www.dsk.com.au

Steve Keeley wrote:Thanks for the prompt Ian- have had a go at restoring the original steering wheel, why not? Came out all right I think- lots of tips on you tube etc. I used araldite to re-shape the finger detents, and epoxy for the cracks. The parallel decorative ridges were the most tricky. silver beige.

If it doesn't last too bad, I will use it as the daily drive wheel, keep the NOS one as NOS!. happy with that Matt?

I found painting mine a real bastard too. After the 3rd time stuffing it up I went with a cut and polish of the black and no clear.
I do think keeping a NOS wheel in the cupboard is crazy. Maybe you could have a special pocket made and you drive with the restored wheel and put the NOS one on at shows

Bus is looking great, I might try and pop up at some stage.

Looking good Steve - the colour in those pics is great. Keep up the good work.

I still think you are holding back on the pictures, I heard a rumour it was painted?. McValla debut?

gear box now in- pics tomorrow, but other work- assembled rubbers/felts in the cab door frames, more prep on the seat frames, dabbled in zinc plating- surprisingly good results. I will be using most of the original fasteners, zinc plating where it was done originally. Fiddly but works. Also bought some German square weave (blue 107) - yet to measure cut and bind.

also- my latest interest: Gedore tools - see a post much earlier in the thread. Have picked up some fine stuff - many do not know the brand so still way cheaper than HAzet. Made in the same town in Germany as HAzet.
For those looking for this brand- also made in South Africa and India. Will be marked on the tool, in general I avoid these.

Also a big fan of the German gedore tools great quality

gear box in . Shift rod , coupler, managed to find the correct retaining screw tool. Makes the job easy!

You can also see the reinforcing bracket ( copying the factory install ) for the seat belt mounts - third pic down.

Looking good Steve. Does this mean you’re home?

front end in- big mistake before completing all the brake hard lines- but easy to remove now! Sharp eyes will pick the CSP disc rotor - for 14" wheels.
Still working on the zinc plating, sorting the little things, but distracted by the need to work on the Ghia (T34).

Steve Keeley wrote:front end in- big mistake before completing all the brake hard lines- but easy to remove now! Sharp eyes will pick the CSP disc rotor - for 14" wheels.
Still working on the zinc plating, sorting the little things, but distracted by the need to work on the Ghia (T34).

Getting close now. Don’t waste your time on the ghia, Valla has been postponed by 12 months! Get this bus driving.

trim restoration- I am trying to use as much of the original fittings, fasteners ... as possible. Thus the zinc plating, and now working on the trim. I bought a DA air sander, saves time as the trim was quite pitted. Starting with 240 grit, all the way to 2000 before getting out the rouge.
The two sections- one yet to be sanded, the other after 1000 grit. I will post pics once finished. I use a foam backed hook and loop pad to manage the curves.

Looking great. I used a block and paper and then steel wool (stainless) and finally rouge. Not a fun job. For the longsides I screwed them to a 2x4 and put the piece in the vice. Had a stool on casters and progressed my way along the piece over a period of about 4 weeks. No fingerprints left by the end.

Zimblewinder wrote:Looking great. I used a block and paper and then steel wool (stainless) and finally rouge. Not a fun job. For the longsides I screwed them to a 2x4 and put the piece in the vice. Had a stool on casters and progressed my way along the piece over a period of about 4 weeks. No fingerprints left by the end.

great idea on the stool Zim, would save the back for sure! -as I get ready to get out there again and I have yet to tackle the long side.. whilst for the straight pieces screwing down helps immensely, for the curved front and door pieces not so easy. Thus the resort to an air DA palm sander. Much quicker.

Zimblewinder wrote:Looking great. I used a block and paper and then steel wool (stainless) and finally rouge. Not a fun job. For the longsides I screwed them to a 2x4 and put the piece in the vice. Had a stool on casters and progressed my way along the piece over a period of about 4 weeks. No fingerprints left by the end.

Looking great Steve - second the steel wool, used it on mine and it came up a treat.

a little more done- all cables in, pedals etc restored and fitted , front and rear NOS Koni shocks (with 211 part #) that have sat waiting patiently to be used! When re-fitting the brake pedal push rod actuation lever it took me a while to figure out how- you cannot fit the woodruff key before the lever, the lever needs to be oriented correctly on the shaft, then the woodruff key can be angled into position and with tapping gently it will slide into position to allow the lever to slide fully on.

Cab air vent - tip here 1. lower mounting screw will be seen so use a shiny one here.2. easiest way to fit the restored mechanism- assemble , string through the top mounting hole of the vent, through both hinge holes and back out the Lower hole on both vent flaps, then pull the mechanism into place and the actuating spindle now positioned. Check the hinge flap sits under the locating tab (you can see this from the rear of the vent) -if this is correct the screws now should be easy to fit.