Classic games February is a busy old month for us. We both have birthdays, plus it’s also our wedding anniversary as well, and this year was our 25th – I’m lucky to be married to such an amazing lady! Not the normal sort of thing, but I managed to find a complete retro travel Scrabble … Read more
Roof rust Having got the underside of the bus cleaned up and protected, it was now time to look at the roof and gutters. The most obvious issue was an area over the rear corner of the bus. At some point in the past, some filler had been applied to an area. Unfortunately over the … Read more
Looking a little worse Working under the bus, I was admiring just how solid the original metal was, and what amazing condition the original paint was like in the wheel arches. Things could have been a whole lot worse when you start cleaning and stripping things back. However, one of the guys at Resto Classics … Read more
Project winterisation begins Unfortunately, it’s time to take the bus off the road briefly and get the underside cleaned up and protected against the UK weather. Along with the future protection of the bus, I was going to use this opportunity to upgrade the front braking and steering system. My order of the Epoxy mastic … Read more
Elbow grease time My mechanical skills might be somewhat limited, but it’s great to be able to some work on the bus myself. Adding sound insulation is something I can tackle. In many ways, it’s one of the attractions to owning a vintage VW in the first place. So slowly but surely, I began removing … Read more
Whilst waiting for the rain to stop so I can get Vintage Speed exhaust fitted, it was time to get on to with sorting out a temporary protective painting job on the rear valence. Having seen the quality of a full bare metal respray and all the work that it entails, I am under no … Read more
Right, a bit of a catch-up for the blog is needed! Now that the roof has been thoroughly prepared and rubbed down, it is time to get it put into top coat before it goes back onto the roof of the Early Bay camper again… The final coats of paint transform the original fibreglass Westfalia … Read more
Just realised I had not posted progress pics up for a long time, opps, sorry about that! Then to top that I also realised I had skipped a stage with my last post as well, so double opps! Pop top roofs don’t just appear shiny and beautiful without some attention and preparation going on, so … Read more
With the cab doors previously prepped, it was time to get them sprayed and put into primer and flattened back prior to getting top coated. The insides are done first off… …before getting them masked off ready to get the outsides sprayed. Again it will be a case of flattening back and spraying to get … Read more
Moving around to the back of the bus, it’s time that the engine bay had a bit of a make-over as well! Although it is grubby as is to be expected, it is all good, solid, original German VW steel, even the battery trays are in great shape, so once cleaned up a bit and … Read more
OK, time for some more updates. Good news is that pretty much all the ‘not so good’ areas have been found now, so the process of cutting out the rusty, damaged or perforated areas is pretty much completed, so now the bus can get new metal or replacement panels welded back in place! I’m trying … Read more