Vynii ~ Another 1973 Westy for restoration

Another few progress pictures.





Mike doing his thing



Test fit of the inner valence



Unfortunately I've not been able to see the van in person now the work has started as I am away working.

 

It's been a long time since I updated this thread. As mentioned I've been pretty involved with some other projects so this has taken a back seat. However we've agreed a target of Sandown 2017 as the finish date so we have something to aim for.

Since last posting there is even less of the van left! Meanwhile though we've not been completely idle as almost all of the body panels have been collected, I have the engine and gearbox on their way and we've decided on the front and rear suspension set up and some of the interior comforts.

For now I'll post a few update pics ...

Wheels are off for anodising




Hard to see but basically the van is angle iron, rust and a VIn tag





This had to come off



As this is going on



Will post more during the week.

 

A couple more shots, front end first..all chopped off



Ready for this to go on



It's pretty bad here





Old gearbox out


The great thing about starting with something so rotten is I don't feel bad about going off piste with the Resto and having to be accurate with colour, interior, engine and suspension.

 

I can't work out if your extremely brave or plain daft ..but wish you the best of luck with it

 

I'm not quite sure myself! It's in good hands though, it's going to be very cool when it's done.

 

Time for another update. Some work on the rear clip in preparation for when the time comes...

Obviously there is going to be a lot of measuring!

 

Last update on the clip, a brace has been put in now it's been checked and squared up

 

So now on to the second part of the puzzle and to prep everything van side





And here it is, the best part on the whole bus

 

Just read through this thread......can't believe that you took it on.
Anyway the project is awesome and the satisfaction of a finished bus the way you want it will be a proud achievement.
Keep cracking on

 

Thanks pal! I have some comments on this below..

 

I know a lot of people will feel that this is a bus beyond repair, or at least economical repair any way, also that a bus with this many repairs will never be " quite right ". I am going into this with eyes wide open, the guys I am working with have repaired vans in worse states - a RHD samba in particular, (not saying this is on par with a samba but RHD westy's have shot up in popularity recently) and were called crazy back then, this isn't my first gig either. I know enough to know it will take twice as long and be twice the work that we expect! My take is that the costs will mean I'll not save any money over buying a decent US import but I will have a UK bus, built to my exact spec and I'll know every inch of it will have been sorted to my liking - this doesn't mean replicating factory spot welds but it does mean building a van that I can take the kids on holiday in, get down to Woolacombe when the fancy takes and not worry about the odd scratch, bump or spillage.
I hope everyone enjoys the thread as much as I'm enjoying the project - it's always tempting to want to get to the end of these rebuilds - and believe me I am looking forward to setting out on my first road trip in it - but I am going to enjoy every minute of the build; searching for parts, picking out colours with the kids, planning the ICE system, camping gear etc etc to me it's the best part of getting on the road.
Cheers
Mark

 

Thats a serious bit of work being done there.

 

There are hours and hours of tedious measuring trial fitting, cutting, measuring, fitting..well you get the idea.

It's really cool to see Vynii back on the deck again too, funny how sitting at ride height makes it look more like a van again rather than a metalwork project.

Thanks goodness for forklifts!





It fits!







cheers
Mark

 

Great work going on. Inspirational.

 

Today was a good day. Russ managed to get the rear panel zipped up, spot welded on the inner rear posts and seam welded to the chassis. All the checking was worthwhile as everything fits as it should.









Next step is to finish up the lower rear quarters.

 

excellent work

 

love vinii.awesome work.

 

Time to check in, it's been a long while. A very important piece of kit for the resto arrived today...

 

Wheels are back and look awesome but its probably going to be quite some time before they see any use.

 

Great bits of kits these. I'd have hated doing ours without one.