1978 VW T2 South African Kombi Microbus.

kadman

So, I need to do my T2 earlier than anticipated, so the first thing is to show you the bus that needs the work. Relative to other T2's that come up for sale, this one is in way better condition than the normal rot boxes.

kadman

First part I am going to tackle is the engine bay area. Originally this bus was manufactured to take an engine type for a bay window. But sometime in its early life a T25 vanagon aircooled engine was shoe horned into it, along with the wider tinware, wider alternator position, and longer heat exchangers. As a result of this the engine bay got a bit of hammer bashing and cutting to fit it in. I will be returning it to its proper setup.

Ao a quick look into the engine bay on the right hand side and you can see the panel that was cut. I have the panels for this and two new battery trays as well as the rear beam panel. So next job for tomorrow is clip up cables and secure any loose items before grinding and cutting. Petrol tank is already out as its a time bomb if its left in, even empty

hoodie6029

Good luck with the project. Looking forward to seeing the progress 👍

kadman

Original labels on the inside of the rear engine hatch. The african word for caution seems to be a mouthful😂

kadman

Very solid chassis which is nice to see, and rare. I had it advertised for sale to move it on, but only interested parties were best price merchants. Done deal is hardwork.

kadman

New panels for the engine bay. I am going to see how much of the central curved panel I can save, if any at all. Its always nice to keep all original metal if you can. Below you can see the original metal behind the petrol tank which is in great order for 26 years.

kadman

Having decided to try and save as much of the right hand side of the engine bay panel as i can, I will need a slide hammer to try and pull the folded panel out from the body, and then hammer and dolly it back into shape. Unfortunately I dont have either a slide hammer, or a small turfer that I could fit into the engine bay and pull out the panel. So off to the scrap pile and pick out a few bits to make the hammer from. Long rod to slide the hammer, clamp for attachment to the panel, and a couple of hefty pieces to make the hammer from.

kadman

So finally got the slide hammer made , and along with a ratchet and tie, pulled out the remainder of the right hand engine bay panel. And hammered it back to some sort of normality.

Here is a pic of the sliding hammer i made up from scrap which did the job.

And the end clamp

And the rusted corner that was removed.

kadman

The rusted section used to be available as a repair panel, but thats no longer the case. So i could either buy a full size panel to the swage line, and cut off a 300 mm piece and scrap the rest, or make a new panel. I chose to make one.

So I used the rusty piece as a templet and cut out enough new metal to make the panel. After a lot of bending shaping and hammering and plannishing I finally got to a panel that with a bit more trimming and final shaping, I can weld in, and hammer and dolly the final shape on the camper.

Checking the curved new panel with the old offcut, and its in the ballpark thankfully

Here is the starting panel piece with the first of the tucks to form the compound curves needed.

And this is the panel with the bought battery tray panel loosely fitted for checking. Good to go.

drunkmonkey

Joining this thread can't wait to see how it goes, 5yrs+ into my 76 t2 full rebuild probably another 5 to go.

kadman

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122147548#Comment_122147548

Ha ha, another vw addict. Throw up a few pics , it would be great to see another one on the go.

JabbaTheHut

Fair play to you on tackling this project. Most of the time they're a labour of love, and can get tough to keep going at times. I'm looking forward to seeing your progress.

kadman

Any resto is a labour of love, torture and mental anguish at times, delivered in different doses , at different times. If you stood back and looked at the work ahead of you, then very few restos would get finished. If you take bite sized tasks one at a time, then you can see the small bit of process getting finished, and move onto the next bit of welding. Initially I was never intending to do this, and would have preferred moving it on. But no reasonable offer was made, so here we go. Mrs says she married a man that loves hardship, and i say……….well its about time you cut me some slack then😂🤣

I have been offered a very enticing woodwork project to do by a relative. So hopefully I wont slip back into the first passion. ha,ha.

kadman

I put the relatives woodwork project on the back burner for the moment. And now I have been sequestered by the missus in the meantime to make a sunroom.

And who am i to argue with the cook, so a couple of days later and we are ready for the roof material, so thats not too bad.

I probably now have to make the furniture for it as well. But she's worth it when she puts up with all my classic stuff all over the place🤣

TrailerBob

Lovely bus project. They are a great fun vehicle to run about in when the weather is good. Pic of ours for inspiration on the final destination for you

Hotblack Desiato

I see you resisted the temptation to add a few flower decals and peace signs, but maybe kadman will 🤣

kadman

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122281272#Comment_122281272

Now that we have an Emmy award winner in the family, god knows what could end up on that bus when its done ha,ha.