samblers
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Sam and Kellys Kombi restoAbout time we got a proper restoration thread going on KK for our kombi, show you what we're all up to whilst everyone is out cruising without us! 
Needless to say we'd planned to take our kombi off the road a couple of years ago, and the time recently came to strip it down and build it back up again (properly), take a look:
This is what we love doing (sitting around in fields!):
and this...
Stripped bare, and leaving home:
Blow some dust off:
Floor rot:
A previous 'quality' repair:
Dust...anyone:
More quality:
Drivers floor in the bin:
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samblers
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From here, I feel the only way is up! Lucky I have a young fella named Dave on my side.
To all of those who say there is no-one in Perth who can do work on Splits anymore, read on 
The Dash-hacker:
Da Naaa:
Rust repaired properly... and hand-made panels 
New A-posts go on:
Daves da man:
Aaaaand the new nose is on, yay!
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samblers
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Been busy back at Chateau Carter whilst the body is gone.
One engine...
Tinwear held-together with WA pindan:
Oily Cylinder No. 2:
Hmmm, to split the case or not....?
Engine guts:
Crack on Cyl 2 spark plug = head is going in the bin:
Tinwear cleaned and painted:
Gearbox:
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VLKSWGN
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Sam, she's gonna be sweet as once finished! 
Dave, your work is amazing!
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Kinga
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Top work again Dave.
The work is coming along fast Samblers.
So what are the plans for motor now you have had to split it?
Will she stay stock or get a bit of extra lovin' too?
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samblers
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Motor will be a bone stocker as hitler intended... but that doesnt mean its not getting any lovin' (its getting plenty of that... and plenty of $$$ as well  )
Its a full time job this restoration lark!
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WAY2COOL
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Yeah gotta agree ,top work Dave .Lookin' good Sam.Should work out a treat..Kim
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Roadcow
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Very nice work! Looks sweet. Can't wait to see more inspirational pics!
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samblers
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Some more progress pics from this week... mainly chassis stuff and then up on the rotisserie:
In the kombi hospital:
All those bullet holes:
More chassis repairs, more hand-made panels, all good:
Front floor still breezy:
Hup-laaa, up on the rotisserie:
Dust, rust, still work to do:
Onya Dave
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Roadcow
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Nice meat cooker! The progress is amazing.
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samblers
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Some work on the sill:
Meanwhile a front-beam-shaped lump of dust and hardened grease has been brought back to Chateau Carter:
By god i think its..... it is! Its METAL!:
Better put the engine back together before I get cracking on all these other distractions....
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Roadcow
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Very nice work! Keep the pictures coming. 
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Maharg
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| samblers wrote: |
By god i think its..... it is! Its METAL!:
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You getting your front beam ready for a lowering job.... 
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samblers
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Yup
Pretty mild though
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samblers
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"Day of the engine" today... here's how it started:
Crank assembled in case:
Pistons go on:
Longblock all assembled:
On reflection it doesn't look like 12 hours work does it?! I hope its got compression and oil pressure or i'll be pretty upset!!!
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VLKSWGN
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Nice work Sam, stik a lik a paint on it
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samblers
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Ha steve you beat me to it!
Some work on the drivers sill whilst we're at it...
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VLKSWGN
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Nice one Sam, u can't beat the paint dude!
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Diddlie
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Wow !!! amazing
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Brookie
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Which paint did you use on engine case etc?
----------------------------------------------
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samblers
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Just used Engine enamel from Bunnings... on the exhaust and inlet manifold i used high temp paint from bunnings... we'll see how it holds out eh?
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samblers
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OK, the latest installment from the Kombi lunatic asylum... all inmates are currently holding up well, helped out no doubt by Tinas home-baked goodies... though there has been a recent tendancy on Sam and Dave's part to wander off into 'tinkering' mode (dangerous!).
