1968 Campervan conversion

inside the bus, the interior was being made:





slowly but steady....

Another part missing: the drain pipe for the fresh air box. Well, it wasn't really missing, it was easily breakable. I bought another one from Bus Depot but this was a dumb idea, because it was as breakable as mine.
So, I found a similar one (originally blue) and paint it black, and used the tips to insert this tube in place:

I was missing a clip to close the front grille area so I bought a couple and gave them the same treatment: zinc coated them and varnished afterwards.



and, since I was going to use the varnish again on the clips, I decided that it was better to use it on all zinc coated and polished parts I was going to use:

a couple of weeks later, the small clip was in place:

meanwhile I broke a foot and was unable to drive for a few months.
When I got it fully functional I went to Viseu again and did something more on the bus.
I was able to mount both of my rear rear brakes and do some modifications:



I decided to use this set (at least for now) instead of the original ones. They came from a '78 latebay and there are quite a few differences between my original ones, one being the lack of these springs. I guess this springs help the stability of the brake pads while braking.



... and there are no holes on the rear back plates:



.... as it can be seen on this picture I took before I disassemble them:

So, I drilled the holes needed on the back plates and use all the parts that came in the rear brakes refurbish kit:



... and with the original rear brake drum (for now):



... but to be able to mount the brake drums, I had to remove all the paint from the hubs and paint it back again, but this time wisely:

I was also able to mount my clutch pedal:

... and the brake pedal:

I also wanted to mount my throttle pedal but I couldn't find the original spring that should stay behind the pedal to make it go up, when not pressured. So I upgraded it with a throttle kit from Buttys Bits but I made a mistake and ordered it for the wrong side:







.... and (mistakenly) in place:

(and before I knew this was the wrong part )...

"... and now I wonder: in which hole does this part go into? :roll: "



"I presume that, in the end, it will be something like this :? : "



"... but I guess the best thing to do is ask how to assemble it .... :mrgreen:"

This how it looks on the inside:



But since I had doubts about how to use the upgrade kit, I decided to leave it for another day and move into another task and change the padded dash top for the other one I had.
It had some rust so I decided to clean it, used a 2k primer and paint it, before assembling it in my dashboard:





I also mount on my dashboard a new plastic glove box:

the interior is still being built... one day it will be complete, eventually :mrgreen:

A few weeks later, I was able to assemble almost all my rear suspension:







... in the meantime, Simon from Butty Bits, sent me the right parts for my throttle kit. I changed them for some of the parts I had and now it works fine.
So, when I bought it by mistake and assembled it, it was looking like this:



... but with the right parts it looks like this:

The dashboard is in place:



... and with all bolts and my glove box lid:





.... and before it got bent by accident, I decided to put in place my deluxe front grille trim:



... I also began to assemble my wiring loom:

The detail and care in this build is just immense :worship:
Keep it going 8)

While I was there, I did something else. I went for my gas tank and found out that it had some rust on the outside. Obviously I wasn't going to let it go inside the bus so I cleaned it from all rust and took all the old paint and afterwards I gave it a new look. I decided to use some POR-15 paint I still had, and sprayed it. However, I didn't do anything on the inside, so that's a task I'm still missing although I've already have a 2K special resin to cover that area.
Will do it the next time I go there....






Other task I did was to finally cut and apply all the isolation materials I had on top of the Dynamat:



... and on top of that, a layer of this one:



In the end, the only area missing was the sliding door:

since it had already the wiring for all the front lights in place I decided it was time to add the turn signals. However, the bulb holders were loosing some kind of paint and had some rust. Once again, I decided to clean them all. To protect them I used a 2k primer and a spray of paint that gives a chrome alike finish.





p.s.: Not the best idea... as it has been proved later on...

While I was still there, I wanted to had assembled the steering column but it's not as simple as it looks. Besides, it was missing a few parts, like a pair of small screws that went MIA during these years. I bet I will find all the missing parts, when (and if) the bus gets back to the road :mrgreen: .
I also found that my indicator switch had a couple of wires broken.



...so, first thing to do was to solder the broken electric wires. Afterwards, I decided to make a pair of new screws:

some months later, i went back there and did something more.
First, I managed to assemble the steering column. It wasn't an easy task, because I was missing a seal that goes between the column and the ignition switch housing. I lost a couple of days finding the best way to secure the housing in place, since the method used to do this, really isn't the best one. Finally, with a few pieces of heat shrinking tubes, I was able to lock the housing in a tight manner.
With the column almost complete, I mounted it in place. I also started to work on my wiring loom, but just gave some very small steps forward: