For the past 2 months Festival Brides have been following Buttercup Bus VW Camper Hire’s restoration of an original vintage VW campervan aptly named Buttercup (if you missed Part 1 please click here).
We promised to cover all the blood, sweat and tears that’s involved in getting one of these amazing old skool campers fully restored and road worthy for weddings, especially ones with the festival vibe, and I’m pleased to say the next instalment from Nathalie doesn’t disappoint…………………
“Buttercup Bus VW campers are currently restoring their third vintage campervan, ready to grace the roads in spring, 2012.
We are following this journey to see Buttercup transform from an ugly duckling to a beautiful pale yellow and white camper.
After having Buttercups’s gear box successfully fitted, she was securely stored, waiting for her appointment at the “surgery”, where her bodywork would commence.
Bodywork can take many hours of hard labour, and it was important to find a skilled and trusted contact. Gary at Auto Crash in Croydon proved to be that knight in shining armour.
On removal of poor old Buttercup’s face, the level or rot to be cut out and replaced really illustrated the importance of fitting a whole new front panel.
Buttercup is off her face – poor old girl.... even the metal beneath her face is as perforated as a teabag!
Just look at all the rot in that front bumper – thank goodness we have just had a new front panel shipped all the way from the dry state of California! It was salvaged from another old camper, destined for the graveyard. (Bring on the violins…)
And here she is, with her face removed, awaiting her new parts.
This corner fell off when shutting the driver’s rusty door – but that’s OK, because we have already
purchased a whole spare door to replace it!
The wheel arches also need replacing, and so were purchased, ready to fit.
There are more pictures to come over the next few weeks, as Buttercup slowly gets transformed into a beautiful camper – just as she was meant to be.
Hopefully these pictures will give you an idea of the work and care that goes into the restoration of these buses… not to mention the thousands of pounds in parts and labour! Ouch!
But when you get to see the final “before and after” pictures, and having seen the full restoration journey, Buttercup will become even more special!”
Many thanks to Nathalie for sharing Part 2 with us. I’m looking forward to seeing what’s in store for Buttercup in Part 3!
If you are interested in hiring a camper for your wedding or self drive/holiday, please contact Nathalie:
Email: enquiries@buttercupbus.com
Mobile: 07899 965903
Website: www.buttercupbus.com
All images provided by Buttercup Bus VW Camper Hire.
Happy Monday Peeps – hope this week is a good one!
Big Love
Festival Brides x
Delphine Manivet is only available at Browns Bride in the UK – 12 HINDE STREET, LONDON, W1U 3BE
