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busboyjake Samba Member
Joined: September 22, 2002 Posts: 393 Location: Colorado
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Posted: Tue Aug 02, 2016 1:11 am Post subject: 1978 Dakota Beige Westfalia Project |
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It was suggested to me that I post a project thread for my bus, so here it goes!
I have to give credit where its due:
One of the great bus loves of my bus life was my 1977 Deluxe Westy (the Sweet Pea). I had this bus for a very long time and it saw many projects come and go. I sold it about 4 years ago thinking it was a great idea, and bought a 66 SO-42, then a 1969 Westy....... I realized that i really missed the extra power of a type 4 motor, and the functionality of the late westy setup. So began again the hunt for the "one bus to rule them all."
Here's the Pea in all her glory.
I decided on one of two models; either a '78 Champagne Westy (way too$$$) or a beige '78 Deluxe Westy (P-27?)
While looking at a '77 for a buddy of mine (he bought the '77) I stumbled on this...
It is a '78 Deluxe Westy with 80K miles on the body, From Arizona, so rust-free, with a solid drivetrain, missing a few things, and covered in oxide primer. We settled on a price and the deal was done.
Here is the bus when I picked it up.
Coming Home
We had to go straight to Rudy's BBQ - Thanks for the help Nat and Ryan!
First Issue - Broken CV Axle
Second Issue - I didn't notice that the spring that pulls the thermostat flaps open had never been hooked up Bus got pretty hot, but its ok.
_________________ 1965 Pearl White Caravelle Camper
1978 Dakota Beige Westy
1969 Montana Red Westy (for sale soon)
Last edited by busboyjake on Wed Aug 03, 2016 12:08 am; edited 2 times in total |
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busboyjake Samba Member
Joined: September 22, 2002 Posts: 393 Location: Colorado
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Posted: Tue Aug 02, 2016 1:28 am Post subject: Re: 1978 Dakota Beige Westfalia Project |
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Interior project (back half):
I decided to swap the refrigerator and all of its unnecessary guts for a cooler unit I had sitting around.
Front:
....More to come. _________________ 1965 Pearl White Caravelle Camper
1978 Dakota Beige Westy
1969 Montana Red Westy (for sale soon) |
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Stuartzickefoose Samba Post Whore
Joined: February 07, 2008 Posts: 10350 Location: SoCal for now...
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Posted: Tue Aug 02, 2016 4:07 am Post subject: Re: 1978 Dakota Beige Westfalia Project |
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Nice pics _________________ Stuart Zickefoose
2011 Jetta Sportwagen TDi 6 speed manual
206-841-7324
[email protected] |
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Busstom Samba Member
Joined: November 23, 2014 Posts: 3853 Location: San Jose, CA
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Posted: Tue Aug 02, 2016 5:33 am Post subject: Re: 1978 Dakota Beige Westfalia Project |
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Awesome. Can you say with certainty what front seats those are? Vanagon?
Thanks! |
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BayCreamPuff Samba Member
Joined: August 10, 2015 Posts: 769 Location: Oakland, CA
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Posted: Tue Aug 02, 2016 6:26 am Post subject: Re: 1978 Dakota Beige Westfalia Project |
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Busstom wrote: |
Awesome. Can you say with certainty what front seats those are? Vanagon?
Thanks! |
Those are Vanagon seats with adjustable armrests (1988 to early-90s) _________________ Cream Puff
'79 CA Stock FI Deluxe Campmobile
Earl Grey
'87 GoWesty 2.2 Westfalia
Marsha Mellow
'00 Eurovan VR6 Full Camper |
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busboyjake Samba Member
Joined: September 22, 2002 Posts: 393 Location: Colorado
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Posted: Tue Aug 02, 2016 6:39 am Post subject: Re: 1978 Dakota Beige Westfalia Project |
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Stuartzickefoose wrote: |
Nice pics |
Good to know you're alive Stu!
