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Sun Nov 08, 2009 9:15 am

Front windshield? not too bad really. Most of what you see is the dashboard lip from an old leak I had fixed...a lot more surface than anything else there. It's really rocker panels and rear arch/ corners... anything up about 3-5 inches from the bottom, but floors are all sound, interior messy, but solid, doing woodwork for trim pieces and the like.

Anyone have thoughts on pop top clean up. My painter was thinking of moving to auto paint as in corvette's fiberglass bodies to help it stay clean and easliy washed, but I was thinking of fresh gelcoat. Any threads on this topic???

Sun Nov 08, 2009 9:21 am

Tilex w/bleach works great to clean it. I buffed it out afterwards and thats it.

Sun Nov 08, 2009 2:18 pm

yea I usually just pressure wash and use marine polish to get a high gloss shine, but was thinking of the possibility of going with real auto paint for a finish that won't hold onto dirt in the first place. Probably won't, but just wondered if anyone had done it.

Sun Nov 08, 2009 10:33 pm

i have used urethane paint used on semi trucks. good quality also made to stick to fiberglass. but u will need to prime with epoxy and sand first or u will have a lot of little hairs

Sun Nov 08, 2009 11:50 pm

SGKent wrote: nice job but a lot of work. You are dedicated to restore that one.
Reminds me of someone i know :lol:

Wed Nov 11, 2009 2:22 pm

but in upstate NY, this passes for a pretty clean 77 bus! I'd be better off $$ wise to have sold it as is, and found a nice one between Ca and Fla with little rust, but we go back a ways (though I should probably just "back away")

Sun Nov 15, 2009 3:45 pm

So we are getting bad rocker panels out, and tyring to keep the door track. Looks like a tight fit for the three layers to get in. The center layer has the upper lip bent inboard, rather than outward is it was originally welded below the track.

So anyone have guidance for this portion? We really want to keep the track in place, as it is aligned perfectly.

So here's where we are...

here's the gap between the track section and the floor frames. the inner panel's lip stits across the floor frames, a tight fit to get layers in there!

Wed Dec 02, 2009 4:45 pm

So the quarter panels are getting there, and new battery trays are in. the right side rockers...a slow deliberate task...

Wed Dec 02, 2009 7:44 pm

jamesdagg wrote: I've read it's easier to apply the tension with the beam installed. I probably read it here on one of the best bus tech sites.

http://www.ratwell.com/

Richard Atwell has done it all, as have many people, but he documented it as well. Thank you Richard.

Nicksny and I swapped his beam with one from a parts bus and it was not too hard but the best part was being able to POR15 everything above and around it as well as the beam itself. The whole front underside of his Westy looks like black glass now.

Richard says once in a while you will get a beam that is a little too wide or narrow for your bus. If too narrow use shims, if too wide, too bad. Scared me till we fitted the replacement beam. Fit perfect.

Be real careful with the hard plastic brake booster lines. As far as I know they are not replaceable.

It took 3 of us to manhandle it in place, all the while watching that no one was directly under it at any time.

jim

Wait, what parts on the booster are delicate? Good job so far.

Thu Dec 03, 2009 1:55 am

Holy o fuck,Keep on keepin on.That bus needs more work than the one I ditched in 1989 in a junkyard for a chic.20 years later I decided I wanted my bus back.House on wheels.The only thing better was knowing you had tickets to the next show......And not worrying if you had the rest.Good Karma is Key.Good Luck

Tue Feb 02, 2010 9:54 am

lostsailr wrote: well front endwas done for summer fun, now were are onto the rest...

What did you do to repair/rebuild that B pillar?

Tue Feb 02, 2010 11:06 am

wow! Sorry I didn't see this thread sooner. The tearing out of the floor doesn't have anything to do with rocker repair. Sorry to see you go through some repairs that aren't needed. That rocker skin (and door track, if ever needed) are all replaceable without floor damage. Those get removed from the outside.