Yip fletch has done a grand job very pleased with how it's coming along Haven't much to report the bus is in storage waiting for its paint job Tried sourcing a new front roof as mine has warped / bulged at the sides.. But too expensive both for new or old.. So I think I will stick with the existing for now Rang the chap whose doin the painting last week ... He reckoned he would be starting on it this last week Will give a ring next week and see if it's happening yet In theory could be finished sometime in December / new year.. and then it's back to me to finish off
No news ... Need to ring the painters see if they started yet Sadly I know they didn't get going on it last month so fingers crossed for February now !,
Haven't been on here for while - it's kinda of painful watching others cracking on with their buss while mine is ... But good news the painter has reported back that he's started on the bus. He knows that I have been patient - and is very apologetic for the delay - so is pulling out tall the stops working evenings and weekends to get it done. So hopefully popping over to see it soon and get some progress pictures!
Went to visit the bus at the paint shop... edging closer to the start line The good news is that the my painter chappie reckons the roof can be unwarped and reckons if we come back next weekend we should see some real progress !!!! woohoo - I am trying not to get too carried away its going to be a while before hes done with it..
Popped down to see the bus today It's got it's new doors on, which I have been hoarding for the last 3 years. One side is rubbed down And the westy roof is off Shot down the side.. The roof without the pop top At last some progress
The gutter had a awning rail thingie now removed welded up the holes rubbed down and filled We removed the fabric on the pop top just debating whether to patch or replace...
Been over to see the bus... More stuff been rubbed down Managed to get an engine lid- even the right colour.. The roof needs some repair.. ^ rear corner And So Fletch will be back to tidy this up So just the sliding door side to finish rubbing down and then we are into primer stage. Probably next week sometime. Edging closer..
cheers Fletch I was looking back over this thread and it's 2 years since I had it on the road I started rummaging through the garage looking at the interior, might be time to start cleaning it up ready for the refit
Ok so more progress ... about time I here you say Fletch welded up that hole in the roof a good while back: And also near the gutter:- Martin my painter working on the joddled panel filling with fibreglass stronger than filler less likely to crack I guess:- https://www.dropbox.com/s/1q2p7j22g72gpi0/2015-07-02 18.53.40.jpg?dl=0 Finally the paint on the doors and rear roof rack:- Heres the front poptop with the addition of metal bars to straighten out the bowed sides:- Looks pretty straight down the side now;- Heres that side that where the join was having the fibreglass treatment:- Should be just a week or so or way from putting it back together (with Fletch's help ... or should I say Fletch is doing that for me) This weekend I am going to refit the canvas to the poptop - with a bit of help from the wife
So inspired by the possibility of the bus actually being ready this year I decided to dust off the interior It was pretty dirty and the best place to wash and dry was out in the sun:- I used a mixture of mould remover / washing up liquid / marine clean to do the job - took the best part of the day. The original floor - which although a little crusty in the corners is in pretty good nick - so I am going to find away to reuse this (but will probably cover it over to protect it):- 0 The cab seats came up pretty well - still a little yellowed:- At the end it was deemed clean enough to be parked in the spare room (instead of the garage):- Then I headed over to the paint shop to go over the bits Fletch welded way back last year with a coat of epoxy mastic (note this wasn't strictly necessary as he had put a coat of redoxide over the bits and bobs its just I wanted to have it all the same colour ;-) ) Finally I popped over today to drop off a box of seals for the apertures and the bus is now in primer with a guide coat... So all painted, fingers crossed, mid next week. Then Fletch is fitting the doors and refitting the bits and bobs that came off - I think we agreed he would give the voids the dinatrol treatment. Then it should come home to me for the final push for the MOT I may have to outsource that too but lets see if theres time I would like too finish it myself but the wife is pressing to get away in it this year
don't worry I only want you to do the voids and hard to reach places another little pictorial update - I was up there at the weekend and took some snaps We had noticed when the roof came off that the wooden battens were a little crusty. So I was going to apply a bit wood filler and hardener to the worst bits - however when I started poking around I discovered:- and the other side Sigh they obviously snapped at some point and were patched - so we decided to replace the battens - a friend of ours is carpenter - so we whipped them off (the battens) and he replicated them for us (them have a bit of angle on them to match the contours of the roof). Now we need to remove the scraps of silicon and gloop that had been holding them in place and refit... work in progress Another sigh - the loverly paint job on the roof has bubbled and reacted to somthing:- So it needs to be stripped back down and some kind of barrier paint put between the roof and the top coat.. feel sorry a tad for my painter now he already tried spraying it twice Meantime the bus has been prepped on the cab & cargo floor and given a dose of stone chip like paint:- Should withstand some abuse - it will get a light top coat of the paint from the top half of the bus Engine bay has been hit with the tango:- And the bus is now just waiting to be painted: Hopefully when I pop up today it should look pretty close to finished... very excited
