Merry Christmas - God Jul!

Another year has passed, and this year as well have brought several good VW moments.My year started with sorting out the Abarth carburator kit, and after a lot of troubleshooting making it run properly.

http://52zwitter.blogspot.com/2009/06/hessisch-around-corner.html

The highlight of the year was definitely the trip to Hessisch oldendorf in Germany for the historic VW gathering there. A trip planned several years ahead, and the feeling of driving a self built car on the Autobahn is just something else. And the atmosphere in Germany was outstanding!

http://52zwitter.blogspot.com/2009/09/oslo-hessisch-roundtrip.html

Next thing out was the trip to Telemark in Norway to lift Mortens samba bus out of the water. A really nice trip, and a moment to remember for sure.

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=372048&highlight=samba+norway

After waiting a long time, I finally could roll a 1953 Barndoor into the workshop this autumn. Although I don't have the time to jump right into the project, I got a little done this year after all.

http://52zwitter.blogspot.com/2009/11/pre-restoration.html

Our engagement in the SCC vintage village paid off this year as well, as we gathered a lot of quality cars, and set a new Norwegian record with 4 schwimmwagens on the water at one time.

http://outlavws.blogspot.com/2009/08/der-propellenfuhrer.html

Thank you all visitors,new and old friends for a very good year, and I wish you all a good aircooled 2010!

Vintage Barn of the week #8

The mother of all Barndoor projects, the "Kempes" van. Going into the christmas holidays you should have plenty of time to read the incredible Kempes story on the Split Screen Camper Van forum: http://www.ssvc.org.uk/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=35155

This is so inspiring reading... Enjoy!

Old Norwegian BD photo

Found this one on the web. Described to be a bakery van from the vestern part of Norway. Really cool I must say, with two tone paint and signwriting =)

Vintage Barn of the week #7

This BD I know nothing about. Not sure if it's restored and drivable, or just a mock up on wheels.Looks a little windy to drive =) I like the look of the mag wheels. Classic and simple...

Vintage Barn of the week #6

This week I have found some pictures of a swedish barndoor. It's so cool with it's unrestored looks. But technically it has to be sound, because this van is driven everywhere across Europe. These pictures were taken in Hessisch Oldendorf this summer, a long waqy from it's origin in Sweden.

Reinforcements

A little inspired from the lessions at Norwegian Hammerworks, I had to find out what we could do with the tool in our garage. Bending metal shouldn't be that hard, so I tried some easy profiles for a start. Because everything is gone in the frame of the BD I measured as good as possible and made the two crossmembers. The one in front is already on it's way from south america, but I used it as a trial piece and I'll have it as a spare. The rear one worked out OK. I made them in two pieces, and will weld them toghether when mounted. I think I will have to do the same to the top hats, as my plan is to keep the cargofloor in the van. The 1,5 mm steel was about the limit of our tool for bending metal.

As for other progress, the gearbox and rear suspension is fully removed from the car. It's a painstaking job to take a rusted out wreck apart. Evertything is stuck beyond imagination...

Things brake and fall apart, but I try to keep up with fixing it instantly, as I did to the lever shock and door hinge.

Hinge repair

When I removed the passenger door from the BD the upper ear on the upper hinge broke off. I posted earlier that I was not sure what to do; replace or repair. Given the result from the lever shock welding, I figured I would give repairing a shot. I grinded all the edges to get a deep weld penetration, as the surface of welding was very limited here. I heated the pieces and welded with the door bolt as a guide. This also turned out well, and no visible cracks to be seen. I will settle with this repair, and now proceed with the rest of the repair on this door, and keep the original hinge.The weld seen across the hinge is some old repair with oxy-acetylen solder. Will take care of that later.

Lever shocks #2

The lever shock that I welded was operating OK, and the arm could be moved up and down. The other one is siezed, and I opened it up after cleaning it. Acording to the workshop manual, the shock should be filled with hydraulic oil, but the shock was completely dried out inside. I filled it with oil now and will let it soak for a while. If that doesn't do it, I will soak the entire shock in diesel oil. The cool thing about this shock, is that some of the original paint is hidden under the rust. It will be enough to get the correct color to paint them again.

The welded shock will also be opened and oil-treated.

Lever shocks #1

As I have started to take the BD apart, there is a lot of parts that need attention. Among these are the two lever shocks, ancient rear shock absorbers. One of them was damaged and fell apart when I loosened the bolts. They are made of cast iron, and I was not sure if it could be fixed. But I followed the procedures for welding cast iron, found on the internet =). The trick, as I read, is to warm the two pices before welding, keeping it warm during welding, and cooling it slowly. I think the result look Ok, and hopefully it will be strong enough. I guess we have to find out the hard way... Covered it with some primer for storage for now.

A pinch of salt?

It's not a Barndoor I know, but still a really cool setting. I really like the vintage racing bike and the service van together. Perfect couple =)