Room for one more? WildIdea's 1960 camper bus

[Two Glove Boxes]

This part sucks but it always the most rewarding when you see that og paint bleeding through. Good Job!
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1951 Split Standard Hoffman Build

1960 Dove Blue Double Cab Patina Build

Two Glove Boxes

DLK

[WildIdea]

[WildIdea]

[WildIdea]

[sled]

Im glad someone suggested a solvent more appropriate for what you are doing, the previous stuff you used is definitely too weak...well too weak for my patience anyway

I use brake-clean on gunk/grime like that and it just melts away. Scrape off the majority of it like you have been doing, but then just soak and spray, very little scrubbing or picking required. Zero damage to original paint/primer/sealer.

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drive your split.

[mandraks]

[WildIdea]

Pretty decent day of Volkscleaning. I started out pretty fresh on the lower transaxle mounts while laying on my back with a paper towel roll under my neck. I hit the worst of it before my arms eventually gave out. Anything overhead is a drag and the wax and grease remover is a huge help in minimizing the suffering. Just chipping away at that and any ground gained here is a positive. I got a little further than the middle line, so hoping that will pay off when I come at it from the other side.

After that effort, I was ready to advance something in a different body position, preferably looking down. I decided to tackle the passenger side wheel well section.

It was pretty dirty a few weeks ago and I've been taking it down in layers and pretty much ready for its final stripping and detail.

I pulled the data plate for some damage control there and worked through the surface rust and stripped it down in the ultrasonic. I used my stereoscopic magnifier hood and a wax carving blade to take down the rust just above the plate surface and used a heated Simple Green solution that brought back a pretty original tin reflective surface without putting hairlines all over it. I applied a thin coat of grease on the back of the plate before mounting it up.

The area overall is pretty solid. I used simple green in a spray bottle, CLR on a sponge and even applied a bit of the wax and grease remover around the gas tank drain hole to remove the remaining seal adhesive.

I have wiring harness body grommets on my order list, but these two are not cracked, so I rubbed a dot of gear oil on them to melt off the dirty scale. Several clean water washes and some compressed air in the seams and a thin spray wax coat and this was the result. Pretty solid day as 4-5 hours straight is hard to come by these days.

Thinking I'll attempt a repeat of this on the other side tomorrow and see how far I get, my day is looking like I'll be able to get out there and keep going.
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1977 Sage Green Westy
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=691987
1965 SWR Walk-Through Standard
1960 211 Panel American Camper Conversion

[ddutch]

You did a beautiful job on that engine room, it looks very clean and nice now but it's still factory original. That tip on using a degreaser pays off big time.

[Two Glove Boxes]

[BarryL]

When you blink your eyes in the dark what do you see?

[Bendango]

Wow this is awesome.
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I want a real garage.

WANTED - [WTB] 55-62 Bus Thin Lip Package Tray SWR

Getting Used - SWR 60 westy copy built by vw ( apparently )
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=320866

[oakman]

[DubStyle]

Nice work! At first I thought this was the same camper that sat on the street near Canyon Lake in Rapid City for years. I had to go back and look at the pictures again. They had an external power connection on that one. Keep up the great work.
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Anthony

SBS #1
SBS #1 on FB

"The original & best lowered Split Bus website/club"

[WildIdea]

A group Thanks for checking in ddutch, German Krew, BarryL, burin, oakman, and DubStyle. I appreciate the comments, they are very encouraging!

[WildIdea]

I was able to get after it again the following day and finish up the lower transaxle mount tar removal. I had tackled the passenger side first, not just because the gas had dripped on it, but it also had the most built up crud. It looks to me like the axle on that side leaked a bit more. I'm also right handed so I had better control laying on my back from the passenger side and could reach in there pretty far with my arm. It was a bit more awkward with my left hand from the other side and was grateful the remaining crud was not as bad. Still took a few hours, even with the wax and grease remover.

