How I built my Interior units for my '72 Bay. FINISHED!!!

[gninnam]

No updates Steve

 

[Hotrod]

Hi guys,

Been to Devon this weekend to visit Carl and to check out the progress on my bus. Almost ready for the paint booth now!

Carl has been busy spraying around the door shuts while it's still in the workshop so that he can then mask all the door openings and spray the outside in one operation.

This is the first time I've really seen the colour. I've only ever seen it on a sample we did about two years ago. Think it's going to look really nice. This colour isn't used on a production car. It was taken from a colour chart so will be unique to my bus. Some of the shots might look a bit light but that's because of the flash on the camera but infact it's quite a nice dark blackcurrant.

I've also incorporated a few shots of the underneath of the vehicle.

All being well, next week we should be in the booth.

I've seen the chrome work and that looks awesome. I'm also going to fit an interior mirror from a Type 3 Squareback. It is a really nice chrome stemmed mirror with a polished aluminium back. Slightly shorter than what's used on the 67-68 bays. I don't know if anybody can help me here. We need the section, that the bay window mirror clips in to over the windscreen. We need the cut to be approx. 50mm either side the mirror sits in to. Carl needs this so he can adapt that to fit the new mirror. If anybody could help, this would be great.

I've also taken some pictures looking down the sides so you can see how straight the bus is. Karl's worked extremely hard on the two long panels over the rear wheel arches. The straightness of it is a credit to Carls skills as a restorer.

I shall be returning to Devon around Easter to see the bus in full paint so there'll be lots of pictures then but in the mean time, here are the latest pictures to wet your appetite!

This is a shot that you'll all recognise as the edge of the front panel. As everybody knows, no one seems to make a front panel that fits! Myself and my friend fitted this front panel before the bus was delivered to Carl at BeetleBank and as you know, whichever side you finish up clipping on last has a bigger joint with the front edge of the door, approx. 10mm. I made up my mind that I could never live with this and so I asked Carl if he could address the problem. I have put some pictures up previously of this edge being addressed by literally doing spot weld on spot weld on spot weld to build the edge up. Carl told me at the weekend that to get that edge to look like it does now, took approximately 6-700 spot welds! The result is amazing and it just looks pure factory.

The next picture follows it...

You can't appreciate the work that has gone in to the brackets in these photographs. Carl has spent some time deburring and taking out any obvious marks where the foldings were and raidiusing all the edges.

All the overspray on the face of the panels will be flatted back before it goes for the final paint in the booth. I'll get Karl to send me some photos of it in the booth so I can post them up for you to look at.

This is all the long panels. The two over the wheel arches and the panel behind the drivers door. Carl wetted these down so we could take some pictures to try and show the straightness of the bus. Believe me, the pictures don't do it justice. This bus is absolutely arrow straight.

I've incorporated a few pictures of the underside of the bus for you to look at. I still can't believe that this bus has lived in the UK all its life. It was bought from a dealer in Colindale in London in 1972. It was unbelievably solid underneath! The only structural repair I had to do underneath was the front off side jacking point. The jacking point itself was structurally sound but the roof inside the jacking point had gone. Panel wise, all that needed repairing was two lower rear corners, two battery trays, two outer sills. We decided to replace both front wheel arches complete even though it was the step areas that were rough. It had already had a front clip on at some stage in it's life but it was very badly fitted and so we renewed it. Apart from the other few bits and pieces Carl found as he worked his way around the upper part of the bus, it was extremely solid. I was extremely lucky to find a bus in this condition, especially as I only had to go to the corner of my road to buy it and it was the first one I looked at!

Once again, comments are always welcome and any questions, feel free to ask.

Hope you like you see.

Regards.

Steve

 

[D@VEY]

Hi looks awesome.. is it 2k paint he is painting with?

 

[gninnam]

Hi Steve,

Great to see the paint in the flesh (so to speak) 8)

Like you say, in the pictures the flanks look perfectly straight and true - a true sign of a master craftsman :mrgreen:

So looking forward to the next pictures of the bus in all the same colour - what colour are you doing the interior?

So jealous :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

 

[aogrady]

Hi Steve,

I was down at Karls last week discussion the paint codes on my bus, and getting a match up ready for a few weeks when mines in, I was talking to him about your bus, and yes the side panels are unbelievably straight, granted, mine had a few dents, but they are no way as straight as this from the factory. And your gutters look spot on too, lots of work gone in to that too.

And i love the colour, gonna look awesome polished up !

Cheers!

Alistair

 

[BO JANGLES]

It looks fantastic Steve, I'm gonna pop over tomorrow & have a look, can't wait till next week. 8)

 

[NZ Beige]

What an awesome build, great posts to with all that info. Going to be coming back to this thread when I start repairing my cabinets and take some notes!

Going to be great to see it all together, and see that colour outside in the sun.

Cheers, Daniel.

 

[user 14192]

Hi D@vey,

The paint build up and finish after bare-metalling goes something like this:

2K epoxy primer onto bare metal, 2 coats
Polyester filler as required blocked with 40grit, finally with 80grit
Top Stop or Dolphin Glaze as required to fill pinholes and minor imperfections
2K high-build primer filler, 2 coats blocked back with 80 grit
2K high-build primer filler, 2 coats blocked back with 180 grit
2K high-build primer filler, 2 coats blocked back with 180 grit, then 600grit, then 600grit again, then 600grit again again!
1K colour basecoat, 2 coats
2k lacquer, 3 coats
Flat with 1000 grit
Refine surface with 2500 grit
Polish with coarse compound
Polish with fine compound
Polish with finishing glaze
Polymer wax, 2 coats.

Whenever any body filler or High build primer is sanded, a guide coat of matt black is applied; to date I have used about 30 cans! Rough sanding is done dry, final primer coat and lacquer sanding is done wet, all with specially made sanding blocks that are the secret to the flat surface.

Phew! Carl.

 

[Guest]

thats a serious amount of work :shock:

how many hours would you expect to put in on a job like that?

 

[gninnam]

Hi D@vey,


... all with specially made sanding blocks that are the secret to the flat surface.

Phew! Carl.

Tell us what is special about these (or if you tell me, will you have to kill me )

Cheers

 

[D@VEY]

Cheers Carl
Thats a great insite to the amount of work goes into a top paint job!

 

[user 14192]

thats a serious amount of work :shock:

how many hours would you expect to put in on a job like that?

Hi there,

I would estimate the whole project will be about 3000 hours with my part being in excess of 2000 hours.

Cheers, Carl.

 

[user 14192]

Hi D@vey,


... all with specially made sanding blocks that are the secret to the flat surface.

Phew! Carl.

Tell us what is special about these (or if you tell me, will you have to kill me )

Cheers

Hi Andy,

They are long and flat. Any more information could be fatal... Unusually I love filling/sanding and have infinite patience plus an electronics and precision engineering background. More than enough clues there I think! :lol:

Cheers, Carl.

 

[gninnam]

Hi D@vey,


... all with specially made sanding blocks that are the secret to the flat surface.

Phew! Carl.

Tell us what is special about these (or if you tell me, will you have to kill me )

Cheers

Hi Andy,

They are long and flat. Any more information could be fatal... Unusually I love filling/sanding and have infinite patience plus an electronics and precision engineering background. More than enough clues there I think! :lol:

Cheers, Carl.

Cheers bud for the information - looks like you need something long and flat and loads of patience - I am none of them...

 

[Mr Brightside]

Hi there,

I would estimate the whole project will be about 3000 hours with my part being in excess of 2000 hours.

Cheers, Carl.

Wow, that does look like its going to be very nice

Over 2,000 hours on bodywork ? :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock:

Is Steve giving you both arms & legs in return or just one side ? :lol:

Does look VERY nice though arty0002:

 

[Hotrod]

Hi guys,

Not too much to say at the moment. Went to see Karl last weekend to catch up on progress. Karl told me he had a few problems with the cab doors during the preping and flatting process, this has not been overcome but has slowed the project slightly. Karl has told me the plan with the paintwork is to paint all the doorshuts, edges of the doors, tailgate and engine lid first then flat off any over spray on the faces of the doors and hatches and then on the body work, once this is done, the cab doors, sliding door, tailgate and engine lid will then be shut with a foam seal around the edges. The reason for this is so that once Karl sprays the exterior of the bus, he can now spray the outside in one easy operation without having to go around the undersides and insides of the doors and risk getting any paint runs.

When I arrived, Karl was busy flatting off the overspray. If you look in the pictures, you'll see on Karls right wrist there is a bandage and some tape, Karl hasn't slashed his wrists yet, he just puts the bandage around and tape so that when he's flatting the panels off with water, it doesn't run down his arm!

I've also included some pictures of a modification that Karl has carried out for me to fit a new rear view mirror. I was fortunate enough to pick up a rear view mirror which is very similar to the 67-68 bay window mirror. It is approximately about an inch shorter in length. This mirror was laying in a box of bits and pieces up in the jumble area of the VolksWorld show. It has a beautiful chrome stem on it and a lovely aluminium back to the glass and I got it for a very reasonable £7! I have researched the part number and it is off a type 3 square back and the chrome version which I've got was a one year only which was 1966. Karl had to cut a section from a beetle where the mirror fits and then modified it so thatthe type 3 mirror would click into it and then weld and blend in over the existing mirror mount to give it the correct angle. This was an extremely time consuming job for Karl and as usual a first class one! This mirror will look absolutely awesome when fitted with its chrome stem and polished aluminium back up against the black velor headlining. We will add the pictures of the mirror at a later date.

I will keep you posted on the paintwork. I have told Karl I won't be ringing him and will just wait for him to call me and tell me it's painted. I just can't wait for that phone call!

Here are the pictures:

Hope you like what you see. All comments are welcome.

Regards,

Steve.

 

[cotswoldiver]

Still one of my favorite threads, loving the painstaking progress just to get it right, so looking forward to seeing this in the flesh

The colour of the final paint combined with the interior units is going to make this one hell of a unique bus, and totally usable - that is really something special. Love the idea of the adapted interior mirror

 

[gninnam]

I just can't wait for that phone call!

You can't wait...... What about us :shock:

So looking forward to seeing this in the flesh as, after all the work and effort put in, it has to end up being a cracker :anim_19:

 

[creationblue]

Superb work allround fellas, you get what you pay for thats for sure 8)

Just

 

[BO JANGLES]

Been waiting for this update Steve, sorry I missed you last weekend mate, just to busy getting the ghia sorted for the big wedding job.
I love every tiny update, like the inside of the doors etc, just a little tease each time.