Dave did an excellent job of sorting out some issues with our cargo door alignment... the hinges needed heating up and bashing with the 'american screwdriver', and (as suspected) the right lower hinge in this pic had the adjustment plates all seized/bodged up:
Here's what was lying behind the pug by the left hand engine vents... some accident damage with an attempt to fix by pulling the panel with screws:
It didnt work (all they did was F up the side panel)... not sure how to fix this one yet... tricky Unlike German-built Type 2's the rear side of this panel on Aussie-built kombis is closed-in and cant be accessed from behind without opening it up like a sardine tin:
Then we rolled her over, ready to do work on the underside:
unusual view:
Plenty of work to do here (shudder):
Rear valance repairs for some light relief:
Front beam, naked as the day it was born:
Slots marked out for adjusters:
Meanwhile back at chateau Carter work on the engine continues... though my garage has pretty much become a 'goods in' department for receiving greased-up rusty crap from the van at Daves, and turfing it back out as de-greased painted rusty crap 
Thumbs up to Tina and Kelly putting up with us
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samblers
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Week 7... before I even got the chance to take a p*ss Dave had finished putting the adjusters on the beam:
So back home, start brushing, painting, re-assembling...
The beam was just the entree, the main course for this week was turning this...
Into this....
Hopefully, after all that mess and grease, it will be downhill from here...?!
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BJ
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The bottoms a bit John Major but it is in gloss.
Looking good Sam, another step closer, painting the bottom is something that I would love to finish on mine. It looks the business. I noticed that the front wheel arches have been left - Are these going to be the same colour as the body work?
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66split
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| BJ wrote: | | I noticed that the front wheel arches have been left ? |
more welding required
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samblers
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" a bit john major"...??!!!
Grey, you mean?!!
Not you as well, Dave has been on about this!
You wait until my black beam, red shocks and YELLOW gearbox are on there... it'll be awesome!
Yes, the wheel arches need a bit more tickling before paint goes on
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Keith D
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That'll be a new car when you've finished Sam. It's looking fantastic! - Keith D
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BJ
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| samblers wrote: | " a bit john major"...??!!!
Grey, you mean?!!
Not you as well, Dave has been on about this!
You wait until my black beam, red shocks and YELLOW gearbox are on there... it'll be awesome!
Yes, the wheel arches need a bit more tickling before paint goes on |
LEGO BUS 
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BJ
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You know I'm only joshin with ya.
It'll look pukka...I'm just jealous
You fellas are doin a top job
J
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66split
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dosent matter what colour it is underneath. as soon as its back on the road it will be covered in red dust
should be off the spit roast tomorrow, hope to finish welding soon!
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WAY2COOL
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Top job guys... Love the pics
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samblers
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Not an amazing amount of pics this week, oweing to the fact i forgot my camera!  What else to do to the van whilst its sideways...? Strip the roof (easier for us to do that the panel beater):
and the inside cleared of old gack:
Meanwhile Dave is busy with cargo doors:
"just like a bought one...":
Went to visit the paint shop place because we're only a couple of weeks off moving it down there... here's Jorg-Arnds progress with Jays bus (the inside is in primer:
For the time being engine re-assembly was going well:
.... until i accidentaly dropped a washer down the oil-filler neck and had to strip it back down partialy to find it and get it out Glad i didnt turn the engine over with this in there!:
Pretty much done now though:
Pics of the front doors hung and new front floors welded on coming up soon. We're getting there...
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Jay Wright
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Sam,
Do you have any other pics of my van? Perhaps the ones you took the other day.......
Your donk looks a treat- great work!!
JA wants me to sand back the engine compartment on my bus this Sat morning. Will take some pics once done.
Later
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samblers
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I'll email you the pics Jay
Thanks for the kind words... your bus isnt look so shonky itself now!
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VLKSWGN
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Good Job me ol china, bet you both can't wait to cruize again in the bus
Wont be long now, u will get your ears chewed off by folk congratulating you on your resto! You can buy ear muffs dirt cheap these dayz
Great work
Steve
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Mustard Man
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Thats amazing to look through. Great work. Love the rotissery for the kombi, thats gotta make life better hey!!
Im building my new motor soon. First attempt!! God help me!
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samblers
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| VLKSWGN wrote: | Good Job me ol china, bet you both can't wait to cruize again in the bus
Wont be long now, u will get your ears chewed off by folk congratulating you on your resto! You can buy ear muffs dirt cheap these dayz
Great work
Steve |
Is that directed towards Dave or me?!!!
Good luck Mustard Man... I wont say it was easy or difficult until i know mine starts
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the aussie trimmer
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Went to visit the paint shop place because we're only a couple of weeks off moving it down there... here's Jorg-Arnds progress with Jays bus (the inside is in primer:
Hey Jay, your bus looks good, first time I’ve seen it since the pictures you sent when you bought it.
