I couldn't leave the little Schuco VW Type 2 alone, you see it is fundamentally incorrect as the makers had fitted the steering wheel on the wrong side. I know in some places they think gear changing should be carried out with the right hand but those places are wrong.
So, I took the body off the chassis - pull the bumpers out to do this as it releases the parts. I broke off one lug but the others came out OK. The chassis and interior drop out but the glazing unit is harder. Mine was well glued into the top and shattered under the attention of the screwdriver rammed underneath it. Never mind.
A dunk in brake fluid didn't touch the paintwork but a dose of Nitromoors paint stripper did the job. The body casting is very high quality and finely moulded. To do the conversion properly I filed off the door handle on the (new) drivers side. The depression for fingers disappeared under a bit of filler. On the other side a piece of microstrip will be enough, I hope, to look OK. Making a dent in the diecasting isn't something I'm equipped to do !
The paint stripping removed the VW symbol on the nose but rather than try and find a transfer to replace it I made a spare wheel cover from plastic tube. This is common alteration so won't look odd. Most modern covers don't have the symbol either thanks to the efforts of Volkswagen's lawyers in chasing anyone who replicates it.
Inside the job was easier than expected. Cutting the lump that holds the wheel off the dashboard and re-gluing it on the correct side was easy with plenty of liquid plastic solvent. The dash details might be wrong but no-one will notice inside the van. I did remember to chop the spare wheel mounted on the back shelf off though as one is plenty for most drivers.
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