start of my restoration (now called noah ?)

last few bits of welding done this week end, quite pleased with the front step repairs (clean thick metal here !) but the floor pan repair is a bit of a bodge so might cut out and have a second go ? Window sills looks ok ? A few holes but the metal is thin and rusty here so dont want to mess about too much

starting to think about the engine teardown as the sprayer will hopefully take the shell in August .. Most things seem reasonably straight forward (got the Ratby DVDs ..) but Ratwell is a bit scary on the shenagins on cylinders heads with the valve inserts dropping out !!! will have to think a bit about what to do here ..... ? ???

www.VW-DIY.com: VW Type 4 Engine Rebuild

http://www.ratwell.com/technical/Heads.html

 

Good work so far ;D always enjoy reading about everyones resto 8)

 

got my apprentice (middle son of 3) back from his real job so pressed on today with two pairs of hands
bit of body filling and decided the floor pan weld was a bodge so cut it out and had a second go ,,, much tidier
sanding the nose is going to take some time

subject to a few small welding jobs and getting the filling tidy might be ready for a paint job in a few weeks ... (painter is free late august hopefully) ;D ;D

 

started on engine strip down, most things went ok , followers seem to have very light wear and piston and heads looked like modest wear ...

when I measure across valve heads (see photo below) outer (exhaust valves) are about 0.5 mm high on both heads Is this enough to signify I have a dropped seat problem ?

carefully counted every casing bolt / stud out but the flywheel last one rounded of and won't budge !!!! so I cannot get to the last casing bolt under the flywheel any suggestions for removal ?

 

got my soda & media blasting back today all the doors, engine case, cylinder heads, tin ware plus seat frames etc. All came up great saved me a load of work. A & C soda blasting did the work very pleased and quick turn around in just a few days ...
wondering if I should have given him the whole shell give the amount of dust & mess it made !!!

heads look in good shape so think I will just change the valves ....

 

Nice project all at a high quality of workmanship i will follow with interest


Dale

 

Welding gets better with practice. Trust me!

A nice bus to start with. Not too much to do there. Regarding the bolt if you weld another nut onto the first one you will ahve a good nut to start with and will probably find that the use of a welder will help crack the bolt off due to the heat

Just my 2p worth. anyone else have an idea?

 

Thanks for the advice but it came of with a impact wrench .......
Now to split the case !!!!!!!

 

etch primed the tin ware and seat frames before they started to rust..
got two broken spring on one of the seat bases any suggestions ??

faffed around with last few welding jobs and filling ... tried some dolphin glaze. Not quite as magical as some on the site suggest ? perhaps I am doing something wrong !!!!

 

Looks good - a little tip Dolphin Glaze is for finishing not Filler work - the tin ware looks cool beans

 

have filled with upol easy just using dolphin for a skim coat .. but does not seem to way to go on easy !

 

How much activator are you putting in when i mix it its is like yogurt just flows in easy you have to work quick with it are you letting it go off a bit to long ??

 

about 20 min working time ? its the usual think I suspect I am over working it ... get in on quick and right !
just had a quick sand and its loooks bettter now !

 

etch primed the tin ware and seat frames before they started to rust..
got two broken spring on one of the seat bases any suggestions ??


Some one some where put this link up .... havent used them myself so have no idea if of any help what so ever )

http://www.upholsterywarehouse.co.uk/acatalog/Double_Cone_Spring.html

if they are let us know

 

great looking project, looks nice and solid

try to get some paint on that bare metal soon for a bit of protection from rust


have you decided on a colour yet? .............what are your other plans for it, stock interior or custom?


keep up the good work

K+ for posting

 

thanks for the feedback , ;D ;D bus is staying pretty rust free & due at the painters mid sept ... (there is a boiler in the garage for the flat above so keeps pretty toasty) Odd rust handprint appeared which I realized was where I was getting sweaty as I sanded the excess filler I had splodged on !

interior for the future ! (seems a long way away with a bare metal van and an engine in parts !) but the westy units were in pretty good nick so thinking about just hot air gunning the veneer and redoing with a lighter formica that I can use on other odd trim panels ? but basical use the carcases, bed frame etc ...

on the colour bit of a dialog with the wife ongoing !! probably something very muted ?

http://www.aidan.co.uk/display_page.php?photo=VanFLtGrey5911.jpg

 

decided my offside rear window gutter repair was a bit shoddy. Found a bigger repair panel from Alan Schofield who also does the clip / cast elated strip in one piece rather than parts . So spend a day cutting my repair out and welding in a bigger piece. Looks a lot better .. Almost there no welding to do now and a few bits of filling to finesse of with dolphin glaze ...

Last job is a engine bay tidy (not sure how far to go here), treat a few small rust patches and its ready for a spray !!!!!!!

Bit disapointed with the U POL Etch primer I used on the tin ware? Seemed to go ok on things that had been media blasted but poor on things soda blasted. Did clean everything with wire wool and white spirit and left to dry so a bit bemused ???. Most of its is ok bu the rotating seat base is a complete joke .. Shrunk back, cracked and the flew of with a puff of air from the grinder !!!

Will wire wool back and try again with a zinc based one ...

decided to send the stripped engine to stateside tuning for inspection and recommendation / sourcing of replacement parts, hoping to hang onto the heads (with perhaps new guides) and the crank looks fine. Not sure about the pistons and barrels but will replace cam & followers Took the [glow=red,2,300]FACT[/glow] he couldn't take the parts till end Sept as a good sign, good people seem to be busy ?

looking for some seat springs if anybody out there has any ?

SEE ... http://thelatebay.com/index.php?topic=15918.0

 

sweet - Engine bay ??? i went over the top with mine but will be pleasing to the eye when painted