1969 Restoration Vlog Series

Early Bay Forum

Help Support Early Bay Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
A

AbiLewSav

Member
Joined
Jul 4, 2017
Messages
16
Reaction score
0
I don't really know how the whole forum thing works, I've never really been one to use them until I restarted restoring Aggie. I have been filming it as I go and thought some of you may enjoy watching a complete novice and her brother in law trying to get a camper back to a running and usable condition. I will add some photos as I go but we've run into a few stumbling blocks and thought the best place to get some advice and keep a running record of that advice would be on here.

Ep.1 - https://youtu.be/LRRRSZovbTg
Ep.2 - https://youtu.be/fO3VYAsj74w
Ep.3 - https://youtu.be/m7sNN6XoZwc

We have plans to hopefully drop the engine in the next few weeks and try to sort the oil leak out (we think its the push rod tubes) and also move the fuel filter to a safer place whilst we're at it.There is also a LOT of welding to be done so we're trying to find a space big enough in the warm and dry that we can work on it bit by bit over the winter months.
 
So here is a bit of a before and after on day 1 of the restoration. It has been sat in a family members garden for around 5 years now so it has accumulated a lot of grime and rust. Managed to get it relatively clean and uncovered a LOT of rust patches and holes. Inside I was really happy with how dry it was, all things considered. If you've watched the videos above you would have seen that there are issues that need sorting with the engine so that is next on our list and then on to trying to get some rust sorted.









 
Hi AbiLewSav. Watched your first two YouTube videos a few weeks back. Nice to catch up with the third in the series. My bus was stood still for two years out in Welsh weather blowing in from the sea near Borth. If you look at my page you’ll see what the underneath was like after belly pans removed. Get a good look at your bus from top to bottom, but stay safe. Don’t get it up on a jack and get under it. I replaced the starter motor on mine. I shudder to think what could have been lying under the bus. Yours is probably good and solid, but stay safe. Each drip drip of advice from here is priceless. It like... As ozziedog says, keep safe when firing her up with the fuel pipes. I first picked up my bus from Worcester, filled it up and drove back to Wales. The porous upper filler pipe leaked petrol into the engine compartment. It’s the little things that can spook you. But as time goes by, you learn all the types of stuff from people here. My page, and many other renovations, on here are good to tap into. I’m not doing the nitty gritty stuff that you’re both tackling. Fair play to you for that. Paul, the guy working on my bus, uses a spit to get at all areas. He made his, so don’t know what the cost of them are. If you intend to do your own welding work, as many members on here do, I’ve seen my bus roll back and forth on a spit, and it makes life a whole lot easier. But I’m no expert at all and other members here may offer sounder advice. I’ll keep watching out for your progress. Good luck with it all. It’ll be worth it.
 
graysummers said:
Hi AbiLewSav. Watched your first two YouTube videos a few weeks back. Nice to catch up with the third in the series. My bus was stood still for two years out in Welsh weather blowing in from the sea near Borth. If you look at my page you’ll see what the underneath was like after belly pans removed. Get a good look at your bus from top to bottom, but stay safe. Don’t get it up on a jack and get under it. I replaced the starter motor on mine. I shudder to think what could have been lying under the bus. Yours is probably good and solid, but stay safe. Each drip drip of advice from here is priceless. It like... As ozziedog says, keep safe when firing her up with the fuel pipes. I first picked up my bus from Worcester, filled it up and drove back to Wales. The porous upper filler pipe leaked petrol into the engine compartment. It’s the little things that can spook you. But as time goes by, you learn all the types of stuff from people here. My page, and many other renovations, on here are good to tap into. I’m not doing the nitty gritty stuff that you’re both tackling. Fair play to you for that. Paul, the guy working on my bus, uses a spit to get at all areas. He made his, so don’t know what the cost of them are. If you intend to do your own welding work, as many members on here do, I’ve seen my bus roll back and forth on a spit, and it makes life a whole lot easier. But I’m no expert at all and other members here may offer sounder advice. I’ll keep watching out for your progress. Good luck with it all. It’ll be worth it.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice! We'll take anything we can get, as you can tell we are complete newbies. My dad was doing a lot of the work before it was taken off the road but he just hasn't got the time at the mo. We've got a pit that we're hoping to use in the coming weeks to have a good look at the underside because as you said it wasn't the safest on a jack. Haven't got the sort of money to get a spit at the moment but definitely need some work doing on the underside so will have to look into it. Thanks again!
 
Hi. Yeh. I’m a newbie too. So do understand. Have you got a decent manual? These buses take over your thinking a bit when you work on them and they start, over the months/years, to change for the better. A manual is vital for the thinking it out process. I’ve got a Bentley, Haynes (owners workshop manual and the diy restoration copies) and the Muir. The knowledge kind of sinks in slowly. Every intention of using them fully in the future too. One of the Admin (Johnny) on this site is selling a workshop repair manual about bodywork in cd form. It’s in the traders forum I believe. I bought it, and it’s a great source. All the best to you both.
 
Enjoyed watching your vids! The paint stripping brought back painful memories of our first bus, which was also a RHD Devon like yours. We were stripping the pop-top roof which had suffered years of layering up various paints and sealants to try and keep it waterproof. Spent weeks slowly working our way through the various products (including using the Diall stripper as you have done - which worked wonders when left overnight to cure!) and then when we finally got down to bare metal, decided that the rivet holes were too far gone and so just built a new one! [emoji28]

The joys of bus ownership... Best of luck with yours.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
Moseley said:
Enjoyed watching your vids! The paint stripping brought back painful memories of our first bus, which was also a RHD Devon like yours. We were stripping the pop-top roof which had suffered years of layering up various paints and sealants to try and keep it waterproof. Spent weeks slowly working our way through the various products (including using the Diall stripper as you have done - which worked wonders when left overnight to cure!) and then when we finally got down to bare metal, decided that the rivet holes were too far gone and so just built a new one! [emoji28]

The joys of bus ownership... Best of luck with yours.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Tell me about it, spent enough time getting the paint off the engine lid, so I can only imagine how much time it took for the pop top! Ended up buying a new lid too so it was a bit of a learning curve lol Thank you for watching!
 
