Heat, Dust & Flies' 61 23 window Samba

[splitbus]

Here is a few sellers I have used


http://www.ebay.com/sch/vw-wagenwerks/m ... 7675.l2562

http://search.ebay.com/?sass=aircooledpredator&ht=-1

http://search.ebay.com/?sass=notch1500&ht=-1

http://search.ebay.com/?sass=aircooledaccessories&ht=-1

http://www.ebay.com/sch/groupharrington ... 7675.l2562

http://www.thebusstop.com.au/busstore/p ... 67_german/

www.classicveedub.com.au

http://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&sourc ... u079jf5YlA

[FrankenCab]

low cargo door hinges and flat rear arches make this a very cool crossover vw parts bin bus ..very jealous , def buy the good lenses I've used them on a few busses and worth every $$ for looks and quality

[Longrasser]

Yeah I originally looked up the guide on The Samba and it dates the bus as an April 1961 off the chassis number.

After thinking twice about those light dates, I went and double checked and unsurprisingly, i was wrong. Turns out thetwo headlight buckets are a match. Headlight dates (Hella stampings on back of reflectors). And they are telling me W13. (W = 1961. 13 = week 13 of the year).

Ahh April 61... First man into space, Bay of Pigs invasion, World Trade Centre construction commissioned, Leadbeaters Possum was rediscovered and the first untethered jet back-pack flight was undertaken .... To 112 feet. wooo hooo, what a month!

I won't get too carried away... I'm sure there is a glitch in my dating process somewhere.

Cheers on that list Splitbus, another good reason to stay up late....

[Roo]

Yeah I originally looked up the guide on The Samba and it dates the bus as an April 1961 off the chassis.

What's the number out of curiosity? My 61 dates as March!! Chassis 740159, K2072. Has the twin rear lights. Haven't had the headlights out yet.

[morts]

Do you have a DMB number stamped into the left hand side of the engine bay? If so, what is it as that may help too...

[petemart]

Anymore progress on this?

[Longrasser]

Progress? Some months of the year, progress can be measured by the number of pannel screws cleaned and packed. For the last month, that number is about 45 (with panel washers too). Busy with the other stuff you see, but with the temperatures soaring to the late 30's in the shed, I decided it was time to get a little bit more done this week.

The main theme over the past month has been collecting bits and pieces. So now I have engine, gearbox, some form of rear drive connection, front bar, some more trim bits, a good list of suppliers and maybe a back seat too. (gotta start somewhere').

The internal trim is probably the last place you start with, but at this stage it is easy and coming along well. The interior cards were being really crabby about me trying to straighten them and returning to their warped self time and again. So I filled up a makeshift tub with warm water, and gave them a good 2 day soak. This allowed me to peel off the semi-soft vinyl without taking too much old toasted Masonite with it. After this it was a 12 soak in Nappy-San and them a good scrub with orange based cleaner. I gently used an old scourer to get rid of the black crap and glue remnants. The bath is very clean after all this I might add.

I used the remains of the old cards as templates, cut up some lined Masonite and contact-adhesive the old vinyl down while it was warm and flexible. Weighed the things down while the glue went off.
The result is how I need it., not shiny-arsed, but a restoration of what I had. It'll do pig, it'll do.....
The nose gets a gentle nudge every now and then. Bit by bit, ding by dent.

I'm looking forward to getting the motor in the shed, and seeing what I have got. (it's still on the delivery truck.... Family favour).

Rest assured, the project won't stall just yet. The more I get to know about this thing, the simpler it seems. . . .Suits me fine.



Mmm, 1961 Masonite plus vinyl.... A good, whole bodied blend.....



These bits were like thin plywood boards when I first removed them. Now they are pliable.



First door card off the assembly line. Waiting alloy strips... Wanting alloy strips.....



Cleaning out the crud in the wheels, pulling the brakes down. Seeing what makes it tick.... The 23's shed-mate, my 53 Humpy. Strange bedmates indeed !



Dash tray out for more banging room. Windows will come out so I can reach both sides of the nose skin to dolly by touch.



The old Avitar on show. A bit of creative photo shopping'. Pulled up on the Kidman way to check that all the windows were still there. Seems a long time ago now.....

[Ged]

Nice shot

Would make a great 8 x 4' on canvas

[resol]

Nice shot

Would make a great 8 x 4' on canvas

I agree...GREAT SHOT!!

[Longrasser]

An den ?????
A whole bunch of stuff went down, like a full year of seasons and a bit. The project spit and spluttered but always plodded forward. The king insentives was piecing a little 40 horse and gearbox together and discovering that the pathway to roadworthiness was only a good hard push away. So we hopped into it and gave ourselves the KombiClubs get together at Forbes as the deadline ( if not that, then the Berry Blast ) .
The trick was sucking it up and putting 5 or six months of late nights in. ( well, not every night... But enough to see where we had been). We stayed home for Christmas and New Years, made the most of daylight saving, had numerous shed-dinners and by February, had cobbled together a running, driving and braking shell of a rust free bus. We have replaced most critical perishable components, but left what was original but not essential to the drivability.
Feb/ March we went hell for leather, wiring, interior, setting the mechanicals up (yup, I'm good at taking that engine out now), piecing the little fiddly bits and trim and rag-top and alignment and then off to rego.
One week before the Easter deadline, the 23 saw the blacktop for the first time in a long time.... And behold , it was good !
DSK was off air for a while in there, so the lady of the house put together the summary of the build on Kombi Club if you want to give it a read.
http://forums.kombiclub.com/threads/i-l ... mba.52794/
We kept under our $5k budget too. Needless to say, I didn't have to buy a pallet of funky green panels. The rust and panel problems were kind to us. The bus seems to have been parked up as a low mileage vehicle, so restoration of the front beam was pretty straight forward too.
Having it on the road is sweet. It rides nicely, cruises well and even handles the gravel roads with aplomb. It has a single port 1600 industrial pushing it around with an early box and reduction hubs. The roo bar went back on just in case another whopper jumps out at us or we have a go at bush bashing like this bus did some 30 years ago.
Here's some of the stuff you may have missed.... Photos following..


The nephews bug played match the motor to get the bus running and a trial fit.

A few static driving lessons

The panno snuck in there as a project breaker. It needed a little TLC too.

We tried our hardest to keep as much original paint as we could. The fade and shadow were part of its history.

Taking the light buckets out for a second go at the nose.

Blue belly. Pans were fine. Insides were still glossy black.

Part of the riddle on how much road this bus has seen is the limited wear under the arches.

The little 40hp was a solid goer and showed me how it all went together. It took us joyriding around the paddock a few times.

Bringing out the nose another 3 inches. Not all that much, but it changed the look of the 23 big time.

[Longrasser]

Patching up the floor and fitting new seat mounts.


Called the extended family in for a few of the fiddly jobs that required a few extra hands.




Late nights and messy sheds. Where did that 13mm socket go again?


Floors done, time to get into putting it all back together again.


Time out meant polishing alloy trim. Keeping the project moving forward.


All barred up. Remembering that this 23 is no inner city sled.




Ready for the ragtop.


Last minute genni swap. The night before rego.












Yee Hah ! Chasin bugs once again !!

[dmb]

Wow! You have done a great job. Look forward to seeing it one day.

[spl65t]

It's a great story from start to finish.
Will the family all pushing hard to get it up and running so quick.
Well Done
Yep looking forward to seeing it one day.
Cheers Linz

[kombibob]

Fantastic!
Please bring it to Valla.

[kombi1976]

Wow, great work!!