Hey Heath, all the door trims (front and rear quarters) are down with the owner Phil in Sydney otherwise would take templates for you mate…..sorry bout that
cool mate, I have door cards here i will ship when the time comes.
Heath
C'mon kids gather round,
there's a new sensation hitting town,
It's moving straight, low to the ground,
it'll pick you up when your feeling down.
Back to the nitty gritty….time to make this DC a four door - the right side cargo door aperture was opened up and then braced:
The unwanted surrounding metal work was removed in readiness for some new steel to recreate the door aperture as per the left side of the vehicle
Whilst it would have been nice to have a donor LHD DC to provide the door opening cut, that wasn't possible so all the associated metal had to be fabricated
Along with the hinge captive nut plates
So cool to see that mod Al.... And that bloody front panel..... My god they are crap! I'm nearly done fitting one to my Lowie right now... Doing the indicators and lower section a little different than you have, but hopefully it will all be good.
Four door looks awesome
65 Meyers Manx
68 Country Buggy (KO 367)
68 Country Buggy (KO 669)
68 Country Buggy (KO 789)
68 Country Buggy (KO 815)
68 Baja Bug
76 Baja Kombi Twincab
11CAB wrote:Four door looks awesome
Should have done that from the factory!
May '55 Oval
Should be able to put a back charge in for having to do it
Can't wait to see this finished
Futue te ipsum!!!
Long time since last update, but here are some more pics:
Klassic Fab early bay front floor going in...
NOS rear corners from the UK:
More side panel fabrication:
Rear tubs:
Bay window engine access hatch opening (will have drain holes for water ingress in the seal aperture):
Tray will be moulded around the opening to look factory
New jacking points and outriggers
Belly pans for both sides will help to stiffen the chassis to a degree given the torque this engine will put out and how hard the owner will want to push it into corners!
Donor chassis front section had to be sourced to replace the poorly repaired and rusty original section
Red9Design front end and brakes will provide the front suspension and braking duties
Hydraulic clutch conversion
Ride height will change a little but this gives you a rough idea
New rear pillars
Tight squeeze but we managed to slip it in
Will be retaining factory heater system, air box, air con etc etc to make life easier with the Porsche engine - learning from experience, the more modifications you make, the more teething problems you have!
17in Fuchs with no dish just didn't look right on the rear
Our customer requested an electric sliding sunroof, Webasto was the largest available so in one went!
Factory style porsche mounts will help support the motor onto the boxed chassis rails
Right side scalloped for engine clearance
Rear valance required some obvious trimming!
Rear tub closing plates
Fast forward a little bit and this is a sneak peek at the wheels the DC will be running. You may love them or hate them, but gotta go out on a limb every now and then to be different. Polished/detailed Fuchs are always a good combo, but they are like belly buttons nowadays 😉
Dual cabs are cool, but this is next level. 🤘 The owner sure has deeper pockets than I.
Quit calling rust patina
mad build, ahh to have this sort of money 🙂
'59 or Kombi?....feeling confused
'59 bug
'68 bug
'82 import T3 BUS. aircooled
Great work as usual, where is the like button?
On the pin as usual Al.... Looking forward to the next installemnt!
Thanks guys, lots of work still ahead but will certainly be a fun car to drive once done!
Very Nice job Alan, almost rebuilt the whole body from the cab back.
Glad I was born without a belly button.
Heath
C'mon kids gather round,
there's a new sensation hitting town,
It's moving straight, low to the ground,
it'll pick you up when your feeling down.
Few more pics and details….
Since we deleted the vents from the sides, obviously there had to be an alternative way of venting air into the engine bay…..hence the floor vents (scoops will be fabricated to help duct air into the cavity…..and the engine lid will be dimple died behind the number plate for more air flow with the Porsche fan sitting right behind it)..
The floor section (which had some rust in it previously) was replaced first
Then the surround was fabricated to tidy up the edges of the cavity
New tubs were blasted and epoxy primed
To keep the sides straight and maintain the front to back alignment of panels, the tubs had to be modified so the sides didn't get pulled in
Nice Al
I know its not the DC, but was nice to see the end of this bus last week after a very long resto
Very nice Al.
I see the Owner wanted stock with the reduction hubs still there. But disc brakes and dual circuit master cylinder.
I know the splitty wipers are useless but I thought they were required to at least be fitted as a token gesture for the road-worthy? No?
No middle seat? They are hard to gefind these days...
88 Caravelle Syncro Camper
89 Caravelle GL microbus - 5 speed
69 Microbus
05 Mk5 Golf 1.9 TDi DSG
Scottkombi wrote:Very nice Al.
I see the Owner wanted stock with the reduction hubs still there. But disc brakes and dual circuit master cylinder.
I know the splitty wipers are useless but I thought they were required to at least be fitted as a token gesture for the road-worthy? No?
No middle seat? They are hard to gefind these days...
