressed when I watched him fitting Mr Bojangles' headlining. The apparent ease with which he achieves quite breathtaking results is something that I have very rarely seen in all my working life, whether in industry or the VW scene. Can't wait to send the shell to him after painting - I'm now nearly as excited as Steve.
Hi guys,
Went to Devon to see the Camper this weekend. Karl's now ordering the sound deadening materials and insulation so this can all be fitted to the interior of the bus before the exterior is painted. As you can see in the pictures below, the interior has now been painted just to make it nice and clean for when Lee does his interior work. The front cab area will be sprayed the same colour as the external shell. Karl is aiming to make this bus as super quiet with extra struts bonded in the side panels, sound deadening in the engine bay etc etc...
The parcel shelf is now completely finished and ready to go to Lee the trimmer as is the centre console which I have added some pictures below for you all to see. You'll notice that in the rear of the console it will be housing the amplifier for the sound system. All the sound system components are from Alpine which will include 6" speakers in the front cab doors and tweeter in the top of the door, two 6x9's and a 10" subwoofer mounted underneath the rock 'n roll bed and the head unit will fit inside the front of the centre console. I can't remember what the power is on the amp but it will be awesome once it's all installed.
Karl has now put some steel panelling through the top of the sides of the roof which will house my lighting system and switch. This was the easiest way of doing the sides plus adding extra strength to the top of the vehicle and also makes it easier for installing the wiring.
There is a guy coming from GAP Security tomorrow to install the security system. Once again everything must be installed before it goes to Lee and when the bus is finally finished the guy will return to commission the system.
Here are the pictures from Lee for the door cards. I think they're amazing and I know Karl thinks they are as well. Karl will make the holes for the window wipers and door handle once the cards are fitted.
The centre console will have a thin padding on and then covered in black vinyl with the stitch lines running up the front edges and the top will be covered with a piece of hard foam hand wrapped in black vinyl. I have designed the centre console with removable cheeks in the side and a removable bottom so Lee will have no problem trimming the inside and outside which will again be trimmed in black. The wiring from the headunit will then pass down behind the front panel where the headunit is mounted and then run along the false bottom of the centre console and out the back which can then be connected to the amp and the rest of the sound system. The inside of the lid has a removable hard board panel which houses in flush with the underside of the lid. This allows Lee to trim the vinyl which covers the top underneath the panel and then the panel itself will be wrapped and bonded in flush with no fixings. The rear of the console will butt up against the unit which houses the TV for a neat finish. There is also enough clearance either side of the unit to bring up the seat belts.
We've also now finalised the position of the rev counter on the steering column. This will look really trick when finished. Karl can now send off everything for Chroming.
I had a trial sit in the Camper on a piece of wood and a folded up blanket as my seat so that I could look at the gauges and the rev counter, felt really good. Here's a picture of the gauges fitted. There is clock, cylinder head temp gauge and oil pressure gauge, speedo and fuel gauge.
Here's some pictures of the interior now it's been sprayed.
Heres a before shot of the roof area. This is the original Devon way of finishing off the side sections where the bunk beds used to fit.
And here's an after shot which shows how the bus is now being finished in the same area.
This is a carbon fibre trim panel which Karl has produced. It goes on the right hand side of the bus as you open the tailgate area which will make life alot more easier for Lee when he does his trimming.
As I said on my last post, there are alot of extra inside features which will take this bus to a very high spec but at the moment I won't post because it will be nice to save a few little bits for you to see for yourself when hopefully you'll all be able to see it in the flesh.
As usual I hope you all like what you see. Feel free to ask any questions. Any comments are much appreciated.
Regards
Steve.
P.S. Is anyone going to Brighton Breeze next weekend? If you fancy a meet up PM me and I'll let you know my contact number.
Went to Devon to see the Camper this weekend. Karl's now ordering the sound deadening materials and insulation so this can all be fitted to the interior of the bus before the exterior is painted. As you can see in the pictures below, the interior has now been painted just to make it nice and clean for when Lee does his interior work. The front cab area will be sprayed the same colour as the external shell. Karl is aiming to make this bus as super quiet with extra struts bonded in the side panels, sound deadening in the engine bay etc etc...
