Bus Roof Repairs

I've been desperately waiting for a good weekend, and last weekend we had a lovely sunny forecast.  Sadly I lost Saturday to the Bake Off, but it made me even more determined to make good with Sunday.

The lovely chaps at the MET Office were informing me of a chance of rain, so I didn't really fancy the idea of getting the welder out.  With my schedule slipping I decided to look ahead to see what I might be able to do, and decided to start prepping the new roof for the roof swap.

I've wanted to get to attending to the roof for a long time.  The whole reason for acquiring the roof was due to how poor the gutters are on the existing roof.  There was surface rust on the new roof, and the last thing I wanted was for the gutters to start rotting away on the replacement. 

 

And so my plan for Sunday was to get the gutters cleaned up, treated and POR15'd.  This will leave a waterproof coating that I can lay primer and paint over when the time arrives.

First up I gave the roof a rinse off, and then cracked out the grinder, drill and sandpaper.  Shortly afterwards the rain came and I was forced inside, my tail between my legs with me now wondering if I had been a little over optimistic.

Thankfully it turned out to be just a shower, and although the sky was somewhat overcast I was able to carry on.  It was clear there were some areas that needed more than a tickle with a wire brush though.

 

However the hammers and chisels soon had everthing back into place.

 

It took flippin' ages to clean it all back, and I was more than a little annoyed to find the rear O/S corner is going to need some time being taught a lesson from Mr Mig.
 

I immediately treated the gutters with POR15 metal prep - this would kill any rust I might not have been able to get out, and also leave the perfect surface for the POR15 to adhere to.  Whilst I left that to work its magic I did have a quick play with the welder.  I managed to plug a couple of small holes, but that corner section is just too thin and needs replacing properly.  B*gger.

This is how the roof was looking all treated.

I decided I would have to leave the roof as it was with holes exposed as time was ticking and I needed to get the gutters POR15'd and give it some time to dry.  By now its about 4 o clock, so I really was getting tight for time.  All was good though, and this is how it now looks.

 

 

 

Im very pleased to have the gutters protected, but mighty frustrated to still have to do metal repairs.  Thankfully it all dried in time, and its been exposed to the air to harden properly over the past few days.  With some rain now forecast im going to shrinkwrap the back end of the roof to keep the rain out, and just let it run off into the gutters happy in the knowledge the can now do their job without Gods tears causing further chemical reaction.

Electric Paint Spraying Pt2

I've been a bit slow updating this, as the other week I had a second attempt with the electric paint sprayer.

Right, now where was I?

Ahhh, yes, primer P!ssing down the panel, thats right!

With it all dry and hardened, this is how it looked.

And this is how bad it had run in places.

Now as I mentioned before, this was not an exercise to get a perfect panel, merely a chance for me to test out the gun and see that the colour was going to work with the interior (in laymans terms, to make sure SWMBO was happy).  Still, there was no way I was going to lay the top coat over that primer, and so I rubbed it back a bit to give an improved surface and take out the harshest of the runs.

With that done I mixed up the top coat, and this time added 30% thinners.  Seeing it in the pot I was a little fearful 30% might have been too much.  Still, I whacked a coat on the panel and noticed that two coverings were needed to get complete coverage, but that two coverings resulted in some small runs.

There is a chance that I can turn up the adjustment dial on the spray to give proper coverage over one pass, or failing that using just 20% thinners should be a step in the right direction. 

This is how the panel turned out.

 

Here it is outside in daylight.

Thankfully the colour is good, and so tomorrow I can get out and purchase the 5 litres.  I was so keen to get this sorted cos as things stand I haven't paid for any of the materials, and I don't like having things like this over my head.

I'm going to keep playing with it and see where it gets me.  Really I could do with a panel larger than a tailgate ... so I'm probably gonna have a play against the side of the bus if we ever get suitable conditions. I'd like to try with 20% thinners and then see if I can find a position on the dial that delivers the spray I'm searching for.

If I make a break through, you'll hear it here first!

Electric Paint Spraying Pt1

After a bit of research I recently decided to buy an electric paint sprayer.  Reviews seemed mixed, but the Bosch item I had selected claimed to be able to do car paint.  It was an ideal tool, that if it worked well would tick all the boxes.  With me working on the bus outside it would mean I could paint when I needed to, and with little overspray it meant it was ideal for use in the barn too.

After a trip to my paint suppliers I came home with everything I need.  I just need to run a test on the body colour to confirm its going to work with the interior.  The test patch will be L90D - VW pastel white.  Looking at the swatches, it should work perfectly!

