78 Westfalia project

[typ914]

This my new project 1978 Westfalia camper. Has some typical rust around the windows and few other places, nothing too serious. Mostly complete but the cabinets do have some rot. The tent needs replacing and the fiberglass top has crack that needs repairing. The engine needs to be rebuilt, I would love to do a Subaru conversion but it is just not in the budget. For those tracking costs $3200. I will be asking questions and seeking a lot of advice in the near future!

[Jetfxr69]

looks very typical with the bat tray rot and other places. did you find it in georgia? If so, i imagine the frame is in great shape if it lived its life in GA. My 77 is a GA bus, and although its got some body rot, (similar to yours), the frame is solid. Has a nice coating of red clay on it still. sort of a natural undercoating.

nice find. thats a good start price for a repairable camper. dont hesitate to gut the interior for a full clean and repaint. do NOT mess with trying to live with mold. You will be amazed at the places you find it as you begin disassembly.

good luck and keep posting progress. cheers.
_________________
You can't be a real country unless you have a beer and an airline. It helps if you have some kind of a football team, or some nuclear weapons, but at the very least you need a beer. Zappa

‘77 westy Seamus
‘76 tintop Crusher
‘77 westy The Judge
‘72 tintop bastard westy Hudson

[typ914]

From what I can tell it has lived most of its life in Georgia with some time in Florida. Frame is in great shape! I have already removed most of the interior and yes found mold in a few places I wasn’t expecting.

[Jetfxr69]

the seat upholstry is polyester and VERY tuff stuff. I pulled the staples out and removed the covers for cleaning. A couple 5 gallon bucket soaks of TSP and then through the washing machine twice, and they came out looking like new.

wasnt expecting to find this however,

Now glad i stripped the covers off. They were in descent shape so i was just gonna try and clean in place. would have missed this lurking below.
_________________
You can't be a real country unless you have a beer and an airline. It helps if you have some kind of a football team, or some nuclear weapons, but at the very least you need a beer. Zappa

‘77 westy Seamus
‘76 tintop Crusher
‘77 westy The Judge
‘72 tintop bastard westy Hudson

[typ914]

Did you soak the fabric in TSP? I haven’t thought about that.

[Jetfxr69]

yes. in a 5 gallon bucket with a cup of TSP and some dawn. water turned black. soaked em twice and then machine washed twice.

_________________
You can't be a real country unless you have a beer and an airline. It helps if you have some kind of a football team, or some nuclear weapons, but at the very least you need a beer. Zappa

‘77 westy Seamus
‘76 tintop Crusher
‘77 westy The Judge
‘72 tintop bastard westy Hudson

[typ914]

Quick project update. Removed the interior and the pop top. Finally had a dry day and was able to pull it out of the garage and give it a good wash. There was a lot of mold. Scrubbed the cabinets and parts down as I took them out of the bus. Started to soak the cloth pieces in TSP. The first batch look good. The pop top and cabinets going to my shop to be stored until I can work on them at later date.

[Jetfxr69]

great start. good idea to strip down to the bone. now you can treat the floor as needed and re-stack/pack the interior one clean piece at a time. its a time consuming undertaking, but will pay dividends in fun and good times later. bravo
_________________
You can't be a real country unless you have a beer and an airline. It helps if you have some kind of a football team, or some nuclear weapons, but at the very least you need a beer. Zappa

‘77 westy Seamus
‘76 tintop Crusher
‘77 westy The Judge
‘72 tintop bastard westy Hudson

[obieoberstar]

looks like your bus was fitted with the gasoline heater option based on the fresh air duct under the rear seat. very nice to have in cool weather.

good looking project.