Hi, Introducing Milky our RHD 74 Westfalia with the 1800cc type 4 engine, bright orange interior and deluxe extras .We have owned it for 14 years and has been off road for the last ten .A combination of buying a house and becoming parents it has been on the backburner .Mind you I am a full time motor mechanic with 30 years of experience so no real excuses. This year it needed to move forward so I have handed it over to a trusted friend to do all the metalwork. His name is Alexis Leventis and he started Henley Beetles in the 1980s so very skilled,experienced and knowledgeable of anything aircooled . He has recently invested in lots of specialist metal forming equipment and the results you can judge yourself. I am super pleased as handing over my longterm project was difficult.
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It is having new rear corners , battery trays, inner and outer sills,both rear wheel tubs ,both rear side panels etc etc .I did stockpile spares over the last few years when budget allowed and i am very glad of this as parts are not becoming scarce and very pricey. Mainly using either genuine , Schofield and JK preservation range which Alexis cannot fault the quality but if all fails he is happy to fold, bend and shape his own repair sections .Will add picture as things quickly progress. May even make the road next summer ?
Top photo shows specially fabricated long twisting flange repair section clamped into position. Lower photo a bit blurred but you still still see the horrendous previous repair .This panels weighed a ton with heavy guage sheet and loads of pidgeon shxt weld.
Progressing well and offside flooring all finished.Note the floor panel has been handmade from scratch as this panel is not available in aftermarket .
Engine bay nearly all stripped down , front windscreen and lower repair section welded all in. Alexis is not keen on fitting a complete front panel unless really necessary as experience has taught him that replacement front panel fit is often very poor.
Last welding job is inner and outer sliding door repair sections .The rust has taken hold of this especially where the ambulance door step fits . Then ready for prep and paint .Luckily the workshop is shared with a painter and they are happy to work alongside each other on projects and also let me help out with all the time consuming boring bits like cleaning down the engine bay so they can concentrate on the skilled jobs .
Sliding door all done ,both inner and outer. All treated with rust resistant paint (Wurth) prior to full respray which hopefully will start in the next few weeks.
Cannot fault Alexis work whatsoever ! VW restoration company's come and go but for someone who has been going since 1985 says it all !