Our '68 adventure bus!

[abby]

Hallo everyone... you may have seen me float in and out over the last few months! Finally ready to share more info on our little bus. We bought a 1968 Devon in September, and he has since spent most of his time at the bus doctors, for reasons you will soon see.. He is (was) completely original inside and spray painted for a patina effect on the outside. He was a bargain, so we decided to use the rest of the money saved to get him all fixed up!













First thing we did was inspect every inch inside and out. It was clear there was some filler around the back guttering, but it didn't look too bad at first glance.... once poked however! :lol: This seemed to be the only major issue. The engine is is fantastic condition.. the interior looked good other than old damp doorcards...












Internal inspection resulted in a pretty disgusting rot in the back drawers under the roof filler. We then pulled the entire interior out to hunt for any more... but fortunately only found a tiny bit of warped wood and some cobwebs. And of course Lego! Is it just me or does Lego get EVERYWHERE?! :lol: . We did find some more rust inside, but it didn't look too severe. We took the opportunity to take him to Just VW for a thorough look over whilst he was all naked. They confirmed our suspicions and advised he needed a new back piece as the damage was so far around! The internal corner's rust patches just needed a little welding and the disastrous looking patch under the drivers feet was actually just surface and would clean up nicely - RESULT! A good few weeks work, but the guys at JVW were just as enthusiastic as us about him and are happy to help us novice bus owners in doing all the little bits ourselves.









Since he has been with JVW there have been two further discoveries... a chunk of rotted chassis and the passenger door will need replacing. Not bad so far. Work has only really just begun, so we are hoping there will be nothing more unearthed!



Some bonus images... how does SO MUCH fit inside a little bus?!


All the ruined bits ready for the dump..


Before she was pulled to pieces, making friends with Faye, our friends T25 :mrgreen:



Further update soon! <3

 

[admwllms]

Great stuff abby, looking forward to seeing how this one turns out. Keep up the updates!

 

[gas1man]

Love the look of the bus and the effect . Keep up the good work .
Like I say, "slowly catch a monkey"
Enjoy the ride. Will watch in interest. OH and welcome to the madness that is an empty wallet. :lol: :lol:

J & P

 

[gninnam]

Hope no more suprises are discovered along the way!!

 

[abby]

Thanks guys! Went to visit him yesterday and things are progressing nicely... Reckon we will have him home by the end of Feb! Then the fun begins :mrgreen:

I will post a pic update a little later!

 

[abby]

Righty! We went to visit the bus yesterday.... progress is finally being made! Back internal arches complete (only got a pic of one!) :?



This is the worst corner, behind the passenger seat. You can see the state of the chassis too!










Lastly, the roof filler poked out & our shiny new (old) roof to be patchworked in :lol:








Internal corners to be done over next week or so, then the dreaded back piece. All fingers and toes crossed for that bit! Then we will have the back leftside window surround welded a little and the passenger door replaced and he will be HOME! One month to go we reckon. Our guy is starting to think something happened to the back corner other than just water - perhaps a bash?

We have spent today in higher spirits and decided to begin scrubbing up the interior ready for the buses return. Few bits to fix on it too, so enough to keep busy!

 

[StinkBomber]

Cor! That's some scary stuff... especially the rear roof section.
Looks like great progress though!
I might have to pick your brains on how some of the interior bits go back in, if that's ok?... Need to get my Devon bits properly installed next month. They're just resting in the bus at the moment and I'm having nightmares about drilling holes in things! :shock:

 

[abby]

Yes the rear is a little scary!! It unearthed all kinds of window issues too! I will post another update this week.

We are in the same boat as you with the interior at the moment - when we got the bus it was mostly just loose inside! All the main bits were attached, but the two individual chairs in the back weren't. We have been given a few pointers by the guy fixing the bodywork though, so I will post this for you when we get it back and start putting it all back in!

 

[Wibbs]

Now that's what you call a weld project......... :shock:
I'm a fabricator by trade and can weld any material, but
That looks endless.....
You need shares in cutting dics and welding wire, oh and a ******* gas bank not a gas bottle
But I got to love your enthusiasm.......

Keep up the good work, and more pics please

 

[abby]

Yes it does make me a little nervous Wibbs! But I have complete faith in Taffy... the other work I have seen him do is fantastic! We are getting close to having him home now... I will post another update today.

 

[abby]

As expected, it got worse before it got better.. but look at the awesome job on his butt so far!
















The front corner and chassis is also fixed and in an attractive black :lol:






Chopping off the back unearthed a world of pain for the back nearside window however....








No progress pics on it yet, but I have sourced a piece of window surround that will be fitted to replace. Then with some additional metal and jiggery pokery, we should be back in business! We are expecting the bus back within the next week, all smoothed and waxoyl'd ...so after cleaning the interior (what can be cleaned) we have started on sewing new seat covers. I have sewn a little in my time, but nothing like this – CHECK OUT HOW GOOD THEY LOOK! Made up.