Fantastic effort with the Vblog, keep them coming.

Also great to have another RHD being sorted. :party0021:
 
Spotted you had a third YouTube update at the bottom of this earlybay site. Memories with the hammering of the brake drums. Did that myself after leaving the bus for two weeks. Went on holiday, came back to a rain filled Wales and they were stuck. Love that Devon pop top. I bought one the same off eBay (the whole thing) and it’s surprising what you can turn around with a damn good clean up. You have the ‘windows’ in it too. Worth a try with yours. They’re really expensive to replace otherwise. I’m a Staff Nurse and have a really tiring job, so have had to place my bus in the hands of an expert. I’ll look after it’s general upkeep and am learning all about how it all works and what’s involved in keeping the bus safe. But......The equivalent of 6 months wages later for replacement parts and renovation (not joking) and it’s nearly there. What I’m trying to say is that I admire your tenacity in getting your bus done. I did a lot in the early days, but the welding needs and rot were beyond my skills. But......they’re worth the input. Can’t replace the joy of driving them. Mine was my daily transport for years. Welsh weather and the salty dune sands took their toll unfortunately. Good luck with the project. It’ll really be worth it in the end. There will come a time when things will rocket forward and it’ll begin to make sense. All the best.
 
graysummers said:
Spotted you had a third YouTube update at the bottom of this earlybay site. Memories with the hammering of the brake drums. Did that myself after leaving the bus for two weeks. Went on holiday, came back to a rain filled Wales and they were stuck. Love that Devon pop top. I bought one the same off eBay (the whole thing) and it’s surprising what you can turn around with a damn good clean up. You have the ‘windows’ in it too. Worth a try with yours. They’re really expensive to replace otherwise. I’m a Staff Nurse and have a really tiring job, so have had to place my bus in the hands of an expert. I’ll look after it’s general upkeep and am learning all about how it all works and what’s involved in keeping the bus safe. But......The equivalent of 6 months wages later for replacement parts and renovation (not joking) and it’s nearly there. What I’m trying to say is that I admire your tenacity in getting your bus done. I did a lot in the early days, but the welding needs and rot were beyond my skills. But......they’re worth the input. Can’t replace the joy of driving them. Mine was my daily transport for years. Welsh weather and the salty dune sands took their toll unfortunately. Good luck with the project. It’ll really be worth it in the end. There will come a time when things will rocket forward and it’ll begin to make sense. All the best.
Click to expand...

Thank you! I have a bit of an update video going up in the next few days and hoping once all this snow has left I can get back to it. A few people have suggested I just take it to a professional resto place, but I really want to do as much as possible first if I can. Hope yours will be done soon, even if it did cost a lot, I'm sure it doesn't take away the excitement of seeing it all come together!
 
Hi I enjoyed your videos and your camper is a real genuine old beauty,,I was just wondering if you've got any further with it,thanks jay
 
jzss said:
Hi I enjoyed your videos and your camper is a real genuine old beauty,,I was just wondering if you've got any further with it,thanks jay
Click to expand...

Thanks for watching! Unfortunately nothing more has been done as I have just had a baby so all was put on hold. Now he is here though it's all steam ahead again with lots already in the pipeline.
 
Just putting the feelers out for a new interior, I always thought there were quite a few local places I could get a new one made bespoke but now I'm actually having a proper look they only seem to do T5/T6 conversions. Does anyone have any recommendations on anyone as local to South Wales (Cardiff/Valleys area) as possible? TIA
 
Loved the videos, good on you for taking on this resto project. :)

The only advice I would offer is to use the camper when it is road-worthy, so you actually enjoy it whilst you restore it.
 
It's been a long whole since my last update mainly due to this ones arrival



but there is finally a new update vlog on my YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCyDiWae6Fg

The van has been sat for a long while again but we've got it in a garage and started the body work. It's looking rough but we've got loads of new panels being delivered next week and I'm excited to have the ball rolling! The more we are cutting the more we are finding so it's turning into a little bit of a money pit but it will be worth it when it is finally road worthy again!

















 
Welcome back and a big welcome to the newest and youngest member :)
 
Welcome back. Congratulations too on your new arrival. And now as your project continues........Those arriving panels will inspire you guys. I remember how it felt seeing all those lovely new bits of metal in Paul’s (the guy who did my bus) workshop. It becomes seriously good vibe. My bus is now travelling around mid West Wales everyday as my daily transport. Very much in the same condition as your bus is now before it went under the renovation process. So, like mine, Andy (above) and his project and others on here.....once the process starts, the dream begins. Your little one will love the bus. Good fortune with your project. “The journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step”. Lao Tzu.
 

Similar threads

J
Dormobile and leisure battery questions
2
Replies
22
Views
1K
Dizzy T2
Dizzy T2
L
Vehicle For Sale 1969 VW T2 Early bay - UK RHD - £13,750 ono
Replies
2
Views
1K
Lewbay
L
V
A Blast from the Past
Replies
8
Views
1K
why528h
W
lisavx
Trying to refit headlights 🤦🏻‍♀️
Replies
3
Views
716
gagvanman
gagvanman
J
Vehicle For Sale 1969 T2 Early Bay RHD Dormobile Camper in Velvet Green
Replies
5
Views
2K
jc3336
J

Latest posts

Top