1977 Westy - Colonel Mustard

Hello TLB!

I came back here to update my thread and it wasn't there ???
I realize you guys had some forum troubles, so I will re-post the story of my bus. Sit down and relax, its a long journey.

The Backstory:

I have wanted a VW bus for as long as I can remember. Back when I didn't even know what a VW was I would notice them around or in movies and I just knew I wanted one.

My father found one for me while I was away at school and worked out a trade for it and surprised me with it when I came home for the summer.

Day 1: The Surprise - April 2010

This is from the night I was surprised with the bus, getting my first look:





Day 2: Features of the bus

In the daylight the next day I got to really check it out. Turns out I got really lucky to get a bus that has such a great interior.

Front Interior, notice the sweet little storage box on the floor of the passenger side. That was the first thing to go. The CB, also pictured here, wasn't far behind:









In between the front seats you see the removable storage container which can also be used as a stool:



Front table, for a little extra space:



Stored behind the drivers seat, I believe thats the original strap still intact:



Rear interior, original fabric, carpet and curtains. One of the PO's have cut the cabinet door for some speakers:













Rear table, which swivels and has a fold out leaf:





Stored in the back, still has the tie down strap:



Fridge, Stove, Sink. This was obviously modified at some point in the Colonels life. To the left of the sink is a water tank that has a 12V water pump so you can have water on the go. Also has a city hook up to bypass the water tank:



Propane, two-burner stove:



Propane/12V fridge, with freezer:

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Engine. It has a fuel injected 2.0L that made a huge 67 hp:



Back, storage to the side and above:





Storage closet with vanity mirror:



Top bunk, notice the paper towel holder, fluorescent light and louvered side windows:





The rear bench seat folds down into a bottom bunk, you can also see all the original straps for the curtains still intact:



Also comes with a hammock for the front:





Stored under bench seat:



Screen for rear and cover for windshield / side windows:



Manuals that came with it:



Floors are great:



Flue from the fridge, vent and city water hook up:



Electrical hook up, there is an outlet inside:



Not a very secure trailer hitch from PO:



Propane tanks for the fridge and stove:



And here is the exterior, as it looked when I got it. The PO had painted the bumpers black at some point. The bus has been resprayed before but in its original color:











I decided to put the spare on, I like it much better like that:







Next: Cleaning....

 

The Clean-Up - Spring 2010:

After having a little while to absorb the [glow=red,2,300]FACT[/glow] that the bus was now mine I had to get started on the cleaning. The bus had been stored for quite a few years at this point and it was showing. There was mold and mildew everywhere and a lot of dirt. Luckily everything seemed to be in such great condition, I knew all it needed was some serious elbow grease.

The inside of the pop-top was the worst, so I started there. Using a bucket of water with some Spray Nine and a little bleach with a brush seemed to work pretty well.

Inside of the pop-top before:





Starting to clean it:





And after, still going to go over some spots again but not bad:





Next I decided to tackle all the fabrics in the bus, which required some disassembly. I took out all the curtains.

Rear cabinets removed to get at the last curtain:



Once the curtains were in the wash I went after the seats.

First I removed the bench seat for cleaning:





Before cleaning:



After:



Also cleaned the side cushion. Before:



After:



Under the bench seat, before:



After:



Then I scrubbed the front seats.
Passenger side before:



After:



Drivers side before:



After:



While I had the seat out it seemed like a good time to tackle the carpets.

Rear carpet before:





After:





I had some of the cabinets out for the cleaning, so I wiped down all of them and put them back in. Here they are during cleaning:



And back in:



After the seats were looking good I cleaned the dash, pics arent the best. You can see that I have removed the CB radio and also note the tach that was installed sometime before I got it:





By now the curtains that I had washed were all clean so I put them back in:



I also removed the other cushion covers and and put them back in:



I treid washing the carpet in the machine. It really came clean but it didnt hold up too well.



So I got a rubber mat from a parts bus I have (more to come on that later):



Installed in mine:



And its all back together:



Now the interior is looking and smelling much better. I got really lucky that the camper spent a lot of time in storage so everything is still in great condition. The pop top is looking really bad at this point, so before I spend some time and money painting it, I decided to give it a good cleaning.



Used some spray nine and a brush and got it a little better, but you can see it still had a long way to go to get to a bright white.

Side before:



After:



Then I decided to tackle the top:



Scrubbing:



From this:



To this:



Next: Some interior work...

 

Welcome back fellow yellow bus

 

Glad to be back. Got a lot of work done on The Colonel this summer that I dont think was posted on here before that I will get to.

 

Interior changes- Summer 2010:

Now that the bus is cleaned up I started doing some other work on the inside of the bus.

I needed some tunes for the summer so I installed an old deck I had laying around. The dash was already hacked for a stereo by a PO:



Swapped out speakers with some old ones from my Jetta, the holes were already cut:



Some speakers in the cold air ducts for the front. It will do for the summer:



Next I started to work on the wiring. I had to fix the wiring for the auxiliary battery, water pump, and fridge.

Removed the pump, panel and some cabinets.















Continuing to remove the interior for wiring:









Working on the wiring.



Some of the stuff I had taken out, there was more not pictured:





Then I put it all back:



I also added some cup holders, a much needed addition:



I also took my manual case from my old Jetta to use in the bus, a significant upgrade over the plastic bag it came in:





Patched up the plastic barrier behind the door panels and patched them up as well. It will do to keep the cold air from pouring in until I source some good green door cards.

Drivers door panel before:



After:



Passenger door before:



After:



And to keep an eye on the temps I installed a cylinder head temperature gauge, not very accurate but its better than nothing:



Some accessories lol:



Replaced the old extinguisher with a new one:

Old:



New:



Next: Exterior work...

 

If my dad had ever surprised me with anything that frickin' cool I would have dropped dead right in the driveway.

 

Not only did my dad find me this amazing bus, and surprise me with it, he also got a 1972 super beetle for my gf to surprise her when we go home Christmas.

 

Exterior changes - Summer 2010:

Now it was time to make the outside of the bus look a little better.

Changed the broken taillight with a better one from a parts bus I have.

Before:



After:



Also changed the faded and cracked headlights to the set from the parts bus. Sure the light output isnt as good but they look a whole lot better until I get some new H4s.

Old:





New:





Then I decided to address the black bumpers. The PO had sprayed them black when they started showing some rust I believe.

Removed them from the bus:







Old paint off:





In primer:





And finally painted with a fresh coat of white:





Front on:



Rear on:



I also painted the grille white and repainted the mesh behind it black.

Grille on:



Front together:





I wanted to get a spare tire cover and had trouble finding one with a VW symbol on it. Finally found someone on ebay selling them in the UK. It was a little pricey but definitely worth it IMO:



Just to show the difference, here is the old front with black bumper, yellow grille and faded headlights:



And now the new front with white bumpers and grille, clear headlights and spare tire cover:



Next eyesore to tackle was the pop top. I had cleaned it as best I could but it needed paint. I went to OP fibreglass to get some primer and paint for fiberglass but they suggested a product called Amercoat. No need for primer and it is very durable. I have to say I am happy with it:



Top before:
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Removed the luggage rack:





Masking off the bus. The top is too hard to take off with the canvas so we painted it on the bus:





Luggage rack painted:



Painting the top:



First coat done:



I left a little paper on it to keep the edge from hitting the body, and when I was away it blew off and up over the top. A
bunch of paper got stuck into the paint:



I got the paper off but it messed up the paint:



I managed to wet sand it a little so its ok now, Ill prolly touch it up someday to make it look a little better:



Finished top:



I got some Westfalia decals. Sure they aren’t correct for a 77 but I like them:







Next it was on to the wheels, the last thing that needed a coat of white paint.

Here is one before with the cap removed:



Paint removed:



In primer:



Painted:



Installed:



Then I gave the caps a quick cleaning, the one on the right is the clean one of course:



Now to compare the difference in the bus over a month with a bit of white paint:

BEFORE:



AFTER:



I live in an area with a lot of moose so to help spot them at night I got some Hella 500s:



Before:



After:





I wired the lights to the rear defrost switch for a clean look.



