Author |
Message |
Skim Rants Master
Joined: April 15, 2001 Posts: 17082 Location: GFK 31 Year Vet
|
Posted: Fri Jan 25, 2019 10:13 am Post subject: Re: Swedish 66 Crew Cab Resto |
|
|
holy fukc, y'all really put up with some serious rust issues over there _________________ GFK
Samba since before the towers collapsed. Still here.
1953 Kabriolet
1954 Sunroof
1959 Lowlight Ghia vert
1960 Lt Grey Double Cab SMZ LEGIT
1963 Deluxe Turkis Walk Thru 15 Window OG Paint |
|
Back to top |
|
|
mabbo Samba Member
Joined: October 13, 2004 Posts: 208 Location: United Kingdom
|
Posted: Fri Jan 25, 2019 2:00 pm Post subject: Re: Swedish 66 Crew Cab Resto |
|
|
Skim wrote: |
holy fukc, y'all really put up with some serious rust issues over there |
Haha... This one isnt as bad as most patched up RHD UK buses... It is rotten though
Not much of an update but got the front section stripped down a bit more.
The new chassis rails dont come with the outer section where the beam mounts so needed to get these sections cut off ready to be blasted. Bit more trimming needed but getting there:
I considered re using the chassis rails from the beam mounting face all the way to the valance as they were fairly solid, but the master cylinder cross member looked rusty where they fit into the sides of the chassis rails, so decided to strip it down. Glad I did as it was rotten (you can see on the left of the cross member) in there so all that lot will be replaced:
Need to get the remains of the inner chassis rails, bulkhead and cab tool chest area out so the floor section can be blasted and repaired:
|
|
Back to top |
|
|
wcfvw69 Samba Purist
Joined: June 10, 2004 Posts: 13389 Location: Arizona
|
Posted: Fri Jan 25, 2019 6:26 pm Post subject: Re: Swedish 66 Crew Cab Resto |
|
|
I always marvel at the length folks go to in bringing back a dead, badly rusted up bus. I say this with admiration of the skills, time, money and effort. Some of the barn door bus restorations in Europe have been mind boggling.
At the same time, us long time VW folks in the SW USA saw thousands and thousands of buses like this (that were basically rust free) getting scrapped and crushed decades ago. _________________ Contact me at [email protected]
Follow me on instagram @sparxwerksllc
Decades of VW and VW parts restoration experience.
The Samba member since 2004.
**Now rebuilding throttle bodies for VW's and Porsche's**
**Restored German Bosch distributors for sale or I can restore yours**
**Restored German Pierburg fuel pumps for sale or I can restore yours**
**Restored Porsche fuel pumps or I can restore yours**
**Restored Porsche distributors or I can restore yours** |
|
Back to top |
|
|
mabbo Samba Member
Joined: October 13, 2004 Posts: 208 Location: United Kingdom
|
Posted: Tue Jan 29, 2019 8:31 am Post subject: Re: Swedish 66 Crew Cab Resto |
|
|
Got all the original parts from the chassis that will be reused ready for blasting.
Rear parts:
Front parts:
The floor section was better than I thought it would be, hopefully its just a small repair at the back it needs:
The beam mount sections are going to need some work though:
Got the seat runner and the extra section thats fitted to the cab tool chest area off and it seems to git the new BBT panel pretty nice:
Enjoying it so far |
|
Back to top |
|
|
mabbo Samba Member
Joined: October 13, 2004 Posts: 208 Location: United Kingdom
|
Posted: Mon Feb 25, 2019 3:17 pm Post subject: Re: Swedish 66 Crew Cab Resto |
|
|
Had the chassis parts blasted:
Not as nice as I had hoped. Rotten in quite a few places:
Rest of the parts:
I repaired the rotten corner of the front floor section:
Trial assembly of new chassis and front section:
Found a solid rear cut including the complete rear chassis rails so decided to use the whole rear end as the pressings were nicer than the repro chassis rails around where the support bar is welded. New piece tacked in place temporary:
The front inner chassis legs were flat and needed shaping to fit the bulge in the bulkhead:
Thats it for now |
|
Back to top |
|
|
mabbo Samba Member
Joined: October 13, 2004 Posts: 208 Location: United Kingdom
|
Posted: Wed Mar 27, 2019 1:15 pm Post subject: Re: Swedish 66 Crew Cab Resto |
|
|
Had a few days on a customers 66 we restored a couple of years go. It was never built to be a show car but he did a great job of all the assembly and I love it.... Anyway, he bought it to us to sort a few issues with the engine and gearbox. I sanded and mopped a few areas and helped detail it before the show:
Now Volksworlds all over, its back to real work. We got a bit more done on the chassis... Loads of hours but not a lot to show for it, enjoying it though.
