My Westy Resto

gmag69 · Post by **gmag69** » Tue Jul 17, 2007 4:20 pm

Well I got the interior set in place on the bus and I thought I'd share the pics.

When it rained I had a couple water leaks so I need to get those sorted out before I put the floor in.
Geno

gmag69 · Post by **gmag69** » Tue Jul 17, 2007 4:23 pm

Here the dogleg is welded on.

I pray to god I don't have to do it again. I started at 7 in the morn. and got done at 11:20. I still have some grinding to do, fix the front floor, and the front will be done.
Here are the pics
Dogleg welded in:

Another pic of it welded in.

And here it is with the door bolted back on.

As you can see there is alot of Bondo in you driver's door. I didn't realize how much till I started putting it on today. Below the body line is 90% Bondo on that door.

Guess it's time for a different one. I'll use this one till I can get some $$ to get a better one.

gmag69 · Post by **gmag69** » Tue Jul 17, 2007 4:26 pm

Here is my update for today. I decided to pull the firewall off today and get everything behind it cleaned up. I figured that VDubTech pulled the tank out of it already but when I crawled up under it I realized it was still in there. The nipples are rotted right off the bottom of the tank. I won't be reusing it.Once I got all the screws out and popped the firewall out a little I realized I was in for a treat cause I started to smell mouse pee. Nothing and I mean Nothing could have prepared me for when I pulled That firewall off. The smell was so strong It about brought tears to my eyes. I don't care what anyone says mice and rats are the nastiest animals on the planet and need to be wiped out.

Anyway, Here are some pics.

Right after I pulled the firewall off.

Nice mouse nest.Thanks guys.

Nest on top of the tank.

Nice present where the insulation used to be above the motor.

Here it is with the tank out.

One good thing I found at least it still has the charcoal canister.

I'll probably clean out the nest tomarrow. I wore rubber gloves when I pulled the tank out. The sender is all rusted to the top of the tank and the wires to the sender are shot. They ate them.
we'll see what it looks like once I get it all cleaned out. I had a pic of the tank but it wouldn't let me upload it for some reason. Oh well.

Geno

gmag69 · Post by **gmag69** » Wed Jul 18, 2007 2:35 pm

Well I got my mouse nest problem taken care of. I pulled the nest out and got all the turds and stuff swept up. I then used warm water and dumped in a 1/2 a bottle of bleach cleaner and scrubbed everything down with a scrub brush and rags. It still stinks alittle but not as bad as it did. Hopefully it will air out and be ok. I didn't get to upload the pics before I came to work but I'll post them when I get home tonight.

gmag69 · Post by **gmag69** » Wed Jul 18, 2007 9:30 pm

Well here are the pics from todays adventure.

This is after I scrubbed everything up.

Here's the water when I was done. Yum!

I got some work back here to do now but It isn't as bad as I thought.

More to come.

saggs · Post by **saggs** » Fri Jul 20, 2007 5:12 am

That's animal.!!!

Keep up the good work. Living in VT I know what rust does to a vehicle, and what vermin urine can do as well. I've started putting mothballs in my bus in certain locations to keep the mice out during the winter. Good job on the metal work, I hope you get a chance to camp in the van b4 winter gets here- Good Luck

gmag69 · Post by **gmag69** » Fri Jul 27, 2007 7:53 am

I decided to pull the luggage rack off this morning and see what kinda mess I had under there. Here are the pics.

Luggage rack off.

As you can see there was some yummy stuff stuck under there but there was no rust under the rack at all thank goodness.

There is ome in the drip rails though but it is nothing serious.

driver's side:

pass side:

Top off:

There are some cracks in the back of the ribs on the rack. Is this normal? They are not the whole way through but I plan to fix them.

Here is the top all cleaned up.

I'm going to have to paint the top cause it isn't coming clean plus once I fix the cracks it'll need painted. That'll come later.

More to come,
Geno

gmag69 · Post by **gmag69** » Fri Jul 27, 2007 7:57 am

saggs wrote:That's animal.!!! Keep up the good work. Living in VT I know what rust does to a vehicle, and what vermin urine can do as well. I've started putting mothballs in my bus in certain locations to keep the mice out during the winter. Good job on the metal work, I hope you get a chance to camp in the van b4 winter gets here- Good Luck

Thanks for the kind words.It don't look like I'll be camping in it this year unless it's in the yard.

I heard dryer sheets keep mice out too. They don't like the smell.

gmag69 · Post by **gmag69** » Fri Jul 27, 2007 6:29 pm

Well I got the front of the bus primed tonite. I primed the Pass. side dogleg too. Here are the pics.

The tarp is to keep rain out while the luggage rack is off. More to come.

gmag69 · Post by **gmag69** » Wed Aug 01, 2007 5:34 pm

I painted the outside of the luggage rack today. I have to fix the cracks in the inside before I paint it. Here's a pic.

I hope to get it done this week then I'm going to paint the front.

Post by **Daniel G** » Wed Aug 01, 2007 9:10 pm

Looks good...How much work was it to get the luggage rack off?

gmag69 · Post by **gmag69** » Fri Aug 10, 2007 2:48 pm

Daniel G wrote:Looks good...How much work was it to get the luggage rack off?

Sorry it took so long to reply haven't been over here in awhile. It really isn't hard to take the luggage rack off. There are 4 screws around the outside of the rack . Then you have to remove your front headliner and there are 4 bolts acrossed the back of the rack where the top sets against it. Raise your top and stand looking toward the rack.Now look down at the roof in front of you and you'll see them. Once those all come out the rack will lift right off.

Geno

gmag69 · Post by **gmag69** » Sat Aug 18, 2007 5:25 pm

I got the front painted along with some of the pass side. Now I'll be able to put my windshield in in a few days.
Here are the pics.
Side

Front

I have to give props to Seneca Auto here in Kane for the paint.It couldn't be any closer to the original than it is. I'm really happy with it. I can't wait till it is all painted.

Stay tuned more to come.

itlives · Post by **itlives** » Sun Aug 19, 2007 4:30 pm

This is a great thread for me. I'm in the excact same spot you're in. I'm redoing my first bus , a 74 Westy.
I didn't have to replace my nose though -lucky me!
I do need to find a replacement fridge - anybody?

gmag69 · Post by **gmag69** » Tue Aug 21, 2007 10:37 am

itlives wrote:This is a great thread for me. I'm in the excact same spot you're in. I'm redoing my first bus , a 74 Westy.
I didn't have to replace my nose though -lucky me!
I do need to find a replacement fridge - anybody?

Check The Samba classifieds. They pop up from time to time. I believe mine had a fridge when new but I got an icebox now. It is missing the drain but I'llbe fixing it up once I get everything together. Good luck with your bus.

Geno