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mcdonaldneal Samba Member
Joined: June 13, 2013 Posts: 2648 Location: Gullane, Scotland
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Posted: Sat Feb 27, 2021 10:46 am Post subject: Re: 'Let's Go! Scotland-Croatia and onwards in our Kombi!' |
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I’ve paused the underbody work, as I needed to fabricate block off plates and exit holes for the air intake and exhaust for the diesel heater. I want those to be in place before I paint and seal underneath. I’ve done them now and painted them up.
The heater also benefits from heavy gauge wire to avoid a voltage drop to the glow plug on start up, so I wanted to route a HD 4core cable to act as power for the heater and the fridge, and as a solid earth return to the battery to maximise the voltage. Overkill, but I had some spare cable from what I will use to renew the leisure battery loom to the front. Tracing the existing fridge wiring under our food cupboard revealed a huge potential storage space, so I will make a hinged lid and it can store emergency items.
I’ve created a new wiring run for the fridge and heater cable, next to the existing main loom and I will protect the hole with grommets.
_________________ 1978 marino yellow Bay Dormobile camper
1969 signal orange Karmann Ghia convertible
1976 martini olive Bay Dormobile camper
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mcdonaldneal Samba Member
Joined: June 13, 2013 Posts: 2648 Location: Gullane, Scotland
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mcdonaldneal Samba Member
Joined: June 13, 2013 Posts: 2648 Location: Gullane, Scotland
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Posted: Mon Mar 08, 2021 8:28 am Post subject: Re: 'Let's Go! Scotland-Croatia and onwards in our Kombi!' |
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Slow progress continues. Underseal is all removed and I’m on the final stages of 80/120 grit hand sanding. I’m happy that everything now looks pretty solid and I’m planning Eastwood rust encapsulation as a first coat and then u-pol Raptor rubberised underseal. I feel it’s within sight of the end (of preparation!)
I wanted to remove the brake hoses to get better access to paint, and to sand down the brackets. I used my previous trick of putting cling wrap over the reservoir cap, but it didn’t work as well as with the front hoses, and I did lose a fair bit of brake fluid! I’ve capped the end of the hard line with a plugged old hose.
There is a linking section of hard line running in front of the transmission, which I removed as well.
I hoped to find a date code on the hoses, but I don’t see anything definite. One has a random ‘77’, and one is completely unmarked. They may well be original, but one is stamped ‘W Germany’, which dates it to older than 1990, so at 30years plus, it’s time for a fresh set!
_________________ 1978 marino yellow Bay Dormobile camper
1969 signal orange Karmann Ghia convertible
1976 martini olive Bay Dormobile camper
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mcdonaldneal Samba Member
Joined: June 13, 2013 Posts: 2648 Location: Gullane, Scotland
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Posted: Tue Mar 16, 2021 2:05 pm Post subject: Re: 'Let's Go! Scotland-Croatia and onwards in our Kombi!' |
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Getting ever nearer to paint!...
I had a deformed crossmember, presumably from someone’s attempt to use it as a jacking point-ouch! It must have been like that for over ten years so I’m assuming it isn’t structurally important, but I thought I would have a go at improving it cosmetically. I made a small brace to fit inside and used a club hammer to act as a deadweight behind while I hammered it flat(ter) with a hammer. I can’t pull through the underside, so I’m calling it good!
Last time I changed the fuel hoses to the tank I got drenched in petrol, which is not a good look! It was 7yrs ago I think, so I figured I would renew them while I had access. I had the bright idea of putting in a petcock/fuel tap, with fuel injection hose between it and the tank. I still got a bit of fuel up my arms, but hopefully I can change the filter and hose to the fuel pump without spillage now!
I have washed and degreased the whole underside now, so basically I think I am ready to mask up the bodywork, use rust treatment and then put on a coat of Eastwood rust encapsulator. Maybe it’ll be on the road for the end of lockdown?!
_________________ 1978 marino yellow Bay Dormobile camper
1969 signal orange Karmann Ghia convertible
1976 martini olive Bay Dormobile camper
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mcdonaldneal Samba Member
Joined: June 13, 2013 Posts: 2648 Location: Gullane, Scotland
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Posted: Fri Mar 19, 2021 10:15 am Post subject: Re: 'Let's Go! Scotland-Croatia and onwards in our Kombi!' |
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Finally, time for some money shots!
