Current Projects

This page last up-dated 30 May, 2010

Skippy the Australian Bay

Skippy, as this bay campervan is affectionately known, has come in for a full re-spray and an interior re-fit. We weren't expecting to see too much corrosion to the bodywork as this van has spent most of it's life in Australia, unfortunately the ravages of time, some poor quality previous repairs and a little help from the English weather has caused the body to corrode to the point where we need to do some welding first.

After first removing the interior and the windows, we sanded off the blistering and bubbling paintwork where we found the corrosion, this was cut away and new metal grafted in.

Using an air powered tool called a "Crud Thug" we removed paint around the lower edges of the vehicle, also removing the vast quantities of body-filler that had been applied over the years covering poor/bodged repairs enabling us to see and correctly repair these areas.

1303 Cabrio

The removal and replacement of floor halves, without removing the body, not the best or easiest way of doing this job, but, sometimes the job has to be done this way, first the interior was completely removed then the floor was cut out using an air powered chisel and a grinder. The bolts that fasten the chassis to the body-shell on a car of this age are usually seized or the body-shell rotten, on this car every bolt came out perfectly and the heater channels are in excellent condition.

After removing the floor halves we bolted the car onto our vehicle roller, a piece of equipment that is capable of turning a vehicle 90 degrees, which enables us to work on the areas required easily.

After cleaning up the chassis edges we trial fitted the new floor panels, etch primer was then sprayed on after first removing the black primer, and after applying the genuine VW foam seal the panels were first bolted in place then spot-welded to the chassis, the chassis bolts were then tightened up the correct torque of 14 ft/lbs. Sealer was then applied to the seam underneath and then stone-chip sprayed on, after drying two coats of under-seal was then applied.

Lufthansa Bay Micro-bus

This micro-bus is having the lower area of bodywork repaired and replaced, new front and rear wheel-arches, sills and lower sliding door are the main areas suffering from corrosion, the main chassis areas are in very good condition but will still be checked out to ensure they will last a long time in our harsh climate.

Camper Interior

The following photo's show the mock-up interior for our new range of interiors, over the next couple of weeks this will be transformed into a hand-crafted interior.

The photo's below show the finished units, these units are made from a real Beech wood veneer on a MDF board, this particular interior has a 3 way fridge fitted, a sink and tap combination and a 2 ring gas hob, under the rear seat is a Propex heater system, a 12 volt and a 240 volt electrical outlet. The gas bottle is situated in a cupboard next to the rear seat under another storage area, it is accessed by the false floor in the cupboard and filled up by an external fill-up point similar to the ones used at fuel stations for LPG gas.

GT Beetle

Complete body-off restoration

Both rear quarters are now in place, the boot floor has also been replaced. New heater channels are bolted in place along with the rear cross members and front bulkhead panel ready for the body to be lowered onto them.

The next task was to remove the corroded front quarter panels, this revealed some very poorly repaired areas. The front bulkhead panel was positioned onto the heater channels, which have been bolted in place on the chassis, this panel is only available in left hand drive form, so the steering column hole was transferred to the opposite side and the old one blanked off, then when the position was correct it was welded in place.

The body-shell was then lifted over the chassis and lowered in to position, measurements were taken, noted and any adjustments made, starting from the rear of the body it was tack welded at strategic points. Using a hydraulic jacking ram and an adjustable frame welded to the inside of the body, the weak and twisted body-shell was pushed and pulled into shape, when it was approximately straight the doors were hung into position, and after welding more tacks the shell is almost ready to spot/MIG weld and braze the rear half completely.

Once the rear section was in the correct position and the doors hung so that they would open and shut properly then the front section could be sorted out. First the height from the dashboard to the chassis tube had to be in the correct position, this also means that the doors and lower hinge panels would also be in the correct position. At this stage the front section is really weak, until the front quarter panels are spot welded in place and the strength is replaced, then the shell is as strong as it was the day Volkswagen built the shell way back in 1973.

Finally all the welding and brazing has been completed to the body-shell, doors, bonnet and engine lid fitted for an alignment check, all the original colour paint sanded off the roof and filler applied to the few areas that required it ( mainly over the welded joints ). These areas were then sprayed with Polyester spray-filler which sets as hard as concrete and prevents any sinkage of subsequent coats of paint.

Some of the last areas to be welded were the access hole strengtheners in the engine bay and the seal clamping strips which were spot-welded around the engine bay and boot.

Etch primer was first applied and after drying the high build primer was sprayed on. Once this was totally dry the primer was sanded down on all the interior areas, the engine bay, the boot area at the front and the underside, then sealer was applied over the joints and finally a plastic/rubber compound stone-chip was sprayed onto the underside and the front bulkhead.

Another coat of etch primer was then applied over the sealer and stone-chip protected areas, and then the top-coat was sprayed on, 2 coats of L15M Zitronlemon Standox 2K paint.

Custom Bug