TheSamba.com :: View topic

Mon Apr 29, 2013 2:32 pm

Here begins my refresh of Samantha, an Orange 1973 Westy that has spent most of her life in the great Pacific Northwest. Picked up at the factory by her original owner she spent the next (???) years doing (???!) until she had her keys re-cut at a small key kiosk in University Village Seattle. This was about half a ‘keys-wear’ in the past... About 10 years ago she was purchased just outside of Victoria, BC and spent the next year being re-camperized and upgraded to a 2L pancake. After this it was off to Squamish BC and beyond, acting as a mobile home for a climber. I first saw her on a trip to Squamish in 2006 where I thought that it was **** rad that anyone should own and live in a vehicle such as this. Never had I seen such beauty. Parked there beside the Safeway. I forgot all about her for 6 years until such time as I was seriously looking at buying one of these machines. Rustier and rustier derevations were passed up until there she was, in all her glory, center stage on CL. Posted 6 minutes previous. Ring. “Hey man, are you selling Jelly?”

A year and a half later, with a lighter back pocket, with countless hours browsing the threads of the Samba and the Late Bay, and countless fixes, it’s time to blind side tackle all those little holes that are laughing at me from behind the wheels and under the taillights and between the pedals, and who knows where else. It’s not going to be fast, or cheap, or all at once. And these posts may be few and far between due to my work schedule, but here it is. I hope you enjoy reading whatever it is I am going to write!

Mon Apr 29, 2013 2:53 pm

Last weekend I went outside to work on a trunk I'm redoing for my girlfriend.

She came home a few hours later to find this:

I explained how I had just moved the bed forward a little to give it a good vacuum (what about the trunk? nevermindthat)

...and I noticed a mud flow of road grit settling happily in the corner. I could see daylight. Not good. I had to investigate further... everything must go.

mold... Thanks trunk! i would still be breathing this stuff if it weren't for you. And a vapor barrier on a wet sheet of plywood. This isn't going to be pretty underneath...

It isnt. Oh well, lets take more stuff off, that I know how to do.

More mold! Smug trunk. Lets get rid of that and see what reality we need to face. This is before an exploratory wire brush.

Below, we have rust following the top hats underneath. This might not be good.

Underneath is not so bad ^^^

Zoom out: The Shop.

Mon Apr 29, 2013 3:28 pm

OK, brushed. Some good, some bad. Scratch head. What do we have to deal with...

There are clearly a range of surfaces present. Some of them rusty, some of them not. The black spraypaint somebody used didn't take care of the rust as hoped it would seem... (throws away spraypaint).

Drivers side bulkhead is not happy. The upper left section which joins the arch/seatbelt plate will have to be replaced, and dooown along the A pillar to the floor. At least some of the floor here will also go, and ohhh, probably the top hat and jacking point, and the middle and outer drivers side rockers. This is going to be a lot for a newb. Currently I only know what I have learned from the Samba the last year and a half. Thanks everyone :D .

VVPassenger bulkhead is also needing repair along the base, as well as some of the pillar, floor, and probably the top hat. This jacking point is solid. Can anyone tell me if this is B or C pillar? I think its B... Again, newb...

Below is the area where a single screw hole that shouldn't have been there allowed road grit to seep down the inside of the rear wheel well and pool behind the bed. Undetected, it sat, moist, where it ate its way through the floor and out via the front of the wheel arch panel (thank god wrstp has just done this one and shown the steps!)

here is the rear passenger side... Not too bad?

VVV Some general shots of the floor and the varying levels of rust. The grey is all fresh metal that was underneath water pockets in the black and orange paint. There was water pooled all over the place after wire brushing and I think I caught it at a good time! That vapour barrier was trapping it down there as far as I can tell, and the untreated wood was holding on to moisture as well. i know some pitfalls to avoid when i get a new floor in!

:?: I would really appreciate some opinions from the rust gurus on my situation. I can only find two pinholes in the entire central section of the floor, the worst spots are the four corners.
Will I need to replace both panels or can I get away with a different approach that sees the edges being replaced and the rest ground or sandblasted and primered?

What should be my next step here? Thanks!

Mon Apr 29, 2013 3:32 pm

I wouldnt replace crap for pin holes. Just my opinion. Sand and seal with POR 15 or the likes. Love the bus, cant wait for more updates.

Mon Apr 29, 2013 3:43 pm

Another west coast rot box.

Mon Apr 29, 2013 3:49 pm

Ospho... prime... paint.....cover with new floor :shock: ...undercoat from below

Mon Apr 29, 2013 4:20 pm

I'm 65 years old and don't care to out live my bus. But am hoping some where down the line some new owner will be referring to the PO as a careful guy who didn't ruin it so they could do a real resto.

With that in mind you should choose if your wanting a roto restore show bus with custom interior --or just stabilize the current rust and put it back on the road in a condition that will not "show the road" in the period of time you own it.

Personally- in its current condition I would stabilize the rust, bondo the leaks and enjoy the hell out of it.

Rust repair will require many years and the "Don't scratch that"!!!! popping up in your vocabulary more often than is pleasant.

