Ooh first post on the latebay (don't nick me lunch money!)...well that's cos after 20 years of bugs (bajas,b289,old skool etc),trekkers,ghias etc etc I've finally got myself a bus, and a good one at that. Got it off Gordie Woollacott who some of you may know from his time in the scene/feature cars/his writing in bus & camper mag. Gordie stuck it up for sale on vzi for a ridiculously cheap price and had so much interest he stuck it on ebay so we could fight it out...and lo and behold I won it...which is nice as I've been mates with Gordie for a good few years. So what have I got, well this is it when Gordie bought it in 2002 for £600 He put in a shedload of work to get it to this culminating in taking it around Europe prior to which it was baremetalled and Mango'd, this was back in 2005ish
So what did I win, a pucka bus with all the rear end stripped out ready for a chassis notch front and rear. Apart from the notch the rear end will have some t2d adjustable spring plates going in as well as a brand new heritage engine, up front the existing beam will be replaced by a 4-inch narrowed t2d beam with dropped spindles. All the opening panels as well as the front panel have already been replaced by Gordie with rust free american replacements. I'll let the pics do the talking...
Interiors already been sorted... Whilst not a full resto compared to a lot of the fine projects on here I hope to stamp my own mark on the bus, I've had to sell my bug to help finance it all but I hope it'll all be worth it!!
indeed, welcome, looks like you know you stuff and have a good bus there, look forward to your input into the site.
Thanks for the replies folks, work starts in earnest next week with some welding on the chassis front and rear and some exploration underneath to see what else might need doing. A lot of the work and talent will be supplied by my mate Rob Judge at RNJ motorsport in Silverstone, will get some pics up as I go along.
Picked the bus up today and had it safely delivered to Rob Judge at RNJ Motorsport where it's currently sat next to a Ferrari and a Lotus. Rob's given it the once over and has confirmed it is indeed a very solid little bus. It safe to say my two lads are happy with the new toy! To the right sit the built up brand new Heritage engine together with the box and t2d beam
Apart from the notch the rear end will have some t2d adjustable spring plates going in as well as a brand new heritage engine, up front the existing beam will be replaced by a 4-inch narrowed t2d beam with dropped spindles.
No pics thanks to a 'beer incident' with my camera phone ( :) but I've just bought the following new bits to keep everything roadworthy...deformation panel, inner/outer wheel bearings, wheel cylinders, brake shoes, backing plates, jacking points etc etc. Will get some pics up soon, Rob will tackle the rear end first so we can get the thing rolling.
Some of the new (and old) suspension bits ready to go on... Will try and get some pics of the chassis mods and welding tomorrow.
Gearbox and new zero-mile Heritage engine in (with some older tinwear)...AND IT'S GOT 4 WHEELS AT LAST (for the first time in 2 years!) Hope you like, plenty of work left to do, the rear end is at a 'dial-in' height, the existing front beam will come out soon and the 4-inch narrowed T2D king and link pin beauty will go in, we can then start playing with suspension options when everythings bedded in a bit. Off to get one of the half-price Sony head units from Halfords tomorrow. Plenty more plans for thr interior too but not gonna rush this one. Bumpers with chrome over-riders will go on soon.
