1976 ‘Martini Olive’ Aussie Dormobile Kombi

[mcdonaldneal]

I’ve got Olive tidied up: door cards back on, radio/cassette in, kick panels back etc.
We have had a couple of very short trips, but this week there is a ‘coffee and classics’ meet in Crieff, Perthshire and we plan to go and then visit Shona’s sister and her family.
I thought it would be nice to have some basic information about Olive for folk at the meet, so I bashed up a card to go on the windscreen.
Fingers crossed for reasonable weather!

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1978 marino yellow Bay Dormobile camper
1969 signal orange Karmann Ghia convertible
1976 martini olive Bay Dormobile camper

Stop dead photo links! Post photos to The Samba Gallery!

[mcdonaldneal]

I really think one of the big areas Olive can be improved is the paintwork. The paint is almost all original, but quite faded and tired. I had a session in the garden today, just dealing with the roof panels, front and rear.
The sequence was wash, clay bar until smooth, compound with a dual action polisher, polish by hand, gloss protection and wax. I was fairly gentle, and the roof panels aren’t super visible but it has made a huge improvement. Some deeper scratches still there but the paint has a deeper shine and the swirls and finer scratches are mostly gone. I’m optimistic that the same process will really make the bodywork look amazing!
The pictures before are after washing but show some patchy faded areas. The gloss is hard to capture, but maybe you get the idea!

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1978 marino yellow Bay Dormobile camper
1969 signal orange Karmann Ghia convertible
1976 martini olive Bay Dormobile camper

Stop dead photo links! Post photos to The Samba Gallery!

[mcdonaldneal]

I’ve been having a think about which direction I should head in with the resto/preservation of Olive. I think the beauty is in the originality and so I want to keep and enhance the original paint and try to bring other aspects towards a ‘factory’ restoration. The seats and the rear bed and laid bay cushion have all been re-covered but I think the colour scheme would be better as the original ‘canyon brown’. Repro front seat covers seem to be basketweave with seams, but I think they would have originally been plain basketweave, as per the pictures attached. I will ask a local seat trimmer what he can do as he might make them from scratch.
The rear bed and load bay cushion would have been a striped fabric, as we still have in the orange Kombi (covered in sheepskin!) and I have a thought that I could just swap the padded parts over between the two buses as you don’t see under the sheepskin in the orange Kombi. Then the interior in Olive would look the same as when new.
Thoughts welcome about the ‘correct’ front seat patterns in particular!

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1978 marino yellow Bay Dormobile camper
1969 signal orange Karmann Ghia convertible
1976 martini olive Bay Dormobile camper

Stop dead photo links! Post photos to The Samba Gallery!

[mcdonaldneal]

I had a chance to catch up with some small jobs today. The fuel gauge sender was kaput and so I did the $1 repair with Nichrome wire. It’s still a major undertaking but at least now I’ll have some idea of fuel level!

Post pasted from the repair thread…

[jackthepom]

Could I please ask where you got the access hole cover plate from? looks great

[mcdonaldneal]

[mcdonaldneal]

Winter update:
Temps have been below freezing here for a while but I have managed to make some progress with Olive.
I was due a trip to our (not very) local metal blaster and powder coater, so there were a few parts from Olive that needed attention:
Both bumpers had been horribly overpainted in a bright white by brushing, but luckily there was a patch of original paint behind the number plate! I drilled holes for the number plate mount bolts before the blasting trip and hammered flat a few dents and bends. The brackets and bolts will get powdered the same colour.
The rear bumper was actually mounted onto a heavy duty tow bar, which used the bumper mounts and so the bumper jutted a little to the rear. I will delete the tow bar and replace the bumper to its original position. The gravel guard was still in place and the condition of the inside of the bumpers is really excellent with just very light surface rust. The powder coat guy couldn’t believe the Kombi is nearly 48yrs old. Thank goodness for the Canberra climate!
The roo bars needed one of the bolts grinding off but in themselves are in a good state too. I wasn’t sure what colour to go for, but in the spirit of like-for-like I’m going for a very dark grey.

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1978 marino yellow Bay Dormobile camper
1969 signal orange Karmann Ghia convertible
1976 martini olive Bay Dormobile camper

Stop dead photo links! Post photos to The Samba Gallery!

[mcdonaldneal]

I picked up the bumpers and roo bars from the powder coaters and they are looking awesome! There was enough original,paint on the bumper to get a match and the roo bars are a very dark grey. The colour code reminder on the tape is so that I can remember it if I need other parts the same colour!
Also I visited an auto upholsterer and have managed to get a sample of VW Basketweave vinyl material and I have ordered some of the brown (darker) to have the front seats and the little seat by the cooker re-covered.