Mon Apr 29, 2013 5:07 pm

Thanks for the replies and opinions. I have done a lot of considering over the past while about what I want out of the bus. Enjoyment/camping/having a cool old vehicle yes. But I'm also excited about learning some metal working skills and this seems like a good place to cut my teeth. I have to start somewhere.
This won't be a back to original resto, but it's better than doing nothing, and hopefully it will mean I have the patience and skills to do another one. :)

Tue Apr 30, 2013 3:20 am

The key to metal work is practice. I decided to learn on my old 71 and I don't think my bus was too happy about it. On that bus you have I suppose you could wire brush the rust down and spot weld the pin holes. That would be a good place to start. I wouldn't "learn" anywhere visible just yet.

Tue Apr 30, 2013 8:06 am

Your bus looks familiar

IMG_8233 by Dabble03, on Flickr

Good luck with the rust! :oops:

Tue Apr 30, 2013 11:07 am

shiningstar76 wrote: The key to metal work is practice. I decided to learn on my old 71 and I don't think my bus was too happy about it. On that bus you have I suppose you could wire brush the rust down and spot weld the pin holes. That would be a good place to start. I wouldn't "learn" anywhere visible just yet.

This makes sense, I will start with this and post along the way.

Nice bus dabble, it looks like mine's supposed to 8)

Tue Apr 30, 2013 11:14 am

Depending how far you want to take it: BusDepot has complete floors.

http://www.busdepot.com/j15025

Tue Apr 30, 2013 11:44 am

Kirk wrote: I wouldnt replace crap for pin holes. Just my opinion. Sand and seal with POR 15 or the likes. Love the bus, cant wait for more updates.

I agree!

Pull your driver's side rear window (the one with the vent).
This rust is most likely from rot allowing water to leak in and puddle down there.

Tue Apr 30, 2013 12:26 pm

Bala wrote:

I agree!

Pull your driver's side rear window (the one with the vent).
This rust is most likely from rot allowing water to leak in and puddle down there.

Ah, of course. The seal and window hinge etc are not in great shape, but I don't want to remove until I can get a new seal (bus depot back order for many weeks).

A while back I struggled trying to remove that narrow outer panel below window and it wouldnt budge, even with all screws out.

Will check it out, cheers.

Tue Apr 30, 2013 12:35 pm

whatdoesthisbuttondo? wrote: Ah, of course. The seal and window hinge etc are not in great shape, but I don't want to remove until I can get a new seal (bus depot back order for many weeks).

A while back I struggled trying to remove that narrow outer panel below window and it wouldnt budge, even with all screws out.

Will check it out, cheers.

You can replace it with a passenger's side rear window to reduce the risk of leaking and you can use the standard seal which is easier to find and less expensive.

I did that on my '76, but I'll be keeping the vent window set-up in case I ever want to go back.

Tue Apr 30, 2013 12:47 pm

grandpa pete wrote: Ospho... prime... paint.....cover with new floor :shock: ...undercoat from below

yes this way works pretty well but first wire wheel (wear safety glasses) the crap out or the rust. Then Ospho which is a rust converter then epoxy prime and paint. I haven't had good luck with Por15....

Tue Apr 30, 2013 1:11 pm

Bala wrote: whatdoesthisbuttondo? wrote: Ah, of course. The seal and window hinge etc are not in great shape, but I don't want to remove until I can get a new seal (bus depot back order for many weeks).

A while back I struggled trying to remove that narrow outer panel below window and it wouldnt budge, even with all screws out.

Will check it out, cheers.

You can replace it with a passenger's side rear window to reduce the risk of leaking and you can use the standard seal which is easier to find and less expensive.

I did that on my '76, but I'll be keeping the vent window set-up in case I ever want to go back.
9 times out of 10 you will find the wing window will be unrepairable anyway as I junk out bus's I get those passenger side windows because with all the westys I have to fix I need many of those windows.

Tue Apr 30, 2013 6:26 pm

Nice Bus!!! Like the 73'.....my favorite year and color!

Wed May 01, 2013 9:56 am

I spent about 2 hours with the wire wheel last night on a test patch that I'll use to make sure I'm successful with the rest of the floor treatment.
Here it is after a first pass with the bristled brush on drill:

Pinholes exposed:

Then I decided I had better take more of the original paint/primer off as the metal staining extended beneath these. Switched to twisted wire wheel on drill.

I used a different type of brush for the seams, but I still can't get into them. Not sure what Im going to do in these areas.

I found a confined area of rot under the seam seal against the wheel well. This will be an area I will replace after attempting to weld shut the floor pinholes. Template shown isn't the same as ill replace, as there is a lip that extends down on the outside where the two panels join.

I would love some advice at this point for the floor:

1. Am I ready for ospho etc. or should I get rid of every scrap of old paint?

2. Any tips for getting into the edges where the wire brush couldnt get to? Or will ospho 'soak up' into these narrow spaces ?

Cheers.

Wed May 01, 2013 12:04 pm

portable media blaster, a respirator and vacuum :D :D will help with the hard to get areas..

I would remove all the paint as rust can hide... then Por-15 the whole thing.. get the 3 part kit..

As for pin holes... I would find a donor bus and have some for sections cut so I could weld in the problem areas. Fix it once and fix it right.