Yesterday I spent using POR15 metal prep/rust treatment on the whole underside, and then rinsing it off with a mix of hot water and isopropyl alcohol. I left it with heaters underneath to dry overnight.
First task today was a first pass with the Eastwood rust encapsulator. I had two full cans and a quarter full can. I wasn’t sure what the coverage would be like, so I went over the worst patches of treated rust first and then a light second coat over everything. This has used up my paint supply (as I thought it would) so I have ordered some more which should arrive in a couple of days.
I’m pretty pleased with the result. A nice looking coverage over the flatter middle section, back as far as the start of the rear arches, and mostly covered rear of there.
I’ve ordered enough to get a good base for the u-pol raptor underseal, and then I can start putting it all back together!
_________________ 1978 marino yellow Bay Dormobile camper
1969 signal orange Karmann Ghia convertible
1976 martini olive Bay Dormobile camper
Stop dead photo links! Post photos to The Samba Gallery! |
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RalphWiggam Samba Member
Joined: February 02, 2018 Posts: 906 Location: SouthEast
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Posted: Fri Mar 19, 2021 6:05 pm Post subject: Re: 'Let's Go! Scotland-Croatia and onwards in our Kombi!' |
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Thats a hell of a lot of work there. Nice job. Your bus will be good to go for another 20 years now. |
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mcdonaldneal Samba Member
Joined: June 13, 2013 Posts: 2648 Location: Gullane, Scotland
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Posted: Sat Mar 20, 2021 1:14 am Post subject: Re: 'Let's Go! Scotland-Croatia and onwards in our Kombi!' |
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RalphWiggam wrote: |
Thats a hell of a lot of work there. Nice job. Your bus will be good to go for another 20 years now. |
You’re right, it’s a massive amount of work, mostly in removing the underseal. I started at the end of November, so it will end up being five months or so, but only doing a few hours a week. I reckon it’s about as good as I could do without getting a garage involved to blast underneath, and so has been a fine ‘lockdown’ project.
I think it has prolonged the life of the bus, and will make me happier about using it for more of the year, which is a big bonus. Also, I have done some good side projects on the way, like refreshing the starter, installing the diesel heater, and some rewiring. I’m happy enough, but I won’t be doing it again in a hurry! _________________ 1978 marino yellow Bay Dormobile camper
1969 signal orange Karmann Ghia convertible
1976 martini olive Bay Dormobile camper
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Abscate Samba Member
Joined: October 05, 2014 Posts: 22639 Location: NYC/Upstate/ROW
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Posted: Sat Mar 20, 2021 2:59 am Post subject: Re: 'Let's Go! Scotland-Croatia and onwards in our Kombi!' |
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That’s 6000-8000 quid of work that would be hard to get done in a shop, and certainly wouldn’t be done with the attention to detail with which you did it.
This just underscores that these cars are saved only by the DIY enthusiast or the Uber wealthy. _________________ .ssS! |
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1970fun Samba Member
Joined: August 24, 2008 Posts: 209 Location: Holland
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Posted: Sat Mar 20, 2021 9:49 am Post subject: Re: 'Let's Go! Scotland-Croatia and onwards in our Kombi!' |
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Finally after all that time consuming hard work this looks awsome Phil!!
And welcome to the diesel heater familly |
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Abscate Samba Member
Joined: October 05, 2014 Posts: 22639 Location: NYC/Upstate/ROW
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Posted: Sun Mar 21, 2021 5:13 am Post subject: Re: 'Let's Go! Scotland-Croatia and onwards in our Kombi!' |
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Phil...you want to take the strain of that stopcock off the hose by attaching it on the frame. I might epoxy a block of wood fora mount to the metal, for instance.
That stopcock vibrating will slowly degrade the hose and loosen the clamps. _________________ .ssS! |
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mcdonaldneal Samba Member
Joined: June 13, 2013 Posts: 2648 Location: Gullane, Scotland
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mcdonaldneal Samba Member
Joined: June 13, 2013 Posts: 2648 Location: Gullane, Scotland
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Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2021 3:42 pm Post subject: Re: 'Let's Go! Scotland-Croatia and onwards in our Kombi!' |
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After leaving the primer a day or so, I sprayed some basic black lacquer over items like the brake conduits, heater diverters and brake line brackets. The reasoning is that then I won’t have to ‘waste’ extra passes of the limited supply of underseal to make sure they are totally covered. Might not be needed, but no harm in it (no pictures I’m afraid). Then I used seam sealant in the rear wheel arches. I have ‘brushable’ seam sealant but I find it goes on best in pea-sized lumps, smeared into the seam with a gloved finger! It’s never going to look pretty. There are WAY fewer seams with sealant at the rear, compared to the front arches.