Got some stickers on:





The Final Product:



The bus will eventually get the body work it needs and a paint job in its original color.

Next: Maintenance...

 

Hi, welcome back, it's a very cool thread - i like this type of thread lots of info, your bus looks great.

 

I always wondered why fog lights come with little vinyl covers. What are they for?
Are they there so that when you take them off every night you can go, "Ta-Daaah!"?
Yeah, I couldn't resist that one. :
Seriously. What are they for?

 

Welcome back Colonel Mustard.
Nice to see the work continues.

 

They are also useful in the fog. The last thing you want is bright light in dense fog. I find it reflects off the fog and blinds you.

 

i notice how clean the roof is .... others - take note

 

Thanks for all the comments guys.
There is a lot more to come so I am glad that some people enjoy the tons of pictures. I know it can be a bit overwhelming but I like to be very thorough.
For those actually taking the time to read through and check out all the pics, thanks and hopefully something I have done/learned can help someone else sometime.

As for the lights, the covers and protective and decorative. To be honest, at first I liked them on, kinda matched the white and black of the cover, grille, top, but lately I like the lights better with the cover off and leave them off most of the time.

 

Painting the top was a lot of labor but definitely worth it in the end.
Getting the luggage rack off wasn't super easy but not that big of a deal. The hardware under the headliner was tricky. I took out some of the screws holding the headliner up and managed to bend it down enough to get in at the bolts.

 

Maintenance - Summer 2010

Like I said, the bus had been sitting for a lot of year before I got it, and while it ran, I knew it needed a lot of work.

Of course a Bentley had to be the first purchase:



Next I got a package from German Supply; Oil change kit, air filter, plugs, wires, cap, rotor, points, condenser, fuel line kit.



Also got a full brake line kit from them:



I started some of the tune up stuff, changed the air filter:



Changed the plugs, who knows how long these guys were in there. Was it ever a bitch to get them out:



There is a bit of a hole in the battery tray area so I put a piece of diamond plate in just to keep the battery in it for the summer:





After changing the oil I towed it to my favorite VW shop to adjust the valves, replace and adjust the points, and set the timing:



The engine seal was shot, and thus not helping in the engine staying cool:



So I got a new one:



Replaced:



Also patched up two holes from the heating system to try to keep the hot air out. Cut out some diamond plate and sandwiched two pieces together with a bolt through the middle:





And to keep an eye on the temps I installed a cylinder head temperature gauge, not very accurate but its better than nothing:



The handling was terrible so I replaced the old and busted shocks:



With some new ones. Seems most people prefer this set up with shocks a little softer up front:



Installed:





I took the bus for a trip to check out an Auto-X event. I got in the parking lot and as I was reversing into the parking space the clutch went to the floor. crappy, but at least I was in a parking space and not on the side of the road. How most people saw me during the event:



The problem:



Tried everything I could to attach it good enough to make it home but I couldn't. So I called for rescue lol:



And got the bus towed to a shop to get a new cable:



During a camping trip, I went to the store for some food and gas. After filling up I went to start the bus and hear a pretty bad griding sound. I couldnt tell if it was the engine or the starting motor and didnt want to keep trying to start it and end up messing something up. Luckily the parents were meeting us out there anyway so I told them to bring one of the trailers.

Stuck at Irving:



Rescue truck:



When I got it home and got a chance to look at it I found the cause of the problem, this is what was left of the starter bushing:



I ordered a new one and decided to get some oil change stuff and some other parts while I was at it:



I have been having starting issues for a while so I figured I would do take care of some things while the bus was down.

First, I got the starting motor rebuilt before I put it back on:



Replaced the battery with one with more CCAs and replaced the clamps:





Got a new coil:



Got a new ignition switch so I replaced that:









After all that it turns out I got the wrong bushing, and i didnt have time to get a new one and install it before I left the province again.



Before I put the bus away I did finally replace the pop top seal that was shot. I pulled it off months ago when only half of it was staying on.

New seal:



Before:



After:





The bus just after being cleaned before I put it away. I moved for school so it was stored from September - April.



Next: The Parts buses...