Just consumed all 7 pages and watched the youtube video! Great journey and love how its shaping up! What are you doing with the interior?
I've found the melamine paint can be removed with 2k thinners, so will refit the original units for over the summer and then possibly get them replaced over the winter. I've got the same type of lining for the walls and roof as originally fitted and the cushions will be retrimmed in blue fabric (currently learning to drive a sewing machine!) The painted unit Stripped of paint and replacement black edging applied. Needs more work on the handles but came up a lot better than I thought.
All the electrics worked with the exception of the fuel gauge. I hoped I'd messed up with the dashboard wiring when the dash was reinstalled but alas not, so the engine had to come out again (which i think this is the 4th or 5th time since starting the project) and I can extract the fuel tank and replace the sender unit. Hardly progress, but all part of a learning curve which says fit the dash before installing the fuel tank! Good news is that the sender is in fact faulty and a new one is on order. At least none of the nuts and bolts are seized!
After the brief interlude of replacing the fuel tank sender and refitting the engine, it's back to the interior! The old lining was faded, seems to have degraded, was stained and needed to be replaced. Oh, and there wasn't much left as most had been stripped out already As you can see, not too great so this was stripped off to expose the fibreglass, cleaned up and recovered Pushing the lining into each moulding took time but was a lot easier to do than anticipated. The bellows were then attached whilst the roof was off and then it was fitted back onto the bus with the help from three more people. The roof really does weigh the same as a small whale! At this point i have to confess to a lack of photos showing the progress but below shows the trimmed side panels and roof in position. Then the sliding boards which make up the bed in the roof got the same treatment before After Next onto the floor The insulation is a closed cell foam so this went on first, followed by the plywood And then the lino Pleased with the overall result and the original ali side moulding has been retained
Good point, but the engine is back in now...... will do it next time the sender needs to be replaced!
Just been scrolling through and it looks ace! I've also got a small whale weighted pop top and same interior as you. The finish you got on the carpeted roof looks ace. How has progress been going over the past few months?
Thanks @Joe Hill. I stripped the paint off the original units but they weren't in the best of condition so put them in as a temporary measure and used the van over the summer. I had already booked a slot to have the interior refitted by Mark @ Camperinterior, this has now been completed and the results look good. Will post some pictures shortly.
Nice one! Mine are pretty tatty too but tbh I find they have a lot of charachter, even if they are just chipboard haha. Nifty! Glad to hear you're pleased with it all What will you be using the van for?
I spent a long time getting the paint of the original units, however, as the paint was removed it became apparent as to why they had been painted as they were in poor condition and resembled Weetabix. I put them back in as a temporary measure and went to Techenders, the New Forest, the IOW Festival and Cornwall for a week and have had a great time, then they came out again and the bus went up to Leeds for the replacemet units, which I think you'll agree make a huge difference. As it is so visible I thought it better to get someone to complete this part of the build. still a bit of trimming to do .....and then, meet Ruby, the next project which I collected at the weekend. Have always wanted a Splitty and this has the original wood Devon conversion which is lovely. Planning on keeping both.
Been busy replacing the brakes on the Bay. Calipers were sticking and the discs pitted so waited for one of the winter GSF deals and purchased new disc and calipers because the caliper cost was cheaper than refurbishing, less that £100 for the pair and recommended by a local VW expert. Everything was cleaned and then reassembled At the same time I made new brake pipes and replaced all the hoses as it looked as though everything was original (and as it happened, quite rusty!) Reason for making new pipes is that 1) the kits shown on the normal suppliers reference the fact that not all the pipes are included 2) It's quite therapeatic and 3) I had access to a good swaging tool and it was a lot cheaper Then onto the rear- new wheel cylinders and shoes were assembled after another thorough cleaning. New Springs were also fitted The adjusters were a bit stiff so freed off with WD40 and then copper ease coated so they are now easy to adjust. The master cylinder was leaking so that has also been replaced, therefore with the exception of the front/rear bias valve, the whole braking system has been replaced.
Looking good! Keep it up and hope you can continue to enjoy the work. It's always a bit surreal seeing such shiney new parts on these vans aha. What will you do with the other bus when you're not using it now that you have two?
The Bay will be the main one I use & tbh there isn’t a plan on what I’m going to do with the Splitty other than to restore it.