The parcel shelf is now completely finished and ready to go to Lee the trimmer as is the centre console which I have added some pictures below for you all to see. You'll notice that in the rear of the console it will be housing the amplifier for the sound system. All the sound system components are from Alpine which will include 6" speakers in the front cab doors and tweeter in the top of the door, two 6x9's and a 10" subwoofer mounted underneath the rock 'n roll bed and the head unit will fit inside the front of the centre console. I can't remember what the power is on the amp but it will be awesome once it's all installed.
Karl has now put some steel panelling through the top of the sides of the roof which will house my lighting system and switch. This was the easiest way of doing the sides plus adding extra strength to the top of the vehicle and also makes it easier for installing the wiring.
There is a guy coming from GAP Security tomorrow to install the security system. Once again everything must be installed before it goes to Lee and when the bus is finally finished the guy will return to commission the system.
Here are the pictures from Lee for the door cards. I think they're amazing and I know Karl thinks they are as well. Karl will make the holes for the window wipers and door handle once the cards are fitted.
The centre console will have a thin padding on and then covered in black vinyl with the stitch lines running up the front edges and the top will be covered with a piece of hard foam hand wrapped in black vinyl. I have designed the centre console with removable cheeks in the side and a removable bottom so Lee will have no problem trimming the inside and outside which will again be trimmed in black. The wiring from the headunit will then pass down behind the front panel where the headunit is mounted and then run along the false bottom of the centre console and out the back which can then be connected to the amp and the rest of the sound system. The inside of the lid has a removable hard board panel which houses in flush with the underside of the lid. This allows Lee to trim the vinyl which covers the top underneath the panel and then the panel itself will be wrapped and bonded in flush with no fixings. The rear of the console will butt up against the unit which houses the TV for a neat finish. There is also enough clearance either side of the unit to bring up the seat belts.
We've also now finalised the position of the rev counter on the steering column. This will look really trick when finished. Karl can now send off everything for Chroming.
I had a trial sit in the Camper on a piece of wood and a folded up blanket as my seat so that I could look at the gauges and the rev counter, felt really good. Here's a picture of the gauges fitted. There is clock, cylinder head temp gauge and oil pressure gauge, speedo and fuel gauge.
Here's some pictures of the interior now it's been sprayed.
Heres a before shot of the roof area. This is the original Devon way of finishing off the side sections where the bunk beds used to fit.
And here's an after shot which shows how the bus is now being finished in the same area.
This is a carbon fibre trim panel which Karl has produced. It goes on the right hand side of the bus as you open the tailgate area which will make life alot more easier for Lee when he does his trimming.
As I said on my last post, there are alot of extra inside features which will take this bus to a very high spec but at the moment I won't post because it will be nice to save a few little bits for you to see for yourself when hopefully you'll all be able to see it in the flesh.
As usual I hope you all like what you see. Feel free to ask any questions. Any comments are much appreciated.
Regards
Steve.
P.S. Is anyone going to Brighton Breeze next weekend? If you fancy a meet up PM me and I'll let you know my contact number.
aogrady
Well-known member
Hi!
Coming along nicely Steve! I went and saw Karl on Friday, and was talking about your bus, and i can see the progress since last time.
Should be nearly done soon hopefully - just waiting for Karl to finish, my bus should be in next fingers crossed!
Look forward to seeing more progress.
Cheers!
Alistair
Coming along nicely Steve! I went and saw Karl on Friday, and was talking about your bus, and i can see the progress since last time.
Should be nearly done soon hopefully - just waiting for Karl to finish, my bus should be in next fingers crossed!
Look forward to seeing more progress.
Cheers!
Alistair
Justin & Muttley
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You'd better get those magazine editors on the phone - they're all going to want to feature this van!!
