Introducing "The Mighty Shaka" ...

[abbub]

This is my project van, "The Mighty Shaka." He's been sadly hanging out in my driveway for quite some time, but I've decided that the time is ripe to slowly (but surely) start working on him. I come here seeking advice!

(But first, some pictures!)

Shaka's profile:


Shaka's front:


For some reason, I was thinking that he was a 1974, but the vin number starts with 223, so I believe that means it's actually a 1973...

Although he looks like a pretty typical bay, there are a couple of strange things about him. First, you'll notice that the side windows have two panes, rather than the more typical three. In fact, I've never seen a bus with the same side windows as his, and I've looked at just about every bus I've seen since I got him.

Second, although he was a camper, he wasn't a westy. The badge on the fiberglass top says, "Sportsmobile, Andrews, Ind. 46702. Penthouse Patents Pending."

Shaka needs A LOT of TLC, which he hasn't received. I'm not really sure where to begin.

Engine needs some serious work.
Electrical system needs some serious work.
Interior needs some serious work.
Suspension/brakes probably need some serious work.
Body needs some serious work (and a new roof!).

I'm hoping that I can bounce ideas off of you guys, and solicit advice.

I'm not interested in 'restoring' him nearly as much as I am in rejuvenating him and making him better than he originally was, both in terms of safety and reliability.

I have a 2002 Jetta TDI, so Shaka is not being depended on to get me around.

Essentially I'm looking for ideas on where to start. I assume that wiring would probably be number one, then once that's working, probably the engine needs to be tackled, then the body, then the interior?

I would like to prioritize getting a real roof, though...and I was thinking that stripping him down to nothing and having both the interior and exterior painted might be a good idea. I don't mind spending money on him, but I forsee this being a long, slow journey.

[InaneCathode]

First thing i would do is clean it the best i could, inside out. Vacuum soapy water, scrub brushes, the whole deal. Once it's totally clean its not only easier to work on, it'll make you feel better about it. Also when you're cleaning every nook and cranny you get an idea about all the little things you'll never see if you never see the crooks and crannies.

[Piper]

any pics with the pop top up? It looks so strange, does the entire top pop up uniformly, or wedge shape like a Westy? Good luck on the new project bud! Love to see old Dubs being put back on the road!

[abbub]

First thing i would do is clean it the best i could, inside out. Vacuum soapy water, scrub brushes, the whole deal.

I went over the interior for a while today and it's in decent, but not great shape. It's pretty cold here in Colorado, and today was a bit chilly for any serious car cleaning. I'm moderately familiar with the shape he's in. (Bondo around the driver's side headlight looks like he bumped something once, bondo around the bottom left of the sliding door looks like he bumped something twice...) The under carriage has about 35 years of grim on it, but doesn't APPEAR to be too rusty.

I should probably clarify, too... When I meant that this wasn't a restore, I meant that I wasn't intended to track down every part that was on it in 1973 and only outfit it as original.

I am planning on throughly going over it and trying to do it right.

I plan to fix the hole on the roof, have the bottom cleaned up (sand blasted?), have the interior, exterior, and engine compartment properly painted, re-do the wiring harness from scratch, etc. This looks to be a time consuming process, which is fine, because it's a hobby.

Right now I'm just looking for advice on a starting point. Would sandblasting be the best way to handle the under carriage?

Roughly I was thinking: While it's still functioning, drive it over to a metal shop or body shop and have them (butt weld?) put some sheet metal where the 4x4 hole is. Bring him hom and prime the top of that (so it doesn't rust). Pull the electrical system, drop the engine (and tranny?) and remove all of the trim. Have it hauled to a sandblasting shop and have them go over the bottom carefully. Bring him home and see if there's anything else that needs to have some metal work done... (I'm pretty sure that one of the battery tray's is rusting through...) After the bottom is in decent shape, have him hauled to a paint shop, have them paint the interior, the engine compartment, the undercarriage, and then the exterior. Rebuild the engine (and the tranny?) and install it. Install a new wiring harness. Get the front and passenger seats reupholstered. Get a new headliner and install it. Get a bench for the back seat. Install the other trim.

I know this is a massive list, but a lot needs to be done and I'm not sure what the best order to do it in would be...

[abbub]

any pics with the pop top up?

