Home away from Home, on wheels.

[Raj]

Very nice Mike. Hope it was worth the wait and looking fwd to checking it out this weekend

[ObnoxiousBlue]

Transplant from TS:

My 77 is in for some body work, and I might be losing my Westfalia stickers on the drivers side dog leg.
I've been mocking this up today at work and am curious if anyone sees anything glaringly different. My old one was in bad shape and had been painted around years

ago by a PO.
I remember a similar thread and things got hot - realizing that it is not an original, and some of the letters had to be hand drawn to match originals whats the thoughts? Close enough to rock or abandon the idea?

I'm going to make the decal in three steps. A clear decal with the dotted numbers
The silver decal with cutouts (here in white) and a UV film over the top to keep the foil decal from peeling/fading.

I din't mesure the original, can someone give me the final dimensions?

Thoughts?




I realize the bottom number is aligned differently, I am trying to figure out if I am missing a digit or if the whole number was just printed further to the left than the 09 77 above it. Does anyone know what the bottom number represents? Might it appear anywhere else on the car? It seemed to be the 0225004 that appears on the smaller tag above so I reiterated that same number.

[ObnoxiousBlue]

[EDNCAROL]

Looks good Mike. As far as that sticker goes I give you credit for trying to keep the originality of the bus. It's no longer original so as long as your happy with it that's what counts. Hope you find the back bumper!

[ObnoxiousBlue]

Got the bus back today. Had to scale back on how much I did because other parts went way over budget - and time. But there was some rust that was perforatin g he back corner and drivers side footwell that couldn't wait.
It looks good. 8/10 now. She's starting to show some age, and it's clear that a full repaint is in my future. A small repair here, a little blend there... it all adds up to a few areas that I can tell were retouched by the faintly different green. But that's a project for another year.
Got it home and got the front bumpers and spare mounted up. Gotta ghet my new tire cover on there ASAP!

[EDNCAROL]

Mike what are those chrome things on the ro bar ?

[ObnoxiousBlue]

What chrome things?
Nothing new on the bar, it was powdered...
Actually, there is a defect in the powder and it might be going back to them to be fixed up.

[ObnoxiousBlue]

Got a lot done today. Started off early, around 930 or so. Mounted the nee wheels (and hankooks) on the bus and got it back on the ground. Soaked the hubcaps in some degreaser and dish soap, washed them down and got them all back on the wheels. After, I replaced the muffler strap which was old and pitted the sanded the exhaust down and used some VHT Flameproof primer and silver paint to clean up the exhaust. The sanding paid off because he exhaust looks brand new. Went to lunch with a friend and ran some errands while it dried.
Came back and had to do some work on the new mirror mounts, they had some light pitting from where the mirror bolts had been over tightened. I used some metal filling epoxy to fill them and will let them dry overnight before sanding them down, priming and painting later on.
Had to replace the bumper bolts for the rear bumper up into the body, will get that mounted up once I'm done curing the paint on the exhaust.
Will clean the inside out sometime this week too.

[Glenn]

Look GREAT.







Less filling

[ObnoxiousBlue]

Finally got to mount the rear bumper this morning. I had ordered new hardware from BoltDepot.com - I wanted 10.9 hardened bolts and washers as it was stock.



Also got one of the new jalousie windows cleaned up and installed. Still have to polish them up some more.
Have to do the drivers side too, but it started to rain.

[ObnoxiousBlue]

Got the other side done.




I'm on the fence if I want to put on the Westy accessory trim pieces. I've had these sitting in my parts stash for a few years.
They were used in colder climates to keep wind from coming in the sides of the windows when they were closed.

[EDNCAROL]

Do you really want to put holes in your new windows ?

[MrBreeze]

Meh, I wouldn't.

Let the next owner worry about that

[ObnoxiousBlue]

It sucked to miss the new CJVWS show today but I got lots done on my bus. Seeing as it came back to me much later than was anticipated I have had a stock pile of parts that I built up over the winter in the spare room that have been waiting to go on.
I traded a set of used wheels/tires for a dash that was in much better shape than mine. Mine had holes in it from where gauges had been mounted at one time. Also, a few spots from accessories a younger version of me thought were cool back in the day.
So last night I started by removing the old dash. Four screws on the side, six on top, and two each at the column and parking brake had it out in about 25 minutes. Sun had set so I packed it in for the night to finish today. I cleaned up the donor dash and moved over some ducting for the fresh air vents then proped it into position. I put a few screws along the edges before tightening everything down. I got the new stereo assembled and fit to the dash (it's nice to see all these parts coming out of the second bedroom) and then moved to the doors. I used a marker to trace where the speakers would mount then my rotozip to cut through the Masonite. Then, I used a hole saw to cut where the tweeters would go. I installed everything and used water resistant connectors inside the door. I mounted each component's controller inside the door too. Ran the wires through a robber loom in the jamb and connected everything up. Removed the 12V DC accessory plug and mounted the Aux In/USB plugs there. Left one of the USB ports accessible through the glove box too. Put the rubber floor mat back down and snapped the ABS kick panels into place.

Next weekend, the headliner.

[Glenn]

Looks great.

[Big_kid]

Great job! Want to replace the dash in my Astro next?

[ObnoxiousBlue]

I knew I had held on to the stock mirrors when I put the Brazilian ones on - finding them was another project...
Cleaned them up and mounted them back on.

[ObnoxiousBlue]

I totally forgot... When I put in the new dash, I had replaced the turn signal switch - it has never self cancelled and I scored a switch from Brian Powers last year at Volksfest for $10! I cleaned it up a bit, put it in with all the dash work and completely forgot. But it was great to have my turn signals self cancel! Now I have to break myself of the habit of turning them off!

[MrBreeze]

Same with me. Mine has never worked. I don't even think about it anymore

[Big_kid]

Funny how sticking that finger out a little bit on the wheel return becomes second nature. I did that for a long time in the Astro, and up until I smoked the switch in the buggy.

[ObnoxiousBlue]

Well! It's working now! These little creature comforts! Haha

[SUMTHING]

mine also needs to be replaced (does not self cancel) in fact, a stiff wind will move and turn my signal on.
(anyone that has caravan ed with me will notice my signal on all the time)
but I think my signal is one of those goofed up transition year parts.

[Tom]

Looks great Mike, how does the new sound system work ?

[ObnoxiousBlue]

The new stereo sounds great. He bus shape lends itself to awkward acoustics but these speakers sound right. The stereo has so many features/options too that I really need to play with it some more to find what sounds best.

Dave, your signal is a 72/73 model they're out there though.

[ObnoxiousBlue]

Updated my thread on TheSamba. Included a lot of what's already here but also my neww headliner. I have been outside all day cutting and fitting it.

Man, I haven't posted here in ages. I really need to update the thread as so much has happened with the bus. This winter alone saw a new engine by Chico, a set of Len Hoffman's "Blueprint Special" heads, powdercoated all of the engine tin, the intake runners, plenum, bumpers, wheels, Roo bar and probably other stuff I'm forgetting. Managed to find a set of stock bumper bolts so I could go back to using the proper plastic caps. Havent decided yet if I want to put the rear over riders back on. Installed a set I Hankook RA18's - my RA08's were great tires and I hope these new ones live up to their lineage. Sent the bus to the body stop to get some small stuff taken care of - I would love a repaint in the future but now isn't that time. Addressed a small issue on the rear drivers corner, as well as both dog legs. Polished up a new set of jalousie windows that work much better than my last set. Put in a set f the Werlsberg ABS kick panels and swapped out my dash for a much nicer one - just before I installed a new RetroSound Long Beach radio and new component speakers in the front doors. Today I did my ceiling panels. I used PVC sheets and cut them with a box cutter. It cuts easy! They look great - naturally there are a few spots that I can see and wish I did better but all on all it looks awesome. Just for fun I used dry erase contact paper under the top bunk. Not sure how long it'll stay there but it was a fun little side project. Also mounted up a new antenna for my ham radio, still have to pull some wires to get the rest of the radio up and running but I'll get to it this week.