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Recommend a NW body man? Frame shop?
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ronnie
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PostPosted: Mon Jan 16, 2006 7:16 pm    Post subject: Recommend a NW body man? Frame shop? Reply with quote

I'm hoping to get some body work done on my westy in time for some summer travel. Can anyone recommed a good quality minded body man, preferably in Oregon, or at least the NW?

The whole nose skin, lower part of the windshield post and dash will need to be replaced. The A pilars were twisted in at dash level, and while the doors still work ok, the gaps need a lot of help. I plan to keep this bus, and I want it all to look factory when it's done. I don't want to have to look at it for the next 30 years and wish I'd used a different guy.

Should I have a frame shop pull the A pillars/dash back into place first, or leave it all to a body man?

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I'd also like to get the wheel wells fixed
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and the engine bay hacks from the 356 engine install cleaned up.
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VintageVulture
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PostPosted: Mon Jan 16, 2006 11:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ouch- this topic might get better attention in the body section... Are you the guy that wanted my 56 singlecab @ stock height???

If you have the frame pulled PROFESSIONALLY first you may find a lot of the inner jam and pillar areas ease back into shape... I did a 65 doublecab two years ago that was ditched nose first... The doors were almost gull-wing status! I had a frame shop pull it, using my 56 single as the template! Then I could proceed with the damage/dent repair. It turned out stellar. ( but was definitely not for the novice bodyman.

I have a complete nose section in og paint from a 66'ish bus sitting at the shop right now. If you want it, come get it... I can't take it with me to KANSAS. There is a nice dash in it too. You will need at least the whole noseskin for a repair on that bus!

I might be the bodyman you want to talk to. Give a call! 360-752-9523. I can at least answer your questions!

Ryan
Bellingham, WA
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bastardbus
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PostPosted: Tue Jan 17, 2006 1:03 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I put in many years in body shops, as manager and owning my own for a while. Still do it on my own now. From what I have expierienced frame pulling is great for straightening frames and stronger structural stuff when absolutely needed. Thing you have to worry about with frame pulling is your vechile being in the hands of a straight collision guy not a restoration person. Some folks will not care what things look like udnerneath, in jambs ect usually. Their main concren is to bring certain main reference points back into alignment but this can be at cost of other areas of cosmetic concern to a restoration.

Have the bus set up and checked at a frame shop. If there is no frame problems. Then I would do a cut and replace the damage not a pull and pound. We used to clip entire rear halves of vehicles all the time and it can be done seamless with some basic care.

Good luck and make sure who ever does it takes lots pics, I would love to see the job.
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ronnie
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PostPosted: Tue Jan 17, 2006 9:40 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Short'sEuroCustom wrote:

I have a complete nose section in og paint from a 66'ish bus sitting at the shop right now. If you want it, come get it... I can't take it with me to KANSAS. There is a nice dash in it too. You will need at least the whole noseskin for a repair on that bus!


Hi Ryan, same Ronnie. This is the westy I mentioned needing some body work in our e-mails. I had considered asking you about it, I'll give you a call, it may not be until Wed. when I get off of work. I'm also interested in that nose, I'll definetly need one.

bastardbus wrote:
Thing you have to worry about with frame pulling is your vechile being in the hands of a straight collision guy not a restoration person. Some folks will not care what things look like udnerneath, in jambs ect usually. Their main concren is to bring certain main reference points back into alignment but this can be at cost of other areas of cosmetic concern to a restoration.

Have the bus set up and checked at a frame shop. If there is no frame problems. Then I would do a cut and replace the damage not a pull and pound. We used to clip entire rear halves of vehicles all the time and it can be done seamless with some basic care.
.


I'm hesitant to cut out the pillars unless it has to be done to make it right. That said, the jambs etc. are definitely important to me. I'm going to use this bus as it was made to be used, but I could see it being restored in the future, and I want the metal done right the first time.

This one wasn't in your typical accident, The previous owner had been up a few days, and backed a heavy equipment trailer into it at low speeds. He was in an altered state of consciousness, and didn't even know he hit it until he got out.

