1980 Austin Princess mild custom - 1951 Lanchester LD10

Go for the van, don't let people put you off.

Vans are cool. Two examples on here are the Passat and the PT Cruiser - both seemingly built on a budget and a big step into the unknown when making good. However, I echo the sentiments of others r.e funding issues. If you're struggling to afford £160, I wouldn't even entertain the idea of chopping the R6 around. Doesn't it need engine, brakes, tyres and the like before you even consider an MOT? Get the welding on the Princess done when you can afford it, tick the box and then make the Renault roadworthy when funds allow.

DIY van ideas

* do not* move the B-posts or you are into IVA/BIVA inspection stuff (welding up rear doors is allowed without IVA/BIVA )

Get it up to MOT standard before starting any van conversion work.
Avoid any non-reversible changes where possible, but that's no reason not to have fun with it
I'd miss the access if I locked the rear doors on mine - something to think about before sealing the rear doors

Keeping the rear doors : remove side & back-door windows & rubbers, fix rust scabs around the window, make steel infill panels to fit flush around the window recess, spot-weld in place for security, seam sealer around the edge, repaint the whole side of the car.

If you're happy to loose the rear doors : remove side & back-door windows & rubbers,fix rust scabs around the window,  make steel infill panels to fit window recess, spot-weld in place, seam sealer around the edge, tiger-seal around the rear door to fill the gap, bodge & sand over that to blend door into the rear panel, repaint the whole side of the car. Front seats will need to tilt to allow access to rear seats if you're keeping them.

 

urgh... I'm not kicking that hornet's nest in the face with flip flops on.

I am still very taken with the van idea and the options. I'm not going to weld up the back doors, I'm only going to panel the rear windows and even then it'll be done in such a way that it can be reverted if need be at a later date. It'll look cool, it'll work for what I want and it won't cost the earth. With that said, I'm hitting the reset button and getting on with the important business of telling you what I've been up to today.

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Bank Holiday Monday, traditional for doing stuff you want to do just because. Who am I to argue with tradition? Started small by polishing the hubcaps, because I could. Interestingly, shortly after getting the Renault home I found a set of NOS hubcaps for 20 Euros on Leboncoin. I didn't buy them because I didn't think they were too important but now I'm thinking they could have been a wise purchase. Mind you, I have heard Leboncoin is difficult to buy from if you're not in France.


That wasn't too hard to do. I might do the bumpers to match. Next, turned my attention to the roof. If I'm to do anything with the Renault I need to sort this roof out. Shiny new set of hammer and dollies were available to me and with the headlining out I could hopefully get to the worst of the dents. First I had to work out how to remove the headlining itself, I was expecting it to be held into the window surrounds, which it was on the rear quarter lights that were easy to remove. At the back, there's a plastic strip attached to the headlining that pushes under a metal groove/flange thing, the only way I could see to remove this was to carefully pry it out with a screwdriver.


That meant I could work out how to remove the sides. Unlike the rear plastic strip, the sides have a barbed groove/flange that the headlining fabric is stuffed into, the fabric held up with conventional wires across the width of the shell. For the most part, it was easy to remove without damaging the fabric and I was well on track to removing the headlining whole which is not always possible.


Unfortunately as I got closer to the gutter damage over the front doors I found the headlining had gone brittle and no matter how careful I was it tore on the edges in a way I won't be able to repair or refit. Thankfully, it looks like an easy headlining to make and refit. The nail in the coffin for the original was when I got to the windscreen. I had intended to leave the windscreen in and carefully bundle the headlining on the dash board but as I free the fabric from near the A pillars it just tore across the line of the windscreen seal. I was expecting it so wasn't too mortified though I'm aware I'm now going to have to remove the windscreen if I want to fit a new headlining.


With the headlining out I could see if there was access to the dents. The good news is that there is some access, the bad news is that the strengthening beams get in the way so I'll need to get the slide hammer on some of the dents I can't get to. Managed to very nearly get the profile sorted on the drivers side, a light skim of filler after repairing the gutter should see this resolved nicely.


On the passenger side I had equally reasonable success with the roof skin pulling back in line with the strengthening beam as it ought. You can see the two obvious dents where the strengthening beam is in my way. Again, some filler will be inevitable on this, but not a great deal.




I had a go at straightening the stainless gutter trims, it's hard going but it's possible to get them reasonable again. I suspect I'll just hang on until I can find replacements. There wasn't anything more I could really do on the bodywork today, I was happy enough with this so far. Turned my attention instead to the engine which is still locked up. Decided to take the clutch off and it could really do with replacement as expected. Then I took the sump off to see what I could find in the bottom of the engine.


Sludge, and obvious water contamination. It does look like the bolts I need to get at the remove everything are all where I need them to be which is fortuitous so the next task will be to carefully dismantle and clean the innards, find out what damage there is and replace parts or engine as necessary. Oil strainer/pick-up is also pretty gunged up, I suspect it will clean up well enough.




I need Mike's experience with engines for me to be confident to undertake the next stage, it'll also be easier with two of us working on it. He was unavailable so I assessed what else I could do and realistically it wasn't a lot. The Princess could be turned around so I could make a start on the displacer replacement next weekend, but a flat battery and me being unable to push the car on my own put paid to that. Happily I did see that the condition of the metal replaced and waiting to be replaced hasn't deteriorated so I feel a little more comfortable about that for now.

I did a bit of panel beating on the bad rear wing of the Lancia Flavia but then ran into access problems. Ideally, I need to chop off the badly repaired bottom section of the rear wing, beat it back into shape off the car and then reweld it, a big job but one that deserves to be done right.

oh, is it not showing up for non-forum users?

Experimented with paint thickness and found 10% thinner was best after decanting some into a separate container to use. I then applied with a brush in one direction, dressing out across the brush strokes applied and getting the paint to start settling out smooth. Previously I've found a gloss roller lightly applied helps achieve a really good result but this time I got orange peel. A nice even orange peel, but orange peel all the same and that's not something I want.



I'll try the bain-marie (sit the paint tin in a bigger tin of hot water) idea for the next coat and not use the gloss roller. I wonder if the roller is reacting with the paint, there's nothing on the label to tell me what the roller is made of nor on the tin of paint. It's like a milder version of the roller problem I had with cellulose paint which resulted in a shrinking roller, massive orange peel and purple 'candyfloss' all over everything.

Sorry to read the latest update, have been watching the Renault since it arrived...
Hopefully things will work out for you - I like your thinking about advertising on the thread first (and the bargainous prices to the thread followers)

Somebody step up and save these please (I'm moving house in the next few weeks so can't find any time/space/cash to help out )

Sad times, id love the Renault but I cant weld and don't have the space

It's a logical decision, but not one I like to take. I'm not happy about it because for once it isn't even about a lack of money.