Westfalia Restoration Week 4

So much to share, so many stories to tell. Where to start.

Well… paint colour of course! After much fussing and lots of sampling I ended up right back where I started. Trying to find the right balance between brown, orange, bright but not too bright, and more has been very trying. I think I wore Andrea out fussing over it. As she has said a few times, orange isn’t her colour. Unlike our friends Greg & Colleen though, we stayed with orange (Colleen tells the story of how, when they were going to paint their bus… “I wanted yellow he wanted blue….so we compromised and went for candy apple red!”). Babe is a brown/orange bus though. And she still is. Just with a brighter temperament than before 🙂

Let me present the first glimpses of her new persona.

Starting with a reminder of her previous look:

20160311_120304

And now these same parts in Matador Orange (yes, that’s the first one I picked and I still love it). The shop lighting doesn’t really do it justice. I would say the small rear cover (license pate mount and oil filler hatch) is closest. I’ll try to get a few photos on the weekend with daylight instead of the bright lights needed for making sure all the paint is even.

Speaking of paint… if you look closely at the photos of the inside of the doors you can see a bumpy texture in the cavities. That’s the Lizard Skin (spray-on sound damper). It went on before the primer and final paint.

Now that the painting has started I’ve been able to move on to the other parts needed. The orders will go in later today to the suppliers we Vanagon owners rely on. I think there are 4 different sources plus some parts coming from individuals like Jim & Stuart. Some electrical upgrades, some replacements of old and tired pieces, the biggest single item will be the new Truck Fridge coming from Karl at Westy Ventures. There were a few hard-to-find parts… not quite made of “unobtainium” but certainly no longer being made. The frames for the small vent windows in the doors were in that category. As is the rubber sleeve for the wiring from the body to the rear hatch (for the defroster). A big thanks to Jim Felder for being a pack-rat and keeping parts like this around!

029

 

8 Replies to “Westfalia Restoration Week 4”

  1. Nice job so far, can’t wait to see the finished project.

  2. Oh no! Not Matador Orange!

    1. LMAO… oh yes! The Matador Orange!

  3. Looks awesome. Bob the Tomato is jealous!

  4. Thanks Jim. Still lots to do! Next up will be addressing the rust on the body, a few minor spots and a few significant ones.

  5. DAKE 'IAN' COLLINS says: Reply

    Looking’ good, when 7 where do we see the finished product?

  6. Looking GREAT Peter. While you back glass is out, get the rear window defogger lines to work. I will send you a kit to paint on new lines of metallic paint that will make them work again. I have an extra kit I think. Bryan from NJ. I have to laugh, week 4, I would be where you are at Month 4, not Week 4. LOL

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.