eche_bus: 1976 Westfalia Deluxe Camper

[eche_bus]

With the dash work out of the way, I've been focused on cleaning up the seat pedestals in preparation to replace the dry-rotted mats. A P.O. used some kind of super-elastic glue that's made a real job of removal.

Now that the wheels are repainted and tires mounted and balanced, when the acetone fumes got to be too much, I took a break by finishing up on the hubcaps.

Last fall they looked like this:

The chrome on the backside of several of the hubcaps had broken down and even started peeling in places, exposing plenty of rusty steel The first thing I had to do was to grind down the loose and raised mixture of chrome and rust. I didn't want to risk damage to the front chrome by using any acids, so masked off the fronts and sides and sprayed the prepared area with Rustoleum Rust Reformer. After that had dried for 24 hrs., I hit them with some grey enamel paint I had sitting around. The result isn't going to win any beauty contests, but it's the back of a hubcap. Importantly, all the loose stuff has been removed so what remains is solid and sealed.

The front sides were't awful, but the "haze" that looked like wax or dirt residue around the VW logos were in fact some sort of oxidization and didn't want to come off. Removing it required using chrome polish with Dremel polishing tools of various sizes ... actually quite a bit of work!

The results were worth the effort. There's a few minor dimples and swirl scratches that won't buff out. They won't be confused for NOS or rechromed hubcaps, but are plenty good for this to-be-driven-and-camped-in bus!

Quite a transformation, don't you think?

It feels good to check another small project off the list.

[Stuartzickefoose]

Love those hubcaps! they look GREAT!
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Stuart Zickefoose

2011 Jetta Sportwagen TDi 6 speed manual

206-841-7324
[email protected]

[eche_bus]

Thanks, Stuart. They seemed like they'd clean up OK but when the oxidization would come off from hand polishing I got to worrying. If they were stainless instead of chrome plated, they'd be easy to deal with but chrome is another animal altogether as once the surface chrome is damaged there isn't much you can do but strip and rechrome. What a relief to see it didn't need to come to that, but that also meant I had no way to take out small dings here and there. Still, plenty good for a camper meant to be used (someday )!

Procrastinated on the seat pedestal work tonight and filled in by working to fix big screw holes on the front left over from removing the spare tire bracket. Without repainting the whole front, I can't do it the way it should be done. The lack of access to the backside of the metal seriously reduced options for now. However, I figured out a creative solution that should seal the holes properly, won't look too bad, and allows mounting the VW logo using original hardware. Photos on completion.

[eche_bus]

It's been a good long while since I update this thread. Been waiting to have something worth showing. There's been a lot of backward steps for every few forward ones, and at times I feel like I'm just "pissing into the ocean" or "pedaling against a hurricane". You can pick your own catchy phrase, as long as it means "working real hard and little to show for it".

I'll start with the little things and work forward from there.

Back some months ago I'd pulled off the ugly spare tire hanging off the nose. I understand the utility, just don't want it there on this Westy. Trouble was, those big 'ol self-tapping screws and reinforcing inserts made a pretty good mess of things.

Now, if we were planning to repaint this bus anytime soon, it'd be no big deal to weld up the big holes, drill little ones to mount the logo, and we'd be all set. Nope. Needed something that works with what we have to work with now.

Simply put, I drilled/ground flat the tortured holes that previously supported the heavy bracket, then plugged them with plastic plugs sealed with auto body sealer.

Once the sealer was dry, I cleaned everything up, primed and touch-up painted the plugs, and it was ready to install the VW logo. The result is far from perfect, but I made the best with what I had to work with for now.

Good enuf?

[eche_bus]

The rear bench seat looked good from the outside. The inside was another matter. It had to come out.

Here's a look at the sad state of affairs once it was torn down a little and the process of bagging hardware began. I'll be returning in another post to show how this area was cleaned up and partially restored.

How did things look back in the bus where the seat once sat? Like 37 years of accumulated crap, that's how!

As the seat was the last piece of cabinetry sitting on the carpet, let's pull the carpet and see how things are doing down there. Subfloor actually looks pretty good!

