54 barndoor 11 window

[Mitchvwnut]

Thanks guys.

I think it's going to head in the direction of a patina build, i think i've stripped enough now to know it will work.

I didn't get much time this weekend with the bus, but I have now cleaned up most of the rear, and made a start on the passenger side this afternoon. I had to stop earlier than i would have because i can't feel my arms haha.

[spl65t]

I'm liking the direction this bus is heading. Great work on the preservation.

Cheers Linz

[Griffin]

Ooooooh wow, I'm loving what you are doing and the direction its heading. Looking forward to watching the rebuild.
All the best

[Griffin]

feel free to drop us a line, we cant help with everything but certainly can assist with a lot of the below
cheers gordon@allaircooled.com.au drop us a line and will try and help

Some more photos.

I've had it up on a hoist and have been able to put a list together of sheet metal this bus will need.
Overall it is better then i expected, although there is still quite a list. At minimum it will need

- lower nose section
- inner & outer valance
- cab floor
- doglegs
- lower cargo barrier section
- full cargo floor
- Front and rear crossmembers
- I beams
- outriggers
- Jack points
- L & R sills
- lower rear corners
- battery trays
- engine lid hinge carrier
- lower sections for all doors

[Mitchvwnut]

It has been a very busy couple of months, so there has not been much bus time other than spraying all the rusty hardware with WD-40 every week.

I did get to the Nationals last weekend, which was productive for finding Barndoor parts.
At the swapmeet i found an original Barndoor passenger door in dove blue and a handful of lenses.
While in Sydney i picked up 6x 16" rims, Country buggy spindles and a repro rear apron.

This afternoon, I managed 10 minutes to pull the steering wheel. It slipped straight off with the factory puller.

[Mitchvwnut]

More parts collected today.
Stoked to have a very nice barndoor specific 3 stud emblem. Almost all the glass is sorted now, along with original BD cab window frames. The steering wheel is better then the original and should be suitable for recasting. And lots of other bits and pieces to replace broken or missing parts.

[MID WEST DUBBER]

Getting together some great parts, thanks for the update!

[vw nutter1]

I have correct 54-55 headlights & Centre brake lights & lenses for sale if you are interested message me
Cheers

[Mitchvwnut]

The bus now has headlights and a few other bits thanks to vwnutter1.

We managed to get across to Valla and had a fantastic time. I’d never driven a splitty before and I was able to get a feel for it taking a friends 56 patina bus for a decent cruise into town and back. In the swap meet, I bought a new genuine AS41 case and some pistons & cylinders for the single port 1776 engine to go in this bus.

[Mitchvwnut]

Back home this week, I pulled the seized steering box out and opened it up to inspect the cause of the issues. As expected it’s in a sorry state, For now I’ve put it in kerosene to help clean things up for better inspection later.