Woody my 72/73 bay window resto project .......an epic tale of rust.......

Little bit more done this weekend

rear bumper finally painted and a good coat of cavity wax on the rear



and the areas under the rubbers for the front bumper also got a coating



then the rear bumper fitted



wheels fresh from re-furb with new tyres



made sure to grind off the powder coating from the stud holes



the before shot....



and the after ....much better



It was a tough choice of colour, but I'm glad I went for it

more to come shortly when I've uploaded the pics

 

What tyers and we're from please look good what size as well

 

got them from black circles, they are firestone van rated (C rated) they are 185R14C ...they were about £48 each

.....and the front bumper goes on



and as you have probably spotted the side step



its all starting to look rather nice, maybe even a slight shiny military feel to it



hub caps are a bit too grimy to go back on



So my neighbour Ian who had been helping me all day fired up his latest toy ......a bench buffing machine



came up quite well, but on inspection all 4 have a few dents and curb marks .....so not sure what to do, get some good second hand ones ......go for stainless, or go for new stainless baby moons

 

Eldest Diddymen (now 10!) really wanted to give me a hand, so under instruction he more or less changed two of the wheels him self

youngest Diddymen (8yrs) also wanted to help out .....so I let him take the old wheel back into the garden, told him to wheel it carefully and well away from the van, and not to let it fall over or hit the van .....he was pleased to be helping out .....just a shame he let it drop close to the van and damaged the paint on the rear bumper ....doh!!!, he was only trying to help and it will touch up so no real harm done

had to start it up to move it away from the fence, took a bit of cranking as it probably hadn't started in a year! .......spluttered a bit when I put my foot down until the choke came off, so I think it could do with a good service


.....but I'm now thinking of getting it MOT'd again so I can drive it around to give it a shake down

I did notice there was a bit of a squeak from the steering which will need looking into though

 

Good to see you have been busy

 

cheers mate

....in between all the other jobs on the house its been hard to find the time

I've got to rip the drive up in a few weeks as we are re-doing it and putting some more parking at the front of the house, you can see why....



...oh, and finish painting the house

 

Plenty to do there! your Camper is still looking good though

 

a little too much to do, loads on the house/garden and on the Van

order foar for R&R and re-upholster
re-upholster and fit new front seats
wire up heated front and rear screen
make head banger locker
fit front and middle belly pans (after getting painted)
wire up leisure electrics/fuse box/battery
connect last 12V interior light
Mains hook up
pop top beds
radio/CD MP3 player
service engine
fire extinguisher system
alarm/tracker
accellerator pedal mod
cupboards/hob/sink for camping
change one of the rear seat belts as it doesnt seem to want to lock when it gets pulled hard
fit front and rear VW badges
do some thing with the passanger door as water seems to get past the seal at the top ....think it might need bending in rather than adjusting

...and thats what I can think of off the top of my head !

 

Cant you just do the jobs needed to get out picnicking and camping in it. My next thing is to change the interior 'furniture' around and fit a hook up/solar panel to go with the leisure battery.

 

that is kind of the plan, main thing is to get the rear seat upholstered, as it wont be too confy for the kids to sit on ....I'd at least like to get it to beach bugging

 

Isn't the seat your wife's job. We're away when beach bugging is on

 

It is ....but I've got to measure up for the foam, discuss (and agree) with her what seat panels will be what colour, what pattern of stitching etc. then check if we have enough of the right colour, or find out and order move vinyl ....if they still do the same colours

 

Your work is looking good as always, the powder coated wheels look superb. Certainly better than my silver hammerite, you mentioned they went to a wheel specialist, where are they?

 

I took them to this place (I believe they have other branches) ....they did a great job on my mates Merc AMG

http://www.thewheelspecialist.co.uk/locations/fareham-hants/

They were about 3 times the price of just paint or powder coating on their own, but I think it worked out to about £85 (including fitting tyres I got delivered direct from black circles) a wheel and they did the 5th for free

They powder coated first, sprayed the colour, then clear powder coated...so the colour is sandwiched between powder coating, so should be as hard wearing as an alloy and as easy to clean....and they give a 12 month guarantee on the finish

very good service and finish

 

Baby moons would look great on those wheels now

 

thanks .....its another tough decision between baby moons and VW embossed ........I even like them naked as they are

 

Thanks, that's a good recommendation and local.

 

looking fooking epic dude BOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!!!

 

Diddymen

Amazing resto!

How did the rivnuts work out for the bellypans?

I am likeing this solution and thinking of giving it a go.

DT

 

cheers DT,

rivnuts have worked out pretty well, I've used them in a few places now - top mounts for R&R bed, a couple of the bumper mounts as well as the belly pans