G'day mate, yeah wipers were fitted for roady but removed for detailing (ran out of time before rego). Being a 55, the middle seat has to be a 6 legger (aka barny era) = $$$$$$. Certainly not easy to find although repros are now available (still at considerable $$$$)
Brief from owner was keep all styling and general feel original but upgrade for modern traffic and safety - hence 1600cc engine, freeway flyer box (with big nut hubs not correct for the bus), later beam with discs and d/c m/c as you noticed. Drives nicely so he is happy
🙂 Dead original resto, no (was never the intention)
Cheers
Al
Back onto the DC - been a lot of bodywork going on over recent months….now down to fine tuning stage before paint but before that happens its time to basically mock up everything on the bus to make sure any holes that need to be drilled are drilled, and any welding/brackets that may be required are sorted before the engine and gearbox are sent off for rebuild.
Got some second hand tyres to recheck wheel clearance and finalise ride height
Subtle details like deleting the seams from the front bumper (originally three pieces), as well as the rear bumper bolts will help to maintain the smooth overall look of the DC
Rear seat base was rusty so needed some repair…non factory spec of the profile wasn't a concern giving the custom treatment the rest of the car is getting!
On we go...
Long time no update - kind of hard to find time sometimes with multiple resto's on the go!
Anyway, a lot of fabrication work has been happening over recent months so rather than rambling on, here is a quick pictorial update. You can find all the pics on my site:
http://dasrestohaus.com.au/gallery2/v/Current+Restorations/Project+DC/?g2_page=68
Porsche 3.2L rear engine brace has been fabbed, and since then the engine has been sent to Brisbane for full rebuild.
The Mercedes van seats will be reshaped during upholstery stage but provide some more comfort than the stock units
Lots of fab work on the runners to centre the seats to the cab and steering column, all the while complying with the engineering/certification requirements
The owner wanted to get rid of the stock plastic 70s styling on the dash so a custom glove box was fabricated with revised hinges so the lid opened downwards
Similarly, a lot of work went into the enclosure for the Dakota Digital gauge pod
The exhaust system also has to comply with noise restriction tests for certification so a baffled primary muffler (non packed to sustain the heat being so close to the heads) in addition to a secondary resonator will keep the noise down - if the owner decides to remove the secondary muffler and just run a straight dump pipe, that will be up to him 😉
Onto the electronics, two four channel amps mounted above the primary Optima Yellow Top battery will power the drivers/tweeters (8 of each!), and then a mono block will power the 2 12in subs. Josh fabricated the custom racks (all of which will be hidden) to maximise the space available
A processor will control the tuning of the system which also includes double din GPS/audio visual unit with reverse camera, and front seat head rest individual DVD players…..plus a dual battery system to control charging duties
A Techsafe rear seat incorporates inertia reel belts (another requirement for the owner who has young kids) and head rests (and is fully complianced)
AJ has been flat out with the centre console fabrication - something a little different that provided some form and function
Electric power steering is another addition to make this thing drive like a new car
Upholsterer will stitch up a boot for the shifter and handbrake lever
There will be a storage compartment/elbow rest up top, but a single cup holder on the angled front face was also a necessity
Part of the briefing sessions with each owner is to find out exactly how they intend to use their car, perfect example was the fact he drinks mostly small red bull cans, plus the occasional coffee and bottle of water, so the cup holder had to be fabricated so that all drink sizes would be accommodated without wobbling around/falling out under brakes….and also have some degree of style and visual interest
Air con evaporators have now been mounted, so next up is ducting (four vents in rear bulkhead, plus two hoses feeding the front which will split to four vents also)….
So the work goes on, and on…..and on 👍
Al
Fantastic job there Al, you are true a master at your job.
Kev 👍
I thought rebuilding a VW would be cheap - Shit I was wrong, just don't let the wife know !!!!
Click here for my (slowy) modded 1961 Beetle build.
Amazing work, just amazing. Stuff of dreams right there.
Do the amps have any cooling planned ? Sitting on top of each other like that they will get pretty warm when the system is cranking.
Yep top stuff mate, wish I had a bee's pecker of your metal fab skills. Hope to see this beast in real life one day, where does the owner hail from?
It will all be OK in the end, if it's not OK it's not the end!
Doug Sweetman wrote:Amazing work, just amazing. Stuff of dreams right there.
Do the amps have any cooling planned ? Sitting on top of each other like that they will get pretty warm when the system is cranking.
Consulted the audio supplier before Josh fabbed up the amp racks and they confirmed heat will not be a problem as the amps are digital and not analogue (less heat production)
Cheers for the kind words, my other staff member (AJ) is the man behind the metal fab on the console and cup holder - very talented.
Owner will be based in NSW
Thanks
Al
Time for another quick catch up after a couple months more solid work:
AC evaporator cover:
Ducting outlets from rear evap to outer vents in bulkhead (via flex hose)
Console progress:
Inertia reel seat belts mocked up with custom brackets (around the owner requested mandrel bent tube which forms the ducting to the rear AC vents)
Custom plumbing for the heater tube (from sub floor, ducted to foot outlets in nose and up to windscreen)