BO JANGLES
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Lookin sweet Steve, those boys don't do a bad job do they mate
user 14192
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OMG. Please don't make me cut holes in Lee's panels again... :shock:
Those panels look fantastic 8)
Great work is being done to this by all who are involved and soo looking forward to seeing it finished, but more importantly in the flesh
Looking forward to the next installment :mrgreen:
Great work is being done to this by all who are involved and soo looking forward to seeing it finished, but more importantly in the flesh
Looking forward to the next installment :mrgreen:
cotswoldiver
Well-known member
I love dipping in and out of this thread and catching up on the progress - like many others one of my favorite rebuild threads and really looking forward to seeing this in the flesh
Hi guys,
Just returned from a weeks holiday in Devon. Arrived Saturday morning at 1am and went straight to bed so we could be up fresh by 8am to attend the Final Fling. On awakening, we realised it was pouring with rain! But being as we were only 10 minutes from Woolacombe it didn't really make too much difference so myself and my wife Kathy went for breakfast in the local pub (Cooks Island, full English, all you can eat plus toast... £4.95 each! Not to be missed!!!). We arrived at Woolacombe about 10am and the field was already extremely muddy but by this time the rain had already eased off. We met up with Karl and his wife, Karl was selling a few VW spares and his wife had her own stall as well but had to keep putting the front of the tent down every 5 minutes because of the rain! Karl has a really cool tent, approx 20ft long by 8ft wide with a pitched roof, ex army, to this Karl has added a wood burning stove so nice and toasty inside. It was a pitty about the weather as it looked as though it could be a really good show, lovely venue, quite a few buses and a good sprinkling of jumble. Had to keep dodging around the jumble storms in the storm but never got the chance to walk around the bus area and have a chat. They had live bands as well which were really good! Sunday was a stunning day weather wise, went down to Woolacombe to watch the cruise come in. Had a chat with some of the bus owners and saw some cool buses and a nicely slammed trekker which I was lucky enough to have a sit in (I want one!). All in all a great weekend and just a shame the weather was kind to us on the Saturday. Given the right weather conditions this could be a really good weekend away and a great show.
Here are a few pictures I managed to take of the cruise:
On Tuesday morning I went to the workshop to give Karl a hand to remove the front beam. The first thing Karl did was to remove the four suspension arms from the beam as it was easier to do whilst the beam was in position and also makes it lighter when removing.
This is a photo showing the beam ready to be unbolted. Prior to removal you have to remove the gearlinkage rod and handbrake cables and anything connected to the steering.
Once the beam was removed the next job was to clean up around the centre of the two tubes in preperation for drilling out the spot welds. I removed the leaves from the two tubes prior to drilling out the spot welds. Being as I was fitting twin adjusters we needed to remove the housing which houses the idler pin (The only reason you need to remove this housing is to be able to get to the spot rivet that is located underneath the housing). To do this Karl scribed a line around the housing so he knew where to relocate it and carefully ground away and drilled out the spot welds and removed it. Once this was removed we could then carry on drilling out the spot welds. This is the spot weld you need to drill out after removing the housing. You will need a 14mm drill bit for this job.
The next job after this was to clean up round the tubes in preperation for cutting the slots. Once this was done, Karl could then weld on the adjusters.
Here you can see Karl has tack welded the adjuster in position prior to welding fully. For this job you need to be a really skilled welder so you get a really good quality weld, as you all know.
Here you can see the two adjusters fully welded.
The next stage was then to weld the pin housing back on.
Here's a picture of the housing fully welded and cleaned up.
The next stage was to cut off the bump stop mounts, then we turned our attention to examining the beams overall condition. I always knew it was pretty solid, all we found was a small area at the bottom of both sides, as you know this is where they all go. Part of the reason for this area rotting out is the reason that the drain hole is covered by the flange lips and so they cannot be cleaned out easy and moisture builds up inside and rots through. Karl removed a section of the lip and cleaned out the drain holes. This is a tip for everyone to do as it's quite easy when the beams in situ.
If you look closely you can see the lip covering the drain hole.
The next stage was for Karl to remove these areas back to solid metal (You can see the modification for the drain hole in this picture).
