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Leo

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dubcab Seriously Crusin Dubber

175 posts · joined Sep 2002 ·

#110426
More pics the better! There's a 57 bus in my shed that has twice as much repairs needed. Heaps of time,1o square metres of fresh metal and big mig should see it finished in a couple of years!

Menangler Custom Title Time!

1,991 posts · joined Aug 2002 ·

#112242
Rob,
Looks great, don't you just love the smell of rust dust and burning flesh in your nose from grinding and upside down welding!!
FAHRVERGNUGEN;
Description of a pleasurable sensation,
Experienced when a car and it's driver are in mutual harmony, A unique driving experience, Pleasure, Satisfaction,
A feeling experienced by Volkswagen Drivers.

KruizinKombi Seriously Obsessed Cyber Dubber

3,493 posts · joined Aug 2002 ·

#112915
Bloody hell Rob, is there any part of a kombi you can't make?? :o:thumb
Kruizin Kol

splitbusaustralia Wolfsburg Wizard

487 posts · joined Aug 2002 ·

#116013
Well,

Did a bit on Leo on Saturday while coming down with a flu thing that the rest of the family has had (and I hoped I had missed....). Been feeling pretty crappy Sun and Mon and have been taking it easy...

Got the rest of the subfloor back in Leo before retiring though. Just needs to be tidied up a bit (maybe next weekend)..




and in the passengers compartment




View from the rear ('through' where the tray will go back on)




Put in a drain for fuel overfills and/or expansion overflows. Utes (unilke other splitbusses) don't have these and any overflows just pool on the subfloor near the fuel tank - I wonder why that bit of subfloor on these things is generally so rusty? Yes the fuel lifts the paint and then rot sets in. I think this mod is well worthwhile if you are in there.....




Going back to bed now.

later all.

RobK

[ Edited on 23-2-2007 by splitbusaustralia ]

72TWINCAB Fahrvergnugen

978 posts · joined Feb 2003 ·

#116209
keep up the great work Rob:thumb:thumb:thumb:thumb:thumb

PS: Keep the updates coming. It is looking sweeeeet😀

ByronBug High Priestess of Unequaled Coolness & Flower Child

1,446 posts · joined Sep 2002 ·

#116227
:sandrine Hi Robb
Great to see Leo coming along with so much love.
I think deep down he is very grateful to you for choosing him to put all your much loved effort & time into.
Am looking forward to finally seeing him
painted & restored & standing proud amoungst all his fellow relatives at a VW show soon.
Can't wait to see him then....
Judy 🙂
59 Microbus Kombi (MERCY)
64 Microbus Kombi (CHANNON)



splitbusaustralia Wolfsburg Wizard

487 posts · joined Aug 2002 ·

#122961
Well,

Santa rides tonight, there will be no time for Leo for a few days so I gave him his christmas present today and did a little work on his rear corner.

Replaced the post bottom - surprisingly complex bit to make!







and fitted hid rear corner. have to finish welding this in and clean up but its looking pretty good! I'll be painting his engine bay and treasure chest area with rust bullet soon - can't wait!







Wonder what santa might bring me?

later all and best for the season.

RobK





Merry Christmas all.....

Been side tracked on something else I've wanted to do for a while so not that much time spent on Leo lately. Although this other project is for him really.

I've always wanted to try and get later bus discs onto an early splitbus king and link pin front end. I'd rather have discs on a dropped spindle king and link pin front end than put in a 68/69 ball joint front end to get em (and have to drop it 6 inches on adjusters...)

Well, a bit of machining of the later hubs, different bearing and seals and I'm fairly sure this is going to work. Just have to make some caliper mounting brackets (which shouldn't be insurmountable) for the later calipers and I think Leo will be getting down and discoing!

Anyway, in terms of metalwork I did clean up the new subfloor, fabricate petrol tank pads and get the frame for the partition back in ..




Repaired the bottom of the upright panel behind the cab. Seems to be fairly crusty on all crew cabs - the tray will sit on top of this..




And started on the rear corners and battery tray. The corners weren't too bad but the bottom of the pillar was gone on both sides and you actually have to cut the corners and tray out to fix this properly. This little thing is quite a trickey repair (the pillar is a 'complex' shape) and shows what you may have to do to fix something properly......(been reading other posts and there seems to be some view that metalwork/rust repair is not a difficult skill to acquire - how many hours do you guys think I have in Leo to this point? 8-).
Go back through my photos and do a time estimate on each job? Not trying to be bitchy but get you to think about the time a 'good' job can take??????)




