Refinishing a 1961 sk692A SO-23 Westfalia

[sled]

ok so I have an update/photo dump for the folks who are interested.

I left off having finished the rear ceiling panel, and it came out great! well next I tackled removing the forward ceiling panel, and was apprehensive about how damaged the wood roof bows would be. Fortunately the glued and pinned joints had just become loose, rather than being actually rotten and decaying. I took all the old rusty pins out of the joints and separated them. Gave all gluing surfaces a rough sanding and then put them back together with screws this time, to hold it all nice and tight.

the aluminum trim around the subhatch hole.

I also threw in a couple pieces of sound-dampener which really cuts down on the tinny/oil can sound of the roof. It doesn't take much dampener to deaden a panel

ok so with all that easy work out of the way I gathered up the motivation to tackle the front ceiling panel. here are some before photos

this panel was totally hammered, the veneers were stained, broken, and just looked nasty. As before, i worked slowly with the homemade veneer knife to break free the glue that still held, while trying not to destroy the brittle veneer. This wood fared much worse I am guessing due to its proximity to the subhatch hole.

anyway here are the veneers re-glued to the birch 5x5 panel. I had to work very slow with the iron but it came out really pretty nice. I had to add a bit of veneer around on of the sets of bolt holes as the original veneer had long ago broken out.

and here is the panel trimmed and finished. I couldn't believe how well the life came back, and how I was able to get the two prominent black water stains out.

and here we are with some "money" shots of the roof panels re-installed with freshly polished trim strips. Honestly at the very beginning of this project, the roof and long panels were my only real question marks. I had initially thought about just buying new veneer but I am glad I went this route, and I am glad it came out so well!!

I still need to finish the "banana" panel that covers in the back. I have most of the veneer pieces stripped off of it but there are two that just don't want to let go yet!

OK with that success and resulting motivation, I got a piece of 4x8 ply and launched into the long-panel job.

here are some before photos

most so-23 owners that have taken the long panel out of their bus know that westfalia used scraps of sheet metal from the cutout in the roof for support behind the long panel. I found it odd that they used one piece of the original metal from my bus, and a piece from a dove blue bus. Must mean there was a dove blue so23 right before mine in the line? I imagine these pieces of metal would probably be the most accurate paint matching candidate one could ever ask for?

veneers laid out on the new sheet. I think these veneers were the most damaged out of all of the three sheet-panels I worked with. Totally cracked, and very warped. It was difficult to get all the warping to lay flat and glue down.

and finished!! came out awesome

so, the only piece of woodwork I still have left to do is the banana panel at the back of the roof, which is a very small job in comparison. Now I get to bolt everything back in! So we should be seeing some substantial progress here shortly. I want to have the bus all back together and camping ready in 2 weeks.

we'll see...
_________________
drive your split.

[jjjjack]

OMG, that looks terrific! Beautiful work!!!!

I'm inspired to fix some spots of my own, now.
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Jack Stenner
1959 Mango Westfalia SO-23
1953 Porsche 356 Coupe
IG:j.stenner

[Big Bill]

As someone mentioned in an earlier post this is one of the most interesting threads on the Samba at this time. IMHO You have done an outstanding job on every section that you tackled. Such a cool bus you have given a second life to.

[zuggbug]

Great job Jake

I have one question, it seams impossible to put the wood bows in after joining them.

how did you put them in after screwing and gluing them together, or did you glue and screw them once they were in place?
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SOUTHERN INTEGRITY AIRCOOLERS
58 15 window
56 westy

[sled]

[sled]

ok folks, for those who are still interested after everything so-far. Here is the essentially finished product. There are a few little things here and there I want to tweak/finish, but it is presentable and more importantly..camp-able!! The while project took on a life of its own, and took far longer than maybe expected? But I am more than stoked with how it all came out, and I am glad I dove in. I hope this thread can inspire future and current westy owners to save and try to refinish original interiors. It is only original once!

I'll post some before and after's side by side for comparison.

bungees thanks to bubba!!

_________________
drive your split.

[jjjjack]

Stunningly beautiful! ...an amazing transformation. I just love these early westy interiors and this has to be one of the best. Congratulations!!!!
_________________
Jack Stenner
1959 Mango Westfalia SO-23
1953 Porsche 356 Coupe
IG:j.stenner

[zozo]

[earlywesty]

Great job Jake!

[RobzKombi]

Great thread Jake, awesome work on refurbishing the interior.

Again, thank you for sending me the helpful information I needed to complete my ceiling panels.

[Stocknazi]

Wow, what a before and after; pretty amazing.

Thanks for taking the time to post the process, especially the info. on the cabinet scrapper method you used.
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WANTED:
58 Westfalia cabinet knobs (3 needed), roof rack, and (7) privy tent poles (silver painted).

"When the people are afraid of the government, that's tyranny. But when the government is afraid of the people, that's liberty."
"Resistance to tyrants is obedience to God."

Thomas Jefferson

[Big Bill]

Wow! Love what you have done to your bus.

[bubba]

very nice job!!
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***WANTED***
SO-23 Cargo net hooks...
for sale
curtain Bungee cords for SO23, 22, 33 ,34 ,35
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=1587591

[vw7266]

nice work bro!

[Z]

That turned out really, really nice. Great work!

[BarryL]

Shazam, serious deece qual!!!

[zuggbug]

_________________
SOUTHERN INTEGRITY AIRCOOLERS
58 15 window
56 westy

[Braukuche]

Spectacular Jake. You should be proud.
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Go Reds! Smash state!

Retirement is here!
1956 Ghia
1959 SO-23 Westfalia
1960 double cab
1960 Baja Bug
1963 stretched double cab
1962 Golde sunroof Ghia
1963 356 B coupe
1963 Notchback
1967 21 window less rusty now

[6sixTinBox]

looks great!

-Serg
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1966 13 Window Deluxe

It is what it is

[sled]

thanks everyone! It really did come out waaaaay nicer than I maybe had expected/hoped for? honestly I had no idea of what to expect as I hadnt really seen anyone take this approach before? most original interiors just get run 'as is' or torn out and remade.

work has slowed on the bus as it is time to just drive it! although I did take it off the road for a few days to put in an all new wiring harness. The original wiring was all kinds of modified by previous owners.

I rinsed the water tank repeatedly with a mild bleach solution to kill whatever had grown in there. Also put in some new seals in the water pump and plumbed it all up with some new clear hose.

I will get some photos, but DAMN does that water come out of the sprinkler head like a fire hose with that 6v pump running on 12v!! I know its not ideal for the armature/brushes but honestly it will just be for show purposes. If I camp I will most likey bring water to drink. Although I suppose I could use the water tank to wash dishes. Also the original pump switch is pretty cool with the red light in the middle of it when its on! Ill get some photos of that as well for reference.


in other news though, I was able to procure one more piece to the puzzle of completing this camper! A good friend of mine was awesome enough to help me in getting a 61 only sloper rack! THANKS AGAIN!

gettin it done at work!!

the only thing left really is a tent. I think I am just going to make one as I cant/wont afford what I want (white/grey)


stay tuned!!
_________________
drive your split.