TheSamba.com :: View topic - 1960 SO23 Westy

Mon Apr 15, 2019 12:08 pm

Thanks for catching the angles, the rotisserie has been fixed.

Tue Apr 16, 2019 4:34 pm

The bottoms of the cargo doors are getting some much needed attention.

Wed Apr 17, 2019 6:38 am

Nice Neil!
Looking forward to see it finished!

Wed Apr 17, 2019 12:59 pm

Thanks Xavi, me too.
After I finished my '58, I told myself that I'd never restore another bus, and yet here i am. This is the last one I'm restoring.

Anyway, the rear cargo door bottom has been tended to. The outer skin couldn't be saved, but the replacement was pretty minimal.

And Oliver has already moved onto the front door bottoms.

For those that are curious, the pasty stuff is a rust treatment that is coated on the panels after they are cleaned of rust. It turns black once any residual rust has been converted.

Look for another update soon.

Wed Apr 17, 2019 2:09 pm

Having done all this I'm having exhaustion flashbacks looking at these pictures.
It's all looking great!

Wed Apr 17, 2019 3:26 pm

Thanks for the kind comments, Dan. It is now 12 years after my 58 was painted, so I guess I forgot about the hardships of restoring a bus. No wonder why people ask crazy money for them...

The passenger front door bottom is just about done and fortunately the outer skin was solid, so only the inner structure needed to be replaced.

Tue Apr 23, 2019 5:41 pm

A bit more progress on the metal replacement.

I like this patch, because I formed it from a flat piece of the engine bay decking the last time I was in NC working on the bus. The curve I put in it was a perfect match to the curve in the seat stand.

Even more exciting, is that Oliver said that he and his crew would start prepping the body for paint later this week.

Thu Apr 25, 2019 4:22 am

And yet more derusting....

It has been 12 years since my '58 was painted, so I must have forgotten how in depth a bus restoration can get, and quickly. Fortunately, we are getting best the end.

Thu Apr 25, 2019 4:09 pm

Pushing towards the goal...

Drivers door replacement metal is done.

Thu May 02, 2019 11:16 am

Soooo.... any updates? Mr. "I'll just freshen it up and roll it with patina?"

Thu May 02, 2019 4:13 pm

KWZ wrote: Soooo.... any updates? Mr. "I'll just freshen it up and roll it with patina?"

No big updates to speak of, Kent, just a little sanding because the paint was way too thin to save and more metal had to be replaced than expected.

If you want to see boring sanding pictures, here are a few.

Thu May 02, 2019 8:55 pm

KWZ wrote: Soooo.... any updates? Mr. "I'll just freshen it up and roll it with patina?"
Oohhh, BURN!
Loving the pix, Neil.

Fri May 03, 2019 12:43 pm

Wow, the Pickett-Looker Patina Monster is shaping up nicely. :lol: I guess it's time just shoot it with clear and photograph it with a tiki-crowd bikini chick with neck tattoos....

Fri May 03, 2019 4:18 pm

A bit more stripping...

If it looks this good in bare metal, I can't wait to see it in paint, or better yet, assembled and driving.

Fri May 03, 2019 4:28 pm

npbusguy wrote: KWZ wrote: Soooo.... any updates? Mr. "I'll just freshen it up and roll it with patina?"

No big updates to speak of, Kent, just a little sanding because the paint was way too thin to save and more metal had to be replaced than expected.

If you want to see boring sanding pictures, here are a few.

This. I wish I had have masked off my ‘62 DC’s headlight when I repainted...dumb kid haha. Now, I plan to mask off the “ L.Grau” on my ‘59 SC. Very cool and yours has great color and survived well!

Wed May 15, 2019 6:48 pm

There has been a whole lot of blasting, sanding, smoothing and priming going on, so much so that it is beginning to look like a bus again.

Wed May 15, 2019 6:53 pm

Oh yeah, the bottom is painted. Well, mostly painted... :wink:

Wed May 15, 2019 6:54 pm

Now the real fun begins...sanding, sanding, and more sanding.

Mon May 20, 2019 4:34 am

Lots of progress on the bus last week, including body prep

Oliver is scanning the westy brown so we can mix up a batch and brush it on.

Randy Crawley from Kansas really saved me buy whipping up a batch of the hatch roof bows and personally delivering them to NC. Can't thank this great guy enough for this.

The bus made its way into the paint both for a fog of color underneath

I even managed to take the gun and spray some paint to replicate the factory overspray

Some parts going in...

I got this wonderful bulkhead panel set from Lind. Talk about a wonderful addition to this bus and I'm forever grateful for all the help friends are offering.

Seat frames are prepped

I went back into the booth and painted the splash pan and gas tank.

Yup, that will be just fine

The Christmas tree has lots of ornaments on it.

More updates next week.

Mon May 20, 2019 5:37 am

Lookin good!

Some of your front axle beam lock plates are not installed in the correct orientation.