The biggest problem I have come across is that when the inside of these busses are painted, (being a trimmer that’s the only part I’m interested in) the painters don’t paint enough of the inside to body finish. There are a lot of places that are seen that should be body finish, but they are missed. Make sure that you are aware of the parts that are seen or should be body finish on your project so there are no shoddy bits showing after the trim is fitted.
Parts that are usually miss
The front channel along the front floor that holds the two kick panels
The centre heater pipe, vents and light buckets in the front of the cab even under the dash and shelf
The area under the seats
The overhead air vent unit
The metal divider panel behind the front seats
Under the rolled top of the metal divider on the rear passenger side
Inside of the door, rear doors and tail gate apertures
Rear tail gate hinge area
Just to name a few
Sorry to hijack this post and if you all ready knew about these points, but its something I’m very passionate about and I find every time I get a car and just had to mention it.
Kev.
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WAY2COOL
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Great advice Kev.This is the sort of info that adds so much to our forum,Thanks for sharing your valuable experience.... Kim
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samblers
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More progress to report, we're on welding week 9 (if i haven't lost count, along with my mind and my bank balance) and we're nearly finished! Just a bit more wire-brushing & painting to do underneath to start off with... funny how Dave left me to do the wire-brushing eh...
But managed to make it good...
 
Meanwhile the major progress has been the doglegs and the front floor... this has been one of those jobs thats dragged on and on because we've been waiting on parts. The original plan was to rip the whole doglegs off and replace with the Gerson panels... these turned out very difficult to get and were a very expensive option ($800 - $1000 for the pair, delivered  ). The Brazilian shite ones were not an option - Daves (and Pashs's) experience with them was so bad he refused to work with them and I agreed.
I ended up buying just this panel pair from Autokraft (via Classic Veedub) + the floor panels:
 
The rest (almost the whole dogleg) was fabricated and repaired by Dave by hand...
view from the inside:
and the front floor:
As a comparison, here's an old pic of what it looked like before. Its difficult to make out but basically the inside dogleg was made up of crap tin panels held in place with gallons of silicon sealant, Yeuch!
Pretty impressive improvement, i think you'll agree.... Amazingly enough, this kind of almost wraps up the welding work for Dave, just a few little odd jobs here and there:
... and I'm turning my thoughts away from the major mechancal work which I've done and onto a few details, like a speedo tidy-up, and those shiny shiny wheels, yay!
 
So, very soon we're off to the panel shop for some pulling, pushing, pug, paint and polish... I have mixed feelings about this because up until now the work has been very much under our control... from here on in we'll be at the mercy of a paint shop (notoriously unreliable in my experience), so who knows if we'll be 2 months 6 months or 24 months  away from cruising around again. SUMMER IS ONLY 3 SHORT MONTHS AWAY AND I DONT WANT TO GO TO THE BEACH IN A TOYOTA WHATEVER!!!!
Cheers, Sam
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Diddlie
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Amazing progress, lets hopr the next phase goes as smoothly.
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BJ
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Sam - Great posts and Pics, and Dave what can I say about him? - Nothing the pictures do all the talking..... Excellent!
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samblers
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Got the engine started
Thanks to Dave (who else?! ) for the loan of the engine starting gubbins... It didn't quite start first time - at first it was just turning over and over - I put a pencil in cylinder no.1 to watch for TDC and the pencil snapped off inside the cylinder!! Eventually got it out with some double-sided tape on the end of a coat-hanger
I'd adjusted all the valves wrong as well.... once that was sorted it fired straight up Da Naaaa
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66split
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great news that its a runner sam
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BJ
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Sam has anyone told you that you should only put Oil in engines...what are you gonna put in there next
Good work. Out of interest did the motor move around much once it was started?
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samblers
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Naa, didn't move around at all... it shouldn't do either, i dont think
A VW mechanic once told me that your engine is balanced when you can put a full middy of beer on the fan housing of your running engine and not spill a drop
... now what can i throw inside their next?!
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Maharg
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Nice one Sam, one step closer, hope all goes well with the paint shop guys (or girls...  ).
Hopefully it will be rolling by the time i hit Perth shores.....
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samblers
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When do you hit Perth... thats the question!!
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WAY2COOL
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Looks great Sam.Yeah ,let's have a Toyota -free summer!!!Love the wheels .
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Maharg
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| samblers wrote: | | When do you hit Perth... thats the question!! |
Mid to late October is all goes as planned....
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samblers
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| Maharg wrote: | | samblers wrote: | | When do you hit Perth... thats the question!! |
Mid to late October is all goes as planned.... |
Dont get your hopes up then!!
