My '76 Microbus / Camper : Landyn

I just realised I don't have a resto thread on here. Doh!!

Here's a few bits from VZi introducing and covering the latest and arguably most intensive period... engine rebuild and engine bay resto (bang on trend )

I bought the van last April / May time. It was fundamentally solid, a bit wonkey in places, but solid. It was (and still is) gutted inside, so very little hiding. It started, ran (badly), and stopped (for a while). I decided that I'd gradually get it mechanically sound and climate proof before getting carried away with the pretty things.



...and following the notion that VW's find their owners when I saw the V5 i was gobsmacked to see that we share a birthday / date of first registration, albeit we missed an inaugural birthday party at Bug Jam last year to celebrate!!

In the past year the progress has been relatively slow, tbh. I've been holding off a bit waiting for the MOT this February to give a true indication of condition, but currently wish I'd just put it in last Autumn!! Some bits have been documented in other threads, so to summarise we've cleaned, made loose-ish seat covers, cleaned, added LED lights to the dash pod and renewed the controls, cleaned, fixed a leaky rear master cylinder, replaced all four CVs, cleaned and installed crappy speakers in very nice custom pods...

did I mention cleaning?

The MOT did come round in Feb and failed. Again, documented elsewhere but I decided to go for an engine rebuild and spruce up the engine bay, this has been going on for a few weekends, but i have this week off, the weather looks good and I'm hoping to make some real progress and turn it into momentum over the coming months!!

I had my local garage do the few bits of welding for the MOT (plus a couple of little other items around the engine bay), change the drag link and drop the engine out so that I could strip it down and rebuild the top end.

That left me with the tyre, handbrake cable, steering wheel bush etc to do on top of the engine build.

Steering column first. I pulled the column out of the van, stripped it down and replaced the bearing by punching it out of the alloy casting. My garage mentioned to look out for the shim which sits in the bearing and may have been lost... it wasn't it was just loose because the pressure spring was missing. I ordered 10 of those from VW (I have 9 for sale if anyone wants one) and bob's your uncle!! Whilst out i rubbed down the steering column and cover plate and resprayed satin black, cleaned and polished the plastic housing with boot polish to blacken it up a bit!! I've just bought a replacement tyre pressure sticker from JK to finish it all off.





With that done, I turned my attention to the engine. Please bear in mind I have neither a garage or a driveway so much of this is being done in the garden, dining room or in the van itself!!

I've spent a lot of time cleaning the tinwear and engine. The first clean was to work out if there were any bits of tin that needed repair. This was limited to a pin hole in the centre rear piece below the pulley, the ends of both under cylinder tins and the upright section one of these connect to.

Pile of dirty tin...



Dirty fan housing...



A defunct heater duct...



Really encrusted under cylinder tin...



First clean of the top tins... was surprised to find numbers stamped on them, they were not obvious under the crap before!!

Before...



After...



Which eventually became a big pile...



I decided to split the the fan housing and give it a good clean inside and out, however, this really did beat me! I don't think any quantity of degreaser and cleaner was ever going to get it clean (I cant believe how much oil there was inside the the fan housing). So I decided that this, along with some of the tinwear will be off to be sandblasted and powdercoated.

Before cleaning...





After cleaning... (not much of an improvement!)



So, the fan housing, inlet manifolds and all visible tinwear plus the firewall, engine mounting bar and fuel filler cover have all been delivered to a local finishers to sandblast and powdercoat, with the exception of the manifolds and the fan housing which I'll paint at home.

This left a number of ancillary parts to carry on cleaning and painting with a coat of satin black. I'm not the most patient person with a can of spray paint and I don't have the best of conditions to work in so I've viewed this exercise as removing surface rust, providing protection and fairly continuous appearance!!

After cleaning and sanding each part got a coat of etch, 2 of red primer and 2 of satin black...

A few bits on the washing line awaiting primer...



Pushrod tubes in primer...