Lastly, a couple of pics of the old, incorrect mud flap brackets. I have just received new, correct ones for the Type IV engine, which will need a couple of holes drilled, but will be much more solid.
_________________ 1978 marino yellow Bay Dormobile camper
1969 signal orange Karmann Ghia convertible
1976 martini olive Bay Dormobile camper
Stop dead photo links! Post photos to The Samba Gallery! |
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mcdonaldneal Samba Member
Joined: June 13, 2013 Posts: 2648 Location: Gullane, Scotland
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Posted: Fri Mar 26, 2021 12:34 pm Post subject: Re: 'Let's Go! Scotland-Croatia and onwards in our Kombi!' |
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Urgh.
Had a bit of a nightmare with the first bottle of 2pak underseal. Instead of a nice, controllable spray from the Shutz gun, it spattered really badly and hasn’t covered all that well (apart from all my clothes and the garage floor!)
I didn’t warm it up before mixing, as I was hoping that would give me longer before it started solidifying, but actually it was way too thick. Unfortunately, having started, there wasn’t a lot I could do, so I spattered a coat over the central section. It’s not quite as bad as it looks.
I will try again tomorrow on the wheel arch after warming it up and see how that goes. Hopefully it will be a lot better! I have two more litres of black and I also have extra of the tintable, which I might be able to use without adding the colour element.
_________________ 1978 marino yellow Bay Dormobile camper
1969 signal orange Karmann Ghia convertible
1976 martini olive Bay Dormobile camper
Stop dead photo links! Post photos to The Samba Gallery! |
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mcdonaldneal Samba Member
Joined: June 13, 2013 Posts: 2648 Location: Gullane, Scotland
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KentABQ Samba Member
Joined: September 11, 2016 Posts: 2406 Location: Albuquerque NM
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Posted: Sun Mar 28, 2021 7:42 am Post subject: Re: 'Let's Go! Scotland-Croatia and onwards in our Kombi!' |
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Revenge of the Body Snatchers??? _________________ -Kent-
1976 Riviera, 1.8l FI chrome yellow VAN - "Chloe"
"I must say, how can you be in a bad mood driving this vehicle full of vibrant color.
Cars of today are so bland in comparison. It's like driving a celebration!" ---WildIdea
Bus ownership via emoticons:
---williamM |
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mcdonaldneal Samba Member
Joined: June 13, 2013 Posts: 2648 Location: Gullane, Scotland
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Posted: Mon Apr 05, 2021 4:38 am Post subject: Re: 'Let's Go! Scotland-Croatia and onwards in our Kombi!' |
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Not many pictures recently, but I have been making great progress. After I abandoned attempts at spraying on the underseal, I decided to brush on, mixing about 40ml at a time which just gives you time to get it on before it gets too thick. So, in many, many small sections I got the underneath coated. Actually, before I did that I sprayed Matt black aerosol all over, which made things look a whole lot better but it matches the underseal so well it made the whole thing look pretty good. I have more or less finished now, so I’ll put up the pics for my own record before I start putting everything back together again. I can’t recommend it as a job, it’s taken five months of steady work, but I’m happy with the result.
This is the wheel wells and the rearmost sections, as well as views from the rear forwards:
_________________ 1978 marino yellow Bay Dormobile camper
1969 signal orange Karmann Ghia convertible
1976 martini olive Bay Dormobile camper
Stop dead photo links! Post photos to The Samba Gallery! |
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mcdonaldneal Samba Member
Joined: June 13, 2013 Posts: 2648 Location: Gullane, Scotland
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mcdonaldneal Samba Member
Joined: June 13, 2013 Posts: 2648 Location: Gullane, Scotland
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mcdonaldneal Samba Member
Joined: June 13, 2013 Posts: 2648 Location: Gullane, Scotland
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richparker Samba Member
Joined: November 24, 2011 Posts: 6980 Location: Durango, CO
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