Have a good one all.

RobK



[ Edited on 23-2-2007 by splitbusaustralia ]

fetid_swamp Seriously Crusin Dubber

174 posts · joined Sep 2003 ·

#122969
Go back through my photos and do a time estimate on each job
i know i havent got the patience or skill needed.

crusty splitties are definatly a labour of love for a skilled craftsman.

leo is lucky

nicko Officially Full-On Dubber

389 posts · joined Mar 2003 ·

#122998
Rob is there any option at the moment to adapt discs to dropped spindles? I would like to keep the wide 5 pattern if possible.
I understand your point about the time it takes to repair a split bus properly and have read a lot of the posts saying how expensive it is. I think there is always options for people to save some money by carrying out the things that can do such as disassembly etc I would be interested in knowing the time you feel it would take to replace a passenger sill on a splitbus(microbus) including inner sills and outriggers and assuming the I beams are Ok. I estimate about 8-10 hours to remove all these items 2 hours to square the opening up and about 8 hours to weld it back in. I have not done it before and will be paying for. This would give me a guidline on what to expect during the resto of my bus.
Cheers Nicko

sgetty Fahrvergnugen

994 posts · joined Sep 2003 ·

#123081
glad u put these up here, its really motivating me.:thumb

mmmm so fresh and so clean🙂
🙂

splitbusaustralia Wolfsburg Wizard

487 posts · joined Aug 2002 ·

#123140
Well,

Let's say I was working on my own bus.

Much less time to cut it all out. Prob 3-4 hours total. I'd also remove the outer 6 inches of the cargo floor (I'd want access and it's normally thin/crusty at the outer edge and pulling the inner rocker will finish it off).

OK, if its rusty enough that the outriggers and inner/outer rockers need doing I'd expect:

1. The pillar bottoms are cactus. Make by hand (no repros available).
2. The closing panels in each wheel well are cactus (the inner rocker connects to them). Make by hand.




3. Some of the outer top hat section will be gone (part. the bit enclosed by the rear jack point).

4. Replace pillar bottoms, outer top hat sections (as required), outriggers, inner and outer sills, cargo floor and jack points.

5. Make cargo door latch and cover plate (sills don't come with em or they're useless and you have to cut them off and do em again)

6. Fit cargo doors - may have to bend hinges etc. A bus cargo door should close/engage with a 'snick' when you push it closed......

For me, probably two fullish days to weld and fit which would include fabrication as required. Around 20 hrs or a bit less for the whole job. The trick I guess is make sure exactly what you are being billed for. Putting new rockers around seedy pillar bottoms and connecting to thin closing panels is just a waste of time. Do it properly once and cry once as Gene Berg used to say.

You can buy wide 5 discs from CSP to a splitbus king and link pin front end. I've looked at them longingly but they'd be $2kish landed and then there's the question of getting parts like discs and pads etc. You'd always be waiting and paying freight and duty on replacement stuff (unless someone local I'm not aware of distributes for them)

see

http://www.csp-shop.de

RobK

[ Edited on 23-2-2007 by splitbusaustralia ]

[ Edited on 23-2-2007 by splitbusaustralia ]

57kombi Hannover Elder

2,544 posts · joined Aug 2002 ·

#123183
Seams like I should have waited and seen if you were going to sell the disc set ups.

Cheers
Dave

splitbusaustralia Wolfsburg Wizard

487 posts · joined Aug 2002 ·

#123188
They will go on the dropped spindles you already have (but you will get a stud pattern diff between front and back I guess - going to be hard to get the 5 x 112 on the back without IRS'ing).

Will I sell them? Probably not. Be like everything else really - know how to do it but won't have the time...with limited hobby time like to do my own stuff..

I am trying to negotiate a 4 day working week here at work (its a given in 'workplace agreement' but not having much luck) so I could have a go at doing VW stuff for income without running the risk of the family starving to death......