Here are the patches Karl cut. These patches aren't just bent front the beam, they're also curved across their width which were hand beaten so when all welded in and cleaned off, you'd never known it'd have been repaired.
Here are the patches fully welded ready for cleaning off.
Here's a picture of them polished off.
Here are some pictures of the beam when it was first removed, prior to cleaning up.
As you can see it was in pretty good condition for a UK bus beam. Here are some pictures of the beam being cleaned up.
The remaining spot weld holes which were drilled out to allow for the adjuster to be put in Karl welded patches over the top so we wouldn't get any water inside. Once the beam is fully cleaned off, any surface rust areas will be treated with a rust removing agent in preperation for the beam to be sprayed in two pack black. Karl has also fitted new bushes and idler pin to the centre of the beam. The four arms that were removed from the beam will be sent away for blasting then the ball joints will be pushed out and the new ball joints pushed back in. We'll also be renewing all the steering joints such as track rod ends, drag link etc... The steering box will also have the oil level checked and the box will be readjusted.
While I was there I also removed the rear brake system in preperation for the lowering plates to be fitted to the rear and then new back plates, wheel cylinders, brake linings, stainless steel hoses and new brake pipes. We also dropped the gearbox so we could withdraw the gear linkage rod from its tunnel so we could replace the two bushes.
We have to removed the gearbox because there is not enough room to draw the bar out the front.
I've also taken just a few pictures of the sound deadening. In the top of the parcel shelf, the wheel arches and the roof area is all fully sound proofed as is the sides. There are also sound proofing panels which will be fitted in the cheeks of the engine bay so it should all be super quiet when finished. Also the bus is being fully insulated with 25mm acoustic Rockwall wrapped in polythene. Rockwall is an ideal material for this as it's hazard free and doesn't attract moisture so should also keep the bus nice and warm.
This is the stage the bus is at at the moment.
Now for the good news! I've just been informed by Karl that we have secured a place for my bus in the VolksWorld show 2011 and also they have said they would like to do a feature on the bus when it is all finished. So hopefully all you guys that attend the show will be able to see it in the flesh at long last!
Once again thanks for looking, any questions feel free to ask. All comments much appreciated.
Regards.
Steve.
Just returned from a weeks holiday in Devon. Arrived Saturday morning at 1am and went straight to bed so we could be up fresh by 8am to attend the Final Fling. On awakening, we realised it was pouring with rain! But being as we were only 10 minutes from Woolacombe it didn't really make too much difference so myself and my wife Kathy went for breakfast in the local pub (Cooks Island, full English, all you can eat plus toast... £4.95 each! Not to be missed!!!). We arrived at Woolacombe about 10am and the field was already extremely muddy but by this time the rain had already eased off. We met up with Karl and his wife, Karl was selling a few VW spares and his wife had her own stall as well but had to keep putting the front of the tent down every 5 minutes because of the rain! Karl has a really cool tent, approx 20ft long by 8ft wide with a pitched roof, ex army, to this Karl has added a wood burning stove so nice and toasty inside. It was a pitty about the weather as it looked as though it could be a really good show, lovely venue, quite a few buses and a good sprinkling of jumble. Had to keep dodging around the jumble storms in the storm but never got the chance to walk around the bus area and have a chat. They had live bands as well which were really good! Sunday was a stunning day weather wise, went down to Woolacombe to watch the cruise come in. Had a chat with some of the bus owners and saw some cool buses and a nicely slammed trekker which I was lucky enough to have a sit in (I want one!). All in all a great weekend and just a shame the weather was kind to us on the Saturday. Given the right weather conditions this could be a really good weekend away and a great show.
Here are a few pictures I managed to take of the cruise:
On Tuesday morning I went to the workshop to give Karl a hand to remove the front beam. The first thing Karl did was to remove the four suspension arms from the beam as it was easier to do whilst the beam was in position and also makes it lighter when removing.
This is a photo showing the beam ready to be unbolted. Prior to removal you have to remove the gearlinkage rod and handbrake cables and anything connected to the steering.
