Chug Chug the 1977 Westfalia Helsinki

Bought an Oil pressure sender on Fleabay & it turned up today:

This is one of the roof inside trims before I clean it up & get it flocked:-

 

Right then decided to take out the fuel tank today & check it over, as it happens its mint with very slight surface rust that will come off with scotch brite, I'll then rust treat it, primer it & paint it satin black, The same goes for the metal filler neck, both are mint inside & so don't need any kind of treatment. I'll replace the rubber parts as a mater of cource just to make sure that they are OK for the next 30 years:-






Going to clean up inside where the fuel cap goes & make it look all sparkley. I need too weld a small plate under where the fuel tank sits. So I'll sort that next, then I'll clean the whole area up & paint it the same time as I paint the engine bay.

 

I found this chassis plate welded to the bus too. The Previous owner cut the rear valane section off a donor bus & then welded the original chasis no over the top. Its not a ringer cos the M-plate has not been touched & also ite the original engine:-

Pulled all of my wiring out from the engine bay so I can sort them out, replace any damaged bits & put new plastic conduit around them cos the old one has gone brittle & got damaged slightly when shot blasting. I won't actually put them back in untill the painting underneath is done so they will look nice & fresh anyway this is the snakes wedding I'm faced with:-

And here is a picture of the engine bay so far, it still needs a lot more welding & tidying up & I'll have to drill new holes for the wiring to pass through:-

Bear with me my pictures should all reapear later today.

 

Enough welding done for today, the engine bay looks 100% better now, still a longway to go, seam sealed over most of the new welds.:-

 

Decided to play with my fan housing tonight & my heat exchangers.
The fan housing is alloy & so I was worried how it would come out after shot blastin, as it happened it came out good, the guy primed it for me as well, I did want to do some work on it first but there you go. As it happens the primer is really tough so I didn't waste time trying to scrape it all off cos it won't come off.
The dark grey areas are chemical metal, which is where the alloy has croded away. Chemical metal sticks really well especially as the alloy has a rough surface. I couldn't really weld it & filler is too soft & absorbs water so this stuff is ideal. My intention is to clean all of the housing & get it looking nice & smooth before I spray it satin grey. The reason it has a black patch is because I started to spray it black then changed my mind.





Here are some closeups of my heat exchangers which were also shot blasted they are both really solid but have one dodgy patch, as the metal is thick everywhere else I thought I'd weld a patch on each one esspecially as they are £150.00 each.

 

]The loading bay is now ready for prep & paint, Cleaned off this dodgy plastic crap from the inside which some one stuck on, while scraping it I found some loose seam sealer, pulled it & it was hiding some rust which I couldn't see underneath, so out with the grinder again & the welder & now I'm confident that there is no more rust anywhere:-



Once the loading bay is painted L63H Sage green I'm going to cover it in 3-ply plywood sheet, I'll make a template out of cardboard, transfer this to the plywood so its a snug fit covering the whole floor, then I'll thompsons waterseal the ply all over, then cover the van floor in Enis oil or Waxoil or something similar so if any moisture does get in it cant ruin my flooring or rust the metal work.

I spent the rest of yesterday tidying the garage up to give me more space & turned the bus around, here are a couple of the front of the bus just to keep you inspired:-

 

If anyone fancies brousing there are 1,200 photos of the Bus here:-
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v129/Chrisradioman/
& here:-
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v129/Chrisradioman/Chug%20Chug%20part%202/
Might take you a while though

 

]Just for info I bought myself a rotten bus on eBay in 2006 for £350.00, I spent about £3,000.00 on panels & welding, spent about 6 mths working on it & then realised so many panels were distorted & patches all over it, it would need a plasterer to put it straight not a body shop.
I decided to cut my losses & sell it on eBay, it went for £680.00 so I lost a lot of money but I couldn't bare to scrap it or break it & described it acuratly. The person who bought it off me didn't fancy the job either, Red leaded it & sold it back on eBay for £350.00.
It is a 1975 ex Dutch Fire bus half panel van. I sold it last June & I'd like to find out what its like now:- here is a link to it on Photobucket:-
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v129/Chrisradioman/1975%20Fire%20bus/


All the doors I bought for it I used on Chug Chug.

 

Should be having this lot in a few days MMMMM!