If there's any damage to the main frame it would likely be around the steering box(the column is bent way back, I had to pull the seat back out to get my fat ass in there to steer). The a pillar damage is from the dash being pushed in so far. Doesn't seem like they're that bad, since the doors still open and close ok. I'll post some more photos of the damage wed.
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Lind
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PostPosted: Tue Jan 17, 2006 9:52 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

ronnie wrote:
This one wasn't in your typical accident, The previous owner had been up a few days, and backed a heavy equipment trailer into it at low speeds. He was in an altered state of consciousness, and didn't even know he hit it until he got out.

so he was high on crank?

I would recomend having the original nose pushed into place as well as possible, then remove the simple nose skin (no pillars, etc) and replace it with an original paint unit that matches and just blend in the edges where you have it welded on. you will know how possible this is when it is pushed back into relative place and you can see what remains bent.

on my '58 standard, it had the nose replaced at some point and they bodyworked the dash and it is all coming up and it looks like hell. I am going to have to replace the entire nose/A-pillars/dash, but I have an original paint unit to do it with. hopefully it will be hard to tell that it has been replaced once it is done.
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VWBobby
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PostPosted: Tue Jan 17, 2006 10:06 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hi Ronnie,

Beware of some "expert" shops in Portland who claim to have 35+ years experience and countless awards for autobody reconstruction... My father had his '58 in recently to have some of the cross members pulled and aligned. He wanted the chassis pulled square. They did a poor job, to say the least. Lots of distortion and a peice of angle iron was welded to the bottom of the front cross member.

Another thing you might want to watch out for is "line shops" that don't do restoration quality work. Some use a sandwhich type body clamp that deforms the panel underneeth it. We had a Fastback that needed pulling on the engine compartment. We were left with nice round circle indentations where the clamps were used. They also drilled a few large holes and tacked in some overlapped patches to cover the holes?! Rolling Eyes

A lot can be done with a Porta-Power and careful measurements. I had a lot of work to do on my roof section. It looks like a tree had landed on the side at one point. (you can see pics on my website)

You can use the dimensions listed on Vintagebus.com or measure another bus to make sure everything is aligned as you work. Let me know if you need any help...!
-Bobby
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ronnie
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PostPosted: Tue Jan 17, 2006 10:07 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Lind wrote:

so he was high on crank?

I would recomend having the original nose pushed into place as well as possible, then remove the simple nose skin (no pillars, etc) and replace it with an original paint unit that matches and just blend in the edges where you have it welded on. you will know how possible this is when it is pushed back into relative place and you can see what remains bent.

on my '58 standard, it had the nose replaced at some point and they bodyworked the dash and it is all coming up and it looks like hell. I am going to have to replace the entire nose/A-pillars/dash, but I have an original paint unit to do it with. hopefully it will be hard to tell that it has been replaced once it is done.


lol, i think he had a nice cocktail going. Truly a different guy, it was interesting getting to know him while I pursued the buses.

while i would love to have an og paint nose, it's more important to me to use the bus this summer, so it's not likely to happen. i'll need some dash work as well, probably just a whole new dash really.

VWBobby wrote:
Hi Ronnie,

Beware of some "expert" shops in Portland who claim to have 35+ years experience and countless awards for autobody reconstruction... My father had his '58 in recently to have some of the cross members pulled and aligned. He wanted the chassis pulled square. They did a poor job, to say the least. Lots of distortion and a peice of angle iron was welded to the bottom of the front cross member.

