74 Westy Restoration

[Busman1985]

[Busman1985]

Well I pulled the windshield Sunday to see just how bad the rust problem was and just as I figure it was pretty bad. I've already planned on buying a whole front nose, so no biggie. Still working on removing the dogleg on the driver side and cut out some rust holes in the front wheel well and door jam.

The lower corners of the nose

[wcfvw69]

Good call on simply changing the whole front nose panel. It will probably be faster to do that vs. cutting in replacement metal on the windshield ledge and the bottom 6". I bet you will also see lots of rust internally at the bottom of the nose as well.

I hope you document taking the old one off and your findings as you go to install the new nose panel.
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[Busman1985]

[MorkC68]

Looking at the rust showing at the bottom of the front panel, you may be better off swapping the whole nose, as you have mentioned.

That way you will be able to ensure the donor will be nice and prepped well before fitting. We've done a couple of front panels now & I must admit the can be daunting, especially as you don't know what lurks out of sight!

Our westy had a crumpled air box assembly from a shunt before we bought it. We took our time, measured, measured and measured again before welding everything back in place!
_________________
Major; 1977 Westfalia Campmobile
- Subaru EJ20
- Koni Classic adjustable dampers & Empi Heavy Duty Anti Roll Bar
- 180W Solar System

My blog: https://twolatebays.wordpress.com/

[Busman1985]

Thanks for the advice! Yeah I plan on measuring everything before I start cutting it all out. It does seem like a big task but it has to be done so I'll give it my best shot. Going to get the dogleg and floor pans installed first then get started on the nose. Then after that I'll be removing the paint and priming and blocking it all out. Thanks again

[MorkC68]

That makes good sense, whilst your doing those jobs, it may reveal how good areas are and how bad the areas you know are bad, really are.

The results are worth it in the end, we took our time and didn't pressure ourselves to get completed:

_________________
Major; 1977 Westfalia Campmobile
- Subaru EJ20
- Koni Classic adjustable dampers & Empi Heavy Duty Anti Roll Bar
- 180W Solar System

My blog: https://twolatebays.wordpress.com/

[Busman1985]

That's what I'm doing, I work on it some during the week but mostly on weekends. I never get in a hurry because I know I got all the time in the world to get it done. I want it done but I'd rather take my time and do it right.

[MorkC68]

Keep us posted on progress, lots of pics

Its good seeing other restorations and watching them evolve..good luck!
_________________
Major; 1977 Westfalia Campmobile
- Subaru EJ20
- Koni Classic adjustable dampers & Empi Heavy Duty Anti Roll Bar
- 180W Solar System

My blog: https://twolatebays.wordpress.com/

[Busman1985]

I will definitely keep everyone posted on here with tons of pics! Thanks for advice and motivation! Always appreciative of help from others!!

[scrivyscriv]

[MorkC68]

[Busman1985]

Well while i'm saving up to buy the nose for the bus, i'm working on getting the floor pan in and the front driver side dogleg replaced. Didn't get much accomplished this weekend, but I figured out my floor pan fits pretty good. The only 2 major things I seen wrong with it were the steering rod hole doesn't line up perfectly and I guess they are made for universally for late bays too? The replacement pan had this bracket down the center that I drilled the spot welds out and removed, it looks nothing like the bracket mine has originally for the emergency brake and gear shifter.

I kept my original ones intact so I removed the bracket that came on the floor pan replacement. I knew when I bought the K crap floor pan it would be a little off, but it fits better than I expected. Now I got to find a parts bus to replace these front fender wells before I weld in the new floor pan. Or I might fab a piece to go in there. I POR 15 the frame underneath the floor, so now just waiting on parts. In the mean time I'll work on the passenger side front wheel arch. It's got some major rust holes and I have the panel to replace it.

[Busman1985]

Here's a video the of 2.0 running, hopefully going to have it installed before Summer is over.


Link
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[Busman1985]

Well I finally got some time to work on the bus again. I installed the 2.0 this weekend, just bolted it in with the jack still supporting it at the moment. I'll begin to try to figure out all the fuel injection stuff later this week. Never have dealt with a FI bus engine before. I also installed the new FI fuel tank and cut a small hole for the return line. During the process of removing the previous engine I lost the mustache bar mounting bolts. I think I read on here somewhere that they were 8mm X 1.25? If this is correct would someone let me know? Also how long are the factory ones? Thanks

[77Campmobile]

Hey man, looking good on the tear down and resto process keep up the good work. I have been restoring mine as well with a lot of the same issues your finding.

I was wondering if you might be able to take a measurement for me seeing how you have your dogleg cut out. I had to remove mine too and found that the lower A-pillar was toast so I replaced it but I am worried I didn't put it in correctly as it is supposed to bend backwards slightly just below the bottom hinge and I am not sure if I put enough of an angle in.

Anyways, would you possibly be able to measure from the firewall behind the front wheel to the bottom of the A-pillar for me?

Thanks

[Busman1985]

[Busman1985]

[77Campmobile]

[Busman1985]