Gwynnie, our new 1974 Westy

Discussion in 'Show Us Your Ride' started by Martin Jones, Feb 19, 2015.

  1. Gwynnie arrived with us on the back of a truck at the crack of dawn this morning, much to our excitement. She's a 1974 Campmobile with blue plaid interior. We've chosen the name Gwynnie because we live in Wales and Gwyneth is Welsh for white, happiness or blessed - which seems appropriate for a camper van.
    She came from Colorado Springs and there's a fair bit of Colorado dust ingrained in her seats (it took 7 washes in the bath to get the covers clean). We bought her from Restore and More NE and couldn't have been happier with the service we received. It was a 600 mile round trip to see her before buying but well worth the effort (especially as they treated us to breakfast rolls!). The guys were more than happy to put her on the ramp so we could inspect underneath and she was solid as a rock, just as they had described to us.

    [​IMG]

    The only welding she required was a battery tray and a small piece on the nearside front wheel arch, which were done by Restore & More. She has an engine and gearbox but they're not currently fitted. She's got original paint and is very straight. Our teenage son is highly embarrassed by the hippie stickers like this one on her bumper but they're staying ;-)

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    The interior is all complete but needs a good clean and reassembly.
    [​IMG]

    Here is a photo of her bottom (ooh-er!)
    [​IMG]

    That's all for now, we've already removed some of the furniture and upholstery to clean the covers and replace the foam. Will post more as we go along. It's taken us 20 years to get another Bay since we sold this rustbucket Early Devon for £65, and hopefully she will be well worth the wait and the blood, sweat and tears it might take to get her on the road :)

    [​IMG]
     
  2. rickyrooo1

    rickyrooo1 Hanging round like a bad smell

    Nice one, enjoy it and hope all goes well sorting the engine etc
     
  3. Lots of potential there. Nice colour combination too with the white and blue plaid.
     
  4. bernjb56

    bernjb56 Supporter

    Looks good - keep posting pictures for us please :thumbsup:
     
  5. rickyrooo1

    rickyrooo1 Hanging round like a bad smell

    would be cooler if you also lived in Gwynedd :cool:
     
  6. Ooh lovely!
     
  7. MorkC68

    MorkC68 Administrator

    Nice one - good luck with the project! I do like the contrast of the blue plaid against the white body colour, it suits it!
     
  8. £65 quid!??!? wow! how cool would it be for it to be still on the road!? although its work about 150 times what you sold it for! lol

    also whats that attached to the side of the far unit? looks like a very low buddy seat!
     
    Gingerbus likes this.
  9. davidoft

    davidoft Sponsor

    Maybe a heater ?
     
    nicktuft likes this.
  10. ah yes!
     
    davidoft likes this.
  11. Nice, look forward to seeing the restorations.
     
  12. Flakey

    Flakey Supporter

    Nice one
    The heater pipe's off presumably to get the smuggled drugs out
    Good luck with the project.
     
    MorkC68 likes this.
  13. Been applying a fair bit of elbow grease to Gwynnie over the weekend. Jobs done include:
    Completely stripped her interior so she is naked! Very pleased to see a distinct lack of rust - she just needs a good clean.
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    We were also very pleasantly surprised to find 3 genuine VW seatbelts fitted - which will save us a job. She was obviously destined to find us as we have 3 kids!
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    Haven't started to tackle the dashboard yet. The front seats are not in bad nick, just filthy and the cover is ripped on the back of the driver's seat.
    The next job was to strip the covers off the rock and roll bed and pop top bed. Didn't risk these in the washing machine - hand washed them in the bath instead. This is the colour of the water on the first rinse - it took 7 washes on each cushion before the rinsing water came out clean but they look great now - good as new.
    [​IMG]
    The cooker unit was first to be cleaned. We discovered some business cards inside it, and also some cute ice cube trays inside the fridge. The fridge seal took a bit of cleaning - it's not in great condition but at least now it's reasonably hygienic - not worth replacing it until we find out whether the fridge works...
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
     
    Scorched_earth and Buddy Hawks like this.
  14. This is the cooker before cleaning:
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    And after. Surprising what you can achieve with a Brillo pad.
    Fridge seal before and after pics:
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    Next was the sink unit. We don't want to use the fresh water tank so have removed this to give us extra storage space. We will keep it though, in case we ever decide to sell Gwynnie. The tap didn't work and we will need to find a replacement to cover the hole. We took the very dodgy looking gas heater off the side - not sure what to do with it.
    Sink before and after pics:
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG] [​IMG]
    More work needed to repair the laminate, obviously - and we are hoping a friend will be able to replace the rather manky shelf inside with some new plyboard for us.
    Lots of fiddling with cupboard catches and we're able to open the drawer and cupboards - hurrah!
    Next tasks are the wardrobe, making curtains, fitting new foam and zips into the upholstery, stripping the electrics out of the dashboard etc etc. Hours of fun yet to come!
     
  15. Looks great. My interior was in a similar state 12 months ago.. :)
     
  16. Moons

    Moons Supporter

    @Martin Jones nice van!! Glad to hear you'll keep the interior, it's a rare one!! @poptop2, which do you think it is?

    You can get replacement laminate from these guys - http://nlavw.com/gb/

    Ask for offcuts if the price for a big part is too steep - they are the ONLY place I have found with spot on match for the original Cherry as used in latebay Westies, there are lots of similar or close, but none with the exact colour and woodgrain effect.
     
  17. The interior is called a Helsinki layout and as Moons says NLAVW are the only place to buy the proper replacement laminate as they have had it made to match as close as possible to the original.
     
  18. great job cleaning that lot! can I ask what that thing i coming through the bulk head by the belts?
     
  19. It appears to be some sort of solenoid? we think it must have had a leisure battery under the seat at some time.Will investigate further on the weekend.
     

Share This Page