Had a few extra hours on Saturday so I headed up to Orangeburg to a friend’s VW junkyard. Always enjoy going. Not a huge number of buses, but enough that I can usu find what I need, within reason. I needed the passenger’s side rear area of the rear wheel.
I purchased a panel new that I had hoped would work, but again, the sheetmeal was too thin and wasn’t close to fitting the original contours. So, I was able to get a good piece that goes from the rear wheelwell all the way to the taillight. I still need to trim out what’s left of the battery tray from the piece and have it sandblasted.
Now that I have what I need in regards to the rear, I should be able to start removing the necessary metal to install the new battery tray. At least I can dryfit the battery tray with the piece I just purchased to check the fit prior to installing.
I also was able to find one plug that fits in the small holes on each side of the rear view mirror. There was a second one but it was so brittle that it broke as I tried to remove. Checked out a few more buses for the front step areas and front floors. I think I found about 3 or 4 buses that I should be able to get to repair the area on my bus.
Through this whole process I have learned a valuable lesson. IF I’m able to find a bus to remove the original metal in good shape, I will certainly do that instead of using ordered repair panels.