And below? Lots of dirt and scum. Won't really know 'til it's cleaned what the metal is like.

After a thorough vacuuming, I scrubbed the floor with 409, followed by a wash with bleach/water to kill any "rodental remants". The only rust I found was at the surface where the paint had broken down in places. Not even any pinholes. Every place that wasn't good green paint, I hit with black Chassis Saver, a POR-15-like rust neutralizing/encapsulating paint. As you can see, the metal was in very good shape!

[Stuartzickefoose]

wish i had the time are patience to make my bus as nice as yours. keep up that awesome work, it looks fantastic!
_________________
Stuart Zickefoose

2011 Jetta Sportwagen TDi 6 speed manual

206-841-7324
[email protected]

[eche_bus]

The OG seat pedestal coverings were long past their expiration date. The driver side wasn't in terrible condition, but the photo shows its most photogenic side.

Looking underneath showed all those years of accumulated crud, dying to get out one way or another. Shouldn't be too hard to clean up, though.

Over on the passenger side, let's pull the Lazy Susan (she's so tired now) and see how things look.

The passenger side could be worse, as long as you overlooked the completely missing storage area cover and a few other "details".

It was under the passenger side cover that pure, black evil lurked. Silicone glue, lots and lots and lots of it, now displayed in all it's solvent-resistant glory!

Once all the old material was pulled off and tucked away for reference, it was time to begin the task of removing the old glue.

The driver side was really not too hard to clean up. That passenger side was hours and hours of my life thrown away to never return. I will not recount the experience ... it's just too painful.

Once the old glue was mostly removed, the pedestals were wiped down with wax and grease remover, then scuffed with a Scotch-brite pad in critical glue areas. The new mats (except for where foam was glued) were cleaned with acetone and scuffed in the same fashion to promote glue adhesion. I used DAP contact cement as an adhesive. You won't see any photos of us gluing the mats as even with two people, there usually aren't enough free hands to operate a camera. The gluing is a bitch of a job, one I hope not to repeat for a good, long while.

Results (hey, Lazy Susan doesn't look tired anymore!):

Seats both installed. Now it looks like we're getting somewhere!

Or does it? The door panels are off, the entire guts of the driver door is out, and the rear area is now an empty metal hull! So much work to do.

[AB westy nut]

Great job! Keep up the good work.
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1963 Ruby Red 356 Cabriolet
1976 Sage Green Westfalia Deluxe

[notchboy]

Well played sir. Love the new - new look And that nose job was very nice as well.

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[eche_bus]

... and on that note, I'll just add this and shut up for the night.

Does this job look familiar?

Yep, I've started the front door overhaul task. First time ever and couldn't do it without the great help that is to be found here and over at IAC and Ratwell websites. Wing window removal really wasn't that hard! (I'm sure the bus will make up for that elsewhere in the doors).

No guts, but cleaned up, the door does look real perty (If you overlook the hole the PO hacked in the door frame - although no real harm done). It's not cosmetic - the door needs to be clean when the new foam and water seals are glued on.

Once again, I was surprised on the upside by the condition of the metal in this bus. I've inspected both doors inside now and there is no rust-through of any kind, not even real corrosion, only light surface rust that will be neutralized. I knew the LH door had some body filler in the lower left front side (always bring a refrigerator magnet when you go to buy a car!), and feared the worst. I found only a series of small holes drilled in a row with hardened filler squeezed through, very likely as part of a dent repair. The dent work must have been done well, as inside the door showed little to no distortion and it's not visible from the outside at all (if you don't count the fact they didn't really match the color, that is).

Will update over the next week or so with photos from the door project. I've run into a few surprise parts issues that have delayed things.

Thanks very much to all who've posted tonight with moral support. I really appreciate it and it helps make what can be a whole lot of "not real fun" a lot more tolerable.

[Westfabulous]

Looking good Jon! As Dad always said, "Any job worth doing, is worth doing right". Or....."Any job worth doing is worth doing twice". You are doing a fine job.
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"I will gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today."

