my 74 bus resto

Discussion in 'Restorations' started by smeato, Jun 24, 2012.

  1. smeato

    smeato Supporter

    here is the progress of my resto to date. I started the project in March 2008-4 years of welding & still going strong! Its a 74 deluxe westfalia (uk bus so very rotten) I started at the front, replacing the front panel,inner screen panel & crossmember (behind deformation panel) as well as repairs to the a-posts,air intake & front chassis rails. I cant access the photos of these repairs so progress starts from here.........


    New front panel fitted & repairs to air box:

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    new crossmember

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    then moving backwards (so to speak) the next job was front beam removal........

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    to reveal more rot & a gaping hole:

    [​IMG]


    this was the same at both sides so was repaired like this:

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    cargo floor,top hats & outriggers are next (front arches & cab floor will be done later)

    front outriggers have seen better days:

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    these will all be removed next........
     
  2. top bannanna owen nw ;)
     
  3. MorkC68

    MorkC68 Administrator

    ooo crusty rust :( some good repairs needed there, good luck!
     
  4. Looks like you've got your work cut out there smeato. Good luck with the rest of your resto.
     
  5. smeato

    smeato Supporter

    cargo floor removed:

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    r/h sill was completely missing:

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    plenty more rot to deal with

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    all top-hats & outriggers removed. the main chassis rails are solid-only slight surface rust but they will need to be repaired at the front & rear.

    [​IMG]
     
    Lord Congi likes this.
  6. smeato

    smeato Supporter

    here are the outriggers:

    [​IMG]



    as well as a new set of outriggers & jacking points, also got 6 of these (genuine vw top-hats):


    [​IMG]


    heres how i dealt with the rot at the back of the chassis rails:


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    same at the other side:


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    chassis rails bare-metalled & primered & trial fitting of top-hats:


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    Bertiebot, Miss Rosie and Lord Congi like this.
  7. WOW & WOW AGAIN!!!, Hey Smeato , i"m taking off my (acual, real) hat to you re your resto ! that is TOTAL! well done u for sticking wiv it , gonna look good cruising along that long long beachfront road you have in your city! bet in your "hacked off" moments you thought of that mate , nice one!
     
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  8. smeato

    smeato Supporter

    crossmember & outriggers assembled on the bench first:


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    all welded


    [imghttp://i723.photobucket.com/albums/ww236/1974westy/S7301192.jpg]http://[/img]


    [​IMG]


    rear top hat required slight modification:


    before

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    after

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    more to follow........
     
    Lord Congi likes this.
  9. smeato

    smeato Supporter

     
    Coco likes this.
  10. man your a legend owen nw
     
  11. Kruger

    Kruger Sponsor

    Nice work dude, dont think the pictures do you justice on the amount of time you've put in there, (got the T shirt myself)

    Nice to see you're putting some proper metal and repair sections into the chassis, look forward to seeing more progress on this.
     
  12. spot on mate :)

    great quality of work, loving those chassis repairs :thumbsup:

    looks like you've used the old bus as a template to build a brand new one lol ;)............I've been there too :( ;D

    keep up the good work Im looking forward to updates

    K+ for a new resto thread
     
  13. :mwave:
     
  14. smeato

    smeato Supporter

    It's been a little while since my last update, but my resto is still going strong. I've got hundreds of photos to upload so I'll try & remember what order everything was done in. I wasted a fair amount of time re-doing repairs as I found parts I hadn't done properly or wasn't happy with , but I'll post everything in the correct order....
     
  15. smeato

    smeato Supporter

    The next job was the front bulkhead with the dreaded bulge. here's how I did that:

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    Started with a flat sheet of steel:

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    Curved to fit:

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    I then used one of the old headlamp bowls to make the end piece:

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    Then made the closing panel:

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    Tacked together:

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    All finished & other side done:

    [​IMG]
     
    Kruger, Coco, Lord Charles and 2 others like this.
  16. smeato

    smeato Supporter

    Back-tracking a bit now. I wasn't happy with the quality of the b-post repair panel that I bought so I decided to make my own.
    Started like this:

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    Started with a piece of 2mm curved to suit:

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    Then made the outer piece:

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    Tacked together & offered up:

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    Welded & cleaned up, then fitted:

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    Other side:

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  17. smeato

    smeato Supporter

    I decided to repair the rotten warm air pipe:

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    Still a work in progress but I'm happy with it so far.....
     
    Lord Congi likes this.
  18. Top skills smeato, cracking job :hattip:
     
    smeato likes this.
  19. MorkC68

    MorkC68 Administrator

    some great metalworking there Smeato, nice and neat too!
     
    smeato likes this.
  20. Very neat.:thumbsup:
     
    smeato likes this.

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