1966 Ex BRS Austin VAK 100 "Noddy" van. Shack building.

Fantastic to see. This thread just gets better and betterer. Can't wait for the next instalment!

awesome!

is there a tiny bit at the back of your mind, like fag paper thin, that thought its a runner and a mover, shall i flog that cummins ?

I belive that is what they call in the modern vernacular a major WIN.
Well done.
Dan

So, having not been able to get to the lorry for weeks, I found the time again today to scoot up there for an hour.

First job: Fanbelt. The original tensioner bracket was missing, and a flimsy bit of ally extrusion had been bodged on. This, together with a kippered belt meant that the waterpump and fan wouldn't go round with the engine. Less than ideal. Last time I was there I was allowed to rumble through the scrap fan belt pile in their workshop, and managed to find one that would do the job, and today I knocked up a temporary tensioner bracket. Result? One fanbelt fitted. Nice.


 

The hawk-eyed amongst you will have spotted that I've removed the fan. This brings us to next step: the radiator issue. 

Both my original rads were kippered. One was badly bashed, so I held out little hope for it anyway, but they both had very badly perished cores and leaked like colanders. 



The metal was so thin that I couldn't even begin to start soldering them up. As soon as I tried cleaning the area it just crumbled away.

So, a mate came to the rescue with the donation of a Landrover TD5 rad that he'd recently swapped out because of a slight weep, and a header tank from an old Peugeot he was breaking. A bit of bracket fabrication and some raiding of my pipework stash saw this as a first trial fit:



The fan had to come off as it was going to clatter the header tank, and there's not really anywhere else to put the tank, or any need for the fan given the use I'm going to be putting the system to. 

From the other side:



I got one of the original rad mount brackets off no problem, but the other has one stubborn rounded bolt. With that removed, and the rad moved to the right, tilted back toward the engine and raised up an inch or so, the pipes will fit and the bonnet will go back on OK. So, the next job is to modify the bottom bracket where it sits on the bumper to raise the whole thing a bit, and to remember to take my six-sided sockets with me next time to get the bracket off. With that done I should be able to pipe it all up and see if it holds water. 

What is good to learn is that there is actually quite a lot of space behind the bonnet and in front of the engine, so although I may struggle to get the original DAF radiator and intercooler pack in there, I should be able to get something to work without too much difficulty. 

Onwards and upwards. I might be able to sneak out again tomorrow, but Monday/Tuesday is more likely.

All the best, and thanks for all the positive comments. 

My comments on another forum I take it?

I apologise if I have caused offence. I can be overly blunt, which is a big character flaw on my part and no fault of yours. 

Once your rad is sorted ,do you have any brakes ? Hoping to see a video of it driving

Nearly another month gone by in a flash without getting to the van. I need to get it moved here, or it'll never get finished!

Anyway. I managed a bit of time in the garage today, and began on rad mount 1.1...

I dug around in my scrap pile and found this gash piece of angle:



I had decided I needed to fabricate some kind of mount to hold the rad firmly, and not rely on it supporting both it's own weight and any loadings from dodgily fitted hoses. With that in mind, and a bit of rough measuring later I'd reduced one long length of almost-scrap angle to several short pieces:



These got roughly cleaned up with a twist-knot wheel and welded into a rectangular frame to fit around the rad. 

The rad sits the horizontal in the Landrover, but needs to be vertical in the lorry. What was the bottom is now the nearside, and this sits on two pegs, so I sorted out some suitable holes for them, braced with a washer as the hole was a little too close to the edge of the angle for my liking:



What would have been the top of the rad, now the offside, is secured with two M8 bolts into captive nuts in the rad. Two more holes and Bob's your uncle:



Next, how to fit it into the lorry. 

To save running back and forth to the yard, I dug out the old front crossmember from JOY, and pulled the original rad mount brackets off it. The Landy rad is considerably deeper than the Austin one, but narrower. I needed to drop it down at least five inches to stand any chance of getting the engine cover on over the top. So, accordingly, I knocked up a couple of short brackets that, with suitable rubber mounts on top, allow the replacement rad to drop down behind the bumper. These new brackets will mount in the original holes, so no butchery to fit them.

Here you go, old crossmember, original brackets on the floor in front and new ones loosely bolted on:




And this is what it looks like with the frame on. I used a pair of old Landy gearbox mounts because they were in the drawer and physically about the right size. They're overkill, granted, but then so's the rest of the mount. 




Next, I made a tab to go on the driver's side and meet the original rad support, another offcut from the scrap bin:




I pulled a measurement off the original rad and mounting and stuck it on the side.

Pictures get a bit sketchy now, as I was running out of time. I had the header tank stuck up behind the rad in my original attempt, but it fouled the fan badly and necessitated it's removal. I think there's room for the tank at the side, so I took a chance and moved it around. This will allow me to refit the fan, provided the bonnet will still go on. I made a bracket for the passenger side tie bar too, which is a bit more involved than the flat tab on the driver's side as it has to not foul the header tank and step away from the rad from about three and a half inches or so. You can just about make it out in the next picture. I then rummaged through all my nearly dead cans of spray paint and gave it a quick squirt all over of black. This serves two purposes: it stops the frame looking like something dredged up from the ocean floor, and it clears a little space in my paint cupboard. 

I then ventured indoors for a cup of tea, greeted SWMBO home from work and accepted a stern ticking off for not getting any decorating done all day.

Duly chastened (and refreshed with tea), I escaped for a further few minutes a bit later on and threw it all together and took a final pic:



With a bit of luck I can get up to the van tomorrow and see if it all fits.

Cheers all, Glen. 

Yes! 

Like many, I've had several years to perfect my excuses. Both for time "wasted" and projects purchased! 

Overall, whilst I often hanker after the simple, single, life; I wouldn't be where I am today if I were alone, so the occasional ticking off is both tolerated and deserved. 

My latest skating on thin ice moment, aside from yesterday's efforts, is buying a new lathe that I neither have the money for or the space. Hey ho!