Hermit bus - ‘73 Westy rebuild

Discussion in 'Restorations' started by Bob Alatt, Jul 1, 2020.

  1. Oh My! only just seen this Dunc - cheers. Look at it in all its rot-free glory!
     
  2. JamesLey

    JamesLey Sponsor

    Where's all the rust?!
     
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  3. I know, right? I honestly think there's less rust on the whole 73 shell as there is in any one sq cm of the gutters on my 79. Obviously keeping it that way is going to be the trick. It's not going to be an ornament, I'm going to drive it. Dinitrol cavity wax and zinc primer for Christmas I think...
     
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  4. JamesLey

    JamesLey Sponsor

    Yeap, much better to drive the buggers than restore it and then just store it in a garage.
    There's bits on mine I need to sort at some point, but it won't stop me driving it as much as possible.
     
  5. I guess there'll always be things we'd all want to do - bit like painting the Golden Gate Bridge - finish and go back to the beginning to do it all again. That's part of the attraction though, no? That most people flip their PCP owned car every three years makes older cars all the more interesting in my view.
     
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  6. Zed

    Zed Gradually getting grumpier

    I think you should expect many years motoring without doing a lot if you go over everything at once. The joy of pratting about with it compared to the pain of neccessary repairs is in reach!
     
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  7. Oooh, I like the sound of that! It's getting painted inside, underneath and out and I'll do the other bits (beam diagonal arms etc) with chassis enamel with a brush after. I plan to zinc prime unseen areas like in the doors and pedal cover before cavity waxing everything repeatedly. Finally, I'll wax the outside as routine. Other than that, it'll be stored dry (even in Manchester) but is there anything else I can do to reach the late bay nirvana you describe? Sounds easy when you write it down :)
     
  8. Zed

    Zed Gradually getting grumpier

    Mine is kept in the Lancashire rain at all times and driven through the winter. It will fall to pieces as it had a fair amount of part panel resto but 5 years on it's doing...ok. I undersealed the tubs but that was it. Circumstances were difficult.

    Yours can't really fail to do very much better can it?
     
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  9. Not much time on the bus today but did manage to finish cleaning the gearbox... 4A4BADB8-8745-43DF-8C26-3C950A087BAA.jpeg

    ...remove the exhaust and support bar and go to war with the tinware screws (they’re winning). D77C9E27-2A9E-4E21-BCB0-09392104D05E.jpeg F34CDDFC-3225-4E11-BEC4-3D3346CF99F3.jpeg

    I also popped one of the rocker covers off (a first for me!) to survey the carnage but was pleasantly surprised about how clean it all was inside :)
     
  10. Bit more today. Stripped the engine down for cleaning and seal festival. 7D79D00A-6933-4E1A-9F24-CD3DAEBD83BA.jpeg
    To this
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    I know we’re not allowed to swear on here but, tinware screws hey? Little blighters. Three of four decapitated in the cylinder head.
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    I’ll enjoy drilling those out.
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    the rest of the stuff should scrub up ok. I’ll treat myself to new underside tins as they were past their best. Quite happy with what I found under there to be honest.
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  11. JamesLey

    JamesLey Sponsor

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  12. Zed

    Zed Gradually getting grumpier

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  13. Your shell and doors are 95% prepped, should get some etch on the bare bits tomorrow!









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  14. Ah, brilliant Dunc! Thanks buddy
     
  15. Meanwhile, more scrubbing, this time of the fan shroud in advance of a lick of (black) paint. Anyone know the relevance of the three white numbers on the back (front)? 2D2CB489-59AA-46F9-9A44-05434272F5D0.jpeg
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  16. In between new tinware screw disasters, I popped down to see Duncan @SundialCamperSpecialists today to say hello and have a butchers at the shell he’s painting for me.
    I really can’t wait to get it back and on the road, it’s gonna look ace.
    The news you haven’t been waiting for is that it’s going Neptune Blue. Partially inspired by the Airfix German soldiers I had as a kid, I just love the colour - rather than VW’s association with the third reich, which I’m less keen on, comrade.

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    I almost went for Dove Blue but wanted to at least choose a bay colour and one from its specific year. So, Neptune it is. There’s very little between them when you factor in 40 odd years of fading in the baking Manchester sunshine.
    Here’s the slider with its first coat, the rest will look superb set off by the white Westy roof, bumpers and wot not.
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    I’ll post some pix of the whole thing once it’s back.
    Also delighted that Dunc’s given it a clean bill of health in the solidity stakes - exactly as described by @garytype2 when I bought it off him. Cheers.
     
    Last edited: Oct 28, 2020
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  17. That’s a smart idea. Rust repair is by far the biggest job to get done and the hardest to estimate in terms of time to complete.
     
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  18. JamesLey

    JamesLey Sponsor

    Looking good! Neptune blue is a fine colour choice. :D
     
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  19. The poptop is now white, the doors etc are all blue and the shell is in primer![​IMG]
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    Roof , cab and engine bay all had a coat, before anyone says we’ve left the tank cupboard orange deliberately!
     

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