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Thrasher22 Samba Member

Joined: October 05, 2010 Posts: 858 Location: Calgary, Canada
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Posted: Sun Jun 17, 2012 10:23 pm Post subject: 1975 "Rustmobile" Restoration |
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I've always enjoyed reading resto threads when its slow at work, so I thought I'd make my own...
I bought this van Oct 2010 from a guy who'd been working on the the past 3-4 years and lost his garage to work on it. When he bought it, it was a "true" hippy van. It was owned by a Hare Krishna commune somewhere in rural Alberta for years, the "owner" (how ever that works in a commune haha) was an gnarly old tattoo'd guy who was laying on the roof smoking pot when he showed up to buy the van. It was still full of tassles and Hare Krishna stickers when I bought it 3-4 years later
PO was a carpenter and unfortunately decided to scrap most the interior in favor of building something custom, so I don't know what model I actually have... What is left looks like a handyman special from a different PO. All the upholstery is mis-matched, and pretty ratty, but has good bones. I picked up a westy interior on kijiji that I'll rebuild and put in.
The Good:
The engine was completely shot, so he bought a crate-rebuilt engine, rebuilt the transmission, new clutch, new brakes, floors didn't even have an tiny bit of surface rust and body looked decent. For $2000 I thought I was getting a steal.
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Pinetops Samba Member

Joined: March 24, 2007 Posts: 2987
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Posted: Sun Jun 17, 2012 10:34 pm Post subject: |
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Looks like a nice solid bus, what are your plans for it? |
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Thrasher22 Samba Member

Joined: October 05, 2010 Posts: 858 Location: Calgary, Canada
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Posted: Sun Jun 17, 2012 10:44 pm Post subject: |
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The Bad:
Front is dented from the spare tire, a rusty looking dent on the passenger side (no pics), and on the rear driver side panel I could tell some old body filler was cracking. I knocked along the sides to see if there were any obvious bondo patches and it all was a consistent sound/feel.
Unfortunately once I started sanding the cracked panel, it turned out that was because the ENTIRE driver side was covered in 1+ inches of bondo. From the door to the back light, and from the window sill to the rocker panels... all bondo...
The crack that should have made me think twice:
Started sanding and discovered that at some point a PO had filled a gouge in the bus with a combination of spray foam and... chickenwire
The foam ran all the way up the rocker to the driver door, and acted like a sponge for the last several decades, trapping moisture and rotting all the hidden areas away into nothing. So rotten I didn't even know buses had a c-pillar or inner rocker panel until I saw a photo on the samba!
By the time I'd removed all the rotten parts I was left with this: (jackpoints were cut out after this photo too)
For someone with zero welding or body work knowledge... kind of intimidating! But at the time I had a job I hated, so I spent most of it watching tutorials on youtube and got to work. Working through the Canadian winter in an unheated garage was character building to say the least.
Inner rocker replaced:
Mid-rocker:
B-pillar (mostly) rebuilt:
Original klokerholm wheel arch wasn't even close to a fit, and eventually tracked down a NOS wheel arch Seat belt mount was also cut out and replaced, but in hindsight my welding skills could have used some improvement at the time, so I'm going to re-weld it this summer to play it safe:
I got a little over-zealous cutting out the rear panel before I realized what garbage the klokerholm parts I'd purchased were. The panel was pretty warped and rusted though:
[img]http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_page.php?pic_id=939017[/img]
Inner-wheel arch, new part is 2/3rds fabricated now:
I'd hoped to have the whole thing (...ha...) done by July last year before I went traveling in Africa, but this is as far as I got. |
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Thrasher22 Samba Member

Joined: October 05, 2010 Posts: 858 Location: Calgary, Canada
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Posted: Sun Jun 17, 2012 11:00 pm Post subject: |
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FFW: 9+ months...
Got back in Canada mid-Jan, but hit a road block. My c-pillar was so rotten out it literally didn't exist, and after 4 months of searching (and one part off a samba member that was so rusted it was unusable), I finally tracked down a usable part from Avery's in Washington.
BTW Avery's was fantastic, and I couldn't recommend them more for a hard to find part: http://www.averres.com/
After soaking the part 3 times in phospho and POR 15'ing the hell out of it to be safe, finally got the c-pillar tacked on today, which felt great .
Once this is in I can start getting the outer panels on and "maybe" get it out for a cruise or two this summer! I'll tackle the other body work (slider rockers are rough, couple big dents to deal with, engine lid and rear door need small patching, etc...) in the winter.
I'm getting desperate to start driving this beast! But all-in-all, I'm fairly proud of what I've gotten done so far for a guy with zero background knowledge, a shoestring budget, $250 Princess Auto brand MIG welder, and an old unheated garage. |
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Pinetops Samba Member

