TheSamba.com :: View topic

Mon Sep 28, 2009 5:32 pm

So, I recently embarked on restoring a westy I recently purchased. I'm from Minnesota, so this one was in good shape compared to most others in this price range. I will start with nose, rocker and windsheild area repairs.

Any comments or feedback is great, as I have already learned a lot from the forum and want to continue to learn as I go as I work on this one. :wink:

Sorry about the dark pic, but this is the only one showing the big dent in the front. The spare tire must have hit a tree or somthing. Then the PO tried pulling in out then added 1/4 - 1/2 of bondo!

It is pretty straight. I hope I don't find too much bondo, I think most of the previous body work was where there was minor accidents. The brushed paint job has see better days. I will have to get a nice coat of paint on her asap. I have a ton to do before that though.

I was impressed by the solid oe fenders and dry undercarriage. :D

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Mon Sep 28, 2009 6:16 pm

I found a donor nose for a great price, and will be using some of the metal and other odds and ends.

From my forums searches, are my only options for metal repair under the windshield a full nose, the 3 piece from Schofeild, or fabricated peices? I'm concerned that the 3 piece will not be big enough for the area that needs repair. I may be able to cut some solid pieces from the donor nose though.

The inside had no bad suprises. All nicely painted. :)

I knew I was in trouble once the wire wheel hit bondo. :x

See what I mean, how the rust traveled away from the windshield lip? I could have just bought a complete nose, but I heard how expensive the shipping was on top of the purchase price. Well, This will keep me busy this winter.

My donor nose. I'll be keeping this for other possible areas, like above the passenger headlight seen above. Anyone local need a nice front bumper from the donor? (on the house)

Thanks everyone for all the help I have found thus far on this board!

Mon Sep 28, 2009 6:19 pm

Looks like a pretty good start. Hats off to anyone who puts in the time and effort to keep em on the road. Others will be sure to say it, but a Bently manual is a great investment.
Have fun. Enjoy the smiles.

Mon Sep 28, 2009 6:55 pm

Wow. Most people start of with things like a new rotor, plug wires and an oil change. You started by cutting the front of your bus off. :shock:

Good luck!!! Keep us posted on how you're doing.

Wed Sep 30, 2009 10:14 am

Another MN guy. I'm in the Mankato area. I'll be watching this thread

Wed Sep 30, 2009 11:26 am

Hey Brad-

Diggin the red Westy!

There's a group of Bus folks in the Twin Cities.

[email protected] to join the email list

OR

"Minneapolis/ St Paul VW Bus Club" on Facebook

I have a '70 Westy myself FWIW, hope to see you around sometime

Stefan

Wed Sep 30, 2009 3:42 pm

Hey, If any of you guys with buses are up for a cruise on sunday october 11th our club is having one. Here's the info I got.

LAST Hamburger Run of the season October 11, 2009
From Faribault Wal Mart (12:00) to Dave Schlie VW mecca in Morristown
(12:30) to Tucker¹s in Elysian for a short meeting and get together OR from
Mankato Clements (12:30) to Tucker¹s in Elysian. From there (1:30) both
groups will tour the beautiful backroads of LeSueur County, ending at the
Mankato Diary Queen West {across from West High School} to eat (about
3:30/4:00). Call Dave Schlie (507) 210-5775 if weather is questionable.
Check our blog!!!!!!!!!!

It would be great to have a few buses on the cruise.

Thu Oct 01, 2009 5:57 am

Is the Wallmart in faribault viewable from the interstate?

I may try to join you guys- thanks for the invite
Stefan

Thu Oct 01, 2009 10:04 am

I think you can see the back side of walmart from the highway. You could try finding the address for it then check google maps to see exactly where it is. But i'm pretty sure you take the first right off the main road coming into faribault. If you need help finding it I can give you a phone number to one of the members that lives in faribault. Hopefully we'll see you there. Theres one other guy with a bay window that is hoping to come also.

Wed Oct 07, 2009 7:46 pm

I recieved some body panels this week, so I started to get them fitted. I worked mainly on the lower rocker under the slider, then started on the panel in front of the rear tire.

Behind the rocker was in okay shape. It will just need a couple small patches. I will be coating everything behind the rocker with MasterSeries rust coater.

Here I just test fit the panel. Not ready for welds yet.

I'm anxious to patch up this big hole. The panel is on backorder from Bus Depot till December :( Well, like I don't have enough other things to keep me busy.

Have fun at the VW meet this weekend. I'll hope to make it to some next summer.

Thu Oct 08, 2009 6:51 pm

Nice start, it's a lot of hard work but worth the effort. Focus on one priority at a time and you will be on the road before you know it!

Thu Oct 08, 2009 7:48 pm

Hey another Minnesota bus! Good to know ya... if you need anything I have a 76 Westy parts bus and I like dealing in trades and goodwill. Cheers.

Thu Oct 08, 2009 7:49 pm

I have a lot of work ahead of me, but a few hours here and there do add up to progress. My goal is to paint it this spring. If we have a cold winter, it might get delayed a bit. Whenever a project is started, you need the mind set that you are doing this for fun! I get much enjoyment doing this work. I hope to give others the encouragement to tackle these sort of projects, as this is my first attempt. :)

Ready for my backordered panel

Driver's side issues.

Clean up the metal so you know where to cut

Alright, get your laughs out of the way :lol: The only thing I wanted to add is to do your work safely! If I didn't use hearing protection, gloves, eye protection, etc I would be in bad shape simply do to the amount of work I do in my garage and at my job. And I want to continue this well into retirement!

Mon Oct 12, 2009 7:47 pm

Fixed the slider track tonight. There was a 10" spot that was rusted through that I replaced. Picked up some 16 gage steel and went to town.

Now my door shouldn't fall off again #-o

Sun Oct 25, 2009 6:55 pm

I welded in Schofield's 3 piece under windshield repair sections today. I needed to trim them down a bit and bend them some to fit right. Not too big of a deal, but I guess I was expecting them to drop right in once I removed the old metal. I'm using a fluxcore MIG which SUXS for panels. I'd love to get a welder with shielding gas, but money is tight.

I used weld through zinc rich primer to cover the underside of the panels. I will be using Masterseries on the exterior.

Sun Oct 25, 2009 8:15 pm

great thread, thanks for the pics, please keep up the detail!

I have alot of similar issues on mine to take care of, these photos and your descriptions will help alot.

Thanks Man! can never have too many pics - :D

Mon Oct 26, 2009 5:43 pm

Hey Rustbus, glad to help. There is a lot of other restoration treads, but I will try and show some informative pics as I go. Everytime I cut out metal I'm doing an "ahh haa, thats how it's built."

Sat Oct 31, 2009 1:39 pm

I welded in the nose panel today. It went pretty smooth, since I got the panel to fit really well. There were a few gaps at the bottom that took more time with the welder. These pics were taken mid-weld. I have completely seamed the panel. Just gotta get back out there tomorrow and grind it down.

More to come! :)

Sun Nov 01, 2009 1:40 pm

Wow lookin good there...this is making me wish i knew how to weld :)

Keep it up!!

Sun Nov 01, 2009 7:03 pm

Ah, I like the windshield work you did there. Very tedious and time consuming work. Well done and feel good about it!