We got the rear donor chassis / torsion housing section trimmed down and tidied up. We got the new chassis rails square and lined up the rear cut before tacking everything in place. Then got the sills, I beams etc mocked up and once happy panel pinned in place:
Once we were happy everything was in the right place we seamed the join in the chassis rails up where the factory join is. Bit gutted, was hoping these would come out perfect as they wont be ground flush. They are not bad, but not my best welding:
Spot welded the sills to the I beams and top hats. The complete floor support framework finished but not welded to the chassis just yet:
We got the front and rear outriggers and cross members pinned in place, once happy we took them apart and spot welded the rear cross member to the inner sections of the chassis rails before they were fitted:
Then we spot welded the rear outriggers to the chassis before the rear crossmember 'assembly' was welded in place. We painted epoxy and weld in all the box sections, and weld through primer on all the spot welded sections before anything was welded for maximum protection.
After the outriggers were welded, we spot welded the 'cross member assembly' in place trying to make it look as factory as possible.
Seaming up the torsion housings:
Repaired the rotten lower sections of the beam mounting plates. Now ready to fit to the new chassis rails:
The other side needed the threaded tube welding back in place:
Outer section on the other side repaired:
They were a slightly different profile along the top edge compared to the new chassis rails, after a bit of messing about they fit nice:
Inner front chassis rails spot welded in as factory:
Thats it for now, back in it tomorrow |
|
Back to top |
|
|
mabbo Samba Member
Joined: October 13, 2004 Posts: 208 Location: United Kingdom
|
Posted: Fri Apr 26, 2019 2:30 pm Post subject: Re: Swedish 66 Crew Cab Resto |
|
|
Another update...
Finished seaming up the beam mounting section to the new front chassis rails:
Plug welded the top hats and spot welded the I beams to the tops of the chassis rails, and welded the tubes for the cables etc:
Got the tool box and floor sections pinned in the right place, and trial fit the front tubs:
Trial fit of the front cross plate, front valance, master cylinder cross member etc to check everything is OK before welding:
Once happy I welded in the handbrake / shifter mounting panel in place:
Then the steering box section:
Removed the took box and floor section to paint the insides body colour before they are fitted as it would be impossible to get good paint coverage in there once welded:
And spot welded in place:
Welded the rear section of the beam mount cut to the new chassis rails:
Heater control tube welded:
Front valance welded to the chassis rails:
Rear donor bump stops were cleaned up, repaired and welded to the chassis as factory:
Got the chassis onto the rotisserie so we can get the underside finished. Loads of bits and bobs to get done under there:
Thats it for now |
|
Back to top |
|
|
Burlyhammer Samba Member
Joined: March 07, 2002 Posts: 1693 Location: Great north woods Maine
|
Posted: Mon Apr 29, 2019 12:20 pm Post subject: Re: Swedish 66 Crew Cab Resto |
|
|
Wow! One awesome looking chassis. Those welds look incredible. Looking forward to the next update! |
|
Back to top |
|
|
wcfvw69 Samba Purist
Joined: June 10, 2004 Posts: 13389 Location: Arizona
|
Posted: Mon Apr 29, 2019 7:13 pm Post subject: Re: Swedish 66 Crew Cab Resto |
|
|
Burlyhammer wrote: |
Wow! One awesome looking chassis. Those welds look incredible. Looking forward to the next update! |
No kidding on the quality of the welds and the work being done to this frame. Beautiful work! _________________ Contact me at [email protected]
Follow me on instagram @sparxwerksllc
Decades of VW and VW parts restoration experience.
The Samba member since 2004.
**Now rebuilding throttle bodies for VW's and Porsche's**
**Restored German Bosch distributors for sale or I can restore yours**
**Restored German Pierburg fuel pumps for sale or I can restore yours**
**Restored Porsche fuel pumps or I can restore yours**
**Restored Porsche distributors or I can restore yours** |
|
Back to top |
|
|
nineteensixtyfiveVG Samba Member
Joined: August 03, 2009 Posts: 456 Location: San Diego
|
Posted: Mon Apr 29, 2019 7:48 pm Post subject: Re: Swedish 66 Crew Cab Resto |
|
|
Ok, a couple of things. First this is amazing work. Unreal the detail you are going into to bring this back to life.
