59 Triple Cab - Work in progress

This is my recent "VW" purchase.

Rear shot

Driver's side

"Ute" section. Yep, that's geniune plywood.

And the plant

The cab

Here's a shot of the inside of the rear window. Note the latches... Some effort went into detail on this job.

GET RID OF THAT DASH

All I've done so far (damn rain every weekend) is clean the junk and dangerous materials (broken glass, cut chunks of metal and other pointy and potentially unhealthy non-automotive paraphenalia 😠 ) out of it, removed the seals from the smashed windows and the glass from them.

I've given the whole thing a once over. It seems to be sound enough underneath. Brakes and IRS conversion look to be OK, although I'm not a mechanic :P There is rust in every window frame, every door and in several other places around the bumper, the cargo floor, the rear tray, the engine bay. Still she's holding up OK for her 44 years.

My plan is to attack stuff in this order:

1. Handbrake. Gotta be able to stop it when I need to, having brakes at handy times like while backing it off the delivery truck would also have been good. The handbrake will be easier to fix than the hydraulic system I reckon, so it's handbrake first.

2. Engine. If it kicks over, it stays until after rego. Looks to be OK, but I've yet to hear it running. I believe it's a 1600.

3. Rust. This is the biggy. There is rust everywhere. I guess I'll target the window frames and door hinges first. I need to waterproof it. Once I've done that, I should be skilled up enough to replace the bolt latches with something a little more automotive for keeping the tail gate, rear window, engine lid etc closed.
The the cargo floor, and the ute section will be next (or whenever I can get my hands on some panels).

I'll work out everything else as the project progresses over the next few years.

[Edited on 25-5-2003 by PostModern]

kombi_kid wrote:GET RID OF THAT DASH

Maybe. I actually think I can fit more gear (gauges, hifi, navigation systems etc) into the bay dash. It's not like this is a stock bus or anything.

Sweet :thumb

Would like to see it in person 😀

Cool,
Heaps of potential. You definitely have a head turner there. 😀

DakDat wrote:Sweet :thumb

Would like to see it in person 😀

U2U me if you're heading down near the Illawarra at all. I'd like some input and advice from dubbers who see it in person.

Man the guy who built that is pretty cool. It looks interesting to say the least and it must have taken many many hours.

Yeah, well, he had the right ideas, but the number of doors, hatches etc that are held shut with this slide-bolt latches is amazing. It's almost like I'll have to redo every catch, latch and lock on the thing... especially since it came with no keys 😠 The floor in the inside cargo bay has been patched numerous times with diffent profiles of panel... there are a few sharp edges left in the interior that'll need sorting and all this damn plywood 🙂

If only he'd used a genuine engine lid out of a bay or something. Anyway, I hope to get it back into shape. The sunroof has been siliconed shut then painted over. I'll try and find a tinted glass one to replace it. I also need to replace all four fixed pieces of glass in the back with either sliders or pop-outs, so if anyone sees some or has some for sale, pls let me know. 🙂

love the var when its done its gonna be sweeet not that it isnt already :thumb :thumb

cant wait to see the finished product. if the engine is stuffed, could i put in a wrd for the wonders of subi? (hell, its modified anyway!)

baybuscamperkid wrote:cant wait to see the finished product. if the engine is stuffed, could i put in a wrd for the wonders of subi? (hell, its modified anyway!)

:thumb

bump

It looks as if you have your work cut out for you, but its still a great concept, and should turn out awesome when you've finished the 'resto'. :thumb

Thats an interesting ride, different but cool.

I was just thinking, once it's all finished, a canvas canopy over the ute section would really suit it. You could continue the roofline and back and it would accent well, look more factory that way.

what do you guys reckon?

I was just thinking, once it's all finished, a canvas canopy over the ute section would really suit it. You could continue the roofline and back and it would accent well, look more factory that way.

what do you guys reckon?

oh and BTW, dump it man! 😎

hey this post is over a year old. is postmodern still around? did he end up keeping 'theolbugfactoryute' or did he sell it on?

any latest?

[Edited on 25/11/2004 by twoguns]

He sold it to someone here about 6 months ago. Not sure who got it now!

yeah there was a war'o'words about the rust situation if i rem. right....