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1978 marino yellow Bay Dormobile camper
1969 signal orange Karmann Ghia convertible
1976 martini olive Bay Dormobile camper

Stop dead photo links! Post photos to The Samba Gallery!

[The Volkswagen Ranch]

Those bumpers look great! The dark grey for the roo bars also was a good choice. Bob
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1963 Convertible (Lizzie) and 1964 Convertible (Patience) 1976 Westfalia (Winnie)

[mcdonaldneal]

We have been away on an extended trip and now we are back it is time to make progress with Olive!
The first day back I dropped off the front seats and the buddy seat with the trimmer along with the chocolate brown basketweave vinyl. The colour is darker than original but the style will be like the original commercial seats with no piping.
Today was fine weather, so I rolled Olive out into the sun and started sliding door repairs. The nylon block is broken and I want to refresh the slider hinge and catch. First step is simple: remove the cover plate…
Oh dear! Not so simple after all! After soaking in penetrant, I removed the screws, but no amount of hammering on a wooden block, levering with trim tools or forcing upwards with long clamps would shift the cover plate. I couldn’t work out why, unless, unless, the after market sliding rear window/fly screen was stopping the plate moving up??
I managed to remove the window frame, which was kind of screwed on from the inside, with a rubber seal outside, and then of course the cover plate came up easily. Phew!
I removed the ‘U’ hinge and catch and I will clean them up later, as well as the roller bearings, track and window frame. I might need to touch up with some paint while I’m there. Overall, looks pretty good though!

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1978 marino yellow Bay Dormobile camper
1969 signal orange Karmann Ghia convertible
1976 martini olive Bay Dormobile camper

Stop dead photo links! Post photos to The Samba Gallery!

[NASkeet]

[mcdonaldneal]

[NASkeet]

[mcdonaldneal]

Thanks again Nigel. I will ask Craig if he can send pictures and hopefully part numbers. I will pass them on to you!

In other news, I had time today for the very satisfying job of cleaning and dismantling the sliding door hinge assembly and the ‘open door hold back book’.
The nylon block had sheared and as before I drilled out the rivet and secured the new block with a bolt and nylon nut.

Some pics:

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1978 marino yellow Bay Dormobile camper
1969 signal orange Karmann Ghia convertible
1976 martini olive Bay Dormobile camper

Stop dead photo links! Post photos to The Samba Gallery!

[NASkeet]

Whilst you are sorting out your sliding-door gear, you might want to make one of these sliding-door pull-close straps or handles.

[mcdonaldneal]

Thanks Nigel, some very good information there. I like the idea of the closing assist strap!
The handbrake and gear stick are just on an example picture that I found to illustrate the ‘seamless’ basketweave vinyl that I think was issued with (some?) commercial buses. As far as I can tell, that is the style that ‘Olive’ would have had and I am having made up.
Her handbrake does resemble the one in the picture though, and a brake adjustment is on my list!
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1978 marino yellow Bay Dormobile camper
1969 signal orange Karmann Ghia convertible
1976 martini olive Bay Dormobile camper

Stop dead photo links! Post photos to The Samba Gallery!

[mcdonaldneal]

I made progress with the sliding door refresh today. The upper and lower roller assemblies were predictably filthy and although I removed the circlips, my puny wiper puller could not remove the lower rollers from their shafts and so I cleaned them in situ and regreased. The upper roller even still had the felt washer, which I cleaned and oiled.
The lower roller bracket had two shims installed from assembly, which of course I replaced and the upper bracket was just bare metal underneath, which I guess is because the vehicle would have been assembled from parts in Victoria (and painted afterwards!)
I was going to paint the sliding door track, but really the only parts with bare metal are where the roller runs (which would rub off anyway) so I am going to leave it as is.

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1978 marino yellow Bay Dormobile camper
1969 signal orange Karmann Ghia convertible
1976 martini olive Bay Dormobile camper

Stop dead photo links! Post photos to The Samba Gallery!

[Willin]

Hi Neal!
Love your posts! Wish my cat liked riding around with me in my bus!
Since you seem to have your sliding door all apart, could you, Please, look at the hole in the door for the operation lever?
I posted a question about this on my thread @ Willin73. Yesterday.
I either "Stumped the Band" or nobody looks at my thread, but I have not gotten a response.
Is that inner piece in the hole fixed? Or loose? Is the lock the same as my 73? In the lever? Maybe the hole is the same? I guess I should have looked at a 76 door before I asked?
TIA
Jim
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73 bus. Org. 1700 with dual Weber 40 idfs, bus header with Empi qp muffler, CB magnaspark 2 " ready to run kit".

[mcdonaldneal]

[Willin]

OK, Thanks for looking.
Jim
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73 bus. Org. 1700 with dual Weber 40 idfs, bus header with Empi qp muffler, CB magnaspark 2 " ready to run kit".