I understand when someone does this to a bus they find and want to save and its just a matter of hours and metal.
My question is how on earth can someone afford to pay to get this done? ...and if they can afford to pay for this metal work couldn't they have just bought a fully restored rust free double cab for less? What am I missing? |
|
Back to top |
|
|
mabbo Samba Member
Joined: October 13, 2004 Posts: 208 Location: United Kingdom
|
Posted: Tue Apr 30, 2019 2:00 pm Post subject: Re: Swedish 66 Crew Cab Resto |
|
|
Burlyhammer wrote: |
Wow! One awesome looking chassis. Those welds look incredible. Looking forward to the next update! |
wcfvw69 wrote: |
No kidding on the quality of the welds and the work being done to this frame. Beautiful work! |
Thanks for the comments guys, really appreciated
nineteensixtyfiveVG wrote: |
My question is how on earth can someone afford to pay to get this done? ...and if they can afford to pay for this metal work couldn't they have just bought a fully restored rust free double cab for less? What am I missing? |
Cheers I understand where you are coming from, but I have seen so many nice looking "fully restored" VWs where the metalwork is terrible, or there are no photos of the metalwork, going for top money. They might look nice once full of filler and a nice/expensive paint job, but unless you know that the metalwork is done properly you will more than likely have issues further down the line.
We charge £35 per hour, not sure how many hours we got in this so far. I'd have to check. |
|
Back to top |
|
|
mabbo Samba Member
Joined: October 13, 2004 Posts: 208 Location: United Kingdom
|
Posted: Tue Apr 30, 2019 2:21 pm Post subject: Re: Swedish 66 Crew Cab Resto |
|
|
Another small update...
Got the jacking points seamed up:
And spot welded to the sill, as factory:
Marked up the factory tack welds on the underside of the front floor under the bench seat, and replicated:
Heater tubes in and welding around the front finished:
Clutch pedal guide cleaned up and welded as factory:
New chassis rails didn't have any wiring tabs, so they were made and spot welded:
Clutch tube bracket made and welded:
Spent what seemed like forever tidying all the welds up, and prepping the chassis ready for epoxy primer:
|
|
Back to top |
|
|
nineteensixtyfiveVG Samba Member
Joined: August 03, 2009 Posts: 456 Location: San Diego
|
Posted: Tue Apr 30, 2019 3:09 pm Post subject: Re: Swedish 66 Crew Cab Resto |
|
|
mabbo wrote: |
We charge £35 per hour, not sure how many hours we got in this so far. I'd have to check. |
that makes perfect sense. That is a deal for this level of work. |
|
Back to top |
|
|
wcfvw69 Samba Purist
Joined: June 10, 2004 Posts: 13389 Location: Arizona
|
Posted: Tue Apr 30, 2019 7:15 pm Post subject: Re: Swedish 66 Crew Cab Resto |
|
|
nineteensixtyfiveVG wrote: |
mabbo wrote: |
We charge £35 per hour, not sure how many hours we got in this so far. I'd have to check. |
that makes perfect sense. That is a deal for this level of work. |
I've seen many threads over the years on very desirable "restored" VW's that would look new to the untrained eye or non car person. The new owner who had the resources to make it perfect or correct had it stripped back to bare metal. The horror of the terrible metal work was shocking. There was no doubt that the new owners spent huge amounts of money to have it fixed correctly and then followed their VW through the entire restoration process, knowing it was done correctly.
A lot of folks who are now collecting these VW's have VERY deep pockets. Spending a few hundred thousand dollars to purchase and restore a say 23 window bus is nothing to them. _________________ Contact me at [email protected]
Follow me on instagram @sparxwerksllc
Decades of VW and VW parts restoration experience.
The Samba member since 2004.
**Now rebuilding throttle bodies for VW's and Porsche's**
**Restored German Bosch distributors for sale or I can restore yours**
**Restored German Pierburg fuel pumps for sale or I can restore yours**
**Restored Porsche fuel pumps or I can restore yours**
**Restored Porsche distributors or I can restore yours** |
|
Back to top |
|
|
mabbo Samba Member
Joined: October 13, 2004 Posts: 208 Location: United Kingdom
|
Posted: Fri Aug 09, 2019 2:15 pm Post subject: Re: Swedish 66 Crew Cab Resto |
|
|
Got a bit more done...