One set of satinny bits, including the carb linkage, idle circuit fuel tubes, servo tubes, cooling flaps and so on.



and another...



These have all been wrapped in bubblewrap and stuck in a box for safe keeping for a couple of weeks. It's nice to have a job done with a distinct reduction in oily messy parts and be waiting for the call from the powdercoaters to add to this pile of nice bits!

I have also commenced the top end strip down; which in short became a bigger job than expected.

One of the pistons has died and the barrels are on the limit of acceptable wear. I've come round to the collective thinking that having got this far it worth splitting the case and doing a proper clean and inspection of the shafts, etc.

Dead piston. Oily crankcase.



One cracked exhaust port



One good head, cleaned a bit...



Cleaned case...



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So the plan is to get hold of a good used head, have them cleaned properly, replace the valves and guides etc. I may have the case cleaned properly once split too. I've bought the B+P, gasket set, etc. so almost everything else is ready to rebuild... just need a head

This is all a steep learning curve and I'm wishing Spellbound on VZi would get a move on with his step by step build so I can find out what the hell I'm 'sposed to be doing! Needless to say, I'll post questions if they arise!!

I'm off work this week, so the plan is to provide a nice shiny / satiny rebuilt engine a nice shiny engine bay and renewed wiring to sit in and hopefully split the case and get my head around what needs done there... expect a few updates here soon.

 

A busy day!

Started stripping out the engine bay to allow some painting to happen... before photo's (I generally forget to do this)!







Only the obvious is missing.

Took stuff out. This is the N/S which I had the garage weld in a hook and captive nut (from an O/S tray) for a leisure battery at a later date. Whilst I'm drawing peoples attention to metal work, the PO's repairs are also on view here.



Fuel tank area N/S... bit of surface rust, no unwanted holes as I can see. The crossbar over the gearbox is obviously worse, but I think I should clean up.



O/S, much the same... going to work around the wiring loom - carefully!!



Then got busy with some degreaser, cloths, a palm sander and didn't really get anywhere. I have an angle grinder, a wire wheel and a flappy sanding disc, but I've never used it and approached with some trepidation!! I couldn't find my goggles so I didn't get stuck in but tried little bits that looked good, bits that looked bad and a few bits of seam sealer and was well impressed!! new favourite tool!!

Going to look harder for the googles and get stuck in properly.







Could it all have gone really well?? no chance!! Whilst I was aware of the YTS welding to the rear corners and the side panel and willing to live with it as part of owning a "practical resto". I was less than impressed to find the bottom of the box section along side the hatch on the O/S consisted of seam sealer..

only.

the devil on one shoulder said, reinstall the seam sealer (he looks after my wallet), but I reconciled with myself that I'm not knowingly going to finish this phase of work with something remaining that will require the engine to be dropped again and spoil the forthcoming paint! I will have to get the van back round to the garage to have a bit of new metal let in during the week, which is annoying cos a week off work is short and I've already had to delay building the engine and may end up twiddling my thumbs for a day which isn't good.

Hopefully I'll get as much bare metalled on Tuesday and be able to avoid any other surprises. Tomorrow is a trip to my Dad's to split the crank case and cross my fingers

 

Also worth noting, I don't like to fill threads with huge images... it just takes too long for the country folk on dial up to deal with so I post the 500k versions.

I've got a Flickr site http://www.flickr.com/photos/lazyandy/ which has big images if you want to hunt them down!!

Andy.

 

Im liking this thread best of luck to you dude

 

nice work there buddy!

 

great thread Andy

looking forward to the engine go back together

K+ for a new resto thread

 

Cheers Guys.

Split the case with my bro today and bought the whole lot plus engine stand home. I can't be arsed to upload pics tonight, but all seems well inside!! the bottom end bearings have seen better days, the main bearings (!?) don't look to have any nasty discolouring etc. The cam bearings have odd pockets worm out of the surface layer, so they're a definite replacement.