Joined: March 24, 2007 Posts: 2987
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Posted: Sun Jun 17, 2012 11:03 pm Post subject: |
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Well I guess I spoke too soon! It looks like you are doing it right, cheers to you for that. That was some serious bondo work, wow. So do you think it was hit all along the driver's side? |
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Thrasher22 Samba Member

Joined: October 05, 2010 Posts: 858 Location: Calgary, Canada
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Posted: Sun Jun 17, 2012 11:19 pm Post subject: |
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stuco wrote: |
Well I guess I spoke too soon! It looks like you are doing it right, cheers to you for that. That was some serious bondo work, wow. So do you think it was hit all along the driver's side? |
Thanks! Yeah I'm almost wondering if they caught it on something that tore along the side... The weird part is aside from the bottom 10 or so inches, the panel has no damage at all. Given how dry most of the frame is I don't think its normal winter driving rust.
As for plans, short term I just want to get it "good enough" for some camping trips this year. Longer term I'm going to paint it the stock lime-green, and make it into something I can live out of for a couple months at at time. I have the bad habit of quitting my job/life every couple years and going on 6 month trips, so I'm hoping to do the next one out of my bus.
...and make it nice enough inside my GF will want to join me  |
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Pinetops Samba Member

Joined: March 24, 2007 Posts: 2987
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Posted: Sun Jun 17, 2012 11:45 pm Post subject: |
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Sounds like the perfect vehicle for you then! Yeah, I was thinking the same thing, that floor just looks too clean for this to be a rust bucket. That's good that it was just the lower panel. So the mechanicals are all good to go, you just need to get the body back in shape? I was assuming it was brilliant orange by the interior but I guess somebody painted over the green at some point. Keep up the good work, you will be camping in no time! |
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Joey Samba Member

Joined: August 12, 2005 Posts: 5375 Location: Nova Scotia - Canada
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Posted: Mon Jun 18, 2012 6:21 am Post subject: |
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Fantastic work!
 _________________ Joey
‘60 Kombi - '74 Bus - '79 Panel - '65 Beetle |
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Thrasher22 Samba Member

Joined: October 05, 2010 Posts: 858 Location: Calgary, Canada
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Posted: Mon Jun 18, 2012 9:06 am Post subject: |
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stuco wrote: |
Sounds like the perfect vehicle for you then! Yeah, I was thinking the same thing, that floor just looks too clean for this to be a rust bucket. That's good that it was just the lower panel. So the mechanicals are all good to go, you just need to get the body back in shape? I was assuming it was brilliant orange by the interior but I guess somebody painted over the green at some point. Keep up the good work, you will be camping in no time! |
It looks like it was originally orange, but I'm not a purist and I like green/white combo I've seen on other vans better
I'm sure the mechanics are going to need a bit of work before I can get it on the road. The last owner only put 30 km on it after doing all the work, then has been sitting for almost 4 years. |
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Daverham Samba Member

Joined: August 27, 2009 Posts: 1397 Location: USA
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Posted: Mon Jun 18, 2012 10:01 am Post subject: |
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Chicken wire and spray foam! Awesome. Your bus is a sculpture. A real piece of art!
Looks like you're doing good work. Feels nice to get rid of all that rot and replace it with fresh, clean steel, doesn't it? |
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Thrasher22 Samba Member

Joined: October 05, 2010 Posts: 858 Location: Calgary, Canada
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Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2012 11:03 am Post subject: |
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Haha thanks...? The PO must have been a sculptor...
Now that I'm hitting the point of getting some outer panels back on it feels good. I'm a little nervous about not treating the welds enough and having the rust come back in a couple years, but I'll use a ton of seam sealer to be extra safe.
Ordered a new outer rocker panel from bus depot last night! I realized that yet another klokerholm isn't close enough to be work-able. From now on I'm making sure to only get scholfield, NOS, gerson, or donor parts. |
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Thrasher22 Samba Member

Joined: October 05, 2010 Posts: 858 Location: Calgary, Canada
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curtis4085 Samba Member

