Straighten Up!

It's the most unhappy people who most fear change.
Mignon McLaughlin

Once again a samaritan has come to my aid. The front passenger door has been aligned correctly for me by neighbour, Marius, and it opens and closes beautifully now. The incorrect striker plate was the cause of most of my problems but the hinges needed spacing and aligning too. While he was here he aligned the driver's door accurately and correctly too, brilliant. Where would we be without mates, eh? Thanks Marius.


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Getting There

Wandering re-establishes the original harmony which once existed between man and the universe.
Anatole France

I've been doing random bits here and there but have spent a lot of time working on making a replica of the "rock n roll" bed hinges. Maybe I can make a few bucks selling it off to another VW lover. I have managed to finish filling and flatting the left-hand sliding door. It still has the odd ripple and wave but looks pretty acceptable to my skew eye. I'm hoping that it won't be obvious to the casual observer that it used to be a sliding door...

Front is still a bit wobbly looking with a few high and low spots but it's getting there - gotta keep on sanding!


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Dent Doctor

Everything we possess that is not necessary for life or happiness becomes a burden, and scarcely a day passes that we do not add to it.
Robert Brault

There are a few random dents around the body. I shall probably ignore the smaller ones and just paint over them (!) but these in the pic needed to be fixed. I have, as usual, just blathered some red oxide with a brush over the finished work - I'll flat it all down nicely later. The recent rain storms have brought up the old rust issue again, surprise. If I had a proper budget for this project then I might consider putting a roof up.


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Helping Hand

Happiness consists, not in possessing much, but in being content with what we possess. He who wants little always has enough.
Zimmermann

Young colleague Bradley came over for few hours to help out with some of the hard labour. Thanks mate! I have spent so much of the previous month with the same old thing - sanding and filling...it's great to have a helping hand. Wonder if he'll still be smiling at the end of the day?


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Lovely Bumpers

A ship is safe in harbor, but that's not what ships are built for.
John A. Shedd

Still busy busy busy filling and sanding the front. It's actually rather bent out of shape but I'll flat it and smooth it and get it as good as possible. I'm not trying to make a concourse machine - this will be a vehicle for hitting the game reserves and a lot of out of the way places so looks are not as important as comfort and reliability. She's always been a head-turner. I guess she always will be. I would have made a bit more progress but Dad came to visit so I downed tools early.


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The bumpers were pretty battered and were both a little twisted - the result of a lot of bushwhacking over the years. I have straightened out most of the twisties and re-aligned them. I have removed the worst of the rust. A little more cleaning up and they'll be ready for primer. Oh I do love a nice pair of bumpers!

Frustrating Front-End

Without adventure civilization is in full decay.
Alfred North Whitehead

For perhaps the 12th time I have removed surface rust, sanded down yesterdays filler, cleaned up the filled area and applied another thin coat of body filler. It's finally starting to look a little like a Kombi again, although the filler is so thick in places that I feel more like a sculptor!


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Front Filling

Every man can transform the world from one of the monotony and drabness to one of excitement and adventure.
Irving Wallace

I have spent the past ten days cleaning and filling the front panel, which was damaged even more badly than I thought. I borrowed a fancy hydraulic ram thingy to push out the worst of the dents from the inside (thanks Rob!), cleaned off the rust and starting filling again. I had hoped that the work would stay dry in our rainless winter but it has been so cold that we have heavy dew and the rust still takes over as soon as I finish. I have to wire-brush the bare metal parts again each time before applying the next layer of filler. Thank goodness for beer to keep me motivated :)


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Nothing Left On The Left

I think that travel comes from some deep urge to see the world, like the urge that brings up a worm in an Irish bog to see the moon when it is full.
Lord Dunsany

Finally finished layering and sanding the filler and sprayed a layer of red oxide over the lot. The door had warped a lot from the heat of the welding and the filling had to cover a lot more area than I first imagined. The ugly weld on the side pressing still has to be smoothed and filled. The once sliding door is almost a thing of the past - this side is starting to look as if it was originally made this way. I'm worn out and sore, and this is nothing compared to the mess of the front end that I have to do next ...


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No Love-Handle

The traveller was active; he went strenuously in search of people, of adventure, of experience. The tourist is passive; he expects interesting things to happen to him. He goes "sight-seeing".
Daniel J Boorstin

I have read that lots of thin layers of filler are stronger than one big glob of it. I have been adding a thin layer every day after work and then smoothing it down the following day. I ended up doing it about 8 times but it seems to be solid. I have laid on far more than required and it should all sand back nicely with the feathered edges as recommended.