Once the beam was removed the next job was to clean up around the centre of the two tubes in preperation for drilling out the spot welds. I removed the leaves from the two tubes prior to drilling out the spot welds. Being as I was fitting twin adjusters we needed to remove the housing which houses the idler pin (The only reason you need to remove this housing is to be able to get to the spot rivet that is located underneath the housing). To do this Karl scribed a line around the housing so he knew where to relocate it and carefully ground away and drilled out the spot welds and removed it. Once this was removed we could then carry on drilling out the spot welds. This is the spot weld you need to drill out after removing the housing. You will need a 14mm drill bit for this job.
The next job after this was to clean up round the tubes in preperation for cutting the slots. Once this was done, Karl could then weld on the adjusters.
Here you can see Karl has tack welded the adjuster in position prior to welding fully. For this job you need to be a really skilled welder so you get a really good quality weld, as you all know.
Here you can see the two adjusters fully welded.
The next stage was then to weld the pin housing back on.
Here's a picture of the housing fully welded and cleaned up.
The next stage was to cut off the bump stop mounts, then we turned our attention to examining the beams overall condition. I always knew it was pretty solid, all we found was a small area at the bottom of both sides, as you know this is where they all go. Part of the reason for this area rotting out is the reason that the drain hole is covered by the flange lips and so they cannot be cleaned out easy and moisture builds up inside and rots through. Karl removed a section of the lip and cleaned out the drain holes. This is a tip for everyone to do as it's quite easy when the beams in situ.
If you look closely you can see the lip covering the drain hole.
The next stage was for Karl to remove these areas back to solid metal (You can see the modification for the drain hole in this picture).
Here are the patches Karl cut. These patches aren't just bent front the beam, they're also curved across their width which were hand beaten so when all welded in and cleaned off, you'd never known it'd have been repaired.
Here are the patches fully welded ready for cleaning off.
Here's a picture of them polished off.
Here are some pictures of the beam when it was first removed, prior to cleaning up.
As you can see it was in pretty good condition for a UK bus beam. Here are some pictures of the beam being cleaned up.
The remaining spot weld holes which were drilled out to allow for the adjuster to be put in Karl welded patches over the top so we wouldn't get any water inside. Once the beam is fully cleaned off, any surface rust areas will be treated with a rust removing agent in preperation for the beam to be sprayed in two pack black. Karl has also fitted new bushes and idler pin to the centre of the beam. The four arms that were removed from the beam will be sent away for blasting then the ball joints will be pushed out and the new ball joints pushed back in. We'll also be renewing all the steering joints such as track rod ends, drag link etc... The steering box will also have the oil level checked and the box will be readjusted.
While I was there I also removed the rear brake system in preperation for the lowering plates to be fitted to the rear and then new back plates, wheel cylinders, brake linings, stainless steel hoses and new brake pipes. We also dropped the gearbox so we could withdraw the gear linkage rod from its tunnel so we could replace the two bushes.
We have to removed the gearbox because there is not enough room to draw the bar out the front.
I've also taken just a few pictures of the sound deadening. In the top of the parcel shelf, the wheel arches and the roof area is all fully sound proofed as is the sides. There are also sound proofing panels which will be fitted in the cheeks of the engine bay so it should all be super quiet when finished. Also the bus is being fully insulated with 25mm acoustic Rockwall wrapped in polythene. Rockwall is an ideal material for this as it's hazard free and doesn't attract moisture so should also keep the bus nice and warm.
This is the stage the bus is at at the moment.
Now for the good news! I've just been informed by Karl that we have secured a place for my bus in the VolksWorld show 2011 and also they have said they would like to do a feature on the bus when it is all finished. So hopefully all you guys that attend the show will be able to see it in the flesh at long last!
Once again thanks for looking, any questions feel free to ask. All comments much appreciated.
Regards.
Steve.
BO JANGLES
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Well chuffed for you , Kathy, Carl & Lee, on the show acceptance & feature, well done. 8)
8)Hi guys,
Been a while since my last update. Went down to see Karl and the camper on the 27th December. Things are beginning to take shape now. Karl has now replaced the front beam back in the vehicle along with all new ball joints, trackrod ends, etc...
