Hi all, after many years of sitting forlorn in the backyard my daughter Greta and I are finally cracking into it with the aim of getting our low light bay done by christmas. Of course all the brainwashing I have done on my kids has payed off because I dont think they will ever drive anything else . Greta tuns 17 in november so she would love the bus to be her first car and even though her friends will have new mazda 2s or something I know who will have the most popular car at her last year of highschool.

This will be a budget rebuild and very much DIY but that is the great thing about old VWs, nice and simple to work on. We already have a rebuilt 1835 ready to slot in so no major expense in one hit.

First up this thread in no way is setting out to de-value anybodies trade because I know that people who do a certain job for a living should take pride in their work and it should not be under valued. Being a domestic/commercial/industial painter for the last 28 years I see it everyday (especially on those reality type shows, the block etc.) But I am out to show that you can do a sweet respray with a few basic tools for under a grand. So if your low on funds and have LOTS of time and want to give it a go then watch this space. All the qualified welders/panel beaters/spray painters can feel free to tell me how shit my work is but the job I do will do the job!

Starting with paint removal on roof. 125mm grinder with 36 grit disc (carefully) and then 60 grit disc. Finish off with random orbit sander and 80 grit disc.

About 5 hours later

a few more......its a big roof. Also my custom gutter cleaning tool

The spraying is the easy part, a couple of coats of etch primer

Ah. . . .. . . . .. . .now i know what i'm in for. My whole roof requires stripping too

Gotta love the OH&S dust mask and ear muffs being used

That's going to be the yr12 party bus !

I certainly used the mask/earmuffs/safety glasses when I use the high speed grinder while taking off the bulk of the paint. This bus has been painted poorly about 4 times so it is time to start fresh. It would be easier if it was only the factory paint to remove. Work has asked me to go west for a few weeks so buttercup will be delayed for a little while but that will give the daughter time to save up for some hi-fill and choose colours. Attacked the c.v. joints/boots tonight so slowly but surely.

Its great that your daughter is so involved. I hope mine are the same at that age

A positive sign was when my 4 yr old daughter told me about the big turbo she wanted for her rainbow coloured Evo LOL

After an on again/off again resto that was to be finished by now (yeah right) we are tackling it in earnest now. After stripping the car back to bare metal and removing all the glass a fair bit of rust was discovered. Now, I can tackle basic welding of patches but rebuilding complex areas are best left to a friend of mine who has the skills and the sheetmetal factory to make just about anything. The trouble is that his shop is in brisbane which is an hour away but after a bit of logistics we were able to find some space out the back for buttercup and the rust repairs can be done properly.

cut that out!

The windscreen lower repair panel and 2 cab floor repair sections were purchased from Das Resto which saved a lot of fab time.

Excellent work and another great bus saved.

While the panel beater is at it - get them to weld in the proper early bay rear tail lights - this is a wide 5 bus so it should have the late splitty style tail lights not the big ugly toombstone lights.

The rest looks quite typical of these old busses - have a look how much Kuchster has taken out and replaced in his lowie!

Cheers,

Scott

A full day just on the front

On to the back

Finally getting rust free

The bus was taken back to metal months ago but due to circumstances out of our control buttercup had to sleep outside in the weather that included a fair bit of rain over a couple of months.
Unfortunately surface rust had started to appear so my son Andrew came in to sand it all back again (80grit discs on random orbit sander).
A fresh application of etch primer will keep it sealed until all bodywork is done.

Hard yakka, but worth it

Doglegs were rooted as well.
I only want to do this once and now is the time

The original taillight holes had been butchered by the last owner when they fitted some universal trailer lights.
I like the original small taillights so I got Laurie to replace the whole damaged area which included some rust on the sides so this way fixed 2 problems at once

Taillights done and its back home again

Ahhhh much better!

Quote:

Originally posted by grinderman Hi all, after many years of sitting forlorn in the backyard my daughter Greta and I are finally cracking into it with the aim of getting our low light bay done by christmas. Of course all the brainwashing I have done on my kids has payed off because I dont think they will ever drive anything else . Greta tuns 17 in november so she would love the bus to be her first car and even though her friends will have new mazda 2s or something I know who will have the most popular car at her last year of highschool. This will be a budget rebuild and very much DIY but that is the great thing about old VWs, nice and simple to work on. We already have a rebuilt 1835 ready to slot in so no major expense in one hit. First up this thread in no way is setting out to de-value anybodies trade because I know that people who do a certain job for a living should take pride in their work and it should not be under valued. Being a domestic/commercial/industial painter for the last 28 years I see it everyday (especially on those reality type shows, the block etc.) But I am out to show that you can do a sweet respray with a few basic tools for under a grand. So if your low on funds and have LOTS of time and want to give it a go then watch this space. All the qualified welders/panel beaters/spray painters can feel free to tell me how shit my work is but the job I do will do the job!

Thanks psimitar, I hung around panel shops when I was younger (when you could buy a splitty for $500 :smilegrin and learned a few basic skills.
Greta likes the idea of a cream / jade green combo with red interior. We are keeping the jade pretty pale to give it more of a retro feel.
Look out Valla!

sounds like a good colour combo. Look forward to seeing it

Well because of work and a certain 57 splitty project Greta's bus has had to take a backstep until now. I'm hitting it full steam ahead now and are trying to get it finished by action day which is in 17 days so I am going to be pushing shit up hill Greta says "just paint the bloody thing" and I reply " but you will see every dent or ripple every day when it's finished" so I keep on priming, filling and sanding........but it has to get finished SOON !

Last of the rust is gone thanks to Laurie

Greta will have a solid bus when finished, nothing hidden on this one!

Wet sanding 800 grit and 4 coats of de beer 2 pac had the roof looking sweet (for a hack like me anyway)