Another thing you might want to watch out for is "line shops" that don't do restoration quality work. Some use a sandwhich type body clamp that deforms the panel underneeth it. We had a Fastback that needed pulling on the engine compartment. We were left with nice round circle indentations where the clamps were used. They also drilled a few large holes and tacked in some overlapped patches to cover the holes?! Rolling Eyes

-Bobby


I definetly won't be just dropping this one off and hoping for the best, the hardest part of this for me is leaving my bus with someone else. I hate to think what might happen if I came back and found scrap metal welded to my bus and random holes drilled in it.
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Lind
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PostPosted: Tue Jan 17, 2006 10:14 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

ronnie wrote:
Lind wrote:

I would recomend having the original nose pushed into place as well as possible, then remove the simple nose skin (no pillars, etc) and replace it with an original paint unit that matches and just blend in the edges where you have it welded on. you will know how possible this is when it is pushed back into relative place and you can see what remains bent.
while i would love to have an og paint nose, it's more important to me to use the bus this summer, so it's not likely to happen. i'll need some dash work as well, probably just a whole new dash really.
I would recomend pushing it out first, then seeing what needs replaced. (of course I have,'t seen it in person to know exactly how bad it is) if you absolutely have to replace the dash, then I would recomend doing it as a whole clip with the A-pillars and the nose. it only attaches in a few points: window posts, doglegs and frame horns. it wouldn't hurt to start looking for and OG paint nose, as that bus is certainly deserving of one.
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ronnie
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PostPosted: Tue Jan 17, 2006 10:43 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Lind wrote:
ronnie wrote:
while i would love to have an og paint nose, it's more important to me to use the bus this summer, so it's not likely to happen. i'll need some dash work as well, probably just a whole new dash really.
I would recomend pushing it out first, then seeing what needs replaced. (of course I have,'t seen it in person to know exactly how bad it is) if you absolutely have to replace the dash, then I would recomend doing it as a whole clip with the A-pillars and the nose. it only attaches in a few points: window posts, doglegs and frame horns. it wouldn't hurt to start looking for and OG paint nose, as that bus is certainly deserving of one.


I've been on the look out for one, but time and transport are an issue. To my untrained eye, the dash looks like it's in need of complete replacement. The damage is definetly more than skin deep. I've seen some people work miricals with metal, so I guess anything is possible, but it looks pretty bad to me. I'm going to post some more photos tomorrow when I get home form work.
I'm really leaning torward a total exterior respray on this one. At least a third of the bus will be repainted.
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ronnie
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PostPosted: Tue Jan 24, 2006 11:14 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

My appologies to the few of you who were waiting on photos, I've been pretty sick, and just wasn't up to it until now.

It has been suggested by a few folks that in the interest of actually being able to take this bus on the road this summer I try to get the nose pulled back into the basic shape so the bus is functional and do a permanant repair later. I had considered doing this originally but didn't know if it was really a viable option(I don't want to spend the cost of a permanant repair for a temporary fix). It looks terrible to me, but I'll be the first to admit I don't know squat about body repair. I'd love to get the opinions of some people who do.

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My main concern would be getting the dash back in place, the windshield opening true enough to get glass in, and the the front doors working a little better. I'd put a bra on the front, so the nose would just need to be the basic shape. The frame doesn't seem to have any damage at all, and the floor just has a little ding at the leading edge on either side of the heater tube.
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nlorntson
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PostPosted: Tue Jan 24, 2006 3:46 pm    Post subject: Frame Shops Reply with quote

As the owner of a pure frame and alignment shop (no painting) with over 30 years of frame experience, a couple of pieces of advice for you:

First, do not cut anything apart before the bus goes to the frame shop. We are able to save entire panels from being replaced just by relieving pressure from the hit. Often they walk right out.

Second, leave all the panels, doors, etc. intact so we can see the flow of the damage. That will help a good frame man to plot his course of action and reverse the damage.

As was said in an earlier post, shops that do not specialize in frame work are often only concerned about the external, cosmetic result, leaving damage and structural weakness behind.

I can't tell you how many times we get a vehicle in our shop for a wheel alignment from a body shop that has "done the frame work," painted and reassembled the car. The door gaps suck, the hood doesn't fit, and often the suspension is pushed back so badley we cannot even align it. But damn...that paint job looks great! Rolling Eyes

Do it right. If a good frame shop can get their hands on a vehicle (any vehicle) before it is disassembled, pre-pulled or cut apart, we can do a lot of repair.

Our shop is in MN: www.precisionframe.com

Call if you need any advice.
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