Gwynnie, our new 1974 Westy

Discussion in 'Show Us Your Ride' started by Martin Jones, Feb 19, 2015.

  1. MorkC68

    MorkC68 Administrator

    the units etc are cleaning up well, they look good for their age :)
     
  2. They have cleaned up well, they need some small repairs but we are very happy with them given they are 40 years old.
     
  3. Hi - I could be wrong but I don't think it's a Helsinki. The cooker doesn't flip down like on a Helsinki. I think it's just a Campmobile? But prepared to be proved wrong.

    Been working on the upholstery the last couple of days - sewed new zips into the bed cushions and stripped the driver's seat.

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    One of the cushions still had a working original zip, but the other two were rotten. The replacement zips were expensive - £1.95 for the pair.

    Then the driver's seat. We had hoped to repair the minor tear in the back cover but it has grown a bit. Got to contemplate whether to replace the cover now or try to live with what we've got.
    A little bit of dirt came out when we started taking the cover off:
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    It had some weird padding underneath - presumably it's been taken apart and repaired before. Anyway, we got the dustpan out and scooped the dirt up, thinking that would be it.
    Then a bit more fell out...
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    Began to wish we had done this outside, instead of in the kitchen. Especially when a bit more came out...
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    This is how it ended up.
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    The passenger seat will be stripped out on the drive!!!
     
    Buddy Hawks, art b and rob.e like this.
  4. That seat needs an Imodium!
     
    Martin Jones likes this.
  5. We carried on working on Gwynnie over the weekend. More cleaning and yet more Colorado dust removal - we should have land rights, we've emptied out so much of the midwest from Gwynnie's nooks and crannies (not to mention our own nooks and crannies - that dust gets pretty much everywhere!).
    With help from EDE77 we tackled the inside of the van, cleaning her out thoroughly and finding yet more mud behind the side panels and inside the door cards.
    Here are some before and after pics...
    Behind the front door cards:
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    And after cleaning it all out:
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    Side panel removed:
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    We will be replacing the US electrics with UK spec. Fortunately we didn't find any wildlife - just manky insulation and yet more dust, a cent, a quarter dollar coin and a shotgun pellet. They were presumably huntin', shootin', fishin' types.
    Whoever they were, they didn't believe in cleaning the van... This lot came out of the vents:
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    She's a lot cleaner now, though - and we are so pleased with how rust-free she is.
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    Here is the channel under the passenger seat - now free of cobwebs and dust:
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    Buddy Hawks likes this.
  6. We also washed the carpets - our water meter is going to be working overtime - and the seatbelts. They were chocabloc full of dust (hey, what's new?).
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    We were pleased to see that they're the originals, installed in 1974 and in good condition now that they're clean.
    We checked the front brakes and were pleased to find the discs, pads and calipers all seem relatively new - we just need flexible brake hoses. Calipers are all free and bleed nipples undid easily.
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    There was slight surface rust to the discs which will hopefully clean off. Spinning them round, a fair bit of dust flew out. The speedo works :)
    There was more muck on the passenger side - spot the clods of earth and grass!
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    When the rain came in we covered Gwynnie back up and headed indoors to continue restoring her furniture. A bit of impact adhesive sorted some of her loose laminate and my wife nearly blew up her hairdryer fixing the rubber edging strips, stretching them back into place. The extending table now slides again as a result, and just needs a hinge and a leg.
    A carpenter friend has advised us that the grotty shelf inside the sink unit can be saved with a sander and some varnish, which was good news as we were thinking we'd need to cut a new one.
    Next steps are to clean the engine bay, check the back brakes, remove the fuel tank for inspection and cleaning, and start making the curtains. Hopefully our blisters, bruises and scratches will soon heal!
     
    Buddy Hawks and rob.e like this.
  7. Seeing she appears to have been driven through mud and rivers, given the tide marks on the sliding door cards and the amount of muck everywhere, she is remarkably rust free. :) look forward to seeing the next stages.
     
  8. Thanks.

    This weekend, we took the passenger seat apart (on the drive, this time, not in the kitchen!). It was a bit muddy, as you can see from the pic, but nowhere near as bad as the other one - and the padding inside was foam, so we didn't get half a ton of coconut fibre falling out.
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    We've ordered replacement foam and sisel spring protectors from VWH, and the seat covers have been washed. They're not perfect but will have to do for a while. There was a bit of orange paint that wouldn't come off completely, and scrubbing made the fabric a bit bobbly, so we didn't push it too far. Good job we like a bit of patina :) Here they are before washing. We'll show the after pics once the seats are complete.
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    The weather was dry so we got the cover off the van and did some more cleaning. Also pushed out a few minor dents, including this one on the front (to the left of the vertical scar):
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    With the help of a bit of wood it's now a bit better. You can also see where I used some Wet & Dry to clean up the rust spots a bit - they're now grey instead of orange!
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    We also tackled the bumper which was pretty orange before. A bit of very fine Wet & Dry, with more help from EDE77, made quite a difference.
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    With regard to the interior, we haven't done much this week but we have stuck down a bit more of the laminate on the kitchen units where the edges have lifted, using Evo Stik contact adhesive.

    While it rained we did a shopping list - probably the most expensive shopping list we've ever done... So we won't be buying new laminate for a while! It can go on the long-term wish list along with a Westfalia trailer, a respray and new cab mats.

    Looked at the back brakes and discovered why the handbrake doesn't work. There are no brake shoes! :lol: We were going to replace all the hydraulics anyway. Also the air intake pipes are chock full of mud, so that's another dirty job to do. For that, I'll need to turn it around and power wash while I clean inside the engine bay.
     
    Buddy Hawks and rob.e like this.
  9. keep it coming bud :thumbsup:
     
    Martin Jones likes this.
  10. Seeing as it was Mothers' Day we didn't do any work on Gwynnie today. We spent a good deal of time on her on Saturday though, again with help from EDE77 (we need to buy that man a beer some time!).
    The foam arrived from NLAVW and we reassembled the beds. The one zip that we didn't bother replacing because it was still intact broke the minute we tried to close it, so we were back to square one with that one. Time for Mrs J to get her sewing machine out again... Another problem was the arm rest foam, which was too small for our arm rests. Then the glue gun we bought specially to stick the new foam onto the wooden part of the R&R bed couldn't cope with the job. Nothing is ever straightforward, is it?
    The foam padding and sisel spring protector had arrived from VWH so it was time to reassemble the front seats. What a pig of a job that turned out to be. The material is a bit fragile so it hasn't coped particularly well with being stretched over the new foam. They feel great to sit on, but we might end up having to invest in replacement seat covers sooner rather than later. It's taught us that we have no desire to take up new careers as upholsterers, anyway...
    Outside, work continued on the van. First job was to remove the sliding door track covers so they can be repainted where the old paint has flaked off. They put up a bit of a struggle but with a bit of persuasion and leverage they slid off eventually. Very pleased to discover very little rust underneath them.
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    More cleaning was required. We used some cutting compound gently on the driver's door to see how the paint would come up. Very pleased with the shine, and haven't even polished her yet. The original paint is in good condition considering it's 41 years old.
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    A bit more work on the inside, touching in some rust preventative on the rust spots on the floor and chipping yet more mud out of the bottom of the gear stick with a little wire brush. Here it is before:
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    And after:
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    Then the front of the van. Removed the headlights and what a surprise - more bits of Colorado...
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    That dust sure gets everywhere! :thinking:
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    Then we cleaned out the sophisticated air conditioning system ;) Again very pleased to see no rust.
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    Got lots of new parts delivered this week from JK, also new seals coming next week from AHS so plenty to be getting on with. Happy days :)
     
  11. sANDYbAY

    sANDYbAY On benefits-won't sponsor!

    That's a very nice looking van and you and your wife are doing a cracking job cleaning it all up.
    At the speed you're going you'll be camping in it very soon. :)
     
    Martin Jones likes this.
  12. A few jobs done this weekend, though only had one afternoon due to kids' football matches etc.

    Mrs J got her sewing machine out and replaced the third zip in the bed cushions, so that's those all sorted now. We also sanded the shelf inside the sink unit to clean it up a bit. Planning to either varnish it or stick a bit of Fablon or similar in there one of these days, to smarten it up a bit.

    Sourced a replacement interior light that was the perfect size from Stan at Camper Interiors - they were really helpful.

    Also measured up for the curtains to double check info we found online, so now ready to make a start on cutting out. We've decided to add lining to reduce the need for putting up Thermomats every night (we currently use Thermomats on our T25, but they are a bit of a faff). We've found green fabric which is similar to the original if you don't look too closely, and a quarter of the price per metre. Still spent £100 or thereabouts on fabric, lining and thread, though - which seemed ok when we thought a new set of original-type curtains would be over £200, but doesn't seem so clever since we found some with another supplier for about £120 :( You live and learn, eh?

    On to the mechanical stuff. Replaced the front shocks although they weren't in bad nick. Also replaced the steering damper, drag link and steering arms. The steering arms were bent and the damper completely snapped.
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    Had a bit of a shock when I took the cover off under the pedals and about half a ton of mud and sticks fell out - we could set up a brick factory with the amount of Colorado mud we've found in this van. She'll be a hell of a lot lighter once we're done cleaning it all out!
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    A bit more polishing with G3 on the rear corner panel gave some nice shine, looking forward to cracking on and doing the whole van with it. Hoping for a bit more time to spend on her next weekend for the rear brakes, shocks and cleaning the engine bay.
     
  13. Great stuff. Can l ask where you found the cheaper pre made curtains?
     
  14. geordieandy likes this.
  15. Cheers! I might actually save some money on something VW / bus related for once :p
     
    Martin Jones likes this.
  16. Glad to be able to help. It's quite a difference in price compared with everywhere else we've seen them!
     
