The Brick-yard Homepage Brickwerks
Forum Home Forum Home > The Brickyard > The Bus Park
  New Posts New Posts RSS Feed - 1980 VW T3 DoKa
  FAQ FAQ  Forum Search   Events   Register Register  Login Login

1980 VW T3 DoKa

 Post Reply Post Reply Page  <1 7891011>
Author
Message
surf dude View Drop Down
Yardie
Yardie
Avatar

Joined: 11 Apr 05
Location: United Kingdom
Status: Offline
Points: 470
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote surf dude Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 07 Jan 15 at 20:26
Vault Meyers? Surely you mean volt meters? Got to love predictive text! That's been on for about a month now, holding steady at 12.4v. I'll keep an eye on it though and maybe connect it through a switched source.
Too many projects..... Not enough time!
Back to Top
Gtavalanche View Drop Down
Vanorak
Vanorak
Avatar
"I'm learnding"

Joined: 22 Feb 11
Location: Ipswich Suffolk
Status: Offline
Points: 1305
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Gtavalanche Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 07 Jan 15 at 21:02
Lol. Fucking predictive text. Mine drains the leisure battery fast!
I taste Hurty!
Back to Top
surf dude View Drop Down
Yardie
Yardie
Avatar

Joined: 11 Apr 05
Location: United Kingdom
Status: Offline
Points: 470
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote surf dude Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 24 Jan 15 at 22:29
Few updates from Retro Rides, there are a few posts missing but here's where we're at at the moment?

Well, there's been an interloper in the garage over the Christmas break and finally on Sunday it wa time for it to be put outside ;)



It's off to the body shop for all of the welding and repairs as I want to get the van finished and we could be moving in the next couple of months so really need to be mobile! So, that done, I could get back onto the bodywork. More filler, more sanding and tonight I made a start on keying the silver paint that covers the front end...... What a dull job but first panel done less the bottom few inches where the body shop did the welding (the finish is crap to be honest, so it'll end up with more filler on it than I'd like!) Still filling bits but have now moved onto the front half of the van which is all still in the original silver paint. It's actually in pretty good nick, almost a shame to change the colour but to be honest I hate the silver, so it's getting changed even if it does mean more work 😩 I am going to leave the roof in silver for now though, I have plans for it and it doesn't involve the new body colour at the moment, so that will save me some work. Boring pics of slightly Matt paint then......





I've taken the door off now which makes it easier to get at the door shuts and the boss did some scotch briting!



it's all in pretty good nick actually, there are a few dubious lumps of seam sealer and surface rust but no additional holes. Thank god! I'm planning on rolling it outside and cracking out the sand blaster so that will sort the worst bits, then Furtan, prime and filler and finally paint! Yay!

We dropped the Mini off at the body shop as well, so as we had the trailer I picked up some external ply for the load bed floor. Sadly it doesn't come wide enough to do in one go, so I've had to do it in 2 parts. Still not sure how best to attach it and seal it, but it may end up with the old stainless panel on top anyway. I'll have a play and see what I come up with! Sneak peek:





Too many projects..... Not enough time!
Back to Top
surf dude View Drop Down
Yardie
Yardie
Avatar

Joined: 11 Apr 05
Location: United Kingdom
Status: Offline
Points: 470
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote surf dude Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 24 Jan 15 at 22:31
Another day and more sanding. All of the doors are off now, and in varying states. And I've started on the door shuts too! Plenty left to do but just plugging away at it at the moment.

In other news I finally found something that I've been searching for for the best part of 3 years. Wheeeeeeeeels!

Here was the problem with the new wings on,





8 1/2s are just too wide for the front, which is why the old wings were stretched, and up until last week this was going to happen again. And then a set of 7/12 x 17s turned up on a popular internet auction site but in Germany. So I whacked a cheeky bid in, watched anxiously, put a few more bids in and finally won them! Result! They are the first set I've ever even seen, so feeling very lucky. They're nice too....



