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  View original topic: So-33/34 Westy rear hatch hinge cover - need help
Clara Sat Aug 23, 2014 7:58 am

Hello,
I want to make a rear hatch hinge cover for a Westy so-33 or so-34 - '64-'67 era.
It's this kind of bent panel above the rear hatch to cover the hinges - for buses that do not have the headbanger cabinet.

Another samba member was nice enough to send me this template:



I can use the middle section as a pattern but the sides of this panel are wasted. Any chance someone could post photos of what the sides look like?

If someone has it already removed I would love a pencil tracing or even could pay to have the panel shipped to me if you were willing.

TIA!

Clara

Clara Sat Aug 23, 2014 8:00 am

This is a bay one - I would expect the ends would look something similar:


Clara Sat Aug 23, 2014 8:06 am

Installed -



If you have a flipseat, maybe just wheel the rear corner cabinet out of the way and take a few photos aiming straight up? Tape measure could help too.



Ideally a pencil tracing or having the panel in person is best.

Lind Mon Aug 25, 2014 8:42 am

from my 64 westy:






Clara Mon Aug 25, 2014 6:56 pm

Lind wrote: from my 64 westy:






No wonder they are always broken once out of the bus!
That is an annoying shape. I see how it works, though, and why they did it.
Sweet, thanks for the pics!

velvetgreen Mon Aug 25, 2014 7:09 pm

that would be a much sought after item. as someone who is missing it on my so33 kit i would be interested. Any idea on a price point? All those bendy curved look like they would be a PITA to make and not an easy or cheap item to ship!

Clara Tue Aug 26, 2014 7:13 am

velvetgreen wrote: that would be a much sought after item. as someone who is missing it on my so33 kit i would be interested. Any idea on a price point? All those bendy curved look like they would be a PITA to make and not an easy or cheap item to ship!

I made a bay window version. In 2005 I'd found an og bay hinge cover in a junkyard in decent condition. The bending was easier than I expected. But it took a while to make the fixture, and it has to be in the fixture for days.
The same fixture will work for the splitty version.
Shipping would not be too bad either, it is pretty light. I think it would be about $30 to ship to the west coast. Just needs some bubble wrap and an appropriate sized box.
But I have to wait on the price question till I am satisfied with the piece I make.
I am not sure how much demand for these there is. Will I make three?
Anyway, I like the challenge of trying to make all the panels that VW used in the old buses, even though some are easier to source and copy than others. And some just aren't going to be needed by many people.

velvetgreen Tue Aug 26, 2014 8:05 am

I agree it is a bit of a unique item but there has to be a bunch of SO33/24/22 owners out there that are either missing this piece completely like me or who could use a new one. What kind of wood would you be making it out of?

Having watched other repops (i.e. the sisal westy floor mat) the kind of people that would be interested in this are authenticity freaks so if you are gonna repop a westy part it has to be super close to original. I know the repop sisal mats, some people were complaining that the repop has rubber on the underside whereas the originals sisal did not? Anyhow something to consider- please keep us in the loop



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