Going to have another look at the cam and the lifters in the cold light of day tomorrow. I think they're ok, but need to have a good look in better light and review the literature!

So.... happy, but tired after a long round trip!!

Back to the engine bay tomorrow to get it bare metalled. It's booked back in with the garage on Friday to repair the rusty hole so If i have it fully stripped I can identify any other areas that need attention! When the bus is away I have the petrol tank to prep and paint and the short block to clean inside... lots to do, will be nice to go back to work for a break next Monday

 

All that cleaning in the engine bat brings back memories

Looks like your going a grand job.

 

More progress...

Firstly some pics from yesterday and notably, the afforementioned cam bearings, which appear to be a bit fubar'd.





But other bearings don't look to have suffered too badly at all.





I carried on stripping down late this afternoon until I ran out of daylight. Pulled the rods off the crankshaft and gave them and the cam shaft a good clean.









The measurements have so far been ok. End float on the existing shims was fine, the side play on the rods was spot on. The rod bearings were a cack and have been discarded as a matter of course.

I'm deliberating retaining the main bearings as I'm not in a position to replace No.3 and was worried about replacing No.1 & 2 and over stressing No.3... would be grateful for any thoughts from the experienced!

The Cam shaft, again, other peoples thoughts would be great. The lifters are all still nicely concave but there is a little staining on these which I'm not too sure about, plus some cams have the centre groove, while some don't and I'm not sure if it's because they have worn or weren't ever there!! Going large with these photo's so sorry for you dial uppers...











My brothers immediate response was to swap it for a performance cam, albeit somewhat alien to a stock rebuild


And a bit of engine bay work, until my fingers started going numb...





The patch of primer is the recent repair by the garage. I'm not sure why i've not stripped this... will do it tomorrow





and this is the little bit that was hidden behind a huge lump of factory seam sealer! Going to be chopped out on Friday.





And I don't think this one shows much tbh...



I've got hold of a little drill brush to get into the corner and Toolstation gave be completely the wrong thing this afternoon, but I ended up with a Polycarbide disc thingy that I reckon will chew through the van, so that'll be put on the shelf!

I straightened the seal lip across the inside of the rear valence, which will help cooling i'm sure!! The lip is a little crappy in a couple of places, but i'm sure I can live with it!

Going to crack on for a few hours tomorrow and make the best of a) the daylight hours and b) those hours between schools arriving and kicking out which also seems to cause delays when working on the street!! Got to get the grinder in above the battery trays, which i think is going to be fun!

 

A bit of progress from yesterday and today... I had to rush off to band camp last night so didn't get a chance to post...

Basically, more stripping yesterday.









Battery trays. These were replaced by the PO and the O/S was already covered in surface rust cos they didn't bother painting them... pah!!



I've had a hook and retaining screw welded into the N/S for a future leisure battery



And I found this handy location for a switch... which could be used for something



This morning I got up and did a bit more sanding and started the POR-15 prep with the Marine Clean and Metal Ready and put some on the bed of the tank area. My think was to work out how well it covered, how long it was workable for and so on, so I prepped a little more than I was aiming to do and had enough to run out of the bay...





Now, my first impressions of POR-15 in use isn't great. It is very porous and didn't really like anything other than a horizontal surface, it kept ponding and dripped readily. I didn't get a very good finish (most likely cos I'm working outside and it takes a while to dry) so I'll be flatting it back before i put finish coats over it.

But, that's why i did this bit first, most of it's out of sight and I won't loose too much sleep about it being in their!! It should however form a good base for the battery trays.

I've stripped back some parts that are "underside" and I think my weapon of choice will be POR-15 + their Chassis Black. I know this is an emotive subject and would like any other peoples experience of it.

Andy.

 

You've got to be extreamly fastidious with prep for POR15 IMHO, if you dont it wont stick properly.

