57 Resto

[ogrule]

Great work mate it really does give me inspiration to finish mine
I am gong to learn from your pop out experience - With the reinforcement what size piece of steel would you recommend ?
I noticed your bench seat frame didn't have springs - did you just use a wooden base with foam instead?
Cheers
Peter

[57Bus]

Hey ogrule, you just need a piece of thick metal strap plug welded (20mm X 100mm X 3mm). You slice the side of the door, predrill the door frame, hold it in place with magnets and weld it. As for the seat base, we have springs, the pic you see was when the frame was taken apart for blasting.

[rabidkombi]

Congratulations mate,
Fantastic outcome after all the hard work
Enjoy

Cheers,

Pete

[resinmonkey]

very crisp!

a real credit to you and a great result after all the work you've put in - well done!

[57Bus]

Its been a while between drinks so i thought I would post an update. We were hoping to have the old girl ready and enter her into Dub's at the Abbey but we will miss it by 1 week . Given the extra love the engine needed and the complete deluxe trim going in I shouldn't complain to much.

Engine completely rebuilt by Gary at Conti Engines - new engine case, heads refinished, new 82mm crank, new h beam rods, C35 cam, 94mm piston and barrel kit, moly pushrods, heavy flywheel, solid rocker shafts and rockers, fully balanced. We kept her at 2276cc and then Barry from Mac Tuned worked his magic with a new Pertronix distributor (re-graphed), re-jetted the Dellorto carbs and replaced the old coil with a Bosch unit. She now runs as sweet as a nut, has plenty of torque, zero oil leaks and I shouldn't have to worry about reliability!

Wrapped the exhaust so it didn't melt the back of the bus!


K&N air filters painted to match the tin ware installed after some 'encouragement'. Decided to also install BlazeCut just in case!


Gauges are from SpeedHut matched exactly to the speedo, Volts, Oil Temp and Pressure


Trimming is coming along nicely, we have shortened the middle seat to a 2/3, it looks awesome. TMI vinyl and headlining ensure it retains the 'factory look'








Significant time was spent during panel and paint on the window surrounds and dividing panel to ensure they were mint. They have now been covered but at least I know under the vinyl its perfect


RACQ badge was a nice touch

[rabidkombi]

Thats amazing mate,congratulations
What manifolds did you use wiith the Dellorto's ?
Heat wrap looks like a great idea

[57Bus]

The manifolds came with the original engine, they were empi from memory.

During one of the longer shakedown runs we stripped the paint off the rear valance due to the exhaust heat. One of the pipes sits about 10mm from the valance. We ended up wrapping the exhaust and applying a heat shield to the back of the valance which has worked perfectly. The balancing of the carbs also helped to ensure the engine temp was correct (she was a bit lean). She now sits perfectly at 85-95c regardless of load.

[rabidkombi]

Thank you mate,great info and advice
Beautiful attention to detail and careful thought to make this bus so practical ,functional and beautiful
Congratulation mate,awesome work

Cheers,
Pete

[jvm]

Hey Ian

Catching up with you on Sunday prompted me to read through the whole thread. One word......Epic!!

Seriously awesome bus mate

[57Bus]

Interior is now all but finished, here are some progress pics from last time I was at the trimmers. Next time I update will hopefully be the completed project.



Short middle seat came up a treat

[foxworth]

that looks fan bloody tastic

[Leroy]

Beautifully finished

[gaz]

Sweet looking bus

[aspro]

That is mint. Lovely bus

[maxpwr]

Amazing bus mate! A real credit to you.