WORDS & PHOTOGRAPHS ANDYBUGSAnother busy month in the workshop but what more could you
want than to be working on four Deluxe buses at the same time.
This month in
the Workshop
H
ow things have changed
in the Bus world over
the last years, not just
value wise but what you
repair and how you repair them.
As we have explained over the last
months there are so many newly
available good quality panels that
the repair job is so much easier to do
to a high standard.
The game has been lifted to a new
level by BBT who has commissioned
a company from Taiwan that
have really got to grips with the
manufacturing of a top-qualityproduct at a very competitive price.
We got excited when we heard of
all the newly available parts but had
a nagging doubt that they would
not be as we hoped but we were
wrong, these are some of the best
panels on the market today. The roof
panel that we collected earlier this
month was an almost perfect fit but
unfortunately had to be made in two
parts so has a spot weld join behind
the rear of the sunroof stamping.
Most panels on a vehicle have to
be repaired and aligned and this
can involve the use of some typeof filler or high build primer to fill
the small imperfections. A roof is a
difficult panel to repair for a number
of reasons and having a join that
needs preparation work causes a
problem. Body filler is fine on most
surfaces but on this roof join we
need to be sure that there won’t be
any movement or cracking so opted
to lead load the joint. Lead is not
as widely used now as it was say
40 plus years ago because it is time
consuming, messy and needs more
skill than modern day fillers, James
however jumped onto the job andThis month in
the workshop- James fettling
the lead loading
work on roof panel
Andy Morgan
has been around
Air-cooled
Volkswagens since
buying his first
Beetle in 1987.
He found his love
in split screens and
has been “playing”
with them for 25
years. These days
he runs bugsvw.
com, specialising
in rescuing and
restoring classic
VWs.
Andy is more
than willing to
offer advice on
restoration or
issues; email him
on bugsvw@
hotmail.co.uk1
72 THIS MONTH IN THE Wwww.volkswagencamper.co.ukORKSHOP
THIS MONTH IN THE WFITTING BODY PANELS ORKSHOP