TheSamba.com :: View topic

Sun Jul 04, 2010 2:46 pm

Greetings from Shelburne Nova Scotia. My wife and I have decided to get on with the restoration of our 78 Westy. We have owned her since the summer of 2005. (Been lurking for a couple of years)I had been keeping my eye on it for 2 years in our small town. In 2004, I asked the owners if they were going to sell as it had been sitting for a while. They said no. The following year, I went back and asked again. They were getting frustrated with it because they couldn't get the water cooled diesel (yes water cooled diesel hacked in by the previous owner to them) to run. They said it was mine if I was going to put it on the road. I towed it home the following day. The first thing on the agenda was to find an air cooled motor. All I could find was Type 1 at the time. I traded the diesel with adapter for the motor. A friend of mine helped me install it and got it running. I bought the Creative Carcraft fibreglass conversion tin. After a couple of years of use, it was time to get on with the well deserved body job. It has been at a friends' shop for about 6 weeks. (He only does this as a second job). I'll post some pics later of the work that needed t be done. The Samba has been a wealth of information over the last few years with keeping her going.

Sun Jul 04, 2010 2:49 pm

I forgot to add some info. Here is the M Code:
82 107 364
227
483146 D63 P27 005 073
11 4 7379 UW 231961
Her birthday is the day before mine (only 12 years younger)

Mon Jul 05, 2010 11:04 am

welcome aboard man, I just spent 3 days in your town for a Canada Day party with my 73 westy (filmore) I didn't see any westy's on my trip only an old orange beetle on ohio rd. I had a great time in Historic Shelburne, may be back for Founder's days celebration... :D My 73 has a 1600 DP as well and works like a charm!

Mon Jul 05, 2010 5:16 pm

Here are a few pics of the work that has to be done to get the bus back on the road.
The starting point.

Everyone's favourite windshield rust.

Driver's side rear corner to be repaired.

A wonderful patch from the previous paint job by PO.

What was hiding behind that lovely patch.

Besides the windshield rust, this is the worst part of the job.

Windshield rust with original patch panels ( They weren't big enough for the job.

There wasn't a hole when this was started.

Rear corner well on it's way to completion.

Test fit of new patch panel. (Looks wonderful)

Holes filled that won't be used.

There are a few more pictures in my gallery of some more of the work to be done. I haven't been down to my friend's shop for 4 days. I am starting to get withdrawal symptoms from not seeing what has been going on.

Thu Jul 08, 2010 6:25 pm

Holy crap! It was rustier than it looked. He's doing nice work though. I put a link to this thread next to your info on the Vintagevdubbers website. Keep us updated and take care.

Thu Jul 08, 2010 11:18 pm

WOW..I bet thats what mine would look like If I started stripping her. Good Job so far.

Sun Jul 11, 2010 8:20 am

I finally made i back to see the progress of the westy. :)
The rear corner coming along.

The steps and lower doglegs all welded.

Driver side wheel well and jack point repaired.

Klassic Fab panel all welded in. Great fit!

More hidden "treasures".

Patch in front of passenger rear wheel welded and start of fill.

Clips to hold the sliding door cover(driver's side) from the donor bus.

There are a couple more photos in my gallery.
Time is flying by. I hope to have the bus back in the next couple of weeks so I can get some use out of it before the summer is done.[/img]

Sat Jul 17, 2010 9:14 am

I just finished rebuilding my first jalousie window for my 78 Westy. I'm not looking forward to the second one. What a miserable job!

Sat Jul 17, 2010 12:34 pm

ns-v-dubber wrote: I just finished rebuilding my first jalousie window for my 78 Westy. I'm not looking forward to the second one. What a miserable job!

Yeah but youll never have to do it again :wink: Like welding in good metal. Help keep it that way and it will never happen again.

Good job - keep it up!

Sun Jul 18, 2010 4:47 pm

I went down to the body shop to check on the progress of the Westy. My friend hasn't had a lot of time to work on it as he has been putting 60 hours a week at his full time job. Here are a few pics of how it is going.

:)
I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. Hope to have it back in the nest couple of weeks so my wife and I can get some camping in before the summer is over.[/img]

Mon Jul 26, 2010 6:27 am

Just another update on the body job of the Westy. Sand blasting of the seams and deeper rust spots has uncovered a few more treasures. :(

Here is a couple of spots on the passenger door.

Just a little bit of mess to clean up.

Just a few extra shots of the action.

All the work is coming along nicely. I just wish it was a little quicker but you can't rush if the body job is to turn out.

Mon Jul 26, 2010 11:09 am

She's coming right along, hopefully you'll get to use it before the season is over... 8)

Mon Jul 26, 2010 5:54 pm

Filmore,
I'm really hoping to get her back by the middle of August. This will give me a couple of weeks to get the mechanics back in order before Miles' Volkswagen Camping Weekend on Saturday August 28th and Sunday Aug 29th. We went last year (in our Jetta) for the gathering on Sunday. It's a great time if you can make it. :)

Tue Jul 27, 2010 5:24 am

I googled the miles volkswagen event, looks like it would be a great time but I have plans to go to Thomas Raddell provincial park the week after that, it's an annual event for a bunch of us from Halifax and Shelburne to party together, always a gr8 weekend and I don't think my budget will let me do two weeks in a row....maybe next year!

Tue Jun 14, 2011 4:54 pm

It has been a long time with updates on this project but my Westy has finally been painted. It spent about 10 months at the body shop but it was well worth it. My friend who did the job, had a really long summer as he was working 60 hours a week at his primary job and could only work on it in dribs and drabs. I finally got her home at the end of March. It still needs the door seals and pop top seals installed (ordered from bus depot) to make her weather tight. I still need to install the German Supply brake line kit that i've had for a couple of years. Restorations can take time. The interior has to be built. I'm going to custom build one that suits my wife and my needs. (She loves the Westy).

A bit of a mess to clean up.

My new third brake light.

Don't forget to check your seals if you aren't installing them right away. I had to cut and reglue this one because it was twisted. The company that sold it to me said it was to late to return. (I had it for almost a year before it was installed.

Finally coming home. Now for more work.

There are a lot more photos in my gallery.

Wed Jun 15, 2011 7:36 am

I really like the look of your third brake light. Was this a kit or something you came up with? Where did you find it?

Wed Jun 15, 2011 7:36 am

BTW, your camper is beautiful. I really like the yellow.

Wed Jun 15, 2011 9:04 am

Very nice.

Nice job!

Wed Jun 15, 2011 1:45 pm

Thanks, for the comments. The yellow is a 2008-10 volkswagon sunflower yellow and the top is the original white.
The third brake light is from a Chrysler product. It fits fairly well but does have a bit of a curve to it. I replaced the regular bulb with a couple strips of LEDs. The original housing was too deep to fit in the hatch. I'll post a couple of pics when I get a chance.

Wed Jun 15, 2011 1:53 pm

Nice, now drive it over to The Dub Show in St. John's this summer. :)