RobK

nicko Officially Full-On Dubber

389 posts · joined Mar 2003 ·

#123201
Thanks Rob for the advice. It is much appreciated
Nicko

nbturbo Veteran Volks Folk

2,171 posts · joined Dec 2002 ·

#123236
Is there a dropped spindle available for the later ball joint Kombi? If so,I remember reading on a Forum somewhere(a Yankee one from memory) that the ball joint upper and lower arms can be machined to fit a King pin beam.I have no idea if this is possible,but I am trying to get all this info for a future project.I bought a 73 Kombi to get all the suspension for my 67 Van.

nbturbo Veteran Volks Folk

2,171 posts · joined Dec 2002 ·

#123237
Sorry-Leo not Loe

sikdub Wolfsburg Wizard

571 posts · joined Aug 2002 ·

#123303
Lookin' good Rob! Ever considered trying to build a split from scratch?
Steven

baybuscamperkid prince of insufficient light, ruler of heck

4,316 posts · joined Aug 2002 ·

#123482
hmm. are you any good with CAD programs? you should do up the custom parts for the disks (and some of your other projects) on CAD, that way at least you can give/sell the designs to interested parties, i understand he time constraints, but it is a shame to see so many good ideas available to only one VW.
Reimagined/Recycled/Upcycled Cool

splitbusaustralia Wolfsburg Wizard

487 posts · joined Aug 2002 ·

#130094
Tired and dirty or what? Spent all my free time over the last three days working on Leo the 62 split twin cab (family had two leo-free weeks at Philip Island before that so I hopped into him before going back to work).

I think last time I posted a progress report I was replacing the right rear corner and post. Finished that and replaced the battery tray - used a Brazilian repop tray (pressing is different to a bus and quite difficult to repro) and while it had the right pressing it wasn't close to fitting anything - spent a least half a day on getting it to fit and rate that part at about 5 out of 10.

Repaired the left rear corner and the post and tray and repaired and fitted new crossmembers under the tray. Fitted a 15 gal fuel tank from a fat chick (this is quite an easy mod for splitties and the extra capacity is a plus particularly if you are planning a phat engine 8-).

Painted everything inside with Rust Bullet
today (although nothing is rusty now I guess I'm just anal....).

So, I think last August I had just lifted the tray off Leo and the subfloor was looking like this....




and the end of today he was looking like this...










Be close to breaking the back of this now I think!

later all

RobK

[ Edited on 23-2-2007 by splitbusaustralia ]

matara Custom Title Time!

1,342 posts · joined Aug 2002 ·

#130097
Rob, its gotta be said you really have worked some of your legendary MAGIC on ol Leo. He looks like a new bus now!

vw54 Administrator Always Waiting 4 Friday

16,723 posts · joined Aug 2002 ·

#130106
Go polish your Badge Rob MATE thats bloody great work looks shit hot

When do you want the cheque for Leo !!!
I read it on FACEBOOK so it must be true


http://forums.aussieveedubbers.com/viewtopic.php?tid=91278&page=1#pid848630


http://forums.aussieveedubbers.com/viewtopic.php?tid=63561&page=1#pid624099


http://forums.aussieveedubbers.com/viewtopic.php?tid=4832&page=1#pid452603


http://forums.aussieveedubbers.com/viewtopic.php?tid=60650&page=1#pid574409

Bizarre Moderator The artist formerly known as blue74l

12,789 posts · joined Aug 2002 ·

#130127
What can be said???

Dont put a tray on there just so we can see the beauty!!


Just by the way - what colout are you going to paint this???

"if you are planning a phat engine 8-)."

Does this mean a 2.4L Type 4 turbo is going in???

Well done
Futue te ipsum!!!

BenettonVW Administrator AVD Forum Founder

3,125 posts · joined Aug 2002 ·

#130161
I'm with Barry.. What can be said.. It is absolutely incredible, and all the power to you Rob. Well done mate. :thumb

THE LOWEST WITH THE MOSTEST BLING BLING WINS!!

ByronBug High Priestess of Unequaled Coolness & Flower Child

1,446 posts · joined Sep 2002 ·

#130195
Hi again Rob,
Boy Leo is looking so good you should be very proud of yourself.
I don't know how everyone else thinks but I am starting to feel like I know Leo well. So we all can't imagine how you feel about him.
Love to see him when hes cruising on the road....
Judy 🙂
59 Microbus Kombi (MERCY)
64 Microbus Kombi (CHANNON)



splitbusaustralia Wolfsburg Wizard

487 posts · joined Aug 2002 ·

#130514
Yes,

I can't wait to drive him either! First bus that I haven't actually driven in some way before major work!

As I've said before Leo won't be a concourse resto. He'll be as well engineered as I can do but he'll be done as a driver, tuff and true. Don't want to be worried about him getting scratches and road chips!

Leo will like it as an old skool truck 8-)...

Think I gotta start wearing work gloves - don't like em but my hand are looking like something from a horror movie (and the head's bad enough) - always a good look for work!

RobK