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samblers
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Latest pics... not much welding to report on, Dave is pretty much finished doing his bit so its all down to the panel beater and his bucket of pug from now on in...
Starting bolting stuff back on, which is cool. Here goes the bumpers nicely lined up to weld the bumper brackets on in the right place:
Beam in place...
Yella box...
Side view...
A few more bits to bolt back on then she'll be rolling down to the panel shop - hopefully by this time next week
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VLKSWGN
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Great work, I hope all goes well with your paint
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Diddlie
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It's hard to believe the underneath of a vehicle could look so pretty
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samblers
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Kombi now at the panel shop in South Freo... in the lap of the gods now
Here's some pics...
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NewBay
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still using Steve's dodgy trailer i see lol!! the bus is looking good!!
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Keith D
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Hey Sam,
How's your splitty going? Nothing on this post for quite a while??
Keith
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samblers
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Been a long time since i posted on KK A few folks have hassled me for updates on our bus so here are the latest pics.
Since leaving Daves our bus languished in a panelshop in South Freo with progress being woeful and costs mounting. See my posts on the SSVC for pics.
It makes me ill to talk about this miserable experience but the essence is that i pulled the pin, had a major ding dong with the PB and have since moved the bus to Malaga Rust Repairs having seen the repair work they did on Daves 66split.
Life is moving on for me. We now have progress.... and empty pockets
Gary at Malaga rust and his crew are cracking on nicely with the paint prep work and for once i am a happy lad with a clutch of good pictures to show
But firstly - Seats, courtesy of kevin at trimtec in Perth... these are fabulous and will surely be the nicest part of our bus!
The main course - Some pics taken today in Malaga...
Front panel bogged and ready for primer:
Top long side panel in prepped and primed
Straight straight straight:
Ditto:
Rear right corner, last coat of bog:
Left corner needs work... but notice no old bog now... clean as a whistle:
Plenty damage/ bad repair over the years:
Previously unknown damage in long side panel - amazing what hides under bog:
Dogleg on its way back to primer
Our bus - BOSH!
onwards.... upwards... to glory... to bankruptcy!
Sam
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Keith D
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Hey Sam,
Those seats are fantastic!!
It's good to see the body coming along well at last. Don't be too upset over your bad experience - I think it's par for the course. When I was restoring my Austin Seven, the first panelbeater I entrusted with the car was a total disaster!! He charged like a wounded bull and filled every dent with bog!! Which was something I specifically told him I didn't want!! Like you, I pulled the pin and trailered the car down to Beverley where Chris Gilbert performed miracles on it!!
I even had similar problems with the Chrysler.
Regards - Keith
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samblers
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Thanks for the kind words Keith... we'll get there in the end!!!
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Mustard Man
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Good work with those seats. Very nice! You know the spec of them? As in is it foam inside with springs? or Horse hair etc??
Great to see the progress ticking along, slow it maybe but it is moving.
These resto's aren't easy are they!
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samblers
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Havent got a clue whats in the seats - foam... badgers... gravy...?
you'll have to ask Kevin
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Astrid
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This work is absolutely amazing I take my hat off....it's making me have crazy thoughts about doing a resto on our kombi or even the old bug!
Good on you and thanks for the enthusiasm.
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Pitt-bulli
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Awesome rebuild this one... great to see it moving along again.
Darrell.
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Mustard Man
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| samblers wrote: | Havent got a clue whats in the seats - foam... badgers... gravy...?
you'll have to ask Kevin |
Arrr, I thought the squirel population had dropped recently!!
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the aussie trimmer
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| Mustard Man wrote: | Good work with those seats. Very nice! You know the spec of them? As in is it foam inside with springs? or Horse hair etc??
Great to see the progress ticking along, slow it maybe but it is moving.
These resto's aren't easy are they! |
Basic seat frames and spring pads are original.
Seat frame slides and adjuster mechanisms checked and freed up, broken springs replaced, spring frames re-spot welded, media blasted and powder coated to start. All new padding, using very special dense foam shaped to the original fibre pad and reinforced around the edge, extra shape installed in the driver seat, lumbar support in the backrest and new covers made to Sam’s instructions but retaining the original VW wire fix down style.
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samblers
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What he said! ^^^
Sam
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Mustard Man
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Ha, But what about the Squirrels?
Sounds like a dam good seat to me!
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