Bus make it ok to OK? _________________ 1965 Pearl White Caravelle Camper
1978 Dakota Beige Westy
1969 Montana Red Westy (for sale soon) |
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Bala Samba Member
Joined: December 04, 2003 Posts: 2613 Location: Austin, TX
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Posted: Tue Aug 02, 2016 7:05 am Post subject: Re: 1978 Dakota Beige Westfalia Project |
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That's looking great! Congrats! _________________ 1976 Westy
1966 Beetle |
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busboyjake Samba Member
Joined: September 22, 2002 Posts: 393 Location: Colorado
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Posted: Tue Aug 02, 2016 7:15 am Post subject: Re: 1978 Dakota Beige Westfalia Project |
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This was my first attempt to re-index the rear. Fail. i think just turned the outers up one. It was way too high in the rear before, now too low.
I got it right this time.
With that done, I decided to start taking of the primer and other paint to see what was underneath - maybe salvage original paint.
Took the ol' girl on her first proper mountain camping trip. That's my buddy Ryan's bus - The '77 mentioned before.
More primer removal:
_________________ 1965 Pearl White Caravelle Camper
1978 Dakota Beige Westy
1969 Montana Red Westy (for sale soon)
Last edited by busboyjake on Tue Aug 02, 2016 12:08 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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busboyjake Samba Member
Joined: September 22, 2002 Posts: 393 Location: Colorado
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Posted: Tue Aug 02, 2016 7:24 am Post subject: Re: 1978 Dakota Beige Westfalia Project |
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More work on the interior: This is hooking up the gas heater in the spare tire well.
Sorry about the pics - Photobucket seems to be broken and wont let me rotate pics.
Here's the exhaust i fabricated from pipe fittings. I had a piece fabricated to adapt the exhaust to something threaded that I could attach to and would actually seal.
Hole in the floor and heat resistant piece to run exhaust thru.
Test-fit
Kitchenette installation
Modifications for gas heater.
Fresh air Intake
Venting through the kitchenette, routed to the vent under the cooler.
Plumbing for cooler ice melt drain
Added a 12V Outlet
Moving IN!
_________________ 1965 Pearl White Caravelle Camper
1978 Dakota Beige Westy
1969 Montana Red Westy (for sale soon) |
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jmstu76 Samba Member
Joined: March 01, 2004 Posts: 1227 Location: Edmond Oklahoma
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Posted: Tue Aug 02, 2016 8:47 am Post subject: Re: 1978 Dakota Beige Westfalia Project |
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so you went with a straight piece of vinyl tubing instead of the P trap on the sink drain? I don't really think you need the P trap. _________________ James
'76 Deluxe Sage Green Westy
2258 cc GD case 78mm CW crank, 2.0 H-beam rods 5,325” 22mm pin, JE forged pistons with 15cc dish, JE rings, type 11 clearanced oil pump, CB Eagle 2205 Type-2 “Torque Special” hydraulic cam with matched lifters fed by CB Dual Weber 40 IDF MX with 6” foam air filters, currently 55 idle, 130 main, 200 air correction, 32 mm venturis. 27in General Grabber AT2 All Terrains, Berg Shifter, stock '76 exhaust HPC Ceramic Coated. 11/18/2020 |
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Kirk Samba Member
Joined: December 05, 2003 Posts: 5487 Location: North Texas
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Posted: Tue Aug 02, 2016 8:59 am Post subject: Re: 1978 Dakota Beige Westfalia Project |
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Love this bus. One to rule them all. Love the beige. _________________ MAKE FORUMS GREAT AGAIN
Bear
Coble
Super
Oppenheim |
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busboyjake Samba Member
Joined: September 22, 2002 Posts: 393 Location: Colorado
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Posted: Tue Aug 02, 2016 9:01 am Post subject: Re: 1978 Dakota Beige Westfalia Project |
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Bodywork and paint:
The first night
The second
Day 3 - I decided to at least locate the holes for a nose emblem.... Found this:
Ground it off and began hammering. I had to push the nose out about 0.25 inches
A tiny skim coat of evercoat fiber
Sanded it back and a tiny skim coat of evercoat metal glaze
For the record - When people tell you there's no filler in a car that has had bodywork done, its usually BS. There are people that can shape metal with precision and art. I know these people. I am not one of them. I can get it really close, but at least i replaced the Auto-Zone pink crap with quality product and its a minimal thickness when applied.
For the most part, I wanted to prep and paint my own car....