[hoagy86]

nice work just seen the updates, that looks great all cleaned up

[poptop tom]

Looking good!
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'76 Deluxe Campmobile

[DaleNW]

Fantastic work AND documentation! I'm really imposed with the seats. That's one of the next projects for my bus. I installed a set of vanagon seats, but they are just temporary. My original seats need some work (at least one of them has a broken spring.)
You just made the job seem worth doing!

Thanks for the floor info, too!
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'78 Deluxe Westy - Loose Lucy (where I rest peacefully)
'77 Transporter (may it rest in peace)

[EmileN]

Really enjoying your postings and seeing all the hard work your putting into the bus! I appreciate how you manage to get the right finishes and OEM look to all the restorations. This is very awesome because I am in process of figuring out what jobs to attack on my bus, which I got from my dad the original owner. I can see that keeping and restoring as much of the OEM parts is the way to go, and not get lulled into replacing with poor quality repos.

Seeing your work is very inspiring and helps me see how projects can be accomplished one at a time.

Thanks for all the great write ups and pictures, looking forward to the rest!

[eche_bus]

Thank you again to all for all the posts of support. It's been quite a while again since I've updated progress here, and it's not been for lack of wanting to. It's because *everything*has*been*going*so*wrong*.

OK, not everything. Progress is being made. But seriously, its been pretty darn rough. The pattern has been: start refurbishing an assembly, run into some sort of parts issue, order unexpected parts, start refurbishing another assembly, run into some sort of parts issue ... well, you get the idea. Before long, nothing is getting completed and a whole lot of stuff is sitting torn apart.

Oh, it hasn't been all bad/wrong parts either. No, sometimes it's been bad/wrong services and here's the latest story:

In an earlier post you can see that I pulled the rear seat box and removed all the components from the box floor. The box floor had been seriously stained by someone spilling oil on it and it had years to soak in. I decided it wasn't worth the risk to the perfect laminate and side wood to attempt removal (it's stapled and glued in places). After soaking the base in a variety of solvents, then sanding and varnishing, it didn't look half bad and it was now clean and oil-free at the very least.

So far so good.

Most all of the metal brackets used in the rear seat box are unpainted galvanized steel. Westfalia used this all over the place. It's not bad stuff, but when the plating breaks down it rusts, and at a point no amount of polishing is going to make it look better. Here's a photo of many of the galvanized parts:

In the photo they look pretty good, but in person you could see there were numerous rusty spots. Some of these brackets were in relatively high visibility places, so I get the "bright" idea to find a place that can replate them. From internet research I conclude that in order to duplicate the original finish I must use a process known as "hot dipped galvanizing". And so I find a hot dip galvanizer, send all the parts to them, and wait for 4+ weeks.

When the parts return, I am excited to finish re-assembling the rear seat box... until I take a look at my newly replated parts.

They are awful.

I am not smiling.

Despite being acid-stripped to bare steel prior to plating, despite including a letter asking for a finish similar to original, despite the platers claim to be able to even do small threaded parts, my parts are coated in thick, goopy, drippy, saggy, uneven zinc. I contact the plater, am asked for photos, and are then told "this is normal for hot dipped galvanizing". I negotiate a full refund and free re-stripping back to bare oiled steel and am now waiting for the stripped parts to ship back to me. 6 weeks wasted.

If any one reading this has experience with re-galvanizing steel, I would like to hear from you.
Seriously. I need restoration help here.

[eche_bus]

While all that re-galvanizing nonsense was going on, I took care of a couple of very small details.

The sliding door interior hinge cover was yellowed and dingy from its 36 years of life on earth. The "before" photo is pretty crappy, but you get the idea:

The outside was very yellowed and cleaning it didn't help. Inside the part appeared to be the original color, and I found a close match in Rustoleum Plastic spray can paint 211364 Shell White.
Looks nice and new now:

On to the next dingy trim. This is the thin white plastic trim that runs vertically just back of each front seat. Scrubbed it with a toothbrush and kitchen surface cleaner to get the bulk of dirt off it. Then applied/scrubbed in "Westley's Bleche-Wite", the stuff you use to whiten whitewall or raised white letter tires, and rinsed off.
Top piece is before cleaning, bottom after:

The plastic tips that finish off the trim were also really discolored, but again the inside appeared to still be the original off-white color. Same Rustoleum Shell White was a good match and had them looking like new again.
Here's the "new" trim and caps installed:

Silly little things, but getting rid of signs of age is the goal.

[eche_bus]

Now, back to that LH door overhaul started so many weeks ago.

The LH door would open easily from the outside. Inside, I would have to put my shoulder into it to get it to let me out. Removing and inspecting the latch assembly explained it:

The latch at the top is the original. Everything is pretty dark and dirty, but one shiny bit stands out. That's the metal peeled back from the slot involved in unlatching from the inside. Could be welded - I don't weld and it's a lot cheaper to buy another latch. Used OG latch is at the bottom, shown after degreasing. Oiled up and regreased, good as new!

With the vent wing on the bench, I got a good look at things. The vent (wing) window seals were falling apart. I'd been told not to replace the vertical seal, as the repros didn't fit right but that wasn't going to be an option. Rust looked worse than it turned out to be - just surface with no major pitting. A few more years and a little more moisture would be another thing.

After plenty of time stripping the old seals off, removing glue residue from the felt channel, and sanding down the rust, I shot it with a good coat of Rustoleum Rust Reformer rust converter/primer. Topped off with 2 light coats of satin black enamel. Here it is hanging in my "professional spray booth" I use for spray can paint in the basement shop:

There was a haze on the external part of the vertical trim that couldn't be polished out. The "Brite-dip" coating was too far gone and had to be sanded off, then the aluminum polished with a buffer using various compounds for a shiny finish. Note: I didn't spend any time on polishing the parts that are hidden once installed.

I was very careful to install all the new seals properly using guidelines from the IAC website (thanks Amskeptic!). Decided to coat them with talcum powder instead of dish soap as some have recommended. This really worked well. Once the new seals were installed, I installed the glass, greased the pivot rod, and installed a new upper pivot rivet. The glass fit fairly tightly, but I was able to close it without much problem. All seals came from Bus Depot. I am happy with the result :

[eche_bus]

With the vent window assembled, I cleaned and lubed the window regulator, and it was time to get back to work on putting things back together. I learned a thing or two I'd like to pass on:

Do not follow the IAC website's instruction order when putting the late bay door back together. It is very well written, but it is for earlier models.

The correct order of assembly for a late bay is outer scraper, window glass, window regulator, vent window, inner scraper, window felt. The order of glass, regulator, vent window is the critical thing. Deviate and pay the price of doing it again as you'll find you can't actually fit things. It is an extremely unforgiving assembly. Do it wrong, it will crush your soul. Do it right and it's not that hard.

Also I learned that to install the felt channel that surrounds the window it was necessary to install the glass onto the regulator, make sure the glass front edge was inserted into the vent window felt, and then roll it slightly up above the scraper rubber. Next I had to slide a few inches of the bottom end of the felt down onto the rear edge of the window. I tried first by installing the felt entirely in the channel, with the window sitting loose at the bottom of the door. I then found I could not get the window into the felt channel as the channel would push away from the window into a blind corner as I would try. By installing the glass first, and sliding the felt channel down over the exposed glass edge, this will be avoided. Please feel free to PM or post here if I'm not making sense.

Oh yeah, tighten the vent window pivot friction adjustment before you install the vent window. That bolt ain't easy to get to.

The best outer scrapers from Bus Depot are thin compared with originals, but did fit reasonably well. They have the "hockey stick" shaped end on the rubber, but the tip is more squared-off, not tapered as original and leaves a small gap at the rear where they should join the felt edge. I used NOS OG inner scrapers, but am not impressed by them. Honestly, the design of many parts of the door assembly just reeks of someone trying to save a buck, not create quality. I hope the accountants were happy.

Still, the results are pretty satisfying. Soft new seals, latch that works well, vent window that opens and closes, smooth rolling glass ...

... shiny trim!

[/b]

[curtis4085]

Looking great!!

What color manufacture did you use for your wheel paint? Powder? Rattle can?
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