After bare metaling the beam and treating any rust areas with chemical rust remover, it was then sprayed in two pack black along with all the suspension arms. The photos that follow do not do justice to the finish Karl has acheived on these items. He has also trial fitted the new Spax fully adjustable gas shocks on the front. Because we have lowered the front of the vehicle it is now possible to fit shock absorbers from a beetle.
On trial fitting the new wheels which are Fusch replicas, Karl noticed that the wheel stud lengths were just about adequate. So after a short discussion we decided this wasn't acceptable. The last thing we wanted would be to finish the bus off only to have a wheel come loose and possible come off. So the hubs were removed once again, all the exsisting wheel studs were then pushed out and new longer ones fitted.
Whilst I was there I removed the rear hubs, throughly cleaned the rubbish off with a wire brush, then Karl gave them two coats of rust treatment before priming and finishing in black gloss. We also decided that the lowering spring plates would benefit from a coat of black paint as well. So my job was to key the surface up before painting. Karl noticed that there was welding splatter marks which as Karl pointed out, if were not removed, when the rubber cushion goes around this area, it would tear it. It only took me 10 minutes to knock these off with a sharp coal chisel and hammer, but Karl being Karl, he doesn't miss anything.
Karl has told me the bus can be delivered to Lee the trimmer on the weekend of the 5th February which will be 4 weeks from this weekend. So the next time I visit Devon, it will be to help deliver the camper.
Karl tells me it will be fully painted and laquered when we deliver it. Lee should have it approximately 4 weeks to work his magic and then it will come back to Karl where he will then polish the laquer work. The reason he's doing this after it comes back from Lee is because it will give it four weeks to harden.
I just can't wait to see it in paint as it has been a long time coming but having said that, we've done lots of changes to the bus which are little features on the outside and little extras on the inside. All this adds up to time on designing as well as carrying them out but I can now see the end of the tunnel and the results of all the work gone into this bus, is going to be stunning!
Karl has worked really hard this week. He has had to renew two oil seals on the gearbox. They are the ones that are behind where the driveshafts bolt on. Word of warning, if you have to do this job, don't just take off the plastic covers, unscrew the seal housings and reassemble because certain dimensions have to be taken before you can carry this out and it is absolutely crucial. If these dimensions are not taken prior to stripping then you are undoubtedly going to have trouble with your gearbox. Karl has now replaced the gearbox back into the vehicle after cleaning and painting black. Also rebuilt the driveshafts with all new cv joints and fitted the spring plates and rear shocks.
I have instructed Karl to weld the bumper irons to the back of the bumpers and weld up the holes where the bolts would have gone through the bumpers. This will give a much cleaner finish to the bumpers once painted and refitted. On inspection of the rear bumper, Karl informed me that it would cost too much money to make the exsisting bumper look correct, so a pattern bumper was purchased. On receiving this bumper Karl was surprised at how good the quality was for a pattern part but unfortunately nobody makes the early rear bumper for the bay. The only replacement pattern one available is for a split. Karl will now look at modifying the ends of the new bumper to replicate the correct ends. If this is going to prove to be too labour intensive he will the remove the ends from the original bumper and transfer these to the new pattern bumper therefore when finished it will look identical to the original.
Haven't heard anymore from Volksworld. Hope the bus is still going to be in the show. If Karl doesn't hear anything soon he'll be contacting them again.
Here's a few pictures from my last visit:
Here's Karl brushing on the first coat of the rust treatment on the rear hubs that I'd previously cleaned up.
After this has been on for x amount of time, Karl washes it off with boiling water to neutralise it before priming and painting.
Here's some pictures of the front beam and suspension joints after it was all replaced back into the bus. All the original bolts which are being reused will be fetched in with the black paint. The inside of the beam cheeks will be fully waxoiled so no more rot problems will occur:
This is the rear spring plate after I'd removed the weld splatter and keyed it up for paint.
