After some serious elbow grease getting the body in primer we decided to convert the camper to a Samba, what were we thinking…..
We felt like we’d moved on a serious amount. Everyone was happy with overall fit and finish of the body. The next job? Converting this wonderful Splitty into a 23 Window Samba. Let’s see how we got on.
The first thing we’d like to say is; don’t try this at home children! The second thing; measure twice, cut once. Always.
As always, we like to start with a plan. This one needed to be good. We were taking the roof skin off, removing & re-installing the roof supports, removing the outer guttering, replacing the roof skin with both inner and outer window sections, oh, and then installing a full sun roof. Phew. Take a breath.
The kit needing unpacking. Once we’d done that, the task did not diminish. It is a fabulous kit. The suppliers have literally thought of everything.
Using a nibbler and grinder to get clean lines, the outer roof skin was relatively easy to remove. Now there really was no going back. Next time we share even more of this intricate installation as it gets really interesting, can’t wait? unfortunately you’re going to have to as we have to wrap this edition up to chase some more classics…..
Then it was time to take even more careful measurements. It looked good so using a double sided spot welder it was time for the pieces to be securely welded in place. Bravery pills at the ready, please.
Tidying up the welds with a grinding disc back to bare metal and a final light skim of filler coupled with high build primer was all that was needed to hand before we tackled the extra side windows to turn it into an iconic 23 window Samba. We’ll tackle that in our next instalment so keep checking back next month for what we expect to be an even more dramatic tale!
