Worlds longest resto?

[nobbly]

Thanks Lee C and kevinhall

So, more making holes to fill them in again today!

I couldn't face removing the engine and fuel tank to replace a dodgy sender, so a hatch was required. I used some of the engine access hatch that I chopped out to make the frame around my cut.


Then see how it looks. Cool. Just needs some rivnuts in the holes and some seam sealer


In other news, a bit of a measure before chopping up the sound deadening panels...


Then make good the bottom of the 'C' posts and slap on some rust preventive primer where the bulkhead has been repaired above the cargo floor


Then off home for a beer in the sunshine, followed by a curry!! arty0021:

 

[nobbly]

Hey everyone, there's some primer in the engine bay!



Another coat tomorrow, then some neptune blue. Mmmmm. arty0051:

 

[nobbly]

Good day on the van last Saturday, despite wanting to go out and enjoy the sun, I decided to crack on with the van instead...

Grey becomes blue...


Got two good coats on before lunch, the paint (2k) had cured by 2pm, so started fitting up.

Loads of waxoyl, I mean LOADS!!!




Tank in...


Sound deadening stuck in place and modified retaining plates trial fitted OK. New tank filler flexible hose and all breather hoses renewed too.

Firewall fitted... ti-dy!


That'll do for now, back on it tomorrow night

See ya!

 

[Lee C]

Looking good arty0049:

 

[nobbly]

Got 1/2 day on the van today

Gear linkage rod re-bushed and fitted...


Lower front panel clamped and cut ready to weld in...


I couldn't fit it without giving her face a wash first though


That's the last of the blue :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: paint gone! Oh, apart from half the tailgate

Made lots of dust!


Swept that up and called it a night for the footy.

1-1 was predictable, but England played well in a real competitive match :shock:

 

[nobbly]

Got a couple of hours work done today.

Some faffing around with the inner front valance prior to fitting the outer and a quick try on of the 'new' badge



Oh yeah, did I say the tailgate needed the horrid blue paint removing? Good lad Tom!!!



Also welded up a few PO holes in the front panel :roll:

I think that I can smell victory. Oh, that isn't victory

 

[nobbly]

Wee bit more done tonight...

Some more filling/block sanding...





... and welded up the aerial hole in the roof... without burning a hole in the headlining

Having motivational issues with this body prep though boring.

 

[nobbly]

A bit more progress today, baby steps but getting there.

This morning I got the tombstones dry fitted and fiddled about with position and mountings. Quite a simple job without any real problems. I just had to make a couple of 20mm spacers for the inner seat runner (you can see them sitting on the arch).



Man they look nice :msn4: and are really comfy



Then some fine filler on the side panel and killed any potential rust on the rear panel :ghoul:


Just needs flatting and might get this side primed tomorrow :rocknroll:

 

[nobbly]

Awesome progress today, at it all day like a man posessed!

Finally the drivers side became flat, or as flat as my limited body repair skills allow :roll:





Some wire wheeling and rust treatment on the cargo floor...



This has been a long time coming...

PRIMER!!!!!



At last she looks like someone loves her

 

[sparkywig]

 

[ozziedog]

One small step for man kind and all that sort of stuff That could be the finest bit of primering in the universe and for me that would also be the incentive and boost so give yourself a huge man size pat on the back. There are certain bits and moments of a resto that are milestones and fantastic when they arrive, I'm so chuffed for you :mrgreen:

Ozziedog,,,,,,,won't be too long now :mrgreen:

 

[nobbly]

Cheers Sparky wig and Ozziedog

As my pal said the other night "It's actually happening!!" In search of a 'quick win' I slapped some primer on the cargo floor etc...



Anyway, one step forward....

... trying to be lazy, I had decided to give the roof a quick 'skiffle' over (it didn't look too bad) to provide a key for the new paint. However (I'm not sure this is a strength or a weakness), I just couldn't do a "less than good" job and began to sand the many layers of paint...



... about three hours in...



... six hours, about a million cubic feet of compressed air and over 100 sanding discs later...



I ran out of 80 grit discs about 2/3 of the way through, so had to use 120s, it took for-flipping-ever! Glad I did though as I found some water trapped beneath the paint in several areas, and the beginnings of corrosion in these areas.

So it was back to the local beer, cider and music festival to reflect on a job well done and unwind... aaaahh! That's better.

 

[nobbly]

Oh yeah, if you're interested in food, beer and song in a beautiful Cumbrian village next year

http://www.cumbriacrack.com/2016/06/22/kirkoswald-beer-cider-music-festival-2/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Camping nearby here... http://www.edenvalleycaravansite.co.uk/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

or about a mile away here... http://www.lazonbypool.co.uk/camp-site.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

This weekend has been bloomin' brilliant!!

 

[abby]

Ooooh this resto gets me all excited! Can't wait to see the next instalment. opcorn:

Starting our bodywork in a couple of months and could not be looking forward to it any more! :mrgreen:

 

[nobbly]

@ abby - body prep is a pig. I'm not a professional, so am learning on the job. My standards are improving, so I keep going back to areas that were 'good enough' when I did them, (i.e. before I got a bit more skilful), so I'm doing it all twice! Very much getting there now though. If you're doing any of your own prep and are a beginner, give me a PM and I can tell you everything I've got wrong!!!

Anyway, progress and Propex...

After seeing a thread on TLB about fitting your Propex in the wasted space under the drivers seat (RHD) I thought I'd give it a go.

This is the bit you chop out. Now you see it,


Now you don't,


Trial fit in the hole,


Tight, but it fits,


Made a bracket for it to sit on, plan is to screw this to the floor and make a strap to go over the heater unit and hold it down,




Holes cut for inlet/exhaust under wheelarch, and outlet vent through bulkhead into load space...




Meanwhile, I also got the roof primed



And the tailgate



Just the drivers door to prep and prime now. It's a rust free replacement, but not dent free :roll:

If that goes well, I'm gonna try and get her painted this weekend. Oooh, exciting!

 

[nobbly]

Bonny outside the workshop on Wednesday, stormy at times, but nice rainbows!



Meanwhile inside the view wasn't so good!


That scary guy got the front panel primed though


Last night was a few hours wet flatting the roof. All was going fine until blood started appearing?? Turns out I'd worn through the end of my little finger, the 3 others are sore too. Owww! Applied masking tape plasters and carried on - it's only a flesh wound!

 

[nobbly]

Couldn't do any rubbing down today, fingers too sore from last nights wet flatting



So, I decided to do a job I'd been putting off for a while... repairing the bumper steps. After seeing what folk are charging for these, repair was the only viable option :evil:

Both sides needed attention, so step rubbers off and out with the grinder...



I used some paint on the step rubber 'pegs' to help with marking the places for the holes to go..



Repeat for the other side...



To be honest this wasn't too hard to do, don't know why I'd been hand-bagging it for so long! Just had time to wire-wheel the irons before it was curry o'clock



Another job ticked off arty0053:

 

[nobbly]

Saturday...

Bumper looking scabby,


Just add an 11 year old and a 4" grinder! Taa dah...


He's pleased with the results,


Steps and bumper primed,




Good day had by all

 

[nobbly]

Sunday...

Bumper irons coated in satin black,


Spent a few minutes teaching boy #2 how to weld :idea:


Paint tin lid and the fuel sender access hatch painted,


Oh, and the rest of the inside of the van
arty0023:






Yeeeeeessssss!

 

[nobbly]

Hey, I've got a white roof!



... and it's shiny, with just a couple of flies in it!



Loving this part of the resto