Out with the bed

On one of our spare afternoons this week we decided that it is time that we began stripping the Kombi down. Madison jumped right in and removed the bed with no troubles at all! One reason for this is so that we can do rust repair easier and also because we want to get the blue slip with rear seats in so it will always be recognised as a 4 seater. 

We also removed the floating floor which was actually screwed in all different places. I was a little nervous that we would be finding more rust hidden away. But this was not the case at all only a few screw holes and 1-2 holes the size of 50c coins that will need to be patched. left the back looking a lot bigger and definitely makes it look cleaner.

Front Grill

Last week I had a spare day to work on a mates Transporter as it needed some quick work to get it passed Rego. While waiting for putty to dry I decided to attack the front grill of our Kombi as its half missing metallic blue paint was really annoying me. This was my first time using paint stripper so was a pretty rad learning experience! Using the paint stripper made the job a lot easier especially in the curved slits. I just used a blade to get rid of each layer of paint then finished removing the underlying rust with a wire wheel. The original paint  that was hidden under 3 different layers was what my family calls 'Baby poo green' - the same colour of my brothers first VW Beetle that he bought for $800. 

After popping out a few dints and giving a final light sand, the grill was ready for some primer. I did 5 light layers then left it to set for two days before giving its final colour. The final coat is a burnt orange that I had laying around from a class project - a very close colour match.

How it all started!

Madison and I bought this 1976 VW Pop-Top Camper as a project for us to work on together and build it exactly how we want it.

When it came to picking the Kombi up from the previous owner my thought process was terrible! The Kombi had no registration or insurance which means that we were unable to legally drive it any further than onto a car trailer. As this was our first time ever buying a car and even transporting one we weren't properly equipped in any way but we sure will next time.

The thought process of Madison, Tom, Tyler, Hugh and I was a very simple one- car to tow, car trailer and the Kombi of course! 

After finding a trailer to hire we set off to pick up our kombi and that we did! The trip home was very stressful as we only had it connected by the winch and asingle D-shackle... But we made it without any real hickups. 

After checking out the kombi and just laying down in it and relaxing for a hour or so, Hugh wanted us to drive it to a lookout so we could take some photos! 

It was an awesome feeling taking it for its first real drive as it fully being ours! 

Now its time to start work on it!