Project D finalized!

BavarianWrench · Posted: Fri Mar 19, 2004 2:36 pm Post subject:

I have a few pics I'll email you.

pyrOman · Posted: Mon Mar 22, 2004 2:56 pm Post subject:

Van, I just saw the donor pictures. Man, you do have a project ahead of you! That is almost as bad as I found mine.

Also, looking at your bus it seems to be in pretty solid shape. I have to be honest in offering my opinion. I highly suggest NOT to do the cutting in this particular bus. If the "paperwork" (title, M-code plate, etc.) is in good order a project like this is going to devalue the bus rather than add to it. Plus, if you didn't noticed from my previous postings, you will need to add belly pans to reinforce the chassis. Original double doors, sun roofs, AND pop top campers (most definitely including Dormies!) came with belly pans. Though I haven't just yet, I have to weld belly pans under my Dromy before it starts twisting and cracking.

That said, if you are still hell bent into doing the project, just know all it takes and what you are getting into. Start by getting the top into a decent condition. Looks like it's in bad need of cleaning including the removal of all that funky glue. Next, order all the seals and hardware you need to get the glass windows and skylights. Save yourself some heartacke and also order the rubber seal to go all the way around rather than just the front & back strips. Straighten out all the "ribs" that hold vinyl in shape.

At some point you'll need to decide which way you want your top to open. If you go the way it was on the fatchick, it will fit better than mine. Reason being that the radius on the front of the roof is more pronounced than in the back on both buses. If you opt to go MY way, its best to "shave" some of the center of the fiberglass top in order to make it match the shape of the roof. I failed to do that and if you look real close you'll see my top sits a bit higher at the front than at the back. You'll need to do all this before drilling and setting the hinges in place.
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Some people are so busy being clever they don't have time enough to be wise.

crofty · Posted: Mon Mar 22, 2004 3:24 pm Post subject:

pyrOman · Posted: Tue Mar 23, 2004 6:58 am Post subject:

crofty · Posted: Tue Mar 23, 2004 9:28 am Post subject:

BavarianWrench · Posted: Tue Mar 23, 2004 11:20 am Post subject:

Hey Pyro this bus thing is definately a sickness, I used my vanagon for the first time in over a week yesterday, then just whipped it up to the store now. That thing is such a Caddy of a smooth ride, I can't imagine why I want a splitty camper but I do. It makes no sense to me But I can't wait to be camping and cruising in the splitty, sitting in that hard ass seat hunched over that steering wheel. Are we all freakishly masochistic.

pyrOman · Posted: Tue Mar 23, 2004 12:11 pm Post subject:

BavarianWrench · Posted: Tue Mar 23, 2004 12:26 pm Post subject:

I may have to modify the non walk through arrangement and put in some reccaro's. Not much headroom for me when I stuck them in where the bench goes.

pyrOman · Posted: Tue Mar 23, 2004 12:50 pm Post subject:

On my previous bus (a bench type) I had ford aerostar van front buckets. The passenger one being a "sleeper". Just about everyone that sat in there for any lenght of time would end up snoring, some to the point of drooling even! Shocked

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Some people are so busy being clever they don't have time enough to be wise.

pyrOman · Posted: Tue Mar 23, 2004 4:47 pm Post subject:

Van, this link will take you to all the pix I got in thesamba about my project:
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_search.php?mode=results

Take a good look and get back to me with any questions you may have. Also if you do have any questions try to ask me by Friday morning as we are going camping this weekend.

Good luck! Cool

p.s. I also have more pictures than that if you need more info. Wink

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Some people are so busy being clever they don't have time enough to be wise.

crofty · Posted: Tue Mar 23, 2004 5:08 pm Post subject:

So are you going to remove the bulkhead? Shocked

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Your Vanagon sucks, Stop waving at me.

BavarianWrench · Posted: Tue Mar 23, 2004 5:28 pm Post subject:

I did find a guy cutting a walk through pannel into little pieces and might buy the structure. The first task is to cut the hole and pull all my glass. I'll paint the upper portion of the bus now. I've been searching for the one piece roll out camper windows. I've found a bunch that fit campers built from pannels, but they don't fit into the standard.

pyrOman · Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2004 7:03 am Post subject:

The westy windows are the ones to get! When I ride with them open, more often than not I have to close my FRONT windows because the hurricane winds blowing inside the bus. Shocked

Beats the hell out of them pop-outs! Plus the screens keep most of the road crap out. Very Happy

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Some people are so busy being clever they don't have time enough to be wise.

BavarianWrench · Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2004 5:15 pm Post subject:

I hear what your saying about the windows but I can't stand camping and looking out the slats and having my bus look like a basement window. The ez camper style windows look way better even if they don't go down the road aswell, I'll take the trade off. I'm a vain tool snob bitch. Actually I have some Harbor Frieght pneumatics at the house. Have a great weekend. Will you make any of the VW shows in Colorado it would be cool to catch up with you. Keep me posted on the Latches Paypal or check to you up front, when ever your ready.

Gunter · Posted: Thu Mar 25, 2004 9:33 pm Post subject:

Great Job of installing the top!

You'll love the extra room.

My o.g. Westy Dormobile has cloth straps with twist locks to hold it down.
you might want to put an extra hold down on the front of the top.
A very strong gust of wind opened up my top once while driving down the road. Forgot to twist the locks! Thankfully I was only going 35mph and was in the middle of the 4 lane hwy. So nothing high up got hit.

I have belly pans on mine and it does make a difference in stability
Gunter
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7 air-cooled VW's

BavarianWrench · Posted: Mon Mar 29, 2004 7:15 pm Post subject:

Belly Pans are available they might be spendy but they are available. I know there was somebody else making them a few years ago, but this guy makes them now and seems on top of things. It seems he builds them on demand and that gets spendy to make one stamping. I don't know if he would discount a large order? I was wondering what the demand might be? WWW.metwiz.com is his site.

BavarianWrench · Posted: Mon Mar 29, 2004 7:16 pm Post subject:

Belly Pans are available they might be spendy but they are available. I know there was somebody else making them a few years ago, but this guy makes them now and seems on top of things. It seems he builds them on demand and that gets spendy to make one stamping. I don't know if he would discount a large order? I was wondering what the demand might be? WWW.metwiz.com is his site.

pyrOman · Posted: Mon Jul 19, 2004 1:33 pm Post subject:

Well, talk about bringing threads from the dead! Shocked

Anyway, though I really finished the belly pans just before BYOB back in April, I finally got a chance to snap some pictures of them just this weekend. Here's them:

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.

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Some people are so busy being clever they don't have time enough to be wise.

pyrOman · Posted: Wed Sep 08, 2004 5:33 pm Post subject:

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Some people are so busy being clever they don't have time enough to be wise.

ToolBox · Posted: Wed Sep 08, 2004 6:27 pm Post subject:


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