And so last night I decided to give the gun a test.  It also meant I could make in-roads to testing the colour, which I need to make sure is what we want (as I have a 0.5 litre tester, and need to buy 5 litres if its correct).

First I gave the panel a really quick rub down and basic prep.  The panel is far from ready to be used, so this is simply to test out the gun and colour.

 
Obviously first though, I needed to get some primer laid down.  It comes as a kit, the mix being 4:1 with 10-30% thinners.  I only added 10%, as due to temperatures still being quite low I wanted to reduce the chance of the paint running straight off the panel.

Initially the spray was splattering horribly.  Where the paint hit it was thick, but it was giving massively uneven coverage.  There is a dial by the trigger to adjust the flow that comes through the nozzle, and I quickly started turning it down searching for a finer spray.  But before the time I hit its lowest setting I was already thinking I needed more thinnners in my paint.  These photo's show how bad it was!

 

 

I dropped some more thinners into the mix and things were noticably better ... but still far acceptable.  With time ticking, and a clean-up still in front of me, I opted to just get some paint on the panel and come back to it another day when I can rub the primer flat and hit it with some top coat ... this time starting off with 30% thinners!

Roland and his friends have left the building ...

... I hope!

It took a sacrificial trail of chocolate orange cake, and a healthy offering inside the trap but the next morning I had caught the little rodent I had been chasing these past few weeks!

 

Hopefully thats the last of them and I can get back to kitting out the barn's loft!

The Bus Inspiration - Targa Florio

I've long had a love for historic motor racing, and love visiting places where automotive vehicles used to fly past over eager spectators with a complete disregard for health, safety and noise pollution.

It was when I was looking back over such history that inspiration hit me - the last ever 'proper' (as a professional International race) event was in 1973 ... and my Bus is a '73.  As many know, there is a close and special relationship between classic Porsche and Volkswagen's, but there is also a very special relationship between the Targa Florio and Porsche.

The Targa Florio was first run in 1906, masterminded by Count Vincenzo Florio to raise the profile of Italy within motor racing circles.  It was a massively bold move as 1906 was a year when, after tragedy in the Paris-Madrid 1903 race, motor racing started to move towards purpose built short track racing with the unveiling of the likes of Brooklands and Indianapolis just around the corner.

The Targa Florio was run up around and over the Madoine mountains in Sicily - starting at sea level, rising 3600 feet up narrow twisting roads, before descending back down to the coast.  Three laps of the gruelling course presented a 270 mile race!

Initially the race was for 'production' cars, with minimum production and maximum purchase price making up the entry criteria.  However over time the race evolved, including the course being amended twice, and resulted in prototypes dominating the incredibly harsh endurance event.

Porsche's dominance of the event began in the '50's, where the 550A Spyder proved to be the perfect weapon to tackle the tough course.  Porsche's first victory came in 1956 at the hands of Umberto Maglioni.  It was Maglioni himself that had persuaded Dr Porsche to enter the Targa Florio, Porsche agreeing after strong testing at the Nurburgring just 11 days prior to the event!

This was a remarkable victory, beating numerous Italian manufacturers on their own turf.  Since its inception the event had been massively dominated by Alfa Romeo, Maserati and latterly Lancia.  It gave Porsche a strong position to build from, and one they truly capitalised on.  Oddly enough it was Ferrari who took up the challenge from the Italian perspective, and the next 17 years saw the event won by Ferrari or Porsche 16 times!

As Porsche developed its sports and competition cars they were all thrown at the Targa Florio.  Derivatives of the 718 won in '59, '60 and '63 before the 904 was introduced (and victorious!) in 1964.

 

The 904 was the last 4 cylinder Porsche to win the event, and 1966 saw the 906 Carrera 6 dominate.  This was the last street legal race car that Porsche produced, and in 1967 the 910 took over ... and once again Porsche won the Targa Florio! 

The 906/907/908/910 series provided Porsche with champagne spraying moments consecutively up to 1970, and results show they won for five years on the bounce!

The 908/3 was the last true race car the Porsche entered for the event, competing in the early 70's and providing victory in 1970.

By 1973 death and motor racing were becoming unwanted friends, and it was announced that it would be the last year the Targa Florio would be staged as a championship event.  As you can imagine Alfa Romero and Ferrari were desperate to take home the honours, and sign the Targa Florio off with an Italian victory!  When Porsche entered 911 RSR's as opposed to one of the eligible prototypes the event seemed to be taking shape as a Festival Italia!!

