OK, to make a long story short: Barney failed the Dutch MOT because of a few simple things (side indicator lights didn't work, one handbrake cable was bad, the windscreen washer did nothing, and the left headlight had to be adjusted. The most important fault however was that there was too much play in the central steering pin. OK, no problem, in 2 weeks I fixed all of this. A friend even machined a copy of VW Tool 131a for me so that I could change the bushings of the central steering pin without effort (sort of...). Last friday I went for the mot again and my bus passed... So it's now on the road again for the first time since 2005
What a great restoration , you have come a long way and my hat goes off to you my friend. Sorry to hear about you loosing your Dad, I hope working on your bus has helped with the healing proses. When I lost my son I know having my Bus helped me. Sadly I had to sell it on. Are you going to put benches in the back, or kitting it out for weekend camping.
Thanks! Yes, working on the bus has helped quite a lot. In fact I was working on it again within a month. Too bad he's missed the first ride but he'll definitely be there on one of my next trips. The plan was and still is to have a rock & roll bench installed, with two or three additional seats. So suitable for camping, but no poptop or kitchen (I really don't want that). BTW here's the tool that my friend machined for replacing the bushes of the central steering pin:
Oops! I neglected my topic. But the good news is that on late may, Barney passed the MOT. So he's free to roam the European (!) roads. In the meantime I also managed to find the original chrome VW bus hubcaps (the ones thicker than Beetle hubcaps) so I must admit he's quite the poser now, or is he?
By the way: the regstration plate will soon be replaced with one that suits the age of the bus. My bus was registered in 1977, the last year when dark blue plates with white lettering were available. Those plates are now more or less considered "oldtimer plates".
