Date:         Fri, 05 Apr 1996 18:14:12 +2910
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         Kevin Murray <volkfolks@atlantic.net>
Subject:      Nose job ! (f) (loongish)

A Vanagon list query....How many busfolk (specifically splittie patrons and matrons)
have an unsightly frontside (On the bus that is!) that even the large chrome emblem
can't conceal?

I've got a Deluxe that looks(ed) like it impacted a Studabaker head to head and lost.
There were so many contusions, bumps, gashes and divets in the nose from where the spare
tire was mounted (and crushed!) that I needed to take contour measurements from a good
nose just to try to reshape what was left of the metal back into position. Last count
there were 28 interdependant contours on the nose of a stock splittie. Mine had hundreds!

Originally I posted a request for info/advice hoping i'd find someone who had replaced the 
nose skin on theirs and could walk me through the procedure. A few replied wanting to
hear the outcome so's I thought I'd reply public cause it has been 7/8 months or so since
I originally wrote ( well, I've been busy and the cat frupped on my keyyboard whch make
legiibiility iffy!)

I'll "try" to keep this short and concise.

I tried the conventional hammer and dolly after weldng up the rips in the nose, but there
were sooo many bumps from where the PPO (Previous Previous owner) had hammered out the
worst of the indentations that I was left with alot of stretched metal with nowhere to go.

I redid the nose three times, primered it, then took it back down and hammered some more...
If it were not for the fact that the rest of the bus just recieved the royal treatment of a
beautiful Jade green/warm White Imron I would almost have been able to leave the nose as it
was, but after dryfitting the deluxe trim I saw new divets I'd neglected before and decided
then and there to throw caution to the wind.

I have/had a donor nose clip I had scored awhile back from an unlucky Kombi whos rear had
met an untimely end. Truth be told I had been peeping out how to best remove the skin
without rendering it scrap for months.  Lots of spot welds/seams and folded vanity strips
I'll tell you.

Here goes.... To fully remove skin intact!

Grind off vanity strip seam around both doors
Grind off vanity strip seam along belt line (behnd where the bumper mounts)
Drill out spot welds (one every inch and a half along belt line) with a spot weld cutter
Cut (I used plasma, but Oxy or air chisel should work) windsheld frame open and seperate
the dashboard from the nose skin as the spotwelds which tie the nose in up top are located
behind the skin....

Or, in my case....to remove the bobo nose!

I grabbed my AEG cutter and starting at the passenger turn signal hole cut up towards the
windsheld, hung a right and proceeded in a clockwise motion until i had a nice big gapeing
hole where once my nose was... Looks kinda like that "Communion" character.
Now that I had an opening in which to work I nibbled away the noseskin until I was left just
enough to make a shelf for my replacement skin.  The sides as they are too close to the door
pillars will be welded as overlap, but I wanted to flange (or step) the top part by the 
windsheilds for strength and so no seam would be visible.

A few unknown points in favor of removing your nose...

1.Get access to all that change/loot that fell behind those kick panels
2.Makes rewiring the main wiring harness a breeze
3.Can "Ospho" the heck outta the hard to get to parts up front!
4.Great time to replace that dashboard speaker!
5.Easier to put those new pedal pads on!


Lesson learned
 Sometimes it is easier to chop off my nose in spite of my face....


P.S. FWIW if anyone would like to see the visual effects/progress i did manage to
scan in a short series of pics which I will eventually include in our webpage when
and IF I ever get time to finish... Any HTML gurus out there with too much spare
time on their hands?

Kevin

P.S.S. I did this WHILE listening to the Greatful Dead and licking my Vanagon sticker!