The interior is painted

After a bunch of wiping, cleaning, taping, and Scotchbriting, I got a chance to paint the interior this weekend.  The OG paint is very difficult to stick to.  I remember this from 35 years ago when I was working with my Dad in the body shop.  It always required an extra bunch of work to get the paint to lay down nicely.  I probably should have sealed it before I painted, but the OG paint really just needed to be freshened up, it wasn’t very rusty, or damaged.  It seems to have come out pretty nicely.  I won’t know till tonight, how much paint got under my masking job and got all over the dash.  I am sure there will be some re-work required there.

It had to get worse before it got better!

I have finally finished up the upholstery work for the interior.  The "Z" bed and the rear cushions are done.  The new spare tire carrier and the armrest is now complete.  What next?  Tear out the interior.
The next step will be to repaint the interior.  All the stuff on the inside must get pulled out.  My garage isn't big enough so I put all the stuff in the basement.  This will be it's temporary home till it's time to start reassembling.

I then removed the headliner panels.  They are made of 1/8" thick plywood.  The old plywood seems to be delaminating and just doesn't have the required stiffness to hold it'self up anymore.  I will use the old panels as templates to make the new parts.  I then removed the side trim panels and the carpet and underlayment.

 
This, of course, revealed a lot more crud that needed to be cleaned up.  Lots of vacuuming and scrubbing. The interior cabinets, both overhead and side panels have been removed as well.

 

  

 

 
Some of the fiberglass insulation fell down when I removed the headliner panels, I will have to either re-glue these (a messy proposition) or come up with a replacement insulation.  Some research will be required here.

Next steps will be to finish dis-assembling the interior.  The seat belts, floor mats up front, the front door panels, and a few odds and ends will need to be pulled out.  A good scrubbing, some sanding, and it will be ready for paint.

It's Alive!

Finally, I have the engine re-installed and it fired right up. I let it warm up for a few minutes and shut it off. After it cooled down, I adjusted the valves again (one was a bit loose and made it clatter) It sounds like a new engine. It warms up nice, blows heat, idles perfectly and seems to have a great rev-up. I can't wait to take it for a ride. It's not going to happen until the salt is gone from the roads though.

 

 

I re-installed the electrical in the rear, tail lights, backup lights, side markers, engine wiring, etc. and just generally neatened things up in the engine compartment.
As you can see in the pics, I make new lining for the insulation panels that go above the engine. I cut these from Masonite peg board from the originals which I used as patterns. I glued a thin sheet of foam on top of the panels so the assembly makes contact with the top of the steel. This cuts down on the sound transmitted to the bus interior.

 

The mechanicals are basically complete now. I am excited to get working on the interior. A nice change of scenery for sure.

Prepping the engine compartment for re-instal

With the engine completed, I started to work on the engine compartment.  I wiped everything down with thinner to remove the grease, and sanded the surfaces with Scotchbrite.  I removed the lights and as many pieces as I could.  I taped off the wires and put a drop cloth over the transmission and suspension.  I sprayed the compartment with a single step paint system I have been using.  I have had great luck with this system and it is reasonably priced.  It's call 2nd Dimension.  It's an acrylic enamel with a hardener.  Covers great and is really tough.

After painting, I installed new engine air seals around the engine tins, I resealed and installed the fuel tank cover, and I reinstalled some of the electrical.  Next I topped of the transmission fluid.  It was only down a 1/2 pint or so.

 

I removed the starter, cleaned it up with a thinner wipe, painted it with a nice coat of flat black grill paint, cleaned up the electrical terminals, reinstalled the starter and then greased the electrical connections at the starter as well.  Should be good for a long time.  Someone has been in this bus doing lots of work, the starter is a re-manufactured BOSCH.  Every time I uncover something, I discover it has been replaced and is in pretty good condition.  I am very fortunate to have this many new parts on my bus.  It is making my work much easier (and cheaper!).
Next steps: a bit more wiring, tail lights reinstalled, and then I need to make new insulation panels for the upper engine compartment.  The OG (Original German) panels have warped and bowed.  It just wouldn't be right to put it back together with those old crappy panels.  After that, the engine goes back in.  Can't wait.

Engine cleaning and painting

Over the last few days, I have been cleaning parts, media blasting and etch priming engine tins and generally cleaning and prettying up the engine for re-assembly.  My parts came in from Appletree Automotive, so I am ready to do the re-assembly as soon as things are cleaned and painted.