Before... Bit of a trap to be honest, can't believe it was on the road in 2007! Let the cutting and metal gluing commence...... :'( New beam and a tickle with the lowering stick...... 8) Some paint removal...... :-X How Lola looks at the moment..... O0 And finally how we think she will look....... Need some front hinge westy poptop strips that clamp the canvas to the bus roof if anybody can help? Will update with more piccies as we progress.
Very professional - you clearly known what you're doing. 8) It all looks so straightforward condensed into a few pics doesn't it.
Had a really nice chat with Paula at Volkspares today, so nice in fact that I am now the proud owner of one of their full width beds with foams and the front seats all trimmed in nice Marble vinyl with contrasting piping. From checking other beds out at the shows we decided that we like the quality and easy action of their bed over the others They did us a cracking deal and I cant wait to drop the front seats off at Dubfreeze and collect the bed and cushions. This means that once the bus is painted and reassembled we can crack on with the interior while Jim rebuilds the engine. Getting excited now the end is in sight! Need Rixy to sort me out with one of his floors like he has in Arthur, looks very smart. Can anybody recommend where to get new door cards from? just want them bare as will trim them myself. All those years of covering fiberglass car audio installs should come in handy at last! Might even sneak a couple of sneaky speaker builds in the bus, just don't tell the missus!
i can sort you a floor no probs ya bus is comin along well dude, glad to see u've finally got a build thread on ere Her name is lola, she was a showgirl' - and she will be again one day soon......... Whatever ya do, dont get 4mm mdf door cards, as the standard trim clips dont fit, and u have to end up modifying them like i did mine :-( took bloody ages, and looks pants, lol.....even though its all gonna get covered over, i know they are like it underneath.....ggrrrrrr.......
Floor prepared and coated with POR15. Then sealed with 2K Black. You may be wandering why I have painted the floor before the interior is painted, the finish of the POR15 wasnt quite what I had been expecting so decided to cover it with the 2K black + it shows a little bit more progress and keeps the moral up. It will be masked up when we do paint the inside so doesnt matter where the painter stands while painting.
Got the Pop top back from being repaired and painted, really happy with the glass like finish. Hopefully should give you an idea of the level of quality we are aiming for. Also did some more paint removal to make sure there is nothing hiding under the old paintwork and trial fitted a couple of bits. Found an old picture of my old Beetle too: Speaking with Jim the bus should be ready for paint in 3 weeks which should give me enough time to replace all of the brakes,pipes and bearings. Then reassembly can start.VERY EXCITED
Due to the weather the wife and I have been writing a list of what "Lola" has had done to her!! Here we go: Starting at the front, New front panel New inner screen replacement Replacement fresh air box Door bottoms (inner and outer) Inner front lower valence Deformation Panel NOS front arches and steps LH & RH Cab floors Chassis repairs near beam mounts T2D Adjustable beam (old one was rotten) Lower B pillar replacement LH & RH LH & RH complete inner mid and outer sills Load bay repair panels Under floor I beam and top hat repairs/Replacement All four Jacking points replaced and strengthened with box section Mid lower panel replacement Side loading door inner and outer lower panels Side loading door repairs to window surround Walkthru' bulkhead/wheelarch repairs replacement body cut for between rear arches Rear under side window repairs LH & RH incl side cover clamping strips Rear Roof half Replacement LH & RH rear wheel arches LH & RH rear inner arch repairs LH & RH rear lower corners LH & RH Battery trays LH & RH rear chassis replacement (inner and outer) Chassis repair below rear torsion tube. Rear inner valence Rear outer valence New Tailgate New engine lid All this because I wanted a Tax Exempt Right Hand Drive Bus. Sometimes I wish we had just bought a LHD bus from warmer climates! As I have mentioned before none of this would have happened if it wasn't for Jim at Hangar Autos, Quite a few of the replacement panels used were made by Jim in the workshop and the rear half roof replacement nearly had me ready to give up and look for another bus! but thanks to Jim we carried on. Should be ready for paint soon, Jim's prepping the outside while I prep the inside and take the repaired doors to work to have the edges and seal recesses blasted. Once painted and being reassembled Jim will also be rebuilding the engine for us and hopefully the reassembly and engine should be done at the same time. hopefully a successful MOT and we can start to enjoy her.
It would be nice once Lola is finished to get her on display at a show! Who knows how this is usually arranged ? Hope its not like the watercooled show "scene" I used to be part of, dependant on where it was done and how much it cost and how shiney your brake discs and alternator are.
Trial fitting the bed before the interior is painted. I have got to say how happy I am with the Volkswares full width bed, only took 5 minutes to assemble and the action from seat too bed and back is so easy and also I like the way it locks in the seat position without little hooks and springs. The fact that it doesnt need wood on it due to the mesh is a really good idea.
Showing dubs is a lot more laid back dude Looking forward to seeing the painted pics of the bus I came to dubs from the ford show scene and ive built a concourse car or two so know how anal it can get
Took a trip to Dubfreeze today to collect the trimmed bed foams up from Volkswares and drop the front seats off for trimming. Wow the bed foams look great and the quality of the trimming is great. While we were there we got fed up looking at bent and dented or worse rusty bumpers for silly money so decided to go to the "No More Rusty Bits" (http://www.nomorerustybits.com) stand where a nice gentleman sold me a front and a back bumper in fibreglass for not alot more than the price of one new tin one. The quality of the workmanship is amazing and the finish is good enough to bolt straight on without painting (not surprising as he builds fibreglass catamarans for a living) we will be painting ours so they match the pop top. They seem strong too, the front one bolts up to the deformation panel as normal and the rear one will be bolted to the westy towbar we have so the towbar will provide the protection. To be honest I cant see why more people dont buy these instead of the poor quality new ones on the market + they are twice the price and still need painting. The show was good but bloody busy, no end of traders and deals to be had.
Another thing that has helped us keep going is seeing Neil and Mandy's Prosign Bus evolve, got to admit it was nice last year seeing a late bay on display in the main hall at the Volksworld show. They may not remember but years ago at RTTS Neil striped my mates bus and freehanded some wording on the engine lid of my Beetle (Clementine) for only a couple of beers. Things dont happen like that in "other" "VW" "scene's" and that is why we came back to the aircooled way of life.
