Our '68 adventure bus!

[abby]

Thanks georgyv! They are madmatz. Full set right through.. I'll post more pictures over weekend if i can.

Yes, massive relief to have the bulk of welding done! A couple of little bits still needed, but they can wait for winter :msn4:

 

[gninnam]

Great job with the welding - moving on nicely

 

[abby]

Thanks Andy! It's great just to see some changes! Felt stuck for ages.

Never ending work.. I mean fun.. :lol:

 

[admwllms]

Yeah love the look of those mats too, gonna get some for myself when funds allow, I think.

 

[abby]

Got to say... they are pretty awesome! We got the thermoliner for the front too... SO cozy. They were super helpful when I called up too. We got the sisal in herringbone, but I am sure our colour isn't there anymore? Ours is definitely lighter than the 'tobacco' listed... :roll:

here they are anyhoo http://www.madmatz.co.uk/vw-bay-window.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[abby]

LONG overdue update!

Essentially.. almost everything is back in! The drawers still need fixing, as does the overhead locker... but everything else is in! Not an awful lot to say, so here are some pictures





















How good was the sky as we finished working on Hugo last night!? Here he is in his little home (with his big butt sticking out) in the sun.





Lastly, some fabric swatches. Still need to make curtains, buy cushions (and a million other 'nice' bits) and I also want to sew a spare wheel cozy! I'm thinking the fishies or aztec print for that one....

I will post again soon with some more details of actual hard work instead of pretty things :lol:

 

[abby]

Can't believe its been a whole year since I posted an update! What a bloody year its been... head gaskets going 200 miles from home... more welding... an engine fire D:

I've currently got the bus in our workshop as we have been stripping, sanding, welding, replacing etc ready for a much needed respray. Here are a few pics from the last year.

I'll post a full respray update soon

Lastly... this is where we are now...

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[1961bluebug]

I like your cats. Miau...

 

[matty74]

Great Thread ... can't wait to see the respray

 

[abby]

Quick update! Here is the rust we have been dealing with this time around...

Almost everything is welded up now! Will post some pics later tonight if I get time.

Made a friend .... ha

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[abby]

So we've been doing all the bodywork in an empty workshop I currently have at work. As such... booth construction was required! My mate did his T25 before we shimmied in the shop, so built the wooden frame. We used his scruffy tent to sand ours down, then dismantled and rebuilt a clean booth for our painting.

Peekaboo in the scruffy booth

And the rebuilt one!

My suit was a little big

One major issue we have been having, is that under the blue rattle can job, there was a hideous, bizarre black paint. It doesn't sand off... it feels like velvet... we have had to use a grinder with a metal brush attachment and literally grind it all off. Very satisfying to see and pretty easy to do. Just time consuming. It comes off in weird rubbery sausages that fall to the floor?! No dust!

Obviously this leaves us bare metal too... so more surface to prep before we do the fun stuff.

Here's one side after yesterday...

I'll put some pictures of the weird paint up tonight too.

 

[abby]

So we've been working our tushies off the last couple of weeks to get the bodywork all sorted. We had a small window of opportunity to get into the workshop and back out again, before we move buildings.

We were never after a show finish. The bodywork isn't perfect... but there is no rust! We are welded and happy. If we had more time, I would have given it a few more beans when it came to smoothing with filler. The right side in particular seemed to have been bashed by something at one point, but I fixed it the best I could.

Here is the odd black...

Not too much of a problem in the end, just wish we'd known to grind it all off before we wasted weeks sanding ha. It did mean some of the previous smoothing filler had to be redone too. Quite a bit there sadly..

Not perfect, but not bad for a first go! Please note this is my first time doing anything like this too... so be gentle :s

Finally some primer wahooo!

Had a couple of small reaction patches like this in the cab. All over black, but we didn't think it was the SAME black. Turns out maybe it was. We grinder these off and re-primed. All good now!

On with the cloud white...

Then at long last (and around 3am over the weekend) some NEPTUNE BLUE!

