Time capsule Sage Green, Pastel White, '76 Standard

[Bad Hippie]

Well it's been years since I started a thread on here. Life and all that it entails, tends to happen though.

I'm breaking my silence however, due to a new project I just had delivered. A 1976, Sage Green and Pastel White, Standard. This is my first Baywindow, so I'm sure I'll have plenty of stupid questions.

I guess I'd better start at the beginning. I got this bus from a buddy of mine. He picked it up maybe 10-15 years ago. He purchased it for $300 or $400 from the original owner. The story I was told, is that the bus was trapped in a small flood. Water was over the engine. After that the original owner shoved it into his carport and it sat.


After my buddy got it, he brought it to his dad's house. He didn't do anything with it. At the time he was on a VW kick and was buying all he could. No real focus, just buy it and stash it. I remember when he got it, and thought about making an offer over the years, but with living in rentals and already owning my bus and a few other bugs along the way, I never did. Unfortunately this last year, his dad passed away. I was contacted to see if I may be able to assist in the VW department of clearing out the property.

Here is the bus when I first went over to look at the situation.

I was surprised at how good it's condition was. Not what I remembered at all. Yeah it was growing into the property, but overall very straight, relatively solid and incredibly complete. I thought it over as we checked out the rest of the property. In the end, I made an offer and we agreed on it.

[creative native]

I expect your Bus will clean up nicely.

What are you plans for it?
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"The holy land is everywhere." ~ Black Elk
1979 Westfalia P27, California FI emissions spec. 100% VW fleet: '79 Westfalia, 2013 Touareg Lux (Toffee Brown/Cornsilk Beige), 2005 Passat GLX.

[SGKent]

Welcome. Hope you have $35K and several years to get that one going again.

[Bad Hippie]

Gonna be a few posts to get us up to current.

Finally got her delivered to the house a few days ago. I was finally able to purchase my own property back in November. I've got space. I've got the shop (still got to get it set up) now the car collecting can really begin.

Photos from delivery day. Unfortunately my buddy got the covid, so it was delayed a bit. Fortunatly he got through it though with no major issues.

[Bad Hippie]

[Bad Hippie]

[Bad Hippie]

A few initial interior shots. It's really a time capsule inside. Compleat and unmolested.

[Bad Hippie]

The clean up begins.

I started with soap, water, and a brush, but progressed pretty quickly to the pressure washer.

Bust out the pressure washer...

The paint is still strong on this one.

[Bad Hippie]

I really just like this picture.

Part of me wishing I hadn't cleaned the moss off. How cool would it have been to just get it running and driving, and roll it into a show, still dripping moss...

[P24p1]

It's the new trend after patinas and living roofs on houses - living cars! I dig it
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1973 Westfalia named Angie

What rust?

Rev it - don't lug it!

[SGKent]

back to reality. Each moss spot may have eaten pinholes thru the metal. That is the greatest risk to the budget on this bay. It is hard to get rid of that rot, especially if the panels are layered so it is spreading between the layers. I had to deal with it in a couple roof spots and it is a real pain.
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“Most people don’t know what they’re doing, and a lot of them are really good at it.” - George Carlin

[Cap10323]

I'm so envious of you PNW guys. I have no idea what it is about the PNW, but you guys leave cars in the back yard, and they grow 2" of moss, but never rust.

Here in Ohio, my Bus sat outside for 5-10 years in similar conditions, grew no moss, but rusted like crazy. Just from siting.


All jokes aside, this is my absolute favorite paint scheme of bay, and I will be enjoying this thread a lot. Good luck, I think you've got a great starting point.
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-Ian

'77 Westfalia - 2.0 F.I

[Bad Hippie]

[Bad Hippie]

[Bad Hippie]

As far as progress is concerned, not much exciting to report. I'm still very much in the investigational stage. I've been doing a lot of gently try to move it. Squirt with PB Blaster. Wiggle. Tap. Soak with PB Blaster. Repeat the next day.