And a perfect fit!



Three more! I'll grab the best, and then sell off a set of staggered 17 inch Borbet A's 7 1/2 and 8 1/2s. Should be worth a few quid ;)
Too many projects..... Not enough time!
Back to Top
Gtavalanche View Drop Down
Vanorak
Vanorak
Avatar
"I'm learnding"

Joined: 22 Feb 11
Location: Ipswich Suffolk
Status: Offline
Points: 1305
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Gtavalanche Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 25 Jan 15 at 12:36
Nice one Pete. Nice to see some progress. How much you after for the spare Borbets? They'd look very Noice on mine!
I taste Hurty!
Back to Top
surf dude View Drop Down
Yardie
Yardie
Avatar

Joined: 11 Apr 05
Location: United Kingdom
Status: Offline
Points: 470
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote surf dude Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 25 Jan 15 at 16:08
Originally posted by Gtavalanche Gtavalanche wrote:

Nice one Pete. Nice to see some progress. How much you after for the spare Borbets? They'd look very Noice on mine!


Hmmm, I'll have to think about that, I'll let you know? I am chuffed to bits though, I've been looking for ages, looking at other wheels but just not finding anything. I'd resigned myself to a set of 6x15 steels or 16's if I could find them and then these came up. They've always really made the van for me (and SWMBO) and been on there since the beginning so, yep, I'm pretty happy. In other news........

having slept in and missed a breakfast meet in the Escort I dragged myself into the garage and did some more sanding. And because I'd dithered around for so long I thought 'stop dithering and get some paint on'! The plan has always been to roller it and I've had a tin of Combicolour paint for, well, quite a long time. So, I got on with it.



It started off full of bubbles, but I remebered reading something about dry brushing to get the bubbles out so I gave that a try and it seems tohave worked ok. The internetz says that it'll take 3 to 4 coats anyway with a wet sand between each coat, so I reckon this will come out ok. I stopped at doing the door as I want to reduce the number of bubbles so I'll crack into that tomorrow.

Oh, and I did some more filling ::)



Off to the states next weekend so want to get as much done as I can as that will give it a good week or so to dry without anything else going on in the garage! Going to be a busy week!
Too many projects..... Not enough time!
Back to Top
rowlesy View Drop Down
Vanorak
Vanorak
Avatar
murdered the murderwagen

Joined: 09 Oct 05
Location: up unit!
Status: Offline
Points: 6466
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote rowlesy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 25 Jan 15 at 17:27
ooh have a look on you-tube for project binky in colour i think you'll like it!Thumbs Up make a brew before you start watching tho - its a bit addictive!
UberFukz broke another!       sucky sucky five dollah!

always out numbered never out gunned!    RWS welding 07846 380 467 (worcs)
Back to Top
surf dude View Drop Down
Yardie
Yardie
Avatar

Joined: 11 Apr 05
Location: United Kingdom
Status: Offline
Points: 470
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote surf dude Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 25 Jan 15 at 20:54
Originally posted by rowlesy rowlesy wrote:

ooh have a look on you-tube for project binky in colour i think you'll like it!Thumbs Up make a brew before you start watching tho - its a bit addictive!


Lol, seen the first episode so I'll have to catch up on the rest! Maybe next time, this ones for my wife and as an original Italian Job mini it'll be staying pretty standard maybe next time!

Edited by surf dude - 25 Jan 15 at 20:55
Too many projects..... Not enough time!
Back to Top
surf dude View Drop Down
Yardie
Yardie
Avatar

Joined: 11 Apr 05
Location: United Kingdom
Status: Offline
Points: 470
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote surf dude Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27 Jan 15 at 21:19
Project Binky! Awesome fabrication, one day! So I headed back out last night and having read up on the internet I knew that I had to really soak the rollers in paint to get rid of all the bubbles. This is what I saw as I walked in





Not perfect and with quite a few bubbles, but this will be sanded back as its only the first coat. Actually I'm quite pleased, and I love the colour :) so, I thought I'd give the door a bash....



