rusty nail to sow's ear

Sun 7th October 2012

Oktoberfest weekend, not many pics.
Thursday morning, collecting supplies.





Thursday evening, the calm before the storm.



Friday morning, the morning after the 1st storm. 60mph winds.



Saturday morning, after the 2nd storm.
3" of torrential rain collapsed the annexe, bent the poles and filled the fabric up with gallons of water forcing the awning down and snapping the lower leg joints.
The only thing that stopped the awning completely collapsing was the table in the annexe which supported most of the weight of the water.
Managed to crawl out, unattach the annexe and release the water without it cascading through the awning and through the sleeper section where Chloe was unaware of anything.
All at 0216....

Sun 7th October 2012

Anyway, Saturday morning dawned bright and dry in the JK field.













Saturday night is curry night, a tradition of ours since the first one. Note the hastily rigged light, no open fires allowed at River Dart Country Park, so we sat around a 13W energy efficient lamp.



Here's Darren collecting the "smartest air-cooled in camp award"



and his bus.



A brilliant weekend not affected by the weather, and the new venue is much better than the old one.

Sun 14th October 2012

Saturday morning saw the bus jacked up on drive and the heat exchangers wired open for the winter and seals fitted (forgot to get any clips....) during a hailstorm.....




Buddy seat has base coat on inside.




Westfalia sliding door handle on to make it easier to open door from inside with cooker unit fitted.

Mon 15th October 2012

Had a clear up over the weekend so I could actually get into the garage and do some work.
Another hour on the box tonight.

Tues 16th October 2012

And another rub down and coat of varnish.

Sat 20th October 2012

Time to start surgery again (at last) and get rid of the rotten rear corners, rear arches and o/s outer sill panel.
Where do I start?



I know, how about here....



....well, there is some decent metal under all the filler.



Bit of grot and plenty of artistic filler work in the seam though.



Holes? What holes?

Sat 20th October 2012

I know they're sold as "rust free" but it would be nice to be dent and filler free as well.......



Back home to strip out the interior ready for surgery next weekend.





Hopefully this will be one of the last pics of the rotten and crash damaged arse.

Sat 20th October 2012

And these turned up this afternoon as well.

Sun 21st October 2012

After a none to subtle hint that the perhaps I had too many "projects" on the go and that the trailer was starting to become a depositary for "stuff", I cracked on with the trailer boards today.
Rub down with fine wire wool and a few coats of Thompson's Water Seal to regain the water repellent properties of the composite boards.









And not to be left out, I gave the base a coat of sealer as well.



Doesn't look like I accomplished much for a full day, does it?
I'll let them dry for a couple of days, then start re-assembling the trailer and start on the wiring.

Sat 27th October 2012

Very cold and frosty start here, scraped the windscreen and went to start the bus for the trip down to the workshop.
Hmmm, no generator light and not even a click from the solenoid. Bollocks.
As I went to lift the engine lid I remembered that the battery was in the garage.

Anyway, finally got to the yard and spent most of the time down there trimming the corner cuts ready for fitting.




The latter part of today was spent re-assembling the trailer.







Just need to fiddle with the wiring and source a couple of tyres.

Wed 31st October 2012

Fitted this today.









But it started like this.....

After perusing the internet and resto galleries for rev counters, I got a bit fed up of not being able to find one with a sensible scale for an air-cooled engine, and they didn't look right for me. Cost was another consideration as well.
Had a bit of a brainstorm last Sunday evening, and as Nick's got a 924 parked up in the corner of the yard I relieved it of the rev counter. The only trouble was, I didn't want to mount it below the dash and I couldn't find a 100mm pod.
Well, necessity is the mother of invention apparently, so I had a rummage through the garage.

Hmmmm,



an old barrier cream pot fits perfectly, but is too deep,



A short piece of 32mm waste pipe bonded on and a bit of fine wet and dry to give it a key.



About 6 coats of satin black.



