Hapy New Year

Duh... Failed to put a title on this one.  I'll blame the post holi-daze. So, Hapy NewYear everyone.  I have spent a few hours playing with the bus, and I'll cover that first.  Otherwise, its been a week with the boys, and I'll touch on some of our adventures as well.

Slider Window Install

window in
color sanded paint looks shiny, eh?

The week started with getting the jalousie (jealous) window installed into the sliding door.  For all the other windows, there is a rubber seal that you really have to work onto the glass.  Then, you use the rope trick to get the seal-rimmed glass into the hole and sealed.  The jalousie window is different.  It is held in with a bunch of screws, and the rubber seal doesn't go over any lip in the door.  I tried to seat the window, but it wouldn't.  Maybe it was the new paint gripping the rubber.  I wasn't sure, so I color sanded the new white with very very fine sand paper.  Even then, and after cleaning the powder dust with cleanser the window wouldn't go in.  Finally, I ran a bead of KY jelly along the edge of the hole in the door.  This removed the friction problem, and I was able to force the window into place.  It didn't go easily; in fact, I needed to lightly smack the rear-end with a rubber mallet.  Once in-place, the window was simply screwed down.  Word of caution: do not use lubricant when installing a window that is not a-fixed with screws or bolts, otherwise it will not hold under pressure (read: collision).

Fixing a Hole Where the Rain Gets In

tools for patching a hole

In the 1972 Westy, there was originally a sink / ice box behind the front passenger seat.  This unit requires 2 drains: one for the sink and one for the melting ice from the ice box.  The drains route through a hole in the floor.  Well, 2 holes if you consider the hole in the floor and then another below it in a belly pan.  The sink / ice box units came with rubber seals to keep road moisture from coming up and in.  When I removed the old unit, I didn't address the hole that was left behind.  Years ago, when I bought the 1979 Westy interior, I installed the kitchenette / sink-hob down to the pair of holes in the floor.  Now that I no longer have the 1979 kitchen, I no longer need the corresponding holes in the floor.

driver-side hole patch

To fix a hole in a place where it really can't be seen, its much easier than "real" bodywork.  I got some aluminum sheets for the install of the radiator unit, and I had a bunch left over.  I cut a small square and bent it to fit the contour of the belly pan (see picture, there's a rectangular bump-out over a flat-file).  I drilled 3 (1/8") holes on each side and then a-fixed the patch with rivets.  I'll shoot the patch with under-body rubber stuff so it seals tight.  Later, I'll put something in the body cavity to reduce road noise.  We know we want whatever I put in there to be closed-cell, so any moisture that could get in doesn't get absorbed.  I have a roll of that foil insulation I could use, but I don't think it is very effective at absorbing noise.... at least not as effectively as it insulated temperature.  I may put some down on the bottom anyway.  Once I figure that out, I'll patch the hole in the floor.  While I think about it, I'll patch the floor in the belly pan from the original ice box / sink unit.

Holidaze
It's been an interesting holiday season, switching from no kids to a house full of them and, soon, back again.  Boo and I hosted my extended family holiday event and laid-low on the actual Christmas eve and day.  For NewYearsEve, we took 6 kids up to SkiBowl for Cosmic Tubing.  The Tubing was fun, and SkiBowl put on a great time even with hardly any snow.  The resort is effectively closed pending snow, and the others aren't much further along.  Without some fresh snow, they will have to start shutting down lifts too.  We hit Timberline on the 27th (our anniversary), and the snow was pounded flat with a little powder on top.  That was a week ago, and they haven't gotten any freshies since.  I don't think I'll go back until something comes from the sky.  Hopefully, that'll be very very soon.

That's it for now.  Thanks for following along.