Schmoburger
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Hey folks... The name is Kieran... but Schmo is easier to say anyway so ya dont need to remember that! 
I'm from Jervis Bay, NSW Australia and am a VW Kombi enthusiast, and member of Kombi CLub AUstralia (www.kombiclub.com).
I currently own two fairly rare Kombis which I am beginning restoration work on... one is my daily driver "Buttercup", a 1976 Type 23 Trakka camper conversion (very few of this type of camper around as Trakka's VW-based campers only really took off in the 80's), which has a rusty bogged up left hand sill, rusty rear corner (also bogged), a bogged and rusty left hand step, and a slightly dodgy right hand sill.
The other is "George", a 1974 Type 21 automatic walkthrough panelvan (also fairly rare... Kombi panelvans in themselves are not all that common, and most had a front bench and no walkthrough) which I picked up for a song as a parts car originally a few months back. George really is in a sorry state with lots of bad newspaper and bog repairs to him from the previous backpacker owners. the entire left hand side windscreen pillar and roof corner will require cutting out and replacing, the right hand sill will require replacing all the way along as it comprised simply of a huge thick slab of peeling bog at least 6 inches high, the right hand roof edge will require plating in a couple of places where it has rusted through, the left hand sill, also bog-filled altho not rusted to the point of peeling off, is going to be cut out anyway for reasons i shall outline shortly, the nose will need new metal welded in above the bumper and below the rusted out windscreen pillar, both steps will more than likely need to be cut right out and replaced, and some rust in the floor will require attention. He also has dodgy sliding windows cut into the sides (it was originally a windowless panelvan remember), which I despise, so these will also be knocked out and plated over to turn it back into a proper panelvan.
I had originally as stated before bought George to use for parts, as he is mechanically great, and was going to pay a panelbeater to do all the work that was required on BC, however Igot to thinking that welding, once learned, should not be too hard, and what better way to learn than to start cutting and shutting george.... as if i f*** up i havent lost anything. then i thought, well, if i am going to go down that track, why not turn it into a restoration of george as well... being a rarity as he is (albeit a rusty one), it works out in both our favour as i get to learn how to weld on an actual Kombi, and the Kombi gets a new lease on life. The one thing he has going for him is that his chassis is rock solid and rustfree.
As far as both restorations go, I can get most panels and such that i need, namely steps, sills, floor sections, etc from Roy at The Bus STop, however for roof sections and pillars, my only option is too either fabricate from scratch, or to cut the required sections from another bus and weld them back in place on George. i am not concerned with an entirely perfect fit and finish of the welded sections on George.... so long as imperfections in the welding can be hidden with filler, and the actual welds are strong and safe, I am happy. I just want to get him in a state where he is safe to have on the road ands relatively tidy looking.
On BC, the finish is somewhat more of a proiority... 2nd again only to safety. As BC is fairly rustfree, I dont wont wonky looking repairs, and I want to replicate all the factory seems after the new panels are welded in.
I also have "Claude", an ex-PMG 1952 Morris LC5 truck that will be a very long and hard resto, as every panel has bad rust, and panels requiring replacement will need to be fabricated from scratch. It will be near impossible to find any good condition replacement parts, as British vehicles arent exactly kn own for there resistance to rust, and there arent many LC5's around anyway... only LC3s.
Here are some pics of the aforementioned projects and what I have to work with...
1976 Kombi...
I'm from Jervis Bay, NSW Australia and am a VW Kombi enthusiast, and member of Kombi CLub AUstralia (www.kombiclub.com).
I currently own two fairly rare Kombis which I am beginning restoration work on... one is my daily driver "Buttercup", a 1976 Type 23 Trakka camper conversion (very few of this type of camper around as Trakka's VW-based campers only really took off in the 80's), which has a rusty bogged up left hand sill, rusty rear corner (also bogged), a bogged and rusty left hand step, and a slightly dodgy right hand sill.
The other is "George", a 1974 Type 21 automatic walkthrough panelvan (also fairly rare... Kombi panelvans in themselves are not all that common, and most had a front bench and no walkthrough) which I picked up for a song as a parts car originally a few months back. George really is in a sorry state with lots of bad newspaper and bog repairs to him from the previous backpacker owners. the entire left hand side windscreen pillar and roof corner will require cutting out and replacing, the right hand sill will require replacing all the way along as it comprised simply of a huge thick slab of peeling bog at least 6 inches high, the right hand roof edge will require plating in a couple of places where it has rusted through, the left hand sill, also bog-filled altho not rusted to the point of peeling off, is going to be cut out anyway for reasons i shall outline shortly, the nose will need new metal welded in above the bumper and below the rusted out windscreen pillar, both steps will more than likely need to be cut right out and replaced, and some rust in the floor will require attention. He also has dodgy sliding windows cut into the sides (it was originally a windowless panelvan remember), which I despise, so these will also be knocked out and plated over to turn it back into a proper panelvan.
I had originally as stated before bought George to use for parts, as he is mechanically great, and was going to pay a panelbeater to do all the work that was required on BC, however Igot to thinking that welding, once learned, should not be too hard, and what better way to learn than to start cutting and shutting george.... as if i f*** up i havent lost anything. then i thought, well, if i am going to go down that track, why not turn it into a restoration of george as well... being a rarity as he is (albeit a rusty one), it works out in both our favour as i get to learn how to weld on an actual Kombi, and the Kombi gets a new lease on life. The one thing he has going for him is that his chassis is rock solid and rustfree.
As far as both restorations go, I can get most panels and such that i need, namely steps, sills, floor sections, etc from Roy at The Bus STop, however for roof sections and pillars, my only option is too either fabricate from scratch, or to cut the required sections from another bus and weld them back in place on George. i am not concerned with an entirely perfect fit and finish of the welded sections on George.... so long as imperfections in the welding can be hidden with filler, and the actual welds are strong and safe, I am happy. I just want to get him in a state where he is safe to have on the road ands relatively tidy looking.
On BC, the finish is somewhat more of a proiority... 2nd again only to safety. As BC is fairly rustfree, I dont wont wonky looking repairs, and I want to replicate all the factory seems after the new panels are welded in.
I also have "Claude", an ex-PMG 1952 Morris LC5 truck that will be a very long and hard resto, as every panel has bad rust, and panels requiring replacement will need to be fabricated from scratch. It will be near impossible to find any good condition replacement parts, as British vehicles arent exactly kn own for there resistance to rust, and there arent many LC5's around anyway... only LC3s.
Here are some pics of the aforementioned projects and what I have to work with...
1976 Kombi...