After another couple of coats of paint, a couple of holes for fixing and cables, all fitted and working.










Quite pleased with myself. :smug:

Sat 3rd November 2012

Work commenced on the seat base this morning.





After 5 hours of sanding and some sore fingers....

Fri 9th November 2012

At last, the time has come to start work on the rotten rear end today.







How much filler?







Hmmmm, that doesn't look right.



Definitely not.

Fri 9th November 2012



Almost 44 years of corrosion.



These gloves don't like grinder sparks....



Trimmed back ready to fit the corner tomorrow.



That'll do for tonight.

Sat 10th November 2012

Well, I'm glad I fucked about with some jump leads and a booster pack to get the bus into the workshop last night, it absolutely pissed down all night.

All that hard work yesterday paid off.







Shame about the wheel tub and arch though.....



....yes, the arch is stuck on top of the og one with gobs of filler.



That'll do for today.

Sat 17th November 2012

Phew.....

Corner, arch and tub repairs complete. The arch panel was kinked so didn't fit straight, and lots of fiddly bits to get the arch to fit, also needed repair plates to the end of the sill section and the corner of the engine compartment panel.
The corner was much easier.







All seam sealed and undersealed after the pics were taken.





Ran out of filler, so that and paint are the next instalment, oh, and the off-side repair panel.

Workshop mo pic to finish.

Mon 19th November 2012

Bloody rain, another day lost.

Thurs 22nd November 2012

Managed to get the bus out of the rain this afternoon, thanks Nick.
Bit of filler on the rust, but not dent free corner,



and a bit on the arch repair, forgot my sanding block so just a rough coat 'til tomorrow.




Had a bit of a wet and blustery day here today.......

Sat 24th November 2012

Long day today, covered the workshop in filler dust and then broke the gearshift on Nick's pick up.
Finally got the filler off out in the yard and then removed the outer sill to find the middle sill missing, well it was there at one time....



Sorted that, made up some plates to repair the holes in the seam between the arch and long panel, and then fixed the outer sill.
Really pleased, thanks very much for your assistance Nick.
Schofield's repair panel is a brilliant fit, just could do with being slightly heavier gauge steel.



Got a coat of filler on after this pic, flatting back tomorrow morning ready for a primer coat.

Sun 25th November 2012

After another 4 hours filling and sanding this morning, I have to say that I have new respect for all the bodyshop guys that do this everyday.
Unless you've done a bit of this yourself don't complain about how much the respray on your bus will cost, 'cos it's worth every penny.

Mon 26th November 2012

It appears that the bus has been hit in the o/s corner at some point as you can see by the ripples under the window in this pic.
So a bit more work.



After yet more filling and sanding yesterday, I had a quick rub down today with some wet and dry.



Still needs another wipe over, and the panel seams tidying.
I hate filling and sanding.

Fri 30th November 2012

Today I have been mostly sanding and filling (again), although I actually did some seam sealing as well.





Don't care about pretty, what I want is protection.

And a coat of paint at last,



needs a rub back and some pinholes filling, but that's tomorrow.

Sat 1st December 2012

It appears that fresh paint doesn't like frost very much.
Parked in workshop this morning with the space heater on. Rubbed back the primer coat and a bit of filler on some pinholes, not too keen on the yellow primer I used, the more expensive grey U-Pol primer is much better.
Forgot to take pics, so this one is just as I was starting on the top coat after laying on some decent U-Pol etch primer, only had one can of primer and top coat though which is why only the corner is finished.





Back home to start the big clean and refit the interior.



Small things give me pleasure, eventually fitted one of the new rear light rubbers.



But for every gain there's pain, brake lights have stopped working along with the offside headlight.

Had enough about 2030, I'll carry on with the refit first thing tomorrow before the Santa Cruz.

Mon 3rd December 2012

Wed 5th December 2012

Spent another hour or so putting a final varnish coat on the unit.



Fitting it in the bus and reconnecting all the services tomorrow.