There is still a spot at the front of the center of the torsion tube that needs attention, but I had to save that for later and get out from under the bus and reset my physical and mental composure. It takes a measure of concentration for me to wiggle under the bus and do the stripping work, and eventually I hit a limit and just call it for the session. I had some other responsibilities to tackle for the mid day and decided to go back out in the evening to tackle the other wheel well area.

It's a pretty light weight sedimentary dust caked on this area. Just takes water to break it up and wipe it off. That reveals a hidden level of rust scale that has poked through and grown over the paint. I have a few small areas that are behind the gas tank where I feel some mice pee ate up some paint. Nothing critical, but I didn't escape that entirely. I'm noticing some decent size paint runs around the well and feel like the rust is showing up in the further reaches because the paint wasn't really spraying in there that boldly. I got after it in earnest, but there just isn't that much paint in the far corner.

I thought I might remove the duct work here but kinda got lazy because the bus is full of parts at the moment and I didn't want to empty that and crawl in there to unhook it. Then I realized there is a nice bead of sealant around the duct and the body so that made the decision for me to leave it, at least for now. I did feel the cleaning around it with water and compressed air was thourough. I can actually stick my whole hand and arm inside the duct to my elbow and it wasn't that dusty inside so I may very well be living that this way. Two days in a row and basically 4 session of cleaning and I can feel it today! Hurts so good!

So I have the lower transaxle mount cleaned and basically detailed. That and the gas tank area and upper wells finished. I still have the compartment ceiling to tackle as well as the rear facing edge of that's pretty bad and the rear corners. Looks good facing forward, but pretty bad when I turn around in there! Not to forget the underside of the wheel wells still to go. It's getting less intense in these areas, so glad I checked off the worst first. I've been exploring the tail lights and wiring and have a box of seals and random bits to install in the compartment to advance that a bit as time permits. I'm feeling like this weekend I could get up front and unhook the shifter and pull the rod to assess and recondition the tube and parts, well see how it shapes up. Thanks for checking it out!

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1977 Sage Green Westy
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=691987
1965 SWR Walk-Through Standard
1960 211 Panel American Camper Conversion

[AS350driver]

“ The people, places and things that came and went....all forming me in small ways to be in a position to take this project on. This bus was parked outside baking in the sun and thawing ice for all of it, nearly the entire span of my life. I was 5 when it was last licensed. Now our paths have intersected and we occupy the same space in time. It's weird to think about.”

Isn’t it though? To think of where your bus was at key points of your existence? I know the history of my 65 subhatch going back to the late 80’s, told to me by the lady who sold it to me. Before that is foggy.....it was sold new in Germany, took a detour to Westfalia-Werke, ended up with 1965 California plates on it......then turns up in the late 80’s in Silver City, NM. It was somewhere for 20 years, but where?

It sounds like you’ve got the history of yours pinned down going a lot further back.

[MorkC68]

What a pleasant surprise!!

Hey buddy, stumbled across your new splittie last night, been catching up with what your doing.

What a great looking bus, I'm pleased for you and have enjoyed reading the story to date, its looks very good under the grime.

Good luck and I will await further updates..duly subscribed to!
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Major; 1977 Westfalia Campmobile
- Subaru EJ20
- Koni Classic adjustable dampers & Empi Heavy Duty Anti Roll Bar
- 180W Solar System

My blog: https://twolatebays.wordpress.com/

[Bendango]

Wow - double stacking the updates this week! Thanks! We are traveling and it’s been years since I saw my Bus, will be a few more until I see it again. So your thread is good therapy in the mean time. I

Your work got me scratching my head so much I had to scour for a picture to asses my engine bay. I POR’d up to the engine seal. So no frame horn work but I will have to go and repeat what you have done in the engine area when a new engine goes in.

Keep up the good work - this is way better than Netflix!

_________________
I want a real garage.

WANTED - [WTB] 55-62 Bus Thin Lip Package Tray SWR

Getting Used - SWR 60 westy copy built by vw ( apparently )
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=320866

[WildIdea]

[WildIdea]