Original paint on the face of the dash... new on the top. Perfect match.

On the whole - I'm bloody chuffed. The finish on the body compared to the doors is different, but my mates have assured me this should buff up to match in a couple of weeks. We also ran out of white, so will take the wheels off to finish in a few weeks. The inside of the bumpers need doing too.

We are now trying to put him all back together. Sadly the new tailgate is wrong and we are now in a mad panic to get our original one welded and repainted before the end of the weekend. We shall see how that goes.

Got my first ever window in last night! Oh yes.

So far it has been a bloody nightmare. Lots of fun too... but so many sleepless nights. We used 2k paint from a local place (Colourtone) who were lovely. I also had lots of advice from David (nobbly) on here. Although I ignored possibly his biggest tip... 'take your time and don't set a deadline!'... oops...

Hoping to get away to Brighton next week, so will post some pics of him in all his glory when I'm back.

If anyone has any advice on buffing, or matching the body shine to the doors in general... it would be very welcomed!




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[nobbly]

Hi Abby,

Don't listen to me! My affliction to having deadlines means the interior of mine still isn't finished.... :lol:

 

[gninnam]

Brilliant

 

[kevinhall]

Amazing job

 

[abby]

Thanks guys! Really makes me feel better putting stuff on here. I'm supposed to be out of the workshop by the end of tonight and we're still having a nightmare getting it all back together. The pop top seals are the devil! Arghhh.

Also, the old tailgate came back and it is in no condition to keep. So we need to put the old scabby one back on to get away next week, then source a new one when we get back.

 

[abby]

Slowly coming back together! Windscreen and rear quarterlight seals are a P in the A. Getting my dad round today to help get them in... then bring him home this afternoon and refit the interior! Whoop!

Old tailgate ruins the look a little[emoji849]. After a new one if anyone has one going!

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[Aircooler]

So we've been doing all the bodywork in an empty workshop I currently have at work. As such... booth construction was required! My mate did his T25 before we shimmied in the shop, so built the wooden frame. We used his scruffy tent to sand ours down, then dismantled and rebuilt a clean booth for our painting.

Peekaboo in the scruffy booth

And the rebuilt one!

My suit was a little big

One major issue we have been having, is that under the blue rattle can job, there was a hideous, bizarre black paint. It doesn't sand off... it feels like velvet... we have had to use a grinder with a metal brush attachment and literally grind it all off. Very satisfying to see and pretty easy to do. Just time consuming. It comes off in weird rubbery sausages that fall to the floor?! No dust!

Obviously this leaves us bare metal too... so more surface to prep before we do the fun stuff.

Here's one side after yesterday...

I'll put some pictures of the weird paint up tonight too.

Good job! When I saw the tent I had some memories in my head!
Best regards
Reto

 

[abby]

So we've been doing all the bodywork in an empty workshop I currently have at work. As such... booth construction was required! My mate did his T25 before we shimmied in the shop, so built the wooden frame. We used his scruffy tent to sand ours down, then dismantled and rebuilt a clean booth for our painting.

Peekaboo in the scruffy booth

And the rebuilt one!

My suit was a little big

One major issue we have been having, is that under the blue rattle can job, there was a hideous, bizarre black paint. It doesn't sand off... it feels like velvet... we have had to use a grinder with a metal brush attachment and literally grind it all off. Very satisfying to see and pretty easy to do. Just time consuming. It comes off in weird rubbery sausages that fall to the floor?! No dust!

Obviously this leaves us bare metal too... so more surface to prep before we do the fun stuff.

Here's one side after yesterday...

I'll put some pictures of the weird paint up tonight too.

Good job! When I saw the tent I had some memories in my head!
Best regards
Reto

Thanks Reto! I bloomin' love your resto thread . We've just driven it home tonight... so pleased to have it back home!


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[matty74]

Wow you have been busy ... hats off to the pair of you.

Looking forward to seeing it all back together again.

Great Work !!!