XOver rebuild.

Quick drying paint I hope! Lol
Nearly there

Last coat. Final prep here. Link up the lights. Stick the bumpers, doors and front badge on. Finito. You can see a bit of shine on the driver’s side. So.....underway. A fair few hours to dry? But. Seriously. How long does paint take to fully cure? Weeks, maybe months, I should imagine before you get a true solidity about it. Temperature factors in there too I reckon. Maybe it’s got to be a certain stage before you chuck shampoo and wax on it. Not sure at all. Need to look this up. Can’t be splashing up Welsh weather over the bus. But....it’s looking good.

Nearly there. Finished with paint on the four openers. Awaiting the sliding door pics. And it’s nice to see kokopelli and the faerie back in situ (put those on way back when I bought the bus). And solid rubber seal without cracks and fade to grey colour. Glad I went green to top too. Seems cleaner. No half and half now.

Still looking for hinge/catches to hold down the Devon pop top. Lots of fors and against on the best type for really holding the whole thing down securely when hitting winds. May have to go with rubber toggle type for the short term.

Oh! And due to lack of photos.....thought I’d include one more essential accessory. I bought a hat to wear whilst driving the old girl. £3 from the local recycling shop and I stuck a leather band, bit of leather string, some beads, a split pin and a feather on it. Great importance in aesthetic value when driving about. It’s now officially my Billie Bud bus hat. Got to look the biz behind the wheel of a treasured vehicle. Man...... I’ve gotta get a life!

Here you go. Paul sent these a short time ago. To finish? He says

“Hopefully its just a good polish, fit the doors, glass and lights bumpers and rubbers..... fingers crossed all done!!!!”

Nice. Just need a new hat!

The “hat”? Maybe I’ll change it to ⛑ . .

Love the colour. Not too long now

Cheers Andy. Not too long. ‘Very exciting’ as my granddaughter said when we said Santa Claus was leaving presents for her tomorrow. Hope you’ve sorted your clutch cable positioning out. Cheers for the support.

Great news Gray, getting very close now

Thanks Nick. Went through your village last week on a day out run to Welshpool. Charlie’s at Coed y Dinas is a nice visit isn’t it? The VeeDub? Last week we picked up and then took home the 3 grandkids from Worcester. They enjoy their stay in Wales. They love to meet up with my other 2 local here in Machynlleth grandkids too. All 5 kept asking when the bus would be back. Hopefully a big surprise for them next time. VeeDub days locally at Ynyslas, Aberdovey and Nant y Moch. May take the bus up to the Elan Valley too. But I can’t fit all 5 grandkids in at the same time. So, it’s going to be ‘bus plus accompanying car’ trips. I can see arguments are coming! Who gets to go in the bus!! Sharing and negotiation to children of a certain age (2, 4, 5, 5 and 8 year olds) is an alien concept. I see lots of and but hopefully no and definitely no . All the best and thanks for dropping by.

Hi Gray, yes Coed Y Dinas is well worth a visit with something for everyone we've not got grand children yet, still got that to look forward to but I can imagine the fun you have, we had my great nephew's naming ceremony last weekend.
We are very lucky living where we do with so many great places within easy reach, I bet you are chomping at the bit to get your camper back I'm sure it wont be too long now as Paul doesn't seem to hang about, I look forward to catching up so you can give me the full tour :mrgreen:

Cheers Nick. Because the bus is now a new entity, it’s a good idea to stay local. I remember the little learning how’s. It’s a joy to drive and get used to the idiosyncratic ways your bus works. You’re right about local spots and living where we do.Trips of a mile to 50+ miles takes you places that are out of this world. I remember looking at places on this earlybay site that members had visited and wowed over. I remember thinking “that’s up the road from here”. When I met you down at Ynyslas way back, it’s like 10 minutes away from my house. Mind you, rains a coming, along with winter. Up back of my village is Nant y Moch lakes. And your area and close proximity of amazing drop ins. I spent years around surrounding areas of villages and towns from a Mid Wales base. I’m on holiday end of August for a couple of weeks. Crossed fingers the bus will be up and ready. Planning already the ideas of trundling about and dropping into haunts from way back. Grandkids? They’ve been to a fair few places too now. They’re going to love the relaxation of the beach, rivers, lakes, woods, forests with the bus as base. BBQs, picnics and little cafe/tea shop drop ins. Great!

Finished next week. MOT next week. Needs bumpers on, number plates, engine lid, hold down hinges/brackets for pop top, etc. Paul said the driver’s door rubber was a b*****d to fit. Read a bit on threads here with discussion about door rubber headaches. But eventually on. Sore fingers was the result he says. Blue bruises? Bet the air was blue too. The rubbers weren’t cheap either.

So, latest. Extra inclusions, add ons now..... Lights, camera, action......well, lights, door handles, mirrors. What I can see with a bit of hunting the photos? Seats in, furniture in, floor down, steering wheel. Love the jalousie/louvre. And I won’t have to grab the sliding door left and right when I close it with a good shufty bang to get it closed.

Looking through your van in the first two pics shows a rusty heap next on the list. No laughing when you collect yours!

Hey! Never realised. Never spotted that at all. Only had drooly eyes for the shiny presence in front . Tell you what. He says he’s looked your bus well and truly over. Told me that a fair few months back. So, he’s got it’s measure already. Haven’t seen it myself. But it’ll be nice to keep tabs on your bus. See it’s development. I’ll be popping into the workshop more over the coming months. Gotta find it first though. My nurse colleagues who live in that village have given me directions. So should be good. All the best.

Great you will be getting it next week - enjoy

Cheers Andy. Thanks for the drop by. Another Teaser from Paul. Love it. Character Billy is coming back on board.

Must be really exciting for you, I love the colour.

I hope the summer lasts a bit longer [emoji38][emoji23][emoji23]


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I live in Wales. The summer? It’s the summer I’m used to. So, the cloud and rain shifts/stops for 5 minutes. RESULT. A great summer. In all honesty. We’ve had a fair bit of sunshine.....To be Honest. So, I’ve had a chat with Mother Nature and she’s promised me a day or two of brightness for being patient. But.....I have to cosmically order it and promise to be a good boy for Santa Claus. Yin/yang.

I love these color, god job..............