Itinerant Air-Cooled

Could a late bay Westy owner get me the measurement of the hinge mount board that flips over to make up the top berth? I have a '78. Need length, width and thickness.

Great, thank you.

Here ya go Ian...

45 1/2" x 24 1/2" x 3/4" thick

THall wrote:Here ya go Ian...

45 1/2" x 24 1/2" x 3/4" thick

Good man, THall. What are you doing, Ian?
Colin

Thank you, THall! I appreciate your effort to help. I'm making a new board to finish up the top berth. I completed the main section of the bed, replacing the cheesy particle board that was up there, with new, cabinet finish plywood. Big improvement in appearance, and probably 25 pounds lighter. Driving the bus, and working on the interior. I had a minor brake fluid leak from where we put the new master cylinder in. The plastic clamp on the fill hose was stripped out, so I replaced that. Otherwise, it's running, and stopping.

Jivermo wrote:Thank you, THall! I appreciate your effort to help. I'm making a new board to finish up the top berth. I completed the main section of the bed, replacing the cheesy particle board that was up there, with new, cabinet finish plywood. Big improvement in appearance, and probably 25 pounds lighter. Driving the bus, and working on the interior. I had a minor brake fluid leak from where we put the new master cylinder in. The plastic clamp on the fill hose was stripped out, so I replaced that. Otherwise, it's running, and stopping.

I've still got the one from my '75 complete with the orange plaid cushion in excellent shape, leftover from when I installed a high-top and couldn't use it anymore. Yours if you want it...

Where are you located?

Thank you, Tristessa, that is quite generous of you. I'm in Miami, but I really don't need it, as I'm doing the third coat of varnish today, and have the cushions, hinges, etc. I appreciate the offer.

No worries. I'd honestly almost forgot I had it, but found it (wrapped in contractor trashbags) in the attic yesterday when I was up there for some other stuff...

Jivermo wrote: A) cheesy particle board that was up there
new, cabinet finish plywood probably 25 pounds lighter.

B) Otherwise, it's running, and stopping.

a) Seriously? Why would VW not have gone the lighter and I thought stronger route? Unless your particle board was a home-brewed replacement . . . ?

b) Our expectations here are overweeningly grandiose . . .

Hey, you take what you can get.

Jivermo wrote:Hey, you take what you can get.

Was the particle board a factory-looking thing or did it look like a home-brewed solution?
Colin

I don't know. It was straight cut, but very dense, and weighed a lot. It was very crummy pressed wood, close to an inch thick. Who has a Westy they know to be stock? What was used up there?

Jivermo wrote:I don't know. It was straight cut, but very dense, and weighed a lot. It was very crummy pressed wood, close to an inch thick. Who has a Westy they know to be stock? What was used up there?

I do, I'll check. Which I could have done a long time ago.
Colin

Hi Ian.

If it helps at all, the flip-board in my '81 has a 5-ply plywood core measuring 12 mm thick, with an additional layer of smooth particle board-like cladding on both sides. The total thickness of the ply-with-cladding is 15 mm.

The plywood is oriented so that the outer structural layers (ie. not the particle-board-like stuff) have their grain running across the van ( ie. perpendicular to the normal travelling vector of the vehicle, if you get my drift. Well, not drift, 'cause I don't think I could drift this car)

I have a couple of lousy pictures taken with my phone camera of the edge of the plywood. Now just to figure out how to post them. I'm a bit of a social-networking Luddite, y'see.

SlowLane wrote:Hi Ian. If it helps, the flip-board in my '81 has a 5-ply plywood core measuring 12 mm thick, with an additional layer of smooth particle board-like cladding on both sides. The total thickness of the ply-with-cladding is 15 mm.

I have the plywood only, at least where I can see it . . .
Colin