1971 Bay

A few pics of the Bay, it going to be a rolling resto so its nothing specal at the moment but....








When i collected it, it was full of what i thought was junk and to be honest the majority of it was but underneath everything was the interior you see in the pictures, its not the best but it will do us until we can replace / refurb.

Hi frog,

welcome to EB

looks like a panelvan conversion from the window seals?. tintops are always a good buy.

looking good! a bargin for free aswell! (saw ur thread on volkszone)

Johnnyâ„¢ said:

looks like a panelvan conversion from the window seals?. tintops are always a good buy.

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Yeah i think it is a conversion but dont have any paperwork to confirm if it was a professional conversion or a home made one

hello mate and welcome. Nice bus, pretty sure its a panel conversion. Good luck with the resto, let battle commence!! 8)

Welcome and enjoy your trip through the world of bay resto...

WHS ^^^^^^^

Poor panel, but nice bus! :wink:

Looks like it could be an early Richard Holdsworth?

Have fun!

great freebe - can't wait to see the progress

Good luck with it (what a bargain!),are you going to tackle all the work yourself?

VWAIRCOOLED said:

Good luck with it (what a bargain!),are you going to tackle all the work yourself?

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I'm going to try and tackle the work myself, but i also have a standby welding friend just in case.
Think that once i've done what i think is ok i'm going to put it in for an MOT and take it from there. If it fails then i know what to concentrate on and if it passes then not only can i start enjoying it but i can also start customising it to my liking.

The first thing i concentrated on was getting the engine running after 8 years, so i bought a new bosch blue coil, new points, condensor, leads, plugs etc, blew back up the fuel pipes (just in case there was any crap in there) statically set up the timing and bought a new battery (the battery was actually bought for another car i have). Turned the key and it fired after a few seconds of cranking.

I'm now working on the brakes and have just ordered new hoses as the front brakes are binding but when i opened the bleed nipple to bleed them they move freely. So once hoses fitted and new fluid bled through the system i can move the van to where we need it to be as at the moment its the wrong side of the drive.

Next i think i'm going to change the gearbox oil (just as a precaution due to the time the van has been standing) if all goes well then its onto the body

Welcome Froggy! Good luck with your bus and keep us posted! 8)

Had a spare hour this afternoon (Finished work while it was still light) so i thought i'd make a start on the brake hoses.
Fitted the front right 1 no problems but while i was in the wheel arch i started proddong and guess what.... the inner wing fell away in my hands!
Started tapping in the area to get all the loose stuff off to find the extent of the rust and nothing a new inner panel cant fix but i had a look up inside the sill and it was filled with metal guaze and fibreglass matting! :?
I knew it needed a sill so not to bothered but then curiosity got the better of me so i started prodding a bit more and the inner sill needs some repairs (might just fit a complete one(none sliding door side)
Checked the other side and that was about the same.
The list of bodywork repairs is starting to grow. :roll:
Will update on Saturday after i've fitted the other rubber brake hoses

I finally managed to fit all the brake hoses and bled the brakes, all good except the handbrake... cant get it to adjust on the drivers side, the passenger side isn't brilliant but at least the wheel locks.
Whilst fitting the rear left hoses i felt something drip on me, put my hand up and the fuel hose was soaked, wrapped a peice of cloth round it while i finished off the brake hose, removed the cloth and........the pipe split completely covering me and the drive in Petrol. Another item to go on the ever increasing list of jobs / parts.

Managed to replace the gearbox oil aswell but it was a nightmare topping it up, couldn't get anything in so ended up with a clean (new) 500ml oil can and physically thumb pumped nearly 3 1/2 litres ofoil into the box.

froggy said:

A few pics of the Bay, it going to be a rolling resto so its nothing specal at the moment but....

.

Click to expand...

that house looks a little wonky

but hi

As long as its the house an dnot the bay! :roll:

Not really had chance to do anything over the last week, work got in the way, but i was looking through a folder of stuff i got given with the camper and the last MOT ran out in 1994, so its been off the road for nearly 14 years!
Finally got it in a position where i could shunt it to the other side of the drive and i couldn't resist so.........i started it up and drove it, only off the drive and then reversed it back on but it felt good to finally get behind the wheel (even if it was for about 1 Minute)
Have started assembling body panles and as soon as my new mig welder turns up (hopefully next week) i can start getting some more photos

Thought it was time for a quick update.
Had a few problems with a MIG welder but thats all sorted now so hopefully once the weather picks up i can make another start, anyway i've done bits and peices so here are a few pics of what i've been doing


New rear corner and wheel arch patched


The other end of the wheel arch patched and a new inner and outer sill fitted


Random engine picture

Didn't realise its been over 6 months since i last updated, where does the time go?
Anyway in the past months i managed to get the bay MOT'd, Tax as an historic vehicle (EXEMPT ) and use it.
Have recently rebuilt the engine completely, even split the case :shock: , new bearings and fully cleaned and de-greased, spent a week down cornwall, didn;t stay in the van as the interiors not upto much yet , and i'm currently embarking on yet another engine out task as i'm upgrading to an alternator.
Currently running a weber 32/36 carb with a single pack exhaust and standard dizzy, although will eventually go down the twin carb route.
Thought i'd best show some recent pictures as you'll only ask for them :lol:

Someones stuck a wheel on the front :shock:

Rover 200 seats with argos £5 covers (better than origianl but only a stop gap)

Look NOT lowered :lol: :lol:


Hella reversing light (original Hella, buts its actually from a Mini)

Random Engine Pic (always like these)

The look that were going for! Taken i think at Deva & Dubs, Shrewsbury


Must remember to use the camera during a job next