MOT'd and saving the day.

[sjc]

Thought i'd start a bit of a build tread on this. last year before ebi i decided i needed a bus so started having a look about and went to look at a few bays ended up finding one freshly imported from Alabama not a very dry state and all the bus had been painted in some creamish paint (which i later discovered is tough as concrete) but the interior was nice and original paint.
So i made a low ball offer with the condition the chap mot it and sort out the sill that was pop rivited on.
Got a phone call while i was at ebi and it was mine.
Waited for about 2 months for it to finally be delivered with a fresh mot.
Not however without a fair few problems as it wouldnt start to drive off the trailer. :roll:
Started rubbing at the cream paint that very night in the hopes it would quickly come off and i would have a lovely red bus.
What i actually had was this

Although that picture was taken at the hotrod national thing in Ipswich so hat was about 3 weeks of rubbing the paint and fixing various bits
This had now become my daily driver when it wanted to work

 

[sjc]

Not being a fan of the comical ride height i though i best get on with sorting it out, first step was to find a splitty beam. i managed to score a full spindle to spindle set up that as a bonus had been narrowed some inchs not to sure on the exact measurement. Unfortunately the adjusters where crap so i had to take the beam apart to sort that issue.
Chucked it all together and notched the chassis at the front after finding the trackrods wouldn't go back on.
Also dropped the back a spline.

yep still pretty high oh and i bought some radars and ran the fronts for a while and the 14inch steels good look :lol:
Then i decided to swap out the singleport for a twinport for some reason not to sure why to be honest as its certianley isn't any quicker ha ha
Also as i was using it everyday the stock brakes where starting to scare me a bit. So i got these.

much better stopping now :lol:
about this time i ran out of money sharpish so attempted to shift some spare at an autojumble

was't a big sucess to be honest so progress on the bus slowed a little as christmas was approaching

 

[sjc]

At some point before christmas i dropped the front to the lowest setting on the adjusters and dropped the back another spline getting me to here

as you can see i have been busy paint stripping as well takes forever and is so tedious
Decided i needed to sort the horrible ride out as i was running no shocks because the shock mounts had been cut off my trailing arms.
However though i might as well get my spindles dropped at the same time so this is what happened next

While the spindles where away being dropped i had a little mock up and realised my wheels would no longer fit in the arches
Best not mess about then

new mock up should have enough space to drop it properly at the front now

This was all being done on tuesdays only as it was my only day off and as the bus was off the road my only transport was my feet joy :lol:
After a couple of weeks i got both the tubs in and my spindles turned up. then a couple of weeks ago i helped a mate remove his beam from a his 72 beetle and got a hand getting my spindles on. After walking them home half an hour walk with 2 staffies and bus spindles in your back pack in the pissing rain made me pretty determined to get it back up and running quick sharp
Back on the road just in time for this

unfortunately the suspension settled and i realised i had to redo my notch on the passenger side.
laying underneath it in the snow welding was a barrel of laughs but all done now

 

[dubscum]

glad you started a thread dude, love your bus 8)

 

[sjc]

cheers chap yours is pretty dam cool too.
just need to get on with notching the back after i have ticked of some of the more essential things ha ha
3 weeks to get it to ninove :shock:

 

[dubscum]

cheers dude, is that all it is :shock: stupid money holding me back would have loved to have gone again. Defiantly do it next year. Enjoy mate 8)

Ash

 

[vwwinston72]

saw this at the suffolk bugr's autojumble can't remember exactly when that was, might have been october? anyway it looks cool as!!

 

[sjc]

cheers dude, is that all it is :shock: stupid money holding me back would have loved to have gone again. Defiantly do it next year. Enjoy mate 8)

Ash

as long as i manage to get the bus ready i shall enjoy ha ha
sure i will see you at a shows later in the year

 

[56 pumper]

Love it, top work fella.

 

[dubscum]

cheers dude, is that all it is :shock: stupid money holding me back would have loved to have gone again. Defiantly do it next year. Enjoy mate 8)

Ash

as long as i manage to get the bus ready i shall enjoy ha ha
sure i will see you at a shows later in the year

you will mate

 

[Slammed]

Looking very good Sam. :rocknroll:

 

[sjc]

its getting there hoping to get the few essential bits of work done next week then possibley notch the rear before ninove but its all time nad that seems to be running out

 

[creationblue]

Great bus, great thread cool as!

Just

 

[sjc]

took this last night on my phone think its looking pretty high for some reason. need to get the back end down
and want to get the front down a couple more inchs but think i need smaller tyres for that

 

[creationblue]

165/50/15 will sort the front out 8)

Just

 

[sjc]

took it to a local meet yesterday after changing the exhaust,
the tailpipe is just a standard affair bodged onto a 4-1 header its a bit on the loud side so might need to get an actual box.
however the tailpipe was full of oil :shock: and somehow i filled the bus with nice white smoke.

here it is airing out before the drive home with all windows wide open :lol:
hope to get some new shocks for the front soon as mine are bottoming out

 

[sjc]

took a couple of pics yesterday morning in tesco

and i also got my new long block
2110 with street eliminator heads and a few other tasty bits

doesnt look very exciting does it :lol: but it only has a 1000 miles on it and a stack of receipts for the build.

 

[Slammed]

Good work Sam, you can tell me all about it tomorrow morn when Cat is stabbing me!

 

[sjc]

i can't i'll be cruising down to dover tomorrow morning chap. see you in ninove hopefully

 

[Louis]

Im loving it so far man! Very cool! Do you have anymore info/pics on the tubs? I gotta tub mine soon and gotta start doin some research..... and I have a similar set up but running 165/55/14's.