TheSamba.com :: View topic

Sun May 18, 2014 2:34 pm

hi,
I think it's time to present my 1953 portuguese kombi

Sun May 18, 2014 2:45 pm

Some more pictures :)

Mon May 19, 2014 11:23 am

Some work done

[

Mon May 19, 2014 2:02 pm

Really nice bus, that John Deere green color was awesome ! :lol:
excellent fabrication and welding work going on here !
Welding in a roof insert as big as yours must be a real bitch, glad you made it ! show us some more pics of those steps involved in welding the roof.

Mon May 19, 2014 2:34 pm

The bus was initially transformed to a camper by the previous owner. He used the original roof to do a kind of pop up. He used it until he was almost 80 years old and I must say it was quite heavy.

Mon May 19, 2014 2:38 pm

These are the only photos I took through the welding.

Mon May 19, 2014 5:33 pm

busbarn wrote: hi,

[URL=http://s37.photobucket.com/user/oldbikes1/media/matilde/DSC00085_zpsd80dc768.jpg.html][img]

what's going on with the gas tank and spare tire space? some kind of custom thing from the PO?

Mon May 19, 2014 11:58 pm

Wow, that top was cool somehow. Anyways, understand that you wanted to go back to stock, but that design of the pop top sure was interesting too.
That is a LOT of welding in a pig panel like the roof. you also cosed the vent lid, obviously. did you hammer and dolly that back into shape ? well done !

Tue May 20, 2014 1:37 am

joe56vw wrote: busbarn wrote: hi,

[img]

what's going on with the gas tank and spare tire space? some kind of custom thing from the PO?

Yes, that's ritght. I think the the PO wanted to get more space to luggage. Another thing I have to change.

[URL=http://s37.photobucket.com/user/oldbikes1/media/matilde/DSC00079_zpse0d5b2ed.jpg.html]

Tue May 20, 2014 1:58 am

djfordmanjack wrote: Wow, that top was cool somehow. Anyways, understand that you wanted to go back to stock, but that design of the pop top sure was interesting too.
That is a LOT of welding in a pig panel like the roof. you also cosed the vent lid, obviously. did you hammer and dolly that back into shape ? well done !

Actually the welding process was very painful. :oops: I had to cut small sections first, weld a spot, hammer it and so on. I'm not a professional so I had to learn through the process. :) The roof is not finished yet, there's still a lot of work to do.

Thu Nov 27, 2014 11:59 am

Some repairs I have to do

A new section made

First attempt to put everything together :D

Thu Nov 27, 2014 2:11 pm

Almost there..

Sat Feb 14, 2015 6:47 pm

busbarn wrote: Almost there..

Any new updates Busbarn?

Would love to see some updated photos!

Keep up the hard work

Sun Feb 15, 2015 3:08 pm

Nothing new to report.
The bus is still at the painter's waiting... :?
I miss it already.
I think I'm going to rescue her next week and paint it myself. :D

Sun Feb 15, 2015 3:23 pm

My bus , more than 20 years ago :D

Sun Feb 15, 2015 7:24 pm

busbarn wrote: Nothing new to report.
The bus is still at the painter's waiting... :?
I miss it already.
I think I'm going to rescue her next week and paint it myself. :D

Please post pics when you get it back from the painters :D

Also- That's rad that you found pics of it from back in the day! I like the leopard pattern seat cover. Please tell me you kept them?!?!

Sun Feb 15, 2015 8:37 pm

norman wrote:
Also- That's rad that you found pics of it from back in the day! I like the leopard pattern seat cover. Please tell me you kept them?!?!

that would be an awkward looking leopard with that pattern :)

Mon Feb 16, 2015 5:33 am

that would be an awkward looking leopard with that pattern Smile

At least the seats were faster than the bus :D

I really don't understand what is happening in Portugal. We are facing a serious economical crisis with huge unemployment numbers and on the other side... :?
This is the second workshop that after a previous agreement and months of storage refuses to paint the bus. Is my bus so difficult to paint?

Mon Feb 16, 2015 11:29 am

Looking Sharp

Tue Feb 17, 2015 9:28 am

I hear your frustration in getting body work/painting done in Europe. There has been some sort of breakdown in providing those services that I also don't understand considering the unemployment. I have heard similar stories from classic car folks here. Maybe the new car repair mentality (snap in a new panel) has made older projects less appealing? In Italy most cars have the corners damaged, they don't seem to get repaired. Throw-away mentality?? It's odd.