More sanding and straightening and removing/repairing old bodywork:
Etch Primer
Filler primer:
Blocking (the whole bus of course - pics are of the nose):
In the paint booth..... wipe, tack, blow, repeat
Color:
_________________ 1965 Pearl White Caravelle Camper
1978 Dakota Beige Westy
1969 Montana Red Westy (for sale soon) |
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busboyjake Samba Member
Joined: September 22, 2002 Posts: 393 Location: Colorado
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Posted: Tue Aug 02, 2016 9:09 am Post subject: Re: 1978 Dakota Beige Westfalia Project |
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jmstu76 wrote: |
so you went with a straight piece of vinyl tubing instead of the P trap on the sink drain? I don't really think you need the P trap. |
I agree, and that was my thinking. It opened up more space inside the cabinet as well. I originally thought I wanted to make the kitchenette more removable, but I cant see myself going to the hassle ever again.
It is worth mentioning that I also removed the backing board on the kitchen unit as it was redundant after I made a panel for that wall. _________________ 1965 Pearl White Caravelle Camper
1978 Dakota Beige Westy
1969 Montana Red Westy (for sale soon) |
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okartguy Samba Member
Joined: May 10, 2004 Posts: 165 Location: Tulsa, OK
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Posted: Tue Aug 02, 2016 9:09 am Post subject: Re: 1978 Dakota Beige Westfalia Project |
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Having seen this bus up close within the last couple of weeks, I can attest that it's beautiful. Excellent work! _________________ JJ
Tulsa, OK
'79 Westfalia / 2.0 + dual DRLA 40s / 16" steelies
'75 Westfalia "Project Orange Peel" https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=10164122#10164122 |
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busboyjake Samba Member
Joined: September 22, 2002 Posts: 393 Location: Colorado
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Posted: Tue Aug 02, 2016 9:12 am Post subject: Re: 1978 Dakota Beige Westfalia Project |
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okartguy wrote: |
Having seen this bus up close within the last couple of weeks, I can attest that it's beautiful. Excellent work! |
Thanks! They look pretty good side-by-side. We should get them and the families together more often! I'll post the pic from Tally's here in a bit. _________________ 1965 Pearl White Caravelle Camper
1978 Dakota Beige Westy
1969 Montana Red Westy (for sale soon) |
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busboyjake Samba Member
Joined: September 22, 2002 Posts: 393 Location: Colorado
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busboyjake Samba Member
Joined: September 22, 2002 Posts: 393 Location: Colorado
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Posted: Tue Aug 02, 2016 9:29 am Post subject: Re: 1978 Dakota Beige Westfalia Project |
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Out of the booth and reassembly:
For whatever reason the passenger door color ended up being off. I may have missed it on the final coat due to fume-induced delirium. Anyhow, I plan to re-shoot the door and the engine hatch sometime soon.
Prepping the top and bumpers:
Heres my color mix. I used the same tints as the body color just diluted in white. The left is pure white, the right is bumper and top color.
Here's a color test holding it up to the body in daylight.
_________________ 1965 Pearl White Caravelle Camper
1978 Dakota Beige Westy
1969 Montana Red Westy (for sale soon) |
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busboyjake Samba Member
Joined: September 22, 2002 Posts: 393 Location: Colorado
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Posted: Tue Aug 02, 2016 10:32 am Post subject: Re: 1978 Dakota Beige Westfalia Project |
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Dropped the motor down to detail, por-15, and paint the engine bay.
almost done!
Out for a "victory lap"
My boy at the wheel
Headed back to CO & met up with some friends on the way
_________________ 1965 Pearl White Caravelle Camper
1978 Dakota Beige Westy
1969 Montana Red Westy (for sale soon) |
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busboyjake Samba Member
Joined: September 22, 2002 Posts: 393 Location: Colorado
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Posted: Tue Aug 02, 2016 10:36 am Post subject: Re: 1978 Dakota Beige Westfalia Project |
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First trip - RMNP & Estes PArk to meet up with some family
_________________ 1965 Pearl White Caravelle Camper
1978 Dakota Beige Westy
1969 Montana Red Westy (for sale soon) |
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busboyjake Samba Member
Joined: September 22, 2002 Posts: 393 Location: Colorado
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Posted: Tue Aug 02, 2016 10:39 am Post subject: Re: 1978 Dakota Beige Westfalia Project |
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Camping In the Pike National Forest
_________________ 1965 Pearl White Caravelle Camper
1978 Dakota Beige Westy
1969 Montana Red Westy (for sale soon) |
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