 

Thanks M8, I should be posting a big update on it Saturday evening I been working on my daughters 1303 Beetle the last couple of days taking the engine out & rebuilding it. One good thing I bought an engine stand which I can use to reassemble Chug Chugs engine when it comes back:-

 

Thanks M8 I'm not as skilled as my dad was, but I'm learning as I go along. I'm not an expert by any means but I'm not afraid to tackle anything. My M8's been helping me the last few days on my daughters beetle, last week he couldn't change a light bulb now I'm sure he could do an engine swap. Its all about having a go. I'm sure if you or anyone else have a try you'll do what ever you put your mind to. Go on give it a go & good luck to you.

 

Working nights tonight & had a doctor appointment this morning so only half a days work done.

Finished the engine bay now & it doesn't look to bad at all no rust & all seam sealered up, the seam sealer could have been nicer but I didn't have a fresh brush only a dried up old one, So I will go over it all again when I get a chance. Only welding left now is two captive nuts for the rear bumper & 4 captive nuts for the belly pan. It can all be painted thats happening next Moday so I'll finish it all Sunday. Anyway here are some pics they are a bit crap but you get the idea:-

 

Another Job I sorted out today was some of the wood panels inside, mine are a bit scruffy so I bought a sheet of 8x4 3 ply & cut out new ones

One side panel before & after:-







Tailgate panel before & after:-







Sliding door panel before & after:-







Roof lining panel before & after:-







The roof lining panel will be flocked in white & the other panels stained to match the original wood.

 

Just picked up this stuff, its trade name is Anaconda, its a flexible aluminium conduit that is covered in a thick dureable black plastic it has a life span of 25 years so should last 50 it will withstand heavy impact & resistant to acid, alkalie & salt:-
When correctly installed the fittings produce a positive seal
against oil, liquids, moisture and dust.
They are designed so that they will not pull off the conduit.
Features provided include excellent earth continuity and great
resistance to vibration from machines etc., and the simplicity
of the ease of installation.
No special tools are needed, the fittings will not damage or
distort the flexible conduit.
The built in nylon bush makes it easier to pull wires through
without the risk of wire damage.
The connectors are very rugged and reusable.
Offers the ability of quick installation with the use of standard
spanners or wrenches.
Lightweight aluminum core Thermoplastic cover
Size 25mm
Corrosive environments where weight is a factor
Temp range: -4°F to 140°F
(-20°C to 60°C)


I got 10M of the stuff its going to run the entire length from front to back of the camper underneath.
I cut out the old metal conduit so this is an ideal modern replacement.
Iv'e stripped out the wiring loom right to the front. Its in quite good condition but I'm going to cut off the old brittle plastic outer sheath & run the cables together with some new cables through the Anaconda into the engine Bay. I'll give you the full specs & rundowns as I do it.
I can't fit it yet untill the underside is painted cos I don't want to get paint on it.

 

Decided to play with my new Webbers today & moked them up. they look real nice quality. If anyone thinks I have put them together wrong let me know cos I never had twin carbs before.


I need a new ignition system too a Dizzy a Coil & an electronic ignition system if anyone has one suitable for a 2.0L Type 4 engine please let me know.

 

Got some new bits for my camper but my camera battery is flat so will post them tomorrow. Took a picture the other night just before I sold the Red Golf:-

 

Got my kick panels back today flocked they look & feel awsome:-



If anyone wants a set of these he'll do them for you for £65.00 a pair delivered thats supplying the panel as well mind in hardboard or £5.00 extra in any other colour. Plywood will cost £10.00 more
If you want them in Aluminium that will cost you £80.00 or £100.00 in Aluminium flocked again inc. delivery his Name is Ian & his No. is 07774444691
He can also do side panels & door panels in hardboard, plywood or alloy flocked or not.

 

I stripped all the old vinyl off a headlinig piece so it can be flocked in white:-

 

All the welding is finally finished, nothing to really show cos it was just captive nuts that I welded on for the belly pan & the rear bumper irons.

I stripped all of the wiring harness out of the bus & started to tidy it up. The ends are a mess where they went into the engine bay but along its length its fine. I know its all going in the Anaconda but I thought it would look nice if I taped it up as well:-

 

Working 12 hrs till Friday so not much done on the camper, just trying to collect parts & stuff so I can crack on on Sunday (I'm on the lash Saturday to celebrate my brother being 40) & to watch the Rugby :
Anyway more photos cos I know you love them:-
VDO ammeter for my new pod:-


New adjusters for my beam:-


& a new light from machine mart so I can see in the dark. £29.48 & its nice quality & height adjustable bargain:-