'66 Deluxe
Re: '66 Deluxe
The repair panel is just sitting there not flush with the floor. In the last pic you can see a temporary brace I added to triangulate the C pillar while the floor is out, and the welds on the C pillar-to-horizontal braces to strengthen things. Waiting for some outriggers and top hats from East Coast Cornerstore in Canada, curious to see the quality of them.
Last edited by Dual Port on Sun Jul 09, 2017 11:07 am, edited 1 time in total.
Bruce Amacker
'66 Deluxe Bus
'65 Standard Bus
'66 Deluxe Bus
'65 Standard Bus
Re: '66 Deluxe
I'm using a variety of brands of replacement metal, some of which I purchased, some of which came with the bus. The unpainted metal is from Tom at East Cost Cornerstore in Canada and really nice quality stuff. Shipping was fair and pretty fast, too, paid on Sat, received on Thursday. He has a large variety of pieces but oddly he does not offer floors. Even though it might not be as thick as the Gerson it is much better than the black generic pieces that came with the bus. Compare the black rocker section with the ECC section, there's a huge difference even though it's only .002" thicker. I should have taken a picture from the edge, you'd see how much "fuller" the ECC piece is vs. the black piece. The ECC jack points are super beefy, appearing much stronger than needed. The black stuff appears really chincy, I probably won't use any of it. I have front floor sections and the rocker piece and they will probably end up at a swap meet. I'm waiting on a C pillar reinforcement and -1-2 used cargo doors to show up right now. I "tented" the bus, set up a ventilation system, and did some sandblasting on welding areas yesterday which went well.
Last edited by Dual Port on Sun Jul 09, 2017 11:09 am, edited 1 time in total.
Bruce Amacker
'66 Deluxe Bus
'65 Standard Bus
'66 Deluxe Bus
'65 Standard Bus
Re: '66 Deluxe
Looking good Bruce Looks like you arent wasting anytime.
Tom
Tom
Re: '66 Deluxe
You know Bruce is going to bring a high tech and knowledgable approach to this project. What I love is that Bruce actually has a split! Let's hope he keeps the pictures and commentary coming!
Re: '66 Deluxe
Update:
I sandblasted some of the areas to be welded. I tented the bus, running a "duct" of plastic to a side door with a ventilation fan out side which worked really well.
No jokes about the hillbilly welding cart, please.
Was waiting for parts on the rocker so I decided to tackle the rotted right seat belt mount to brush up on my Mig techniques. I cut the old one out, fashioned several plates to replace the and metal, and migged them in. It went well except I'm out of practice so the welds look real shitty until they're ground down. I'm actually quite happy with how it went considering I haven't picked up a Mig handle in over a decade.....
I'm still waiting for right side parts but I did mock up the right side and it's looking like everything will fit. The rocker came assembled which really sucks. They did a shitty job of aligning the pieces which means I had to drill out a bunch of spot welds on the new assy and re-align the parts. Also, because its assembled, you cannot access things that need to be welded, which means you have to cut open stuff, weld, then weld shut what was cut open. Aaron says they don't sell them assembled anymore, and I can see why......
I sandblasted some of the areas to be welded. I tented the bus, running a "duct" of plastic to a side door with a ventilation fan out side which worked really well.
No jokes about the hillbilly welding cart, please.
Was waiting for parts on the rocker so I decided to tackle the rotted right seat belt mount to brush up on my Mig techniques. I cut the old one out, fashioned several plates to replace the and metal, and migged them in. It went well except I'm out of practice so the welds look real shitty until they're ground down. I'm actually quite happy with how it went considering I haven't picked up a Mig handle in over a decade.....
I'm still waiting for right side parts but I did mock up the right side and it's looking like everything will fit. The rocker came assembled which really sucks. They did a shitty job of aligning the pieces which means I had to drill out a bunch of spot welds on the new assy and re-align the parts. Also, because its assembled, you cannot access things that need to be welded, which means you have to cut open stuff, weld, then weld shut what was cut open. Aaron says they don't sell them assembled anymore, and I can see why......
Last edited by Dual Port on Sun Jul 09, 2017 11:11 am, edited 1 time in total.
Bruce Amacker
'66 Deluxe Bus
'65 Standard Bus
'66 Deluxe Bus
'65 Standard Bus
Re: '66 Deluxe
Hillbilly cart? That argon tank rocks! That rivals the one in JAWS!
I do love the McGyver style plastic ventilation to the side door! Apollo 13's got nothing on you!
I do love the McGyver style plastic ventilation to the side door! Apollo 13's got nothing on you!
Re: '66 Deluxe
Awesome!
I did the same front seat belt plate repair on my deluxe last weekend
And yes, when we did Craigs cargo door rocker area we had the same repair piece and had to cut it all apart to make it fit right.
Love the progress
I did the same front seat belt plate repair on my deluxe last weekend
And yes, when we did Craigs cargo door rocker area we had the same repair piece and had to cut it all apart to make it fit right.
Love the progress
1961 Swivel Seat Kombi
Re: '66 Deluxe
Bought a pair of used doors today that should work out well. Bottoms are done, but Gerson can fix that. They are straight and tops are rust free, I put pins in them and they look straight on the bus. I'm happy.
I bought them from a guy in Y'town. The funny thing is that Aaron used to own the bus they came off of.
BTW, many thanks to Aaron for putting up with my constant and endless string of stupid Bus questions and always answering his phone.
I bought them from a guy in Y'town. The funny thing is that Aaron used to own the bus they came off of.
BTW, many thanks to Aaron for putting up with my constant and endless string of stupid Bus questions and always answering his phone.
Last edited by Dual Port on Sun Jul 09, 2017 11:11 am, edited 1 time in total.
Bruce Amacker
'66 Deluxe Bus
'65 Standard Bus
'66 Deluxe Bus
'65 Standard Bus
Re: '66 Deluxe
Yep, drug it home from Wash DC area...Dual Port wrote:The funny thing is that Aaron used to own the bus they came off of.
That rolling Bus chassis I'm storing for Danny if from that same Bus too.
"There is no restoration process that can give a car legitimacy equal to originality."