-
Recent Posts
Recent Comments
Category Archives: Bus
Inner valance removed
(this took forever) and a test-fit of the new inner valance.
Passenger side “dog leg” before and after
There’s a bit more grinding left but this went very well considering how much was rotted away. Also, the rest of the passenger lower seat pedestal is in, just needs to be ground down. But best of all, Christina got us the ’63-’67 VW Transporter Workshop Manual by Bentley.
Great weather today!
Half of the replacement metal at the base of the passenger seat pedestal is in. Like the rest of the patches made so far the goal is to get a solid foundation that requires a minimal amount of filler to smooth. Creating a perfect surface at the sheet metal level is nearly impossible and of limited value except for museum vehicles. See below for the repair sequence: Cut-fit-weld-grind.
A bit of project management:
The Gantt chart below lists all of the metal-work tasks left with approximate start/end times for each. Once metalwork is complete the bodywork phase will begin: prime, sand, prime, sand… ad nauseum.
The cargo rocker panel, jack point, and the rear floor are welded on.
Also the loooong weld on the cargo floor repair section is completed and mostly ground down. This weld turned out very well, it should look seamless once the primer is on. Some patching of the passenger side ‘B’ and ‘C’ pillars remains, but after that I should be able to move on to the front.
Some patching on…
…the passenger side quarter panel, cleaned up in-between the floor and belly pan, a test fit of the floor repair section and rocker panel.
Replacement parts have arrived!
Prepping the outer 11″ of cargo floor for replacement. Welded the gutter section and started patching holes around the ‘Samba’ windows. (lots of fine-tuning left with these welds)
Getting ready for a front valance…
…that’s on a slow truck from Vancouver, BC. Also scratch-built a replacement gutter over the passenger side door and welded up the replacement cargo rocker
Something on the bus…
…in the left picture does not belong. 10 points if you guessed an axle from an ’01 Jetta TDI. The cheap chinese re-manufactured shaft that I had installed in Rochester finially let go on the way to lunch. Luckily I coasted to a stop directly in front of the local NAPA store/distribution center.(What are the odds?!) I walked across the street, got a new axle, called the tow truck, got towed home, replaced the axle, and was back at my desk programming by 3:30. All in a day’s work.
Interesting occurance at lunch recently:
A guy came into our parking lot at work looking for a (now abandoned) flooring company. His ’72 Beetle then refused to start and a coworker alerted me to the stranded VW. We worked it out (flooded) and he let me take a picture (left) of his MATCHING dealer sticker for reference. The bus’s sticker (right) is barely legible. What are the odds?