Next step: Fix the rotting wood for the interior, finish seat covers, sew curtains (still undecided on material) and.... dun dun dunnnnn... fit headliner. Not going to lie, dreading that bit. :lol:

 

[admwllms]

Proper cracking on there, good work on the upholstery.

 

[gninnam]

Moving along well. Bet your chuffed..

 

[StinkBomber]

Great progress! :mrgreen:
How much rot have you got to contend with, in the woodwork?

 

[abby]

I will post some pictures tonight, but the overhead locker/cupboard bottom piece is rotten. Thats fine cause we can replace with ply and paint the bottom white - you will never know! The bottom of the ply for the side of the cupboard with hob on is rotten... Again i think this can be replaced an stained without being noticed. The big bit is the drawers/bed. The picture up there of the yellow rot.... There is a good chunk of that on the underside on the drawers and it has literally eaten away a few inches of the wood. Weve found someone who may be able to restore it, but i'm scared to ask how much yet! Ha. When weve paid for all the welding i will ask, cause i dont think we can fox that ourselves and still have it looking good and working...

 

[abby]

GUESS WHO'S HOME!!! wahooo! Picked him up on Saturday. Lots of work started over the weekend ripping out remaining headliner etc. I will post a picture update as soon as I can.

For now, carrying on with a deep clean ready for new headliner, insulation, seals & floor ply this weekend. May even have him all back together! Just a new canvas needed then and we're away.

Needing a new passenger door, which we will replace end of month. Then need a new tailgate, which will be in another month or two... So i will filler his little holes in the meantime. :mrgreen:

 

[abby]

Few updates! Here is the bus now we have him back (thinking of naming him Hugo – what do you reckon?). I will post some close ups of his finished butt this weekend. Forgot to take some in the excitement to get him home and it’s been dark since!









Since having him home we have ripped out all of the manky headliner and scrubbed everything within an inch of its life. The cleanse should be finished this evening, ready for a bit of silicone and filler on the tailgate (to get us by for a few months until we buy a new one), kurust the sneaky little patches under headliner, new seals, thermo lining, new ply...... & more!



Now for a rot update.. this is what we are currently trying to fix up on the back drawers. The side of cooker cabinet is a little damp, but we can fix it. Also the bottom of the overhead is a little damp... we will replace the bottom ply.












Lastly... check out this before and after!! All we used was a bit of soapy water and some Vanish spray on the stubborn parts :lol:. Once the outside is scrubbed tomorrow, we are Gorilla taping the seam splits on the pop and hoping it lasts us the summer :mrgreen:

 

[Dave.P]

Good work so far and all cleaned up very nice !
Nice to see someone so genuinely excited about their bus coming home, I'm exactly the same and had my present bus 8 years :lol: ( couldn't wait to drive it after the mot last Monday after 4 months in the garage).
Hope it goes well for you, all the best.

 

[abby]

Finally making some good progress!! Firstly, here are some close ups of the completed welding of the new back piece...







Last couple of weeks have been continued cleaning and stripping... and finally putting some good stuff back in :mrgreen: First up was the new headliner. We are doing everything ourselves and knew this bit was going to be a P in the A. To give ourselves another challenge, we werent going to take the windows out. This was purely because we were sure one of the back windows would unearth more rusty doom. It is safe and dry as it is, so we didn't want to risk ruining that and adding more to the welding bill just yet! That is a job for over winter.

We liked the original vinyl, some bought some new from Wonderland Classics. The guy was very helpful! Even after a panicked phone call on a Sunday :lol: . All sides, pillars, bottoms etc went in well! I eventually got into ambidextrous screewdrivering in underneath the seals :lol: Cab and back was fine too (with tweeking)... it was around the pop that nearly bumped us off! We ended up (after lots of swearing) turning our back on the bus for a few days :lol: . I could post more on how we did it all if anyone wants me to.. but I am still traumatised by it all and don't want to go into it on this post ha.





Next we put thermal bubble wrap stuff in all the panels and on the floor. We were going to get something else for the floor (and still might eventually), but we had lots left over.



Then the good stuff!! Seats recovered in Beetle style covers...





and mats down! (only cool arty shots here soz :lol: 8) )





Next up: Last door card in, finish seat covers, put all (none rotten) furniture back in. We have a few bits of ply to replace and hopefully the drawers are going to be fixed by a friend. Also need to give the little stove some love as he has been a little neglected!

Hoping for the first day trip on Saturday! Cheeseboard, blankets and flasks of coffee by the sea :mrgreen:

 

[georgeyv]

Love those mats! Where are they from?

Your bus is looking great - bet you're relieved to have the welding sorted properly!