Buggeee's Boogie Bus 1971 Panel

[Buggeee]

I have never seen a Bay panel in real life. When I was a kid I didn't know they existed and my Bays were all window busses. Window busses are not ideal boogie vans, but they are Volkswagens and I could fit my YZ 125 in there, so thats what I did. The cool kid next street over drove a Chevy boogie van with Crager chrome wheels, white letter tires, side pipes and a girl inside. I drove a Bay window bus with a gutted interior and a dirt bike inside. We were both very happy in our respective worlds. But honestly, I was jealous of how cool the privacy of a solid wall van seemed to be.

Its a lifetime later now, and I am working on a splitty panel that, God willing, will be a very cool early bus. But unless you go Jersey look, I dont really get a boogie vibe from a splitty, even a panel splitty. It tickles a different part of the brain altogether. For me, a utilitarian part of the brain.

But a Bay panel, now that has some disco potential. This one had popped up briefly on the FB Marketplace as a running bus for meaningful money a little while back, but I don't like to spend meaningful money on a Volkswagen, it was almost five hours away, and the ad disappeared before the addiction overcame what little good sense I have left.

Then something very inconvenient happened. It popped back up recently as a blown motor roller for cheap. My diseased mind took it as a message from my Maker that He loves me. I stopped at Tractor Supply for some fresh tires for my trailer, and headed out to bring this sloppy girl home.

I decided to take the bunny off the rear window before I rolled her off the trailer, because I have a girlfriend now and she also happens to be my wife, and, well, I don't want this to have a creeper vibe for her at all. Just disco, no creeper.

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Big Time 1988 Vanagon Westy
Release the Krankenwagen! 1966 Sportsmobile Camper
Dr. Kompressor 72 Super Duper
61 Turkis Pile (adopted out)

[TDCTDI]

So jealous. I want an early panel. Especially if it’s a double door.
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Everybody born before 1975 has a story, good, bad, or indifferent, about a VW.


GOFUNDYOURSELF, quit asking everyone to do it for you!


An air cooled VW will make you a hoarder.


Do something, anything, to your project every day, and you will eventually complete it.

[Buggeee]

I wont show you pictures of the interior as found, because I didn't take any. Kind of like changing the name of a rescued dog to give a fresh start, no need to recall the prior mess. I do have both front seats, which is all I chose to save from the burn pile.

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Big Time 1988 Vanagon Westy
Release the Krankenwagen! 1966 Sportsmobile Camper
Dr. Kompressor 72 Super Duper
61 Turkis Pile (adopted out)

[Shonandb]

Excellent!

Panels are out there.

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76 Westy with a 2.5L Subaru SOHC + Vanagon (010) Automatic Transaxle
Build & Trip Thread: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=758760
Previous 1973 Panel Bus:
Click to view image

[richparker]

That thing is sweet! Looks right at home with your other buses.

Are you towing it with a cop car?
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’71 Westy build
Adventure thread
’65 Deluxe Build
’71 Double Cab

[Buggeee]

For where I live, this is a very good bus because it is reportedly from Las Vegas or something and no significant rust to deal with. There is, however some challenging collision damage that will require a nose, passenger a-pillar, dogleg and floor section. This will be a next-level effort for me.

_________________
Big Time 1988 Vanagon Westy
Release the Krankenwagen! 1966 Sportsmobile Camper
Dr. Kompressor 72 Super Duper
61 Turkis Pile (adopted out)

[Buggeee]

[Buggeee]

The next weekend I drove 4 hours to grab this front clip with a-pillars for 200 bucks, also scored some floor material and a spare tire cover, and grabbed a clean straight front bumper from a buddy on the way home.