Here's the plate, ready for etch priming.
This is the hub you have to unscrew and remove to replace the oil seals. To do this, Karl had to make a special tool fit in the middle so it could be unscrewed. You have to take a dimension from the face of the hub to the face of the gearbox case. This is critical! If this isn't carried out it can put all your differential out of line and wreck your box. After Karl took this dimension, he then put a centre mark on the lip of the case and edge of the hub so they lined up and also made a record of how many times he unscrewed it. The actual job is simple. All these is to renew is the oil seal which Karl said the reproduction ones are much better than the original design and there is an O-ring which fits around the hub which should also be renewed. Once all this has been throughly cleaned and removed, it's just a case of screwing it back together. Check the number of turns you go in and line the dots up and it's job done.
Here's the gearbox after they were renewed. All that needs to be done then is to refit the two plastic outer covers. Hope this information could be helpful for someone. You'll know whether the seals need replacing because you'll get a weep down the side of the gearbox.
This was a picture of the tortion bar after removing the spring plate. The first time off in forty years, still as good as new!
Here's another picture of the front beam. Karl said when I first drive this bus, after steering round corners I'm going to have to physically pull the bus back straight because the steering is going to be so tight. It will take approximately a thousand miles to loosen up. Again it's ashame the photos don't show how good the paintjob is. It really looks the business.
I also asked Karl to renew the bushes for the gear selector rod which slides through the tunnel through the middle of the bus underneath. To do these you need to remove the gearbox. I supplied Karl with some new bushes which I bought, they're like miniture plastic shuttle cocks. After Karl had inspected them, he said the quality was poor and they didn't fit anyway. The exsisting ones were found to be perfectly ok so everything was cleaned, greased and painted and replaced back in the vehicle.
This is the stage we're at at the moment. So if everything goes to plan the next post you'll see it in paint!
Regards.
Steve. Any comments much appreciated.
P.S. Happy new year.
Been a while since my last update. Went down to see Karl and the camper on the 27th December. Things are beginning to take shape now. Karl has now replaced the front beam back in the vehicle along with all new ball joints, trackrod ends, etc...
After bare metaling the beam and treating any rust areas with chemical rust remover, it was then sprayed in two pack black along with all the suspension arms. The photos that follow do not do justice to the finish Karl has acheived on these items. He has also trial fitted the new Spax fully adjustable gas shocks on the front. Because we have lowered the front of the vehicle it is now possible to fit shock absorbers from a beetle.
On trial fitting the new wheels which are Fusch replicas, Karl noticed that the wheel stud lengths were just about adequate. So after a short discussion we decided this wasn't acceptable. The last thing we wanted would be to finish the bus off only to have a wheel come loose and possible come off. So the hubs were removed once again, all the exsisting wheel studs were then pushed out and new longer ones fitted.
Whilst I was there I removed the rear hubs, throughly cleaned the rubbish off with a wire brush, then Karl gave them two coats of rust treatment before priming and finishing in black gloss. We also decided that the lowering spring plates would benefit from a coat of black paint as well. So my job was to key the surface up before painting. Karl noticed that there was welding splatter marks which as Karl pointed out, if were not removed, when the rubber cushion goes around this area, it would tear it. It only took me 10 minutes to knock these off with a sharp coal chisel and hammer, but Karl being Karl, he doesn't miss anything.
Karl has told me the bus can be delivered to Lee the trimmer on the weekend of the 5th February which will be 4 weeks from this weekend. So the next time I visit Devon, it will be to help deliver the camper.
Karl tells me it will be fully painted and laquered when we deliver it. Lee should have it approximately 4 weeks to work his magic and then it will come back to Karl where he will then polish the laquer work. The reason he's doing this after it comes back from Lee is because it will give it four weeks to harden.
I just can't wait to see it in paint as it has been a long time coming but having said that, we've done lots of changes to the bus which are little features on the outside and little extras on the inside. All this adds up to time on designing as well as carrying them out but I can now see the end of the tunnel and the results of all the work gone into this bus, is going to be stunning!
