I agree, i have only just started to read the previous owners resto thread from up there ^ and they are saying the same thing in the first page or so but obviously grow to like it more at some point It will look good whatever though to be honest
Stripes, like @Birdy's would look epic.....instant West Coast 70's cool in my eyes.....cue music to Rockford Files or CHiPs.....
Brown buses can be a bit bland ( apologies if it offends). But brown with strips looks proper lovely no matter what the colour of the stripes. Gold and silver do look proper on a brown bus..... On saying that I would not change @rickyrooo1 bus for love or money. Top job fella.
Have you checked out the old vans with stripes thread ? http://thelatebay.com/index.php?threads/vw-stripes-as-fitted-to-buses.608/
Ok, so first weekend to play with my new toy, i managed: - lube and free up all of the door locks (they were so stiff there was a real risk of breaking a key!) - lube up the roof mechanism so "mrs rob.e" can now open it. - replace the fixings on the stove top so the bolts don't limit opening (ie it now opens fully). - replace some missing screws on the pop canvas - add a washer on the back of the bolt holding the sliding door exterior handle so it's not going to fall off - soak the quarterlight mechanisms in penetrating fluid so i can un-sieze them (managed all 3 without and breakages) - fitted an extinguisher - ordered "bentley" and "muir" maintenance manuals - ordered some new heater control knobs (i have one that's broken) - ordered some interior trim clips (some missing) - cleared the garage (big job!) and managed to squeeze the bus in. not a bad start next on the list: - decide what we're going to do with the interior (re-veneer or replace the tattier units) - get the eberspacher re-furbished - get an electric hookup cable - mount the spare on the front to free up some more storage space. - work out what we're going to do for music (i have a boggo 70's radio but no speaker). Prob just an amp + ipod; any suggestions?! Some pics: FULL garage gets cleared out, a bunch of stuff to go to the tip, some given away, some already on ebay, lots to charity shops and a bunch of stuff neatly stacked at the back of the garage to give us enough space. In progress: IMG-20140309-00927.jpg by lotus-gt, on Flickr Looks just about big enough, but is it TALL enough?! IMG-20140309-00928.jpg by lotus-gt, on Flickr Don't know why i was so worried, i have at least 1" clear! IMG-20140309-00929.jpg by lotus-gt, on Flickr See, loads of room! IMG-20140309-00930.jpg by lotus-gt, on Flickr Er.. no, not QUITE in far enough: IMG-20140309-00931.jpg by lotus-gt, on Flickr There we are, finally in (i needed to jump out via the passenger side, and we forgot to put the Thule in before hand so that's now in the back of the bus lol..) but at least were dry and secure now. Just as well as we'd insured it as "garaged" ;-) IMG-20140309-00933.jpg by lotus-gt, on Flickr
Hope it's only "Garaged" when it's not rolling down the road. I "used camper is a Happy Camper" LOL Looks great even before you picked up the first wrench. !!!
good work, what is your plan with the wheel cupboard then? i put my wheel on the front so i could put my propex in the cupboard, it got mixed response but it don't half give you some room (and an excellent beer stand)
Yep, Graham did a great job - the things i need to sort are really just cosmetic but prob more suited to my "skill" level. ;-) Plan is to use this as much as possible - not a problem when the kids are so enthusiastic.. plus we have already a couple of request from relatives and friends to be wedding transport, and hols etc in planning.
Yep, same as you i want the extra storage space - not 100% sure how we're going to use it though. SWMBO uses a great chippy who's done lots of work for us in our house and with clients (she's an architect) - going to hook up with him soon hopefully to discuss the options. We may just go with repair/re-veneering the existing units or maybe something more drastic - not sure yet. Which wheel mount is the best for the front then? Are there options? Not researched that yet.
there's 2 kinds of wheel mount i know of, the one that holds it backwards (so no hubcap is visible) and the longer one you can put the wheel on the right way, i'd be tempted to advise not to do it if you've an unmolested panel, mine had previously had one on but been removed so the holes were there, i don't know as i could have drilled a good panel....... also be very careful if you drill, your airbox is right behind so no deep drilling - you'll need a rivnut tool as you can't get to the back of the panel to tighten up the nuts.
I could only close my garage door with the bus in there by removing it off its hinges. It's now back on its hinges, the bus is on the drive under its JK cover and the doka is in the garage. I can close the door easily. You have a VRS estate the same as mine. I can get it in the garage, just, but I can't open the doors!
@Joker vRS lives out side It's never still long enough to warrant putting in the garage.. @rickyrooo1 thanks for that; i'm in two minds now about the wheel. Hmm...
Haha, same here. Get mine back in the morning following £2k accident damage repair. New one is on order but it has a very long leadtime. Could be upto another 12 weeks Can't wait though coz its FAF and corners like its on rails. DSG upgrades are great too
mine's a manual but i have a few tweaks too. great cars - your new one will be a mk3? i'll be ordering mine prob end of this year.
Yes mate, mk3. Only major downer on this is they've shifted the throttle off the floor so it's now hinged from the top. DSG normally has a right foot rest too, this has also now gone. The latest DSG box is lightning quick, the old one was no slouch
First trip out and some minor tweaking, cleaning and fixing: Great weekend. We spent a bunch of time minor fettling then took the family out for the day on Sunday in the unseasonal sunny weather. Sat we did: - replaced the broken heater control knobs in the dash - removed the deformed (heat damaged from the engine fire) plastic trim on the underside of the upper bed; there's nice clean metal under there so it looks much better without the trim - started to strip the glue residue from the seat bases; one of the bases has its vinyl cover missing and the glue on the metal base makes this look very tatty. wickes "trade strength" solvent loosens it a bit but its still a lot of elbow grease required to clean up the rock-hard 36 yr old vw glue! - removed the wardrobe and the "headbanger" cupboard; we're going to investigate getting these re-laminated so these units will be our "testers". With the wardrobe out we've tried out the spare re-located to the rear. Tbh it may stay here as we love the extra light you get in the van with the wardrobe removed, plus we free up some cupboard space with the spare in the back. Given what i've read about fitting the wheel to the front panel (lots of "don't do it" type comments from people on here!) this might be the compromise. The other positive from taking out the wardrobe is that we could now potentially fit three point belts for both sides in the rear. We have two lap belts only at the moment but i'd be happier if we had three pointers. Not so good: - although we now have shiny heater knobs in the dash, it looks like the booster fan is not running irrespective of where the lever is set. This definitely worked when we got the van so i'll need to work out what's gone on here. - i looked for the re-set switch and additional bits and bobs that i should have under the dash for the eberspacher, looks like this has been removed so getting the heater up and running might be a bit more involved that i previously thought. Maybe it might be easier to pull this and sell it for spares and just go for something modern like a propex? - nothing we've tried so far has had any impact on the "milky" sheen we have on the windows. Looks like it's going to need some sort of polish to make these shiny and clear once more. First family trip out: We were very lucky with the weather this weekend so we took the opportunity go take the kids out for a family picnic - a great day out, kids love the van, lots of positive comments when i was parked up outside Sainsbury's while Maya and the kids shopped for picnic stuff. Everyone loves brown apparently.. some pics: cleaning by lotus-gt, on Flickr wardrobe and overhead units out for refurb by lotus-gt, on Flickr Picnic @ Harcourt Arboretum by lotus-gt, on Flickr
the plastic trim under the top bed is wonky regardless of fire, they all go that way on us vans ive seen, mines the same.