my 1971 danburyfalia pop top project

[andewilson]

progress on the van has been v slow of late. spent a fortune on the gas contract then a mate truned up with two full size bottles of argon mix so now i have enough gas to last about five years.
managed to score a pair of bulkheads from the boys at midland earlybay so spent around 6 hours tickling all the bits that i dont need off them, then welding in a couple of repairs in preperation for stitching them in

also started mocking up where i would like the mondo to be

just need a flexible elbow to connect to the turbo

 

[andewilson]

got a few hours on the van today after messing about with bmx's all weekend. as i am running no air box at the front to make the lower dash a little simpler and allow me to fit a little extra ice up front i had to add a little strength back up front

i just need to refit the steering box so a can weld in the strengtheners for the steering columb. i would love to get round there every night this week to get some serious progress

 

[T2-Nate]

Hi, how much are you lowering the dash?

 

[andewilson]

im not lowering the dash. however, from what i wrote earlier i can see why it looked like a said that.

what i am aiming to do is have the bit below the dash (which usually has a pair of kick panels, water bottle, brake fluid, air ducts etc) as one smooth panel trimmed to match the rest of the van in leather and as i no longer have all the bits there i can utallise that space to house a few bits of ice.


i pulled my ols steering box out tonight and gave it a whipp with the wire brush. there doesnt seem any play so i may well just strip it a refurb it myself with new gaskets and oil etc. so it now resides on the van so i can bolt the sterring columb to it and finish off the dash. the i can get round to plating the dash over for the rest of the stereo gear.

 

[andewilson]

got a bit more done on the van this week.

finish securing the steering columb against the front panel

then welded in the lugs that secure the dash top in place

then started plating the dash out so i can cut in the hole for the stereo

hope to get a few hours on it this arvo to get the welds cleaned off and try in some ice

 

[andewilson]

got a few hours on the bus today so took some ice round the workshop with me.

finished off cleaning up the dash and threw a bit of zinc primer on there to start marking out

there are a few more holes that need welding up on the dash from previous owners who just love to drill. then i will be sending off loads of bits to the powder coaters then the dash will just need a tiny skim of filler over my plating then it will be trimed in leather if i can get a good quote.

 

[andewilson]

trying to get a few more bits done on the van. finally got the rear corner welded up and cleaned off.

a little skim of filler when the van is sprayed and it should look factory again.





straight onto the other side which didnt look as bad as the left until i started digging.

 

[andewilson]

bit of an update on the van. progress has been v slow due to holidays and shows etc

the repair panel turned out to have nearly as much rut in it as the bit i cut out

 

[andewilson]

also started making my removable engine cover

also picked these up the other day for the van. 4.5 and 5.5j porsche 912 rims from 1966. im looking into rubbering them up with 155 60 15 and 175 60 15 conti 3's. slammedy slam.

next on the agenda is to weld in the missing part of the roof with part of a westy and get it flipped again to finish the lasdt few bit underneath before the big spray

 

[andewilson]

not a great deal of progress of late but the day i pick up my new roof is drawing ever closer. few more shows attended in this

very confortable i must say.



went on holiday to centre parcs in france, sadly i took the laptop and ended up not being able to resist going on flebay mhilst there. the result was the family having to endure coming home with this lot. scooped up on the way home

the colour of the van is now subject to change. after action i have decided the world doesnt need another pearl white westy :lol: and as my bus has no spray on at the mo i see this as an oppertunity to add a bit of colour into the line up

had some rims furbed (not for the bus, for the golf but they look nicer than my bus does so here is a pic)

just as well as my lovely wife modified my polished rims

anyway back to the bus. been doing a little bit in the engine bay to get it ready for a test run

aluminium header tank and window washer bottle. both bolted together therefore giving heated washer water 8) , not that its ever guna be driven in the cold.


i have now started making a frame for the charge cooler and charge water polished header which i would like finished by the weekend for the roof turning up.

 

[dubscum]

:shock: nice work mate, can't wait to see this van knocking about. nice stretch on the porka rims ....... curbing rims is what wife's are for :lol: i would'nt mind poping over to your workshop for a closer look when i get my bus back on the road

 

[gninnam]

As usual, top class job - you will get there, honest

 

[andewilson]

cheers guys. i was planning on a full dry build including getting it running before spraying but it all seems vey long winded. i just wanna get to the clean jobs

 

[Graham L]

Andy

Top work as usual, must have missed you at the weekend at sunny Vanfest :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

 

[windsurfer]

Looking good Dude, what's wrong with White Westy's though :lol:

 

[andewilson]

Andy

Top work as usual, must have missed you at the weekend at sunny Vanfest :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

i spotted you walk past with your dogs at the point when i was knee deep in rusty tat trying to snare a bargain. i then got told off for neglecting my wife and kids :lol: so never got chance to come and find the early bay camping area.

 

[andewilson]

Looking good Dude, what's wrong with White Westy's though :lol:

nowt mate, i love them. sadly far too many good ones about in og condition mine wouldnt cut it. so i thought i would go for a non vw colour, stutgart to be precise.

 

[windsurfer]

Looking good Dude, what's wrong with White Westy's though :lol:

nowt mate, i love them. sadly far too many good ones about in og condition mine wouldnt cut it. so i thought i would go for a non vw colour, stutgart to be precise.

I jest, just looking forward to your debut show :mrgreen:

 

[andewilson]

few more pics of the bus



made a frame out of some 20mm box

then fitted it to this (looks a bit like a spaceship with a roofrack)

charge cooler off ebay, not really running the kind of power where it will make a huge difference but it will be nice to have it there in the future when a may upgrade to pd130 etc

another ebay purchase (when i seemed to have more money was this little trinket

got the rimage on the golf too

 

[andewilson]

its been a long day today. woke up at 6 with a bit of a hangover, set off down south at 7am, met wunderlust off here to drop off my old sliding sunroof for his devon. cheers mate. then headed down to wimborne to nosvw to do this

cheers simon and all your mates for helping lift the bugger off. it went really well and a lot quicker than i would have thought. cant wait to get in fitted.

then it was back up north a little to meet nellybus off the forum. couldnt miss the oppertunity to meet up while i was in the area and get a sneaky look at his bus. wow!!!!!!!!!! words cannot describe. it is guna be awsome.

then it was back up north to notts to get it back out of the van.

£90 diesel, 470 miles, too many bounty trios, snickers duos, and bottles of fanta to be healthy.

knackered!!!!!!!!!

but chuffed to bits with the new roof