Ah, bumhats! I left it a while and some of the bubbles went, dry brushed which got rid of most but I think there may be a bit of a uneven mess awaiting my visit to the garage. I've bought some mohair rollers which apparently reduce the bubbles massively, and I think the cold may be having an effect, so I'll bang the heater on and warm up the panels with the blower before I start again.

As a first stab though I'm actually pretty happy, and it can only get better. Getting too much done before the weekend may be a stretch though..

Pete
Too many projects..... Not enough time!
Back to Top
surf dude View Drop Down
Yardie
Yardie
Avatar

Joined: 11 Apr 05
Location: United Kingdom
Status: Offline
Points: 470
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote surf dude Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08 Mar 15 at 21:54
So I've been steadily plugging away, sanding, filling, sanding filling. 2 steps forward, and with the side door, dramas as I filled and primed and then used some filler primer. Which reacted. Badly. So strip, fill sand. Spray. Same again. FFS 😡 anyway, we finally got to the stage where we could start some painting, so the escort got evicted for a couple of days and I got the doors out and gave them a good clean, and then dried out in the sun. Today, we rollered!!













So, a couple of things. 1, I love the colour. 2, I may have used a too harsh grade of emery cloth in a couple of places as the scratches show through and 3, after a couple of coats with a wet sand between each, I think this is going to look the dogs!

3 weeks til we move......
Too many projects..... Not enough time!
Back to Top
Gtavalanche View Drop Down
Vanorak
Vanorak
Avatar
"I'm learnding"

Joined: 22 Feb 11
Location: Ipswich Suffolk
Status: Offline
Points: 1305
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Gtavalanche Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08 Mar 15 at 23:00
Good to see progress mate. Must be spring everyones getting on with their vans. Time to pull my finger out.
I taste Hurty!
Back to Top
donecan View Drop Down
Yardie
Yardie
Avatar

Joined: 19 Mar 10
Location: Bristol/ London
Status: Offline
Points: 569
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote donecan Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 09 Mar 15 at 13:02
That's looking mean. Love it.
Back to Top
Bromy View Drop Down
Vanorak
Vanorak
Avatar

Joined: 26 Feb 12
Location: Cambridge
Status: Offline
Points: 1303
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Bromy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 09 Mar 15 at 13:34
Love the colour!
"follow the masses, do the opposite"
Back to Top
surf dude View Drop Down
Yardie
Yardie
Avatar

Joined: 11 Apr 05
Location: United Kingdom
Status: Offline
Points: 470
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote surf dude Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 09 Mar 15 at 23:11
Thanks chaps, glad you like it. I'm well happy with the colour and the wheels look good in the silver too, so that makes me even happier!

So, paint drying nicely, and after packing up some house stuff (moving!) I headed to the loft to dig out the old Scooby back seats. Plan is to fit them in the back, but this is the first time I've properly looked at the how. The good news is that the backrests will be nice and straightforward as they can just be mounted direct to the bulkhead. The base will take a bit more doing and the original seat pans are no good, so, seat upholstery removed and I'm left with these;



I'll use these as a template for a plywood base for both seats. They'll probably lift as two parts as I can then have individual storage under each.



Looking at this I thought I could slice the bottom off so I get a flat base. So that's what I did!