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Extra Work

I have wandered all my life, and I have travelled; the difference between the two is this -- we wander for distraction, but we travel for fulfillment.
Hilaire Belloc

The existing seam next to the sliding door just didn't look right to my eye. Despite creating a lot of extra work for myself I have filled it in and smoothed it off. Time will tell whether there is enough movement in this seam to disturb the filler, if so I'll have to strip it and weld it properly. But for now I much prefer the smooth look of it. The centre ridge pressing still needs some work, coming soon.

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Roof Join Complete

Certainly, travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living.
Mirian Beard

Whew, I'm going to have arms like the Terminator when this thing is finished! Very tiring work. The grey primer is little help against the rain and is about as waterproof as a sponge so I have started using red oxide which should offer more rain resistance. I'm still just chucking it on with a brush, that's why it doesn't look too smooth. It's going to need a lot nore preparation before the final coat. This section will mostly be hidden under the pop-top roof but I still want it to look good.

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And More...

A journey is best measured in friends, rather than miles.
Tim Cahil

I sanded down the first layer of filler on the roof join and added a second. This pic was snapped while taking a much-needed breather and coffee break. The big hole in the roof is, of course, for the Dormobile pop-top which has been pushed back to make room for my big head to get in. The two smaller holes at the edge are for one of the roof mounting brackets.

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More Filling

The traveller sees what he sees, the tourist sees what he has come to see.
GK Chesterton

Young Sheldon came to visit for a couple of days and made himself useful by erecting this rain-resistant gazebo for me and my peace of mind. I have slapped a lick of primer over the really rusty bits as a means of slowing down the rust and the pitting. I know it's not waterproof but it should help a bit 'til I can get to it.

Sheldon went on to sandpaper the interior bracing strips and paint on a couple of coats of grey primer. Thanks kid, you earned your dinner!

Just before we put up the gazebo I cleaned up the rusty roof weld and roughly pasted some body-filler over it. Then the $%*&#@ rain came and we turned into tent builders instead.

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Filling The Cracks

If you wish to travel far and fast, travel light. Take off all your envies, jealousies, unforgiveness, selfishness, and fears.
Glenn Clark

I cleaned off all of the rust across the roof and the main left-hand welded join and slapped a layer of filler over it all. I spent most of Easter weekend rubbing it down in preparation for the second filling. Of course it rained all day Monday so I am under attack from the dreaded rust again! When will this rain ever end?


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Dent Repairs

Once you have travelled, the voyage never ends, but is played out over and over again in the quietest chambers. The mind can never break off from the journey.
Pat Conroy

This is a scratch in the right side of the bus. It has caused a long dent as well. I beat out the dent with some panel-beating hammers and dollies that I have on loan (thanks Dino). I then filled the remaining, shallow dent with some body filler and sanded it smooth.

I have added and sanded a second layer of filler on the welded join. I have also smoothed off the filler in the dent and slapped on two coats of primer to keep it clean. Yes, with a brush, don't worry about it now. It'll be all right. The business of sanding and smoothing the filler is much tougher than I expected. It's going to take longer than I thought...

And I still have this mess to look forward to - oh joy!

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Floored

Listen, there's a hell of a good universe next door; let's go.
EE Cummings

The floor was also in a sorry state as the roof had leaked with the recent torrential rain and rusted it somewhat. I scrubbed it all down with a wire brush (for three hours!) and slapped on two coats of grey primer with an old paintbrush.

This is my substitute for a roof, at least until this pesky rain stops and I can get some proper work done.

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Gap In The Rain

I see my path, but I don't know where it leads. Not knowing where I'm going is what inspires me to travel it.
Rosalia de Castro

The rain has been pounding down daily, part the the global climate change? Not what we'd expect for the usual Johannesburg summer. I have bought an enormous sheet of plastic to shelter the project a bit and intend to make some progress on finishing of the main welds. I shall work in the clear breaks in the weather and cover it when it's raining. My intention for the next few weeks is to get the welds dressed, cleaned up, filled and sanded smooth.

The main right-hand weld is, as are the rest of the welds, in a sorry and rusted state (A). I cleaned up the worst of it with a "flapper" sander attachment on the trusty grinder. The rest was cleaned with a rotating wire brush on the drill. (B) Shows the progress about half way through. The rust had caused some deep pitting which took ages to clear back to shiny metal. In (C) I have slapped on some body-filler and given it a quick smoothing with a plastic applicator. Second filling to come soon.

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