A bus (and vw) newbie....

[fitysea]

Hey Man

I need some Roof metal!!!
I sent you a PM.

hook me up with some of what you cut off.

Please

[chgrec]

It will go back to its original colors and my plan is to make it close to a single cab in general appearance so that at first glance (with it's removable hard top on) it will seem like a single cab. I will use the single cab tie downs, a single cab top & plan on getting one of busware's tonneau & tilt covers (with added side windows) as well. I have lots of other details that I will share as I work through them all. So much fun planning this out while trying to keep as much original VW split as I can...After all VW even thought about this at one point, albeit a bay.

https://ranwhenparked.net/2013/09/19/ran-when-park...nvertible/

I guess time will tell if I have the necessary skills or not...

Chris

[chgrec]

[Pinetops]

I didn't see it coming either but most people woudn't be brave enough to tackle that bus in the first place so I say do what you want with it. Not that you need anyone's blessing! With your metal skills and other projects you've shown, I'm sure it will be done to a high standard. I'm interested to see how it turns out.
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"A rolling bus gathers no rust."

[chgrec]

That was my thought as well. I figured that if I didn't try this, this poor bus would be chopped up and parted out. That is so sad to me and I figured any chance to get it back on the road would be better than dissection.

I also wanted folks here to understand my thought process so I could still post my progress, help others who might learn from my work, and to get assistance/insight as needed. (Plus to keep the flame throwing to a minimum!)

Thanks for following along,
Chris

[chgrec]

I've fallen over and I cant get up! I was able to get it rolled over last night so the bus is on it's side! I did discover that since it is more top heavy than my MGB was, this recycled wooden rotisserie isn't the best design for the bus. It will work for now but I'd sit the bus lower in the wood frame if I were to do it again.

I can now clean up the bottom of the bus & weld up the frame a little more. The plan is to box in the C channel frame and then run some cross braces. There are also a few rusty things to replace under there as well. Then a good cleaning and prep before I put it back upright. Eventually, it will go back over on its side one more time when I am ready to shoot body color tinted bed liner all over the underside.

I was pleased by how stiff the bus is with the repairs & additional framing that I have already added. I used the front factory (and new) jack point to lift the bus up to the rotator's radius and there was no flex at all. Pretty cool...at least to me though I am easily amused.

[chgrec]

Roll it over and do it again! I got the passenger frame welded up with a 4" x 1/4" steel across the C channel to box it up.

I also took the time to button up a lot of other welds I had made and either did a poor job or couldn't get to it when it was right side up.

So now its rolled over on the driver side so I can weld up that side of the frame as well as touch up other welds from this side. Then I'll coat the inside of the frame with some inner chassis spray with a hose & 360 tip. I have used it several times on other cars and it seems to work really well.

Once that's done, its time to roll it back upright and start on the floors...

[chgrec]

I am still making progress, which may or may not be a good thing depending on your thoughts around my modifications to this formerly toasty bus. Had a trip to Houston for work and a vacation tie up some of my time but I finally finished the cargo area floor, at least the major parts of it. I still have to do a little more trimming and grinding to do around the edges but that will come. There are more of the “to do” still to go than I prefer but I will get there.

Talk about a lot of welding & grinding, that floor took forever! Lots of little spot welds in lots of little holes make for a very lengthy process, especially with an extra cross member I added for some additional strength. The only real disappointment was that I couldn't find a floor that was specifically for a double door bus. That meant the driver side edge had to be modified to get the hang over right as well as to add a door catch to the middle. A bit of a pain but it came out ok....

It’s pretty cool though to be able to stand on the bed and have it feel so solid now. It also makes for a great work space and a place to put things. You can see some of my “metal fab” practice sections piled on the floor, but more about that later…

_________________
Life's to short to drive a boring car!

Follow my latest project: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=668542&highlight=

My previous project: http://www.mgexp.com/journal/chgrec/

[chgrec]

I needed to replace the battery tray and the exterior metal just outside of the tray. The lower section has a taper with a dual curve, top to bottom and left to right so the lower section needed be smaller & slightly shorter than the top. This need allowed me to try another technique, metal shrinking.

As you heat up metal, it shrinks and thickens as it cools. Using a propane torch & a soaking wet rag, you can heat up an area until it is glowing red then cool it quickly by wetting it with the rag. It’s not the fastest route or perhaps not as easy as using a shrinking tool (which I don’t have, yet) but it’s pretty cool (no pun intended) watching the metal slowly shrink into place.

It took about an hour and a half to do the entire section and while I still need to finish the welding & grinding on it, I am happy with learning the process and seeing it actually work as intended. Gotta love learning new stuff!

_________________
Life's to short to drive a boring car!

Follow my latest project: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=668542&highlight=

My previous project: http://www.mgexp.com/journal/chgrec/

[Eric&Barb]

Get a shrinking disc. You will be a lot happier with how that works, then the propane torch.
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In Stereo, Where Available!

