Bob does Betty ......

....... at Resto-Haus !! Jon & Zoe have owned Betty for a few years now, originally a westy SO42, but she was starting to look a little rough round the edges. I look after their '62 Ghia (soon to be for sale) & '66 Bug as well, so when we got the bus through the mot last year it was clear, we would have some work underneith, together with a bit of body work in the near future. Jon & Zoe wanted to have a few bits done, then use it for last years glorious summer & then for me to take it back into the workshop for the winter & get it ready for Vicky Farm & Stanford Hall in May this year. So we started with sections in the dog legs both sides,


both rear corners


a section in the engine lid

cargo door bottoms , both inner & outer

so with these & a couple of other dents & holes sorted, I prepped

primed & popped on a bit of paint , just to keep the elements out, so they could use it for the summer, it looked a bit abstract, but I prefer to put paint on rather than just primer, if its going out for a while...........

Betty then came back into the workshop for the next stage, she ended up needing ouyriggers, jacking points, inner & outer sills etc etc.......








Cutting out the old


& then a little frog came in for a bit of winter protection

& in with some new metal


lower B post




& then off with the long side

new inner sill

& outer sill , joggled in

Looking a lot stronger now, lucky you never had to use those jacking points

the little frog is cool

Its not mine mate, it's a customer of mine, but yea they were pretty knackered, lots more done since, I'll update soon, working on a Ghia mot at the moment, so not much time...

I've used these products a few times now, not the cheapest way, but certainly seems to do a good job,

after a good clean up it goes on like this


When the FE123 rust converter has cured , I then applied the epoxy mastic, so hopefully should keep the elements at bay,

& then to the body,

a little skim,

a bit of blocking,

...................believe me the above were repeated a few times, to get the panel nice & straight....& then some top stop


3 out of the 4 retained mounts for the cargo doors, dropped to the bottom of the panels, when the doors were removed, so I had to open the posts up , apply some rustcure & fabricate some new retained mounts, I decided to make the shafts longer, so there is no chance of them ever dropping like the originals

The cargo doors needed a little skim

& the short side




& then on with the primer

After blocking the primer down, the first coats of colour went on, Mango green L346, I sprayed upto the inside edge of the gutter, then blocked back down to under the swage line.






& then on with the Seagull Grey L347

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& then the bit I always look forward to,
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Love it!

Shit hot job dude...

Looks like another sweet van

Thanks fellas , I appreciate your comments, I do love my job, if I'm not restoring them , I'm driving them to weddings !!
Next came the bumpers , doors, valance etc.

A bit more of the story......
this is the bit I enjoy, when you remove the masking & start bolting back together




Testing the colour of the ribbons, as my little sister Sarah had booked her wedding around having Mr Bo, whilst another Bride had booked her wedding for April, both Brides entered a wedding competition, in a Devon Bridal magazine & Charlotte the other Bride won, it just happened to be on my sisters date....... Fortunately Sarah was very understanding & Jon & Zoe were brilliant allowing me to use their bus for my sister, so the pressure was on !

Starting to look complete again

Very nice bob.

Very nice!

good work, lovely looking van