Karl has worked really hard this week. He has had to renew two oil seals on the gearbox. They are the ones that are behind where the driveshafts bolt on. Word of warning, if you have to do this job, don't just take off the plastic covers, unscrew the seal housings and reassemble because certain dimensions have to be taken before you can carry this out and it is absolutely crucial. If these dimensions are not taken prior to stripping then you are undoubtedly going to have trouble with your gearbox. Karl has now replaced the gearbox back into the vehicle after cleaning and painting black. Also rebuilt the driveshafts with all new cv joints and fitted the spring plates and rear shocks.
I have instructed Karl to weld the bumper irons to the back of the bumpers and weld up the holes where the bolts would have gone through the bumpers. This will give a much cleaner finish to the bumpers once painted and refitted. On inspection of the rear bumper, Karl informed me that it would cost too much money to make the exsisting bumper look correct, so a pattern bumper was purchased. On receiving this bumper Karl was surprised at how good the quality was for a pattern part but unfortunately nobody makes the early rear bumper for the bay. The only replacement pattern one available is for a split. Karl will now look at modifying the ends of the new bumper to replicate the correct ends. If this is going to prove to be too labour intensive he will the remove the ends from the original bumper and transfer these to the new pattern bumper therefore when finished it will look identical to the original.
Haven't heard anymore from Volksworld. Hope the bus is still going to be in the show. If Karl doesn't hear anything soon he'll be contacting them again.
Here's a few pictures from my last visit:
Here's Karl brushing on the first coat of the rust treatment on the rear hubs that I'd previously cleaned up.
After this has been on for x amount of time, Karl washes it off with boiling water to neutralise it before priming and painting.
Here's some pictures of the front beam and suspension joints after it was all replaced back into the bus. All the original bolts which are being reused will be fetched in with the black paint. The inside of the beam cheeks will be fully waxoiled so no more rot problems will occur:
This is the rear spring plate after I'd removed the weld splatter and keyed it up for paint.
Here's the plate, ready for etch priming.
This is the hub you have to unscrew and remove to replace the oil seals. To do this, Karl had to make a special tool fit in the middle so it could be unscrewed. You have to take a dimension from the face of the hub to the face of the gearbox case. This is critical! If this isn't carried out it can put all your differential out of line and wreck your box. After Karl took this dimension, he then put a centre mark on the lip of the case and edge of the hub so they lined up and also made a record of how many times he unscrewed it. The actual job is simple. All these is to renew is the oil seal which Karl said the reproduction ones are much better than the original design and there is an O-ring which fits around the hub which should also be renewed. Once all this has been throughly cleaned and removed, it's just a case of screwing it back together. Check the number of turns you go in and line the dots up and it's job done.
Here's the gearbox after they were renewed. All that needs to be done then is to refit the two plastic outer covers. Hope this information could be helpful for someone. You'll know whether the seals need replacing because you'll get a weep down the side of the gearbox.
This was a picture of the tortion bar after removing the spring plate. The first time off in forty years, still as good as new!
Here's another picture of the front beam. Karl said when I first drive this bus, after steering round corners I'm going to have to physically pull the bus back straight because the steering is going to be so tight. It will take approximately a thousand miles to loosen up. Again it's ashame the photos don't show how good the paintjob is. It really looks the business.
I also asked Karl to renew the bushes for the gear selector rod which slides through the tunnel through the middle of the bus underneath. To do these you need to remove the gearbox. I supplied Karl with some new bushes which I bought, they're like miniture plastic shuttle cocks. After Karl had inspected them, he said the quality was poor and they didn't fit anyway. The exsisting ones were found to be perfectly ok so everything was cleaned, greased and painted and replaced back in the vehicle.
This is the stage we're at at the moment. So if everything goes to plan the next post you'll see it in paint!
Regards.
Steve. Any comments much appreciated.
P.S. Happy new year.
BO JANGLES
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Getting exciting now Steve, keep the updates coming & text/phone me a week before we need the trailer , just to confirm the date & I'll sort it mate
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