I don't have any. The mechanism that lifted the top up is gone. It did go straight up, though. About three or four feet. There was a bed above there. Here are some interior shots. You can see the big square hole I'm trying to figure out how to have patched....

[InaneCathode]

Where abouts in CO do you live? I live here too :O

[abbub]

Where abouts in CO do you live? I live here too :O

Fort Collins

[InaneCathode]

Ah, way up north All the bug guys besides me live in FC lol

[Piper]

Why patch the hole? Get the pop top in shape, or have it fit with a fabric roof Samba bus style! It would make a nice custom touch.

[abbub]

Why patch the hole? Get the pop top in shape, or have it fit with a fabric roof Samba bus style! It would make a nice custom touch.

A number of different reasons...

First, getting the pop top in shape is very unlikely to happen. All of the 'internals' are missing. What's left of the pop top at this point is a fiberglass shell that sits on top of the bus. Nothing to lift that shell up and down. It's just sitting there. I'd have to re-engineer the entire lifting structure, and since I've never seen another bus with this same sort of top, I wouldn't really know where to start with that. Second, the fiberglass shell itself isn't in that great of shape, so there'd be a fair amount of patching required.

As for covering the hole with a canvas roof, I've seen a bus around town that has canvas stretched over the top and didn't really think it looked that great. Add to that the fact that I live in Colorado and air cooled VW's have enough heating issues in the winter without the added 'bonus' of a 16 sq foot piece of canvas being the only thing between me and winter...

I actually have given the hole in the roof quite a bit of thought and have decided that I would probably be happier if it were just gone.

[Weaponer]

I have a back seat that came out of a '72 bay that you can have for free the next time you are in Cheyenne. It has original VW white upholstery that is in very good shape. I used to have a '64 23 window that was missing the sun roof. The previous owner used a rubbery/plastic type of material to cover the hole. They sell the material at Lowes and it is a 4x8 white sheet that looks like it has an orange peel finish. I used the same material for my door panels on my '67 bus. The material is rigid enough to stand up to the weather and wind plus it is flexable enough to easily follow the contour of your roof. You would have to fabricate a wooden framework for the plastic to attach to. You would also cover the inside of the hole with the same plastic. You can email me at vintageludwigatvcndotcom for the seat if you want it.

I would probably start with the thorough cleaning. Then I would make anything that rolls, steers or stops the next step. I would then attack the rust with media blasting or a wire wheel followed with POR 15. If you work hard, that should take you a month or more.

[abbub]

Weaponer:

That's awesome, man. I appreciate the offer. I'm debating right now whether to put a 'real' back seat in it, or one that converts to a bed. The one that was in there originally was a bed. The frame that you can see in the picture pulls out and is designed to have a seat with a back that folds down.

I've charged the battery up and plan to get the engine running today. Then I plan to work on the inside a bit, cleaning it up and checking out the damage in front.

Anybody have suggestions for how to handle the electrical? I think that the entire wiring harness needs to be completely replaced. Is this something I'm going to have to make myself, or can I buy a 'pre-made' wiring harness?

[abbub]

I ripped out what remained of the camper interior (not much useful, I'm afraid and spent the bulk of the day cleaning the back and the passenger side seat area. Here are some photos.














I'm pretty stoked that the floor area in the back is in as good as shape as it is. I think that he must have spent the bulk of his life in Colorado or some other fairly dry climate, because there's no major rusting at all. The little rust that is there is all slight surface rust which I'll clean off and primer over.

My girlfriend suggested that we try to have a custom shop build a nice looking moonroof out of plexi or something to cover the hole. Has anyone seen/done anything like this? I was worried that the hole might be a bit big for that.

[Tuffluck]

Congrates on the bus, looks pretty clean. Floors look solid, so that'll put ya ahead of the game. As for the hole, heres a coupla thoughts. Find a wreck, close to your year and cut out the section you need from it plus a few inchs on each side. Then you trim and graft it to your roof. Or, you could contact someone like Street Beat and get a slider made to the size you need. Either way you are gonna have some work to do. Good luck, keep us posted

[papaphaedrus]

The moon roof would've been my suggestion. I say go for it. Nice smoked glass with an isulated bit underneath that can be easily slid away or removed for good weather.