I think it looks like it'll work, so that's the plan. I'll do the other one tomorrow and look at the plywood bases. Happy with the concept though, I'll just need to make an actual frame to put them onto now!
Too many projects..... Not enough time!
Back to Top
booted View Drop Down
Vanorak
Vanorak
Avatar

Joined: 13 May 07
Location: Luton
Status: Offline
Points: 2671
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote booted Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14 Mar 15 at 14:14
Looking good
Back to Top
surf dude View Drop Down
Yardie
Yardie
Avatar

Joined: 11 Apr 05
Location: United Kingdom
Status: Offline
Points: 470
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote surf dude Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06 Apr 15 at 09:06
Originally posted by booted booted wrote:

Looking good

Thanks dude, Well, a house move has got in the way of DoKa progress over the last couple of weeks, but in and around packing/throwing stuff away I have managed to get a bit done. Just not as much as I'd like 😔

I carried on mucking about with the seats, and have a rough plan for where they'll go. I just need to design and build a frame, decide whether I want them to be the width of the van, in which case I'll have to make something to bridge the gap, or whether I fit some kind of cupboard affair for storage. This is with the seats just resting on a packing crate!





I like the look so just need to sort the frame! In other news, I needed to load up the bed with stuff so I refitted the stainless load bed that was fitted when I bought it.



Love the contrast with the new colour, so that will be staying, but obviously needs securing properly.

As we've lost the garage (yes, I am heartbroken) the van had to follow us the 100 or so years to the new place (that has a single garage, which is rammed full of everything out of the old garage! No space for cars!) We're getting a workshop in town in a couple of weeks but for now it's sat outside the front door! With a tarpaulin and the old 205 car cover over the cab to try and keep it dry!

This was just after the 'drive'!



Obviously the doors had to go back on! After more sanding.



Normal(ish) service will resume in a couple of weeks!

Pete
Too many projects..... Not enough time!
Back to Top
booted View Drop Down
Vanorak
Vanorak
Avatar

Joined: 13 May 07
Location: Luton
Status: Offline
Points: 2671
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote booted Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06 Apr 15 at 09:27
I added a bar to the back of a factory seat base for my seats. Still not finished the middle one years later!
Back to Top
booted View Drop Down
Vanorak
Vanorak
Avatar

Joined: 13 May 07
Location: Luton
Status: Offline
Points: 2671
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote booted Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06 Apr 15 at 09:28
Back to Top
surf dude View Drop Down
Yardie
Yardie
Avatar

Joined: 11 Apr 05
Location: United Kingdom
Status: Offline
Points: 470
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote surf dude Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06 Apr 15 at 12:37
They look pretty good, not sure that I even really need seats in the back at the moment so there's no great rush really. They'll probably sit there for a while doing nothing!
Too many projects..... Not enough time!
Back to Top
surf dude View Drop Down
Yardie
Yardie
Avatar

Joined: 11 Apr 05
Location: United Kingdom
Status: Offline
Points: 470
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote surf dude Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 28 Apr 15 at 22:09
Well, a couple of weeks in and we're sort of getting back to normal (whatever that is!) we've been mucked about a bit by estate agents (I would have made the news if they'd carried on) and when I saw a sign advertising workshop space on the way home from work I had to go for it.

It could fit six cars in so our fleet will fit easily. There were a few negative comments about the landlord and the size of the rats, but it's a farm, and we really need to square the cars away as they're spread to the four winds and the vans getting rusty :( so I spoke to a pal who organised a truck and away we go



Now the eagle eyed may see the sand, cloth and oil dripping down the back! And they would be right, because i reversed into the kerb and cracked the sump....


Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrggggggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhbhbbbbb

BUMHATS!

Well, I knew the sump was a bit crusty, and better here than on the first speed bump but it's still a bit of a blow :,( There you go! I'll need to start looking for a new one, and do some cutting and welding (I'll probably out source that job!) but it's in its new home and I can start getting it ready for another coat of paint!



Looks a bit lost in there! Thanks for checking in. New deadline is the 31st May as I want to run this up to Snetterton for the Time Attack and RR show!

Not long then!

Pete
Too many projects..... Not enough time!
Back to Top
 Post Reply Post Reply Page  <1 7891011>

Forum Jump Forum Permissions View Drop Down

Forum Software by Web Wiz Forums® version 12.06
Copyright ©2001-2023 Web Wiz Ltd.

The WebThis site