The chassis has been epoxied:
Spent today cutting the body from the chassis and seperating the front and back half. It dont look as bad in the pictures as it is... Its a pear.
Planning on getting the front half repaired first... the back half dont look too bad |
|
Back to top |
|
|
peecee69 Samba Member
Joined: January 27, 2005 Posts: 1572 Location: Annapolis, MD/Bloomfield Hills, MI
|
|
Back to top |
|
|
j.pickens Samba Member
Joined: December 03, 2002 Posts: 9789 Location: Exit 7, New Jersey
|
Posted: Sat Aug 10, 2019 1:34 pm Post subject: Re: Swedish 66 Crew Cab Resto |
|
|
My favorite current Samba forum topic. Can't wait to see the next step, and the next... _________________ Founder and Chairman Emeritus, ECMSAS
BBX BBXII and BBXXI Long Distance Award Winner
BeaterBarndoor wrote: |
i wish more people would actually drive their vws rather than just talking about what they have in the garage. |
Red Fau Veh wrote: |
If you've seen one sunroof swivel seat kombi, you've seen them all! |
|
|
Back to top |
|
|
mabbo Samba Member
Joined: October 13, 2004 Posts: 208 Location: United Kingdom
|
Posted: Tue Aug 13, 2019 12:45 pm Post subject: Re: Swedish 66 Crew Cab Resto |
|
|
Thanks for the comments
We wanted to get the body sitting over the restored chassis so we could make a start to the repairs on the body. We removed the remains of the original inner valance so the body would sit at the correct height on the new inner valance on the restored chassis. Also removed the remains of the front bulkhead that had previously been hacked out, and the patched up lower B posts so we could see how the new bulkhead from BBT fit - overall its not bad at all.
Body sits nice on the chassis and everything seems to line up as expected, but the new bulkhead isnt as good as we had hoped. Id never fitted one before and every other panel from BBT has been good, but the shape at the top of the panel where it meets the B post isnt right and will need some work. I know the bulkhead is the wrong one but my customer isnt bothered. I would be if it was my bus, but its not, so this one is going to be fitted.
Anyway, we had a good look at the rear section of the van, and luckily the area where the fuel tank sits and the surrounding metal that we need to re use dont look too bad. The inner framework under the bed looks pretty good too. Will know more when its stripped down... but its pretty grim under there:
|
|
Back to top |
|
|
mabbo Samba Member
Joined: October 13, 2004 Posts: 208 Location: United Kingdom
|
Posted: Thu Aug 15, 2019 2:21 pm Post subject: Re: Swedish 66 Crew Cab Resto |
|
|
So, we had the rear half of the bus ready to strip down to go to be blasted:
We stripped everything that wasnt reusable and were left with this:
I decided to have a look at the heater pipes under the dash which had been hacked. My customer supplied a replacement but it didnt have the captive nut mounting for the wiper motor:
Modified close enough to factory for this piece:
The dashboard had been hacked too:
Supplied donor section was slightly too short so extended it before welding in place:
Here it is welded in place. I cant find my file to finish the welds at the top and bottom of the vent:
Although the rear bulkhead panel was pretty solid, it was battered. We had a new KF panel to fit so took it apart and the posts were worse than expected. Pretty glad we are replacing it now as we were considering repairing the original:
And placed the new panel to test the fit. Seems to fit really nice, just need to get the seat mounts spot welded onto the panel before its ready to be fitted:
Hoping to get everything blasted next week. |
|
Back to top |
|
|
silkvw Samba Member
Joined: July 06, 2008 Posts: 453 Location: Elgin, TX
|
Posted: Thu Aug 15, 2019 7:06 pm Post subject: Re: Swedish 66 Crew Cab Resto |
|
|
Your welder and grinder seem to work like a magic wand!
Excellent work! _________________ '64 single cab Big Bend Bus Bash 2015 '16
'59 camper BBBB 2017 '18 '19 '20 '22 New Mexico
'70 Ghia........Bonneville,........TX Mile,........142 mph......(sold)
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=641871&highlight= |
|
Back to top |
|
|
|