_________________
Big Time 1988 Vanagon Westy
Release the Krankenwagen! 1966 Sportsmobile Camper
Dr. Kompressor 72 Super Duper
61 Turkis Pile (adopted out)

[Buggeee]

The drudgery begins with disassembly, degreaser, power washing inside and out, and initial debridament with a wire cup on the anglegrinder,

_________________
Big Time 1988 Vanagon Westy
Release the Krankenwagen! 1966 Sportsmobile Camper
Dr. Kompressor 72 Super Duper
61 Turkis Pile (adopted out)

[Buggeee]

To strip the roof I tried the Citrus, and it worked well. It was in the 50s, so cold for the chemical process. I covered the stripper with plastic, reapplied the next day, then three days later pulled off the plastic and it was ready for the putty knife, a bath with Dawn dish soap, and a soaking in phosphoric metal prep.

_________________
Big Time 1988 Vanagon Westy
Release the Krankenwagen! 1966 Sportsmobile Camper
Dr. Kompressor 72 Super Duper
61 Turkis Pile (adopted out)

[Buggeee]

The floor is super solid, but patina badly as can be seen here. I debrided with the wire cup and treated it with the Xion Labs converter primer, which I have been in love with ever since the Krankenwagen build.

_________________
Big Time 1988 Vanagon Westy
Release the Krankenwagen! 1966 Sportsmobile Camper
Dr. Kompressor 72 Super Duper
61 Turkis Pile (adopted out)

[Buggeee]

I saw this tool at Harbor Freight. Two pads and ten hours later... She's Naked!

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Big Time 1988 Vanagon Westy
Release the Krankenwagen! 1966 Sportsmobile Camper
Dr. Kompressor 72 Super Duper
61 Turkis Pile (adopted out)

[tolstoy]

Wow, that did a spectacular job of striping off the paint.

Tolstoy
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The sun is the same in a relative way, but you're older. Shorter of breath and one day closer to death.
'70 Westy

[TomWesty]

That HF strip tool looks to be damn handy.
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If you haven't bled on them, you haven't worked on them.
Visit: www.tomcoryell.com and check out my music!

[Buggeee]

Ya, it really is the cat's meow. and it leaves a nice finish ready for the primer to bite. It's not smooth like the wire cup leaves it, but its not tore up like a grinder does. It's called a metal conditioning tool, and that's what it does. It plows through filler just as easily as a few coats of paint, creating a real dust storm as it leaves clean metal in its wake. The consumable disc I am using is labeled 40 grit, and it tears through the coatings like a 40 grit, but it leaves a finish on the metal like an 80 grit. And, best of all, its a one step process, whereas the chemical striper needs all the secondary clean up. I consumed two discs at $40 each, so $80 to strip the bus. I had spent $50 on the citrus just to do the roof panel with chemical, so its a better deal too.
_________________
Big Time 1988 Vanagon Westy
Release the Krankenwagen! 1966 Sportsmobile Camper
Dr. Kompressor 72 Super Duper
61 Turkis Pile (adopted out)

[Buggeee]

I did not strip the nose or the passenger dog leg because I'm replacing those altogether.
_________________
Big Time 1988 Vanagon Westy
Release the Krankenwagen! 1966 Sportsmobile Camper
Dr. Kompressor 72 Super Duper
61 Turkis Pile (adopted out)

[richparker]

Holy shit!
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__________
’71 Westy build
Adventure thread
’65 Deluxe Build
’71 Double Cab

[alaskadan]

Awesome, yeah that's pretty quick for stripping a bus that well. I just bought an eastwood sct for other work I'm doing. I look forward to trying it on body work. Did you check to see if you were creating much heat?

[Buggeee]

[Buggeee]

The white nose clip will be harvested for the A-pillar and B-pillar, but the skin will need some love at the windshield and at some bondo covered dents, as well as the bottom lip, so... all the way from funky green Columbia...... the gift of time.

Merry Christmas to Me!

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Big Time 1988 Vanagon Westy
Release the Krankenwagen! 1966 Sportsmobile Camper
Dr. Kompressor 72 Super Duper
61 Turkis Pile (adopted out)