I've had areas that will peel off quite easilly, others it stuck like marmite to a blanket

I think its good stuff if you can get it to work for you, and gives a lovely gloss finish

I think you also need to buy their tie coat primer if your going to paint over it .....and I dont belive it is suitable for overpainting with cellulouse

If I remember rightly for best results your supposed to give it a coat, wait until its nearly set then give another thin coat brushing in the opposite direction of the first coat - this may reduce some of the run's you might have got

 

The areas that peeled off, was that in a short time frame or after a few months? I'd not be so perturbed if it came off in the next few days as Id be able to start again without too much disruption!!

 

Good stuff mate, well done

 

Black POR15 starts off with a lovely glossy finish, then it goes brown and matt over time - it's not meant to be a top coat.

I'll be giving diddy's stuff a go on the one I'm doing at the moment.

 

Agree about POR15, it needs the instructions following to the T, OR paint it direct onto wirebrushed rust.

Diddy expoxy stuff looks good from what I've seen.

 

Right been out this morning to cover the remaining bare metal with POR-15 cos it's due to rain all weekend and I'm back to work on Monday and you can bet it'll rain next weekend, and the one after...

Careful use of words above.... "cover". The POR-15 is doing nothing but covering the bare metal, it's a horrible finish, not pleasant to use and I'm worried that despite following the instructions to the letter it'll all be peeling off in a week!!

So, no need to be critical of the photo's, I'm aware of quality issues!!









If there's a reasonable break in the showers tomorrow I'll start flatting down and assessing the best course of attack. As I was drinking my coffee just now I was thinking that I could have etched, primed and painted it all in the time I've spent prepping and POR'ing, drying and curing

In the last pic there's a bit missing, which is where it's due to be welded early next week on the upright section.

I painted a little POR directly onto wirebrushed rust under the edge of the engine lip (out of sight) so I could compare in a couple of weeks to see how the adhesion compares. Will look at the Diddy's epoxy stuff for the underside...

In better news, a cylinder head or two are available locally and should be moving them on early next week and the crank case is going to be dropped off for thorough cleaning this afternoon, bearings have arrived and just waiting for the exhaust valves to turn up.

Also, going to pick up the powdercoated tin tomorrow morning

 

Right, one more 3/4 days work!!

First effort today was to pick up the powdercoated tinwear and blasted fan housing...







My house is currently so full of Marmite I can't lay all the tinwear out in the ubiquitous "I just got all my tinwear powdercoated" photo, suffice to say, it's all there The piece that goes over the bell housing will need coaxing back into shape and the end of the N/S over cylinder tin much the same. The tins look good, there's some dimpley finish where the surface rust was, but considering they're not new parts this should give them another 10 years service life

Spent the middle part of the day finishing stripping the tank to bear metal and giving it a few coats of paint. I used some of the POR Metal Ready, two coats of etch, two coats of primer and 2 coats of satin black. All rattle can jobbies given the limited space. The perfectionist was nagging me to fill the pitted surfaces, the pragmatist kept saying "it's going behind the firewall"... the pragmatist won as the weather is due to turn tomorrow and this needed to be finished!!



It's now in the living room causing a trip hazard!!

With a few hours of daylight left i decided to get back in the bay and start flatting the POR-15. This is generally what I faced, drips, bubbles and ponding and lots of dust spots! Given the timing it all needs flatting anyways.





In the worst case of pooling in the tank area the POR-15 had bubble and not adhered to the tank... I broke out the Stanley knife and removed the worst bits, which are going to need a lot more feathering to get a seamless finish.



On the up side, the POR-15 does flat quite well and is rock hard!! That's didn't stop me going through the edges though

Finished up the day by brushing a little Hammerite primer over the bear edges to protect it for a few days, but that'll be sanded off again!



Tomorrow... I bought a valve spring compressor to finish stripping the heads before being refurbed on Tuesday, going to have a good tidy up and get ready for the case to come back