Kevin (Fifty Shades of)

[Cheeseboard]

Another day….

[Cheeseboard]

Green, brown, then blue paint.

[braddick]

Mmmm
I wish I had of know u at this stage of the buses resto
I would of had sooooo much fun

Keep the updates coming

[Cheeseboard]

So at this point in time, we were six months into the restoration. We learnt one of our first major lessons, sometimes tradies just don’t come back with the (first) guy doing the welding work for us just never turned up when he said he would. Nice bloke and still friends with him but he became unpredictably elusive and things were stalling.

As luck would have it, met another bloke who was a welder and into kombis. Set him up in the house across the road that we were looking after so no escaping the job at hand.

[Cheeseboard]

Mmmm
I wish I had of know u at this stage of the buses resto
I would of had sooooo much fun

Keep the updates coming

I reckon we had met up at Nhill but you hadn’t been down to see the job yet.

[braddick]

Na I would of talked u into finding that og paint
And welding that spare tyre well back in along with a few other things

[Cheeseboard]

So I kept things moving, sending the front seat off to the upholsterer.

[Cheeseboard]

And the new bloke got welding….

[Cheeseboard]

The dash resembled a beautiful Swiss cheese. Would loved to have seen this thing with all these holes filled with gadgets and dials and lights back in the day. Welder got welding.

[Cheeseboard]

With the bulk of the paint removed, we sent the bus off to the sand blasters to do a light blasting and see what else was hidden.

[Cheeseboard]

Few more reveals from the sandblasting plus what appeared to have been some sort of head on into a low lying structure in it’s day that impacted the front A pillars plus centre windscreen post and the near side b pillar just under the roof line. Hate to have been in it when they hit whatever they hit at speed. Bit of a dint in the roof that panel guy later sorted.

[Cheeseboard]

So twelve months in and we had to let the second welder bloke go. Nice enough fella when he wasn’t stealing stuff from the storage shed attached to the house we’d put him up in. As he came and got his tools, he discreetly took back the things he’d given me as a gift for the bus, being an ash tray and radio blanking plate from an old rusted split bus he had stored away that was beyond repair. Then the stories came out that him and his missus were both well versed at being light fingered, so happy to piss that thieving mongrel prick and his crazy bitch of a missus off. Lesson two, chose your tradies well. I don’t think his welding work was that good anyway but I had no idea at the time.

Then things started falling into place for us. Another mate had a mate who was a brilliant welder, loved VW’s, and knew his shit.

[spl65t]

The dash resembled a beautiful Swiss cheese. Would loved to have seen this thing with all these holes filled with gadgets and dials and lights back in the day. Welder got welding.

Geez, appears Fifty Shades of Kevin caught an STD with all those holes

[Cheeseboard]

So with new welder bloke on board things kept moving forward. An executive decision was made that the front nose was rooted and easier to put a whole new nose on that than try to resurrect the old one. Then second executive decision was made to replace the upper windscreen surrounds because they were knackered as well. It amazing who has off cuts just sitting in storage for a rainy day.

[Cheeseboard]

Lesson three I think: engage your paint guy early. So we had done all the metal work we were going to do and needed a paint and bog guy but apparently there is a massive wait list and my idea of a short wait time was twelve months plus off.

By chance, an ex panel beater had moved into the area across the road from another mate and was looking at starting up a back yard business. Two weeks later the bus was off to his shed!