I did get the two flat wheels down to the used tire place. I brought a couple of split bus rims that needed old rubber taken off. They were able to save one tire. Now I've got 4 rollers on, so that will be helpful.

The original jack was in the bus. It still works.

One of my main goals right now, is getting the doors open. At the moment, all I have is the front passenger door. As I mentioned before, the drivers seat is rusted in place.its going to take some work to get it out and give me good access to the drivers door. The back hatch would be much easier to work on if I had the rear bench out of the way. So I've been concentrated on getting the slider to open.

This has been a real pain in the butt. I did manage to remove the panel with only 2 broken clips. I think one may have been broken before i touched it though. I've been educating myself as best as possible on how they work. I figured out when it's locked or unlocked. I took the C clip off the cable and think the front latch is working ok. So the problem lies beyond. Advice here would be appreciated.

Think that's about all for now.

Oh. I also got the Costco tent up last week, so no more sitting out in the elements. Still need to figure out how to push her in and stear from the far side though...

[otiswesty]

That's a sweet score. Congrats
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1978 Sage Green P22 Westfalia
1989 T3 Syncro Single cab

Just a regular guy

[Bad Hippie]

A bit of an update. I haven't had much time to play with this one in the last year. Basically I've been checking in every now and again to spray down things that should move, but don't.

Recently, my facility outsourced, and now I'm out of a job. I can't say I didn't see it coming, that's one of the reasons I invested in a few cars.

If push comes to shove, this will likely be one of the first to move on. So I've started working on it to get it ready, just in case.

I spent yesterday really working on getting all the doors open. When I got it, only the passenger side front, was operational. That's a big reason I haven't done much on it. Just too hot and stuffy inside.

Fortunately all the penetrating oil I've sprayed, payed off. After a day's concerted effort, I was able to finally get all the doors open. The slider will likely need a bit of exercise, and the cable is likely shot. Rusted solid in the housing.

The drivers door was also a pain. The window has been down a bit, for God knows how long. I finally managed to get it open. Now it doesn't want to stay closed. I'm going to be opening the panel to get into this door. I need to see what's going on with the window anyway.

All doors are open now, so that's a big win.

Also, you may note that she's under cover at least. She's been better protected than she has in a long time. Only getting better.

Next update is on clean up.

[Bad Hippie]

Mostly working on interior cleanup recently. The original headliner is in excellent shape, just a little dirty.

I decided to try a few cleaning products I had laying around to see what may work best.

Top section is 409. Middle is Oxyclean. Bottom is Armorall cleaning whipes.

After doing the side with what I had, I did a quick search on cleaning headliners. Distilled White Vinegar was recommended, so I gave it a shot. It worked as well as the cleaning whipes, and it just so happens that we picked up 2 gallons from Costco a few days ago. Guess that answers the question of what in the heck are we going to need 2 gallons of Vinegar for!

It's a little difficult to see in the photos, but the Vinegar is working awesome. Spray on. Agitate with a soft bristle brush, and whipe off.

Of course the bus smells like an Italian salad now, but I'm ok with that. It works so good I think all the vinyl is getting cleaned with it. Cheep too. It was only about $7 for those 2 gallons at Costco.

[kguarnotta]

great updates...inspiring.

I think I'd try some nice EVOO on the seats, and maybe that would balance out nicely with the vinegar smell.

I can't wait to see how this goes....
_________________
-Kevin
Lincoln, MA

'86 Triple Knob Syncro w/EJ22
'78 Westy
'69 Single Cab
'65 Kombi - EZ-Camper

[69BahamaYellow]

This bus looks a lot like the one my son and I restored. Straight Clorox bleach applied to headliner, vinyl and floors with a damp sponge brought ours back to brand new condition. wipe it on and the black stuff turns yellow after a few minutes. wait a little longer and wipe off with sponge and water.