TheSamba.com :: View topic - Can dents be removed from the door of '70 ASI/Riviera ice bo

Wed Oct 15, 2014 11:51 pm

Hello,

Anyone know the 'anatomy' of the old VW ASI/Riviera ice boxes and their doors?! I want to know if dents can be removed without tearing the face of the icebox into bits which would obviously defeat the purpose! :lol:

I have not one but two Riviera ice boxes still in their cabinets (!). One is pretty badly rusted on the inside with dents on the outside face of the icebox but came originally with my grandpa's camper (the yellow-y-brown color ice box door). I wish I could somehow save it but it's a pretty tall order at this point. The other - a white-faced icebox, same style and also still in its similar cabinet - originally came with a '73 Riviera camper. I bought it from a seller on here I think years ago (either that or CL). It's in overall much better condition but still has a couple of dents I can't stand.

I've heard of people restoring appliances and bath tubs etc. but I don't know about these little camper ice boxes. I'm really resisting getting some completely different ice box unless the same kind (IMPOSSIBLE to find, apparently) because the rest of my grandpa's camper interior - less the original floor which had to be torn out when the ice box leaked - is all original (as well as sentimental).

Thanks!

Thu Oct 16, 2014 12:56 am

Will a glass holder suction cup fit on?

Thu Oct 16, 2014 1:58 am

1967250s wrote: Will a glass holder suction cup fit on?

I don't know what you mean (?). Also wondering what the face of the door is made of. Is it aluminum? No clue!

The 3rd post down (from a thread I started eons ago) shows exactly what my ice box looks like, btw:
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=574901&highlight=

I found out the name of the style of paint is called "burst" or "sunburst," when the edges are a bit darker than the center - kinda like an old electric guitar. It's probably a harvest gold color scheme. So funny... Anyway if I could find out what it's made of and what kind of spray paint would be the right kind for the job, then I could fill in or bondo (whatever it's called) the dents rather than actually trying to remove them, and just re-paint the front. But THAT'S assuming the front panel will even come off.

So once again, more questions! :roll: Does the front "panel" come off? What about that style of handle? I guess I could just try this spray paint method on the second ice box I have that's white. I dunno...

Thu Oct 16, 2014 7:33 am

Drill out one of those rivets on the seam part way down the side, the outer frame should open up enough to slide the outer skin out. Once it's fixed install a new pop rivet.

Thu Oct 16, 2014 8:25 am

Lets see the dent.. Might be better able to determine if we see the actual thing.

Thu Oct 16, 2014 11:10 am

Thanks guys! The camper is in a dark garage so it was hard to see but i did manage to see some of it via flash and actually the door isnt quite as bad as i thought! What do you think?

Also i couldnt remember where i had a friend weld/patch the rust hole in floor caused by leaking ice box (my damned brother's fault grrrrr) but I now see it's near the sliding door. Point being ive been so concerned that photos of the bottom of the van will show rust-replacement work done i.e. bus will be worth less overall because of it, but so close to the door, it gives the opportunity to see how relatively rust-free the rest if the bottom is. So while bad that i had to do a patch, the rest of the underside indicates the bus was otherwise not too neglected, doesnt it?

OK wait - I have to figure out how to post pics using this new iPhone...
[img][/img]

Thu Oct 16, 2014 11:21 am

[img][img]http://image_url[/img] [/img]

Thu Oct 16, 2014 11:22 am

Ha OK that didn't work!

Thu Oct 16, 2014 11:32 am

[img]https://www.thesamba.com/vw/[url][img][/img][/url]

Poop!

Thu Oct 16, 2014 12:23 pm

Copy the "forum code" in the box at the upper right of each photo and paste it here.

Thu Oct 16, 2014 1:25 pm

Code: [img]http://www.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/1268504.jpg[/img]
[img]http://www.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/1268503.jpg[/img]
[img]http://www.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/1268502.jpg[/img]

:wink:

Thu Oct 16, 2014 1:31 pm

Thanks!! I swear I'm not usually so stupid about pic-posting. I'm clicking on the image of the code, then I click on command cut (using Apple laptop) then command V for paste in the box here but it won't paste - even on my laptop. I don't get it...

Thu Oct 16, 2014 1:36 pm

Ok FINALLY I got it to work! Thanks for putting up with me! It turns out it would only worked if I clicked on the image first (not just the code).

Thu Oct 16, 2014 1:46 pm

I'm about to post pics of my grandpa's old original brochures etc...

Thu Oct 16, 2014 2:49 pm

Ok the pics of 1970 ASI/Riviera brochures/catalogs are in my gallery now. Here are a few to give you an idea. I'll put the rest in a new thread so others with same year/model can find them easily...

Thu Oct 16, 2014 7:28 pm

Threadjack: I know right where those ASI/Riviera promo photos were taken: Hoodview Campground, Timothy Lake, OR. OP Marya with a Riv should recreate that, no? Threadjack over.

Thu Oct 16, 2014 10:34 pm

sunnydog wrote: Threadjack: I know right where those ASI/Riviera promo photos were taken: Hoodview Campground, Timothy Lake, OR. OP Marya with a Riv should recreate that, no? Threadjack over.

So true!! I had the exact same thought when I looked at that image. How could it be any other place but right there?? Lol.

Tue Jan 06, 2015 12:38 am

Haha - BUMP! :) Obviously I want to get some work done to my bus! Still wondering if I can salvage my old ice box's door face (in photos below) but use a different ice box which I have (which has a good interior but a bad door exterior).

Again, I'd like to keep the door face - but not the door of the icebox itself, and use another matching (same size/brand) icebox if possible.

On top of that, I want to keep my original cabinet that the ice box is in, as it's in great shape and is original to the bus...so I want to know if I can basically put another matching ice box inside my cabinet after removing my beat up one (and ideally changing the door face or the whole door if I have to).

Did any of that make sense?! :roll:

Thanks again!

Tue Jan 06, 2015 9:05 am

Did you try Busdaddy's suggestion above? If not why not..

No offense, but, that cabinet will 100% completely come out and then you can get to what you want very easily. All it takes is a simple screwdriver.

The only way to find out is just dig in, dude. Don't wait for us. =;

8)

-dasdachshund

Tue Jan 06, 2015 9:46 pm

dasdachshund wrote: Did you try Busdaddy's suggestion above? If not why not..

No offense, but, that cabinet will 100% completely come out and then you can get to what you want very easily. All it takes is a simple screwdriver.

The only way to find out is just dig in, dude. Don't wait for us. =;

8)

-dasdachshund

Well that's embarrassing - I didn't remember seeing that when I scrolled back for comments last night (what Busdaddy wrote). I wondered why I didn't originally respond to that in detail but I now realize I probably didn't understand what I was reading (not the sharpest tool in the shed when it comes to this kind of thing - sorry if that offends your sensibilities). I probably wanted to save the info to share with the person who will eventually work on the bus as opposed to my actually doing the work itself. Not because I don't want to learn - I'm hoping to find someone who will let me watch and learn and/or help when I can.

The cabinet's already out (just not bolted in) so it will be easy to get to, once things start happening.

I hear what you're saying about just digging in but no - sorry 'dude' - I don't work that way. I appreciate that many of you probably do here but is that an unspoken rule of some sort? Different learning styles and such... my way is to collect information - kind of a research phase - and then take action from there which usually involves paying someone else to help or at least teach me (but I have the info and can say "do this here - what he said." ;) Now if it's about music, for example, I jump right in and am surprisingly confident. Different strokes for different folks, right?