Joined: July 22, 2011 Posts: 4806 Location: Colorado
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Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2012 6:50 pm Post subject: |
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Thank you for taking your hard work and time in restoring your bus. My hats off to those that take a path of restoring these priceless beauties to the former glory.  _________________ Special Thanks to:
Headflow Masters - Vista, CA
www.headflowmasters.com |
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Thrasher22 Samba Member

Joined: October 05, 2010 Posts: 858 Location: Calgary, Canada
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Posted: Sun Sep 09, 2012 11:51 am Post subject: |
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Sadly barely any progress this summer, I've ran into a (LOT) of problems trying to fit the rear fender. It had so much oil-canning that I had to cut out sections and weld in patches. FFS...
Almost done rebuilding the inside of the wheel well from scratch though, and will start rust proofing everything today to start trying to get the outer panel on! Big step I've been working towards for a while.
Two questions hopefully people can help with:
1. Does anyone know where to buy plugs to fill these holes inside the wheel well? (the blue arrows) I'd rather not weld them shut, but want a solution that's better than the poor quality plastic that VW originally used which leaked...
2. What should I seal along the red lines with? I bought some closed cell window sealing foam, would that work? |
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cool karmann collected Samba Member

Joined: November 23, 2008 Posts: 631 Location: Oxford, U.K.
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Posted: Sun Sep 09, 2012 12:03 pm Post subject: |
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Thrasher22 wrote: |
Longer term I'm going to paint it the stock lime-green, and make it into something I can live out of for a couple months at at time. I have the bad habit of quitting my job/life every couple years and going on 6 month trips, so I'm hoping to do the next one out of my bus.
...and make it nice enough inside my GF will want to join me  |
I don't see any bad habits there. |
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Thrasher22 Samba Member

Joined: October 05, 2010 Posts: 858 Location: Calgary, Canada
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Posted: Mon Sep 10, 2012 11:58 am Post subject: |
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^^ I couldn't agree more! My career and bank account are starting to say otherwise haha.
Does anyone know what generically those plugs would be called? I don't even know where to start looking for them... |
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cool karmann collected Samba Member

Joined: November 23, 2008 Posts: 631 Location: Oxford, U.K.
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Posted: Mon Sep 10, 2012 12:41 pm Post subject: |
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You could just head down to your local hardware store and buy some generic rubber blanking plugs for that size hole?
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Thrasher22 Samba Member

Joined: October 05, 2010 Posts: 858 Location: Calgary, Canada
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Posted: Mon Sep 10, 2012 1:45 pm Post subject: |
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See I didn't even know that was something they sold at hardware stores! Just something I'd never needed to look for I guess. |
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skills@eurocarsplus Samba Peckerhead

Joined: January 01, 2007 Posts: 17830 Location: sticksville, ct.
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Posted: Mon Sep 10, 2012 5:25 pm Post subject: |
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Thrasher22 wrote: |
2. What should I seal along the red lines with? I bought some closed cell window sealing foam, would that work? |
NO FOAM!!!! you need a good 2 part panel adhesive
first, it is a more modern version of the crap vw used, second, if that panel isn't glued tight in that area, that bitch will oil can like no ones business and you will never get it/keep it straight.
my 71 westy was jersey lookered and i opted to keep it that way. i should have done the extra work, but i have a whip in that panel i will never get out of it (unless i used 80 gallons of filler, and that wasn't gonna happen) _________________
gprudenciop wrote: |
my reason for switching to subaru is my german car was turning chinese so i said fuck it and went japanese....... |
Jake Raby wrote: |
Thanks for the correction. I used to be a nice guy, then I ruined it by exposing myself to the public. |
Brian wrote: |
Also the fact that people are agreeing with Skills, it's a turn of events for samba history |
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Thrasher22 Samba Member

Joined: October 05, 2010 Posts: 858 Location: Calgary, Canada
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Posted: Mon Sep 10, 2012 11:14 pm Post subject: |
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skills@eurocarsplus wrote: |
NO FOAM!!!! you need a good 2 part panel adhesive
first, it is a more modern version of the crap vw used, second, if that panel isn't glued tight in that area, that bitch will oil can like no ones business and you will never get it/keep it straight.
my 71 westy was jersey lookered and i opted to keep it that way. i should have done the extra work, but i have a whip in that panel i will never get out of it (unless i used 80 gallons of filler, and that wasn't gonna happen) |
Haha glad you said something! That totally looks like they just foam in to seal out fumes and prevent rattling.
Do you mean an adhesive like this?
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/TRM-8116/
Actually using an adhesive like that will probably help me control some of the fitment issues I haven't been able to get around. |
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