The Bus gets a nice "new" middle bench seat..

One of the things that is hard to come by, is a middle bench seat.
I had a 1967 Split Window Deluxe Bus- the middle seat was impossible to find for under 500.00 bucks. A couple of weeks ago I went over to Eladio's house to pick up some parts and watch him and Corey dis assemble a VW bus that had seen it's better days.
Corey needed a windshield and I needed a middle seat. He said he had one.

2 weeks later he called- and me and Johnny B. went and picked it up.
That turned into an adventure all into it's own.
The seat needs to be cleaned and re stuffed and possibly upholstery.
We'll see. Here's some pix of VW treasure, a 1977 VW middle bench seat.
It's not a 3/4 seat. Which is fine, my bus came with the 1/2 seat.
Johnny B. has a truck, his truck has carried VW doors, tires, rims, bumpers, a rear hatch
and now a middle seat. Thanks Johnny B.

After we got the seat over to the bus, I had to remove all the stuff in it.
I wanted to make sure the bench seat lined up
with the floor track. The 77 bus has three tracks that the bench's legs will line up on.







I threw in a couple of wood panels to get an idea how to place the seat. The seat will be flush against the panels. Normal VW panels are about half as thick as the 1/4" panels we made in North Carolina.








The seat will lock into the floor.
The seat belts will lock into the bench seat.
The seat will sit on top of my hardwood floor.
I'm going to paint the interior white and install some insulation. I'm going to lay the hardwood floor on top of a insulated sub floor.
The entire floor will be removable.
The bus seats, when mounted- will hold down the floor, to keep the floor from shifting.






The seat it self will be cleaned and the metal hardware will be sanded and painted gloss black.
I'll probably cheat and throw the seat in the rear of a truck and hit the car wash. I'll use the car wash as a pressure washer and power wash off all the accumulated crud. I'll skip the wax cycle though. The seat almost looks too low in this shot. I think the large panel (which hasn't been trimmed to fit) is making the seat
look very low. The flooring will raise the seat at least an inch.
The floor has grooves in it and the seat is resting in the groves.
I don't think the height will be an issue when it's all done and said.

I'm excited about the seat. I was thinking I would never find one.
I was going to use a Vanagon seat in it. Those are easier to come by.
Next, I'll paint the inside.
That will be exciting.

The Bus gets some new doors, used and Yellow.

So, after installing some snazzy tires and rims, it was time to hang some doors.
My Bro Scott is a professional. So he was a door-hanger professional.
Swapping out doors is not as bad as you would think.
The main concern it not dropping the door on your foot or head.
Also make sure the doors are of the same year, preferably.
It's also helpful to mark hinge location- the next door may not line
up as easily. Over all not bad, an easy project.
Unbolt some bolts, remember where the stuff goes, tighten and adjust.
No Problem
I took some pictures. Here you go.

Start by removing the old door locks, handles, door glass
whatever you want to keep or install on the new doors.
















The door hardware is easy to remove.
It's easy to drop stuff in the dirt.










After removing the old stuff, transfer it to the new door. It's good to keep the old door intact. It makes for easy reference.











It's good to have a partner to hold the door.
Lining up the hinges can be a pain.














Scott's holding the door, while I fiddle with my camera.
The more I fiddle, the heavier the door gets, the more frustrated Scott gets.














Door is installed.
Color is a little off.
Over all, the doors are straight and not
rusty or dented. The gaskets are in good shape.



No job is complete without a vigorous Thumbs-up!
Good job, Hanger of the Doors.

BUS- The Blue Goose gets a pair of gently used shoes!

I used the Samba classifieds to pick up some rims and tires from
a cool cat named Eladio in Hampton, Va.
5 rims and tires, hubcaps and beauty rings off another 77 bus.
Also picked up two new doors and bumpers.
Here's some pictures.
















The tread is good.
My old tires were dry rotted and I
needed to get some good tires. I'll get new ones
later. Budget constraints....









The hubcaps are in good condition.
Here's a tip-
To shine hubcaps- use toothpaste with a bunch of
paper towels.
Apply just like metal polish- rub in small tight circles.
Let the toothpaste dry. Rinse, repeat.
Final buff with a soft terry cloth towel.



If you have cheap chrome hubcaps-
apply car wax for protection - or -
You can buy Clear non yellowing marine spray paint.
Goes on clear, like water. Dries and provides a protective clear coat.

I used toothpaste and clear paint on
both the hubcaps and beauty rings.
The beauty rings aren't perfect, but they
add to the character of a 30 year old bus.
Shiny chrome is good chrome...







I sanded and painted the rims.
I used the Hyster low gloss paint as primer.
I followed up with Rustoleum some gloss black.
I applied the Gloss black when the Hyster was still tacky. I let the paint dry and then applied
a second coat of gloss paint.
They look snazzy.






Here's a before and after of the rims.
A big difference- I was going to go silver on the rims.
I went with black and I think it was a good choice.















Out with old and in with the "new."













Very nice. Chrome and Black
Good combo.










Here's a new tire and rim versus and old tire and rim.











The bus is starting to look better.
There's something in this picture
that the bus hasn't seen in a long time- a shiny reflection.
White and red look good so far.
I think when I install the bumpers, I'll go red.
The white bumpers will be too much.

So far so good as the bus is concerned.
I'll be doing more coats of paint on the outside and
painting the inside soon.
I'll also be installing the doors.
I'll also be doing a ton of other stuff.
More to come.