My viking resto, Now for sale

Well after having a drive of moons bus yesterday, i've got some motivation back so thought i would get this bloody inner valance sorted out

i decided that the best thing to do was to cut the a post's of the body cut i got, (which is a new panel that has been fitted then removed) as they are available separate to the inner valance and maybe these were welded on in the wrong position





Gave them a clean up and a little trim here and there till happy with the fit
Some rust converter and primer applied

 

Then i set about welding them on





And made good the return lip for the front panel





and made a start on the other side, but this side needs for whole of the lip sorting out

​

 

With the a post's sorted, i tried the lower valance again, and it's still no good, it's fine at the a post's and the two outer chassis legs buy the middle two are about an inch sort

I know the 4 chassis legs on the bus are fine, i only removed the original valance due to rust there was no damage

So all that i can think of is

A - The valance is bent, which i think would be hard to do due to the thickness of the steel and the shape makes it pretty strong, and the new deformation panel appears to fit well

B - It's the wrong valance, the part number on it suggests it's right on some suppliers web sites and others not

C - Even though it's a new part that according to some suppliers fits the bay 73 to 79, it's still a brazilian bus part and maybe there are some differences in the chassis' on brazilian water cooled buses due to the mounting of the radiator on the front

Some more research is required me thinks

 

Well after spending about an hour the phone today, i think i have found out why the inner front valance i have doesn't fit
It's the wrong part

This is the front that the valance came off (highlighted in the red box)

Which is clearly a late bay window from panel

This is the part number of the valance (it was a new panel which has fitted but then removed at a later date)


According to some suppliers this part number is for a bay window 72 to 79 and is available on their websites



I have used both these before and have had no problems with either

But also the same part number is listed for as a split-screen inner valance


Then theres a valance list for a 73 to 79 bay with a completely different part number


Having spoke to and looked at the pics on the VW heritage site, i feel that they are correct in their part number listings
This pic of the spilt screen part is the same as the part i have


and after speaking to one of the guys there and comparing the two panels he's come to same conclusion as me, that i have the split screen part
So i now have ordered the one listed for the late bay and will report back once it arrives

 

Well the new part arrived today and it fits spot on
So all being well i should be able to get cracking again over the weekend

 

Had a spare hour tonight after work so i thought i'd have a proper look at the front inner valance

Some pics of how far out the body cut is

The outer chassis legs




And the inners - Just a small gap

 

and now for the new one

Outers




and inners




Fits loads better and the front panel fits a lot better now too
Next job is to finish removing the remains of the front arches so that i can trail fit the lot at once to check alignment etc before welding it all in, but thats for another day

 

So another week has passed and more progress has been made on the bus

First i helped Moons out with some welding

He was replacing his seats to put some porsche tombstone's, old ones where welded in, so some damage was done removing them, the steel was a bit thin away



All cut out


New steel welded in

 

The other side was the same






So that was sorted out too

 

Anyway back to mine

Cleaned up the wheel tub and cut a few groty bits out the floor and offered up the new arch




Only just sitting in place at the moment, will need some tweaking but should fit a treat

 

saw the efforts in person stu, good work on the moons wagon.

 

Cheers mate turned out really well

 

next the other side, with the floor requiring a little more work

 

So i quickly made up a new floor section in the shed



Just kidding it's another quality part supplied by scholdfields

So out with all the rot and a lick of paint on the chassis rails
​

 

And with a little trim here and there, the new floor is clamped in place​

​

​

​

​

​

Still need to repair the tub at the back of the floor ​

​

Plan of attack next is to get the wheels back on so i can move the van around and get the doors on, then i'll get the arches and floor all fitted and welded up​

 

So i've got the near side arch fitted and partly welded in and the the door on

Gaps look pretty good to me, still need to play about with it a little, but considering the amount of surgery i've done to the van with a new roof etc i'm happy











Drivers side arch is next on the list

 

Today i finished of the repairs to the wheel well on the passenger side

The main hole where the seat belt mounting used to be


Repair panel preped and ready to fit

 

Still needed to add a little more to fully fill the hole


Repair piece made up, cut out of a poorer quality repair panel


Clamped in place ready for welding

 

Next was the cab floor that needed a little repair piece making up


So a card template was cut out