Ive not been posting anything on the van resto for a while so thought I would do a quick update, no details or reading just some pics
thanks to, SJH for the woodwork, and an old gal in Dundee for the leather work. wheels were to be porsche replicas but kinda went off them a touch 5 spokes are timeless but kinda thinking of going back to steels ... front susppension is via transporterhaus drop spindles, rear is dropped on horse shoe plates... seats are Saab with modified bases to drop them low enough... every bearing, cv, steering end, and brake part including back plates and springs are out the box... all the cables replaced, and pretty much gone to far,, the next stage is to modify the side windows so that they are recessed. I m keeping them the same shape but adding returns so the seals dont sit proud of the body.. Its a bit of work but Im thinking it will be worth the effort.. No plans for a finnish date, I just work on it when I get time speaking of which Ive just saw the time .. I best get my ass in gear....
Looks great, you have the same SJH interior as mine. How long have you been working on your bus? Tony
Ive had it about 2 years.. it sat for a while... actual work time probably around 6 months spread over the last year and a half... Any pics of the woodwork in your van.. I havent fitted any of this yet and would like an idea of what it looks like in situ
Mines like yours, sitting in my garage here, waiting for my bus to be reassembled by my resto. company. Its been away over 12 months now. The restoration is really good, but the slow progress would not be acceptable in the real world, the VW restoration scene seems to be something else, in a world of its own! Tony
I do resto work for other folk and to be honest it is a slow process.. there are always other issues that arrise and money needs to be coming in. If you can work on one car and see it through the resto cost to the customer would be such that they would have to without fail pay up on time every time. To progress a project quick you have to have deep pockets and a constant supply of cash.. For quality work its beter to wait.. you can get a rush job but youll be back sooner with issues .. A friend of mine worked for a VW restorer. I plugged him for info on how they done thre sides with out distortion ... he said they didnt, all they were interested in was getting the job done and turned around, that kept the customer happy... the threw the panels on welded them up and filled them to suit ... care and detail were not considered.. and peculiarly the customers were delighted to get the vehicles back in good time .. Im making a bonnet for a vintage alvis just now.. it was dropped off last weekend with a remit that it has to be 100%.... the fella was asking for it on wednesday ???? Thats not gonna happen, It takes a few hours to set up for louvres alone.. same with a custom petrol tank for a motorbike, dropped off on a sunday, the next week he was on the phone to ask if it was ready... Ive not even started it ....since the remit was "make it deeper with a half inch rise at the front and extend the tail.... no bike no templates no profiles just dropped of the tank and some ideas ???? be patient, my wife has been waiting 15 years for me to do her Peugeot 304 convertible .... the blaster has had it for 5 years now ... and its still not blasted.... Im happy as its free indoor storage and isnt in my face ,,lol... Good things come to those who wait.
Looking good m8 keep the updates comingDo you think it will be done be for me I know wot you mean people want things next day and don't really appreciate what goes in to things some time.
Thanks for that, and its very interesting to see your new Ali. Bonnet for the Alvis, thats skill My Bus paintwork is of Concours standard, I'm sure that no corners were cut. The bus was in first class condition in the first place requiring very little metal work repair. I have been congratulated by the resto. guys for maintaining it so well for the last 38 years. (I was an aircraft maintenance engineer) I know I just have to bide my time,....... but winters here and I dont want to make the delivery drive home, in Snow, ice, and SALT. I'm looking forward to having it back so that I may press on with installing the interior, for the second time, the first interior was a Devon look alike with materials and appliances that I managed to obtain from the local markets, in Lagos, Nigeria in 1976. The Devon style raising roof was imported into Dubai from UK, balanced on top of four passenger seats in the back of my employers Boeing 707 !! It certainly focuses your mind when you take an angle grinder to the roof of your 12 month old bus fitting the pop top, never having done anything like that before. Tony
No way, your screaming ahead of me .... Im probably not looking to be in paint untill summer 2014 (once its warm enough to paint in the garage ) then still have to fit out and finnish it off so in all probably not until spring 2015 given that I will have to find time in between other stuff..
Getting to concours standard is another dimension.. Ive tried and failed a few times with personal projects.. its just so bloomin time intensive.. Its a special place that gets anything that good .. Its good to start with an excellent base though and sounds like your van was excellent.. you done them a favour.. To be honest there probably scared to give it back to you just in case you find something thats not quite right, espescially since you want it to be perfect .. there is probably double or trebble the hours between a good paint job an a concours one ... Dont bring it home in the winter, wait till Spring Thanks for the compliment on the Alvis bonnet I should have been working on that today but decided to finnish a few wee bits on the van... naughty boy ..