  17. We spent a little bit of time on the van on Easter Saturday. The previous weekend we couldn't do anything as the weather was so awful - it was really frustrating not being able to get the cover off and do some work on her.
    Anyway, Easter Saturday was fine so we did a few little jobs.
    Started with the heating pipes - no surprise, they were full of Colorado dust, so had to be cleaned out. In the damp British weather, the dust has formed solid lumps like mud brick.
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    Needless to say, they took a fair bit of cleaning out as they were blocked right the way up. It would seem they didn't need to use any heating in Colorado!
    This is what came out of the other end:
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    Next it was time to remove the fuel tank. We plan to replace the fuel sender and all vent pipes and fuel pipes. Fortunately, the tank was in good condition. We found some evidence of life forms stuck to the tank - a few cocoons. Goodness knows what they're from, we can only hope they're dead now! We also found more Colorado dust under the tank. A lot more!
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    Once all the muck was cleared out we were pleased to find no evidence of any rust.
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    Having read lots of threads about the breather pipes causing fires, here's a prime example of why you need to check yours and replace them if they're in this state:
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    That was the one from behind the driver's side wheel arch. Scary to think how dangerous these pipes would have been. The fuel filler pipe was also cracked (nearly split through in fact), so will be replaced.
     
    Buddy Hawks and CollyP like this.
  18. Finally Mrs J started sewing the curtains. Only one pair have been finished so far, the smallest ones for the tailgate, but the others are cut out ready. We're pleased with the result, although we haven't stopped arguing over whether to have the lining showing on the inside or the outside. What do you folks do, if you have lined curtains?!
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    She made me uncover the van to try them for fit, and fortunately they were fine. Happy days.
    She also re-covered the arm rests as the correct sized foam had arrived from NLAVW. The original fabric isn't quite the same shade of green as the curtain fabric, so she made new covers over the top of the original to ensure everything matches. There's enough fabric left over to make a couple of cushions, too.
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    Apart from that, we polished another panel and again we're pleased with how the paint has come up. (You can see EDE77's van in the background on this one - she makes a lovely reflection in the polished paint ;))
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    Next on the agenda, hoping to do more cleaning of the engine bay and work on the brakes during the lighter evenings if the weather is fine.
     
  19. It's been a while since we last updated our thread but a fair bit of work has been going on. We're still at the slightly depressing stage of taking bits off so she keeps looking like she's getting further from completion, not closer! Hopefully it won't be too long before we can start putting things back together, though.

    The engine bay is now nice and clean (and rust-free). Shame the wiring's a mess!
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    Rear brakes have been stripped, new cylinders and shoes and handbrakes ready to be fitted. Rear shocks have been replaced.

    We've also made a start on fitting an electric hook-up, with the help of an electrician friend. We have decided to fit the hook-up point in a waterproof box under the van rather than mess about with the US fittings. We've ordered dark-coloured caravan plug sockets but are leaving the US plug socket on show as it's an original feature. The RCD will be hidden in the bottom of the sink unit. We removed the old split charge relay which was under the rock and roll bed (there's a photo earlier in this thread - we originally wondered if it was a solenoid). We'll put an ordinary white electrical point behind the fridge unit in the hope that we can convert the fridge to run on UK electrics.
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    Fortunately the plyboard flooring was in good enough nick to be put back in.

    We've wax oiled the inside of the van to keep the dreaded tin worm away. Will add new insulation once the electrics are finished.

    We treated some of the interior panels to give them a bit of a shine.
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    Once the electrics are done (hopefully in the next couple of weeks) we can hang the curtains and reinstate the cupboards and panels.

    I've removed the fuel tank sender, and figure it's probably best to replace this as we don't know if it works... Don't fancy finding out it doesn't and having to take it all out again! The fuel filler pipe and elbow were cracked (badly) so will be replaced along with the pipes.
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    We stripped off the top of the dashboard and were pleased to find no rust around the windscreen, just lots of dust. The top can now be prepped for painting as it's a bit rusty.
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    On the mechanical side, the drive shafts have been removed ready for rebuilding with new joints and boots. Both front hubs have been stripped as the bearings were noisy, so will replace these. Lots of dust found behind the discs.
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    Discovered today that the front heater pipe, front door steps and chassis are inches thick with dust - some of it has set solid. I ended up plastered in dirt after poking about trying to dislodge as much as I could. Have been advised to poke a wire coathanger in there to loosen it and use an air line to get it out. With the front door steps, I'm hoping that covering most of the holes and then using a hoover pipe might work.

    All the wheels are now off, ready to get them shotblasted ready to paint. We decided against getting them powder coated as we are trying to keep non-essential costs down. As it is we will shed a tear when the next parts order goes off!

    The gearbox seems to have a lot of play in the input shaft bearing so will be sent off for an overhaul. I don't want to risk putting it in to find that it's noisy.

    Thanks are due again to EDE77 for all his help :)
     
    Buddy Hawks and rob.e like this.

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