[chgrec]

[Eric&Barb]

Look up the video for "Wolfesmetalfab" on youtube.com. Got the smaller disc from them for fixing up our VWs. Lots more control, over trying to use the flame method.
_________________
In Stereo, Where Available!

[chgrec]

[chgrec]

There are a few other areas of metal work that I haven’t done before. Not because I didn’t want to but because I never had a need that could I justify the expense of the specialty tools it takes. One was a metal brake for bending sheet metal, the other is a bead roller. Fortunately, this bus needs that kind of work so I could justify the purchase of some new tools.

I was able to make good use of the metal brake right away. A sub-frame cross member under the upper firewall had rusted through so it needed to be replaced. It took a bit of experimentation and test sections to get it where I was happy with it. Nice crisp edges and straight bends that I would not have been able to do without the brake. And I know because I really tried to make bends without one!

The most fun is the bead roller. The firewall above the engine had a few rust spots in it and the cost of replacing the entire panel with a green pre-fab one was much more that plain sheet metal and the 2 new tools. I had read some reviews of the HF ones and they seemed to be flimsy. I found a Woodward fab bead roller for a pretty good deal so I went with it. It is rock solid and doesn’t have any flex at all. I welded a mount it so I can bolt it onto my tubing bender stand vs using a bench vise to hold it. Works well.

It took lots of experimentation but I finally found a die set combination that would replicate the beads on the firewall so I was able to get the metal replaced. I will also go ahead and make belly pans as well when that time comes. That will be one of the last bits of metal work to do so it will be some time out before I get to that. That is, after I get all my touch up welding done....

_________________
Life's to short to drive a boring car!

Follow my latest project: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=668542&highlight=

My previous project: http://www.mgexp.com/journal/chgrec/

[chgrec]

I have been moving forward on the project, I just haven’t been posting much due to work hours & other life things. I have finished all the rust repair and replacement of panels, finally. Well, at least on the main body. I do still have the doors to do but those will come next.

I got the floors finished as well as the fender wells, splash guards, and all the rest of the underbody metal replacements. I shot the primer coats on it and next I’ll shoot the undercoat of bed liner tinted with L345 gray. I like bed liner under vehicles since it’s so robust. I have done several restorations this way and been very happy with the results. Not factory but it does a really nice job of protection. The L345 color seemed to be close to original for a lot of buses of this era. Once that’s on, then the bus gets rolled back up right!

_________________
Life's to short to drive a boring car!

Follow my latest project: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=668542&highlight=

My previous project: http://www.mgexp.com/journal/chgrec/

[chgrec]

l was able to shoot the undercoat over the long weekend. I did the wheel wells and under the cab floor with tinted gray bed liner. I like bed liner under vehicles since it’s so robust. Since I am putting belly pans back under the cargo area frame sections, I left the cargo floor without texture. I'll add texture to the pans when they go on later.

I have tried several brands but prefer U-pol Raptor. Coverage isn't as good as some of the others like SEM Rock-it but I think it finishes better. I have done several restorations this way and been very happy with the results. Not factory but it does a really nice job of protection. The gray underbody color (VW pale gray L345) seemed to be close to original for buses of this era though it seems a little tan'ish to me. The photos do look WAY more tan than reality but that's likely just a lighting thing. Regardless. it's not going to be an all original bus restoration anyways so I'll leave the color as is.

Once is all dry and covered with paper & plastic for protection from overspray, then the bus gets rolled back up right and the next phase kicks off!

_________________
Life's to short to drive a boring car!

Follow my latest project: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=668542&highlight=

My previous project: http://www.mgexp.com/journal/chgrec/

[Pinetops]

looks good
_________________
"A rolling bus gathers no rust."

[brettsvw]

Moving right along
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My 59 kombi build.
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=635003&highlight=

My buggy build.
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=558601&highlight=

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=289807

[chgrec]

Thanks. It took me 2 years to get to this point with my MGB. I am really enjoying the metal work as well. I have done a few small metal bits so far like the rear splash guard and part of the inner front fender.

Tonight I took a stab at the fuel filler catch tray. I looked and couldn't find one for sale anywhere and I am really glad I couldn't. I hadn't done complex curves before and I think it came out pretty good considering what I had left. No fancy English wheels or shrinker. Just a couple body hammers & dollies, an small anvil, a welder & my grinders. I do need to get a fuel tank filler seal to see how close my hole is. It seems a little small to me but I can adjust that later.

Too much fun!

Chris

_________________
Life's to short to drive a boring car!

Follow my latest project: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=668542&highlight=

My previous project: http://www.mgexp.com/journal/chgrec/

[GERMANAIRE]

Very Cool !! Nice Skillz On The Gas compartment tray and Luggage area.
Lots of work I can relate. Keep up the good work. Congrats, Peter