76 Westfalia Sweet Pickle

[Rob]

I was able to reuse the original underlayment. Treated the screw holes in the storage floor deck by scrubbing with a wire brush and then applied metal prep and finally two coats of POR 15. The original screws that held down the underlayment had seen better days so I decided to replace them with stainless steel ones that were slightly bigger. It looked like the originals were 4”s x 3/4 inch, or the German equivalent, and I went with 6”s x 3/4. Took my time lining up the holes in the underlayment by using an ice pick, that way I didn’t have to make any new holes.

Also found what looked like something had nibbled on the protective sheath of the sink pump switch wire that runs behind then sink base. The wire itself looked okay so I just added some shrink tubing on top of the sheathing. There were a couple spots like this.

Still have a lot of other work to do but laid down the new carpet from NLA VW for inspiration. Hard to believe how much my original carpet had faded.

Where the magic happens.

Took today to deliver the 74 Thing we had for sale On the Samba. Agreed to meet in the parking lot of the Steelyard Walmart. Place was a zoo so we went across the street to the Applebee’s parking lot. Sad to see it go but it is going a good home in Buffalo. Funny thing is I reached out to shake the guys hand and hopped in the Thing after I took it off the trailer to take it for a spin with the new owner in the passenger seat. Later I thought oh yeah, Coronavirus, probably should not have done that. oh well next time I will be better, I did have some hand sanitizer. Biggest bummer was all the good restaurants were closed So we ate Panda Express drove around a bit and then headed south back to Cincinnati. For the record it is my opinion Cleveland is the culinary capital of Ohio. I know it is not Cincinnati .
Here it comes!

There it goes

[Six Volt]

Steelyard Commons? You mean Steal-car Commons! (Well, that's what CPD refers to it as.)

Next time you're drivng all the way up here, let us know. We could have gotten you something better than Panda Express while still maintaing social distance!

Your bus is coming along nicely. Keep u p the great work!

[Rob]

I appreciate that Sean! It was kind of a last minute thing. In fact we had our dog with us because it was too late to board ( if they are even open ?) so fast food in the car worked out okay. Lucky, the dog ( Great Dane Labrador Mix), had a Double Whopper with cheese and a super sized fries.

[Rob]

Been busy with work and also getting another car ready to sell, our last one, but was able to get back to work on the interior this weekend.

With everything out I wanted to add a 12V power outlet in the rear. The logical place was to the right of the frig and power panel. I was able to run the new wire to the battery along the same path as the wire from the power panel back to the house/leisure battery. While I was at I routed everything behind the cross bracing but also added extra shielding the wire to be sure it not rub on anything.

The grommet through the bulk head could not handle both wires but I had a wiper grommet for a 67 bug wiper shaft and that ended up working perfectly. I also put a black plastic casing on the wire to protect it from rubbing and shrink tubed the end. Because you could not see the wire color after I shrink tubed the end I put red electrical tape around it to identify it. I used black for the ground wire and ran it to the same ground the sink will use. Made sure the contact area was paint free.

Using the face plate of the 12v receptacle as a template I drilled the holes through the wooden panel. Knowing that this would be pushed on, I decided to reinforce the back with a metal plate. The factory had done this for the power panel( galvanized strip in photo, so if it was a good idea for them.... I used a sheet of 22 gauge steel marked the holes and then drilled and dremmeled them into shape. I painted it black, glued it to the back of the wood panel with contact cement and then mounted it with stainless screws, fender washers cut to size and lock nuts. Like the factory strip it contacts at the top and bottom the two ribs running along the wall of the bus.

[Rob]

Thanks for the suggestions on insulation. Someone had mentioned mineral wool and that is what I went with. It was very similar to the original and easy to work with.

I used the old pieces as templates. It cut very easily with a utility blade. The original was about 2 inches thick and this was 3, but it was very easy to peel an inch off. When I was done I had my son, gotta love bored teenagers, haul the left overs to the attic above my garage

[Rob]

On the back of the power panel a couple of connectors were loose and one wire looked a little crusty/ burnt so I repaired it while I had it out. Also cleaned the contacts with a dremmel and a wire wheel.

[Rob]

Finally got the back seat/bed in. Looks good I think. I had read on the Samba someone referencing Bill Webner advising them to use hockey grip tape for the black tape on the back of the seat. Perfect timing with sporting goods stores opened back up this weekend. Not sure if he really advised that but I tried it and it came out pretty good.

Also restained/refinished the back of the seat and repaired the seat prop while I had it out ( I did not even know it was a thing until I saw someone use it Kelleys. I had found the prop under the back seat when I bought bus, along with a lot of other stuff. Thankfully I kept it! At any rate it is handy. Used a slightly larger carriage bolt than what was originally there so it was a little stronger. Now just have the main cabinet to go....for this round of repairs.

[Six Volt]

Man, that project came out great! Really well done. A lot of elbow grease and detail. Those late bay campers are awesome and even better when they're all put back together, cleaned up and detailed the way you've done it. Really, really great job! can't wait to see it this summer.

Is that the bus that had the bad starter the one year at Mohican? I remember you push started it all the way from Cincy and back!

[Rob]

Ha, you remember that! Yes, same bus thanks for helping push it a couple times that weekend! It was time to freshen it up. Most on the interior was original and we have used it a lot over the last 6 years. Did some mechanical stuff first though.

[Ken]

Very nice work Rob. Can't wait to see it in person.