But by now cars were producing 600bhp, the course was hugely demanding, and as always with endurance events you have back markers to worry about.  With everything seeming like an all Italian affair the streets were littered with supporters, street verges were full of parked (abandoned!) cars, and it became virtually impossible to see which way the course turned.  Indeed, 1973 sounded closer to a leg of the Tour De France than an motor race with the crowd parting at the last second as the competitors approached.

Ferrari and Alfa traded lap times, and with the crowds cheering them on they disappeared away from the hugely underpowered 911's.  But endurance racing can be a little like the hare and tortoise story sometimes, and sure enough the Italians who ran away at the start started to find difficulty.  Punctures, engines trouble and gearbox failure saw them drop out one by one and slowly the race came towards Porsche.  In the little 911 Muller & Van Lennep's approach had been to "give it hell", but eventually managed to cruise the 911 home for a record breaking 11th manufacturer victory!

 

So with 1973 being so memorable in Porsche's history I want the bus to reflect and honour those achievements.  Hopefully a post on Retro Rides will give me some photoshopped ideas ...

R-R Targa/Bus Thread Here

Bus/Eb Update

Well my trap now adorns home made chocolate cookie as an incentive for my small furry rodent friends to kick the trigger, but as yet no victims ...

In the meantime I've been spending more and more time thinking about the work needed on the bus.  I had a real good look around the other day and there is no two ways about it ... the front is fubar'd!  I actually got a price from Volksheaven for a new front end a couple of months back, and I'm looking at £300-£400.  Thats actually not a bad price when you start to think the front panel is £100, the A posts £85, plus delivery, plus time to fit etc.  At least with a new front end its made of VW's finest sheet, and should (in theory) be a fairly good match to what I chop off.

And so with that in mind I have a weekly schedule devised which should see the back end and rear corners repaired over forthcoming weeks in preparation for the roof to be chopped off over the bank holiday weekend!

I've also been looking at paint options.  It kills me having the bus outside being rained on all the time (especially at the moment) and I really don't want today's freshly welded metal becoming tomorrows bird bath.  As I'm trying to keep prices sensible with the build, and after some research and a post on www.retro-rides.org, I am going to buy a Bosch electric spray gun and see what results it has to offer.  Argos have them on offer at the moment for just under £50 and so I'm gonna gamble on one and see what results it has to offer.

It hasn't been 'all bus' though, and today I spoke to Pete Roberts regarding the engine for Eb.  Thankfully he still has a box on engine parts for me, and after the VolksWorld show we're gonna sort out getting my spare pair of heads sold.  That will be more money to put back into Eb, I'm hoping the bus won't need to swallow those pennies!

In fact I have a plan to raise cash for the bus, and the starting point is from selling the Design 90 wheels Eb currently rolls around on.  That money will go towards funding the new front end.  In the meantime another payday will pass and that will see the n/s battery tray and rear valance purchased.  Once they arrive the weldathon can begin!  If i remove the Design 90's Eb will need to roll around on the Budniks, and I will need the suspension back together .... so I am working hard to get the rear suspension cleaned and POR15'd so I can justify going down to Essex to collect the wheels. 

As I finish typing this there are suspension parts hanging and drying in the barn, hopefully to be painted tomorrow ... if the 14 degree sunshine we are promised arrives!

Monday Morning Blues

I spent a short while this morning sat down with coffee, pen and paper calculating jobs that need to get done on the bus.  Spaces in the calendar, scheduling the job list and adding up the required funds to complete the project.

As my job list grew longer I realised it makes greatest sense to finish the bus in one hit if I can.  That means completing the roof swap, sorting the front panel and getting everything into paint.

My biggest problem here is going to be timescale.  My big drive on this is due to the Misano MotoGP in September.  We're planning a road trip, and the bus is to be our trusty steed!

The calendar makes things look possible - I planned the rear end and O/S sill work into my diary and realised that there was every chance I can start the roof swap over Easter.

But greater work means a larger number of new parts are required.  The roof swap means that the windows will come out for paint, and everything will go back together with new seals.  Worst case scenario I could be looking at close to £1000 needed to complete the project.

I called Tash to let her know where we were at.  I guess I was hoping for a 'we'll get it done, there will be a way to save money or raise some funds'.  Instead I got 'no, we can't spend that'.  Now I know she is correct, and that she didn't mean it as I took it, but it really rained on my parade and put me in a bad mood.

As the day went on my mood didn't change, but my determination strengthened.

I spent a few hours in the barn in the evening and started cleaning Eb's rear suspension.  I was going to do some more sorting of the loft area but I saw another rat up there and it freaked me out!  I would rather have been out on the bus, and as the weather slowly starts improving I am going to squeeze every hour I can onto that vehicle!

In the meantime I'm just going to change my bait in the rat trap.