1947 Jowett Bradford Utility: 'The Power of Retro Rides'

Machined two pieces of seasoned hardwood down for the side steps - these are only fitted to the utility van and not the standard vans - the originals were thinish sheet steel but they just form rust traps



Drilled and rebated bolts to retain the hardwood then bonded a fine ribbed rubber sheet to the upper face has per the original step and then formed a J section alloy trim around the edge of the step again has per the factory original



Tip for driving screws into hardwood with pre drilled holes is to scrape the thread of the screw with a hard wax - like a candle etc - the screw will drive home much easier



Fitted to the original mounting brackets - with the old step plates on the floor which I had retained for pattern



Nearside done



Then the offside



Also on todays list was to make a start on the millboard lining for the interior - this is a compressed cardboard / hardboard type product - normally comes in black with a lightly grained surface on the outer face - can be painted though with the correct products - millboard was found commonplace in vehicles of all types from the 1930's through into the 1980's



Comes in full size sheets or half sheets and is relatively inexpensive - circa £16 for a full sheet - normally available from automotive trim suppliers



Can be cut easily, quickly & neatly with a sharp pair of industrial shears of in my case a well adjusted & sharp pair of tinsnips



Edges can be sanded back carefully if required with a block & 240's production paper

Before closing off any of the door cavities I needed to cavity wax the inner skins - especially in the repaired areas - my product of choice which is a clear cavity wax



Shows up has slightly milky white product on the inside of the door - lots applied - especially between the ash frames and the steel door skin





Also did the front doors whilst I was at it



With the Millboard cut to pattern I then commenced fitting it - it just screws to the frame with countersunk screws and cup washers - the painted window trim surround was also fitted at the same time



This in turn then allowed for the fitting of the catch & locking rods to the offside door



Along with the rear door external handle



Then repeated the process of templating the millboard, cutting & fitting on the nearside rear door



So the rear doors are now coming to completion with exception of the weather seals





I need to make some minor adjustments to the upper door keep for the locking rod tomorrow

This can only happen if you are both methodical & organised with the restoration process - trying / trial fitting all trims & fittings long before the paint gets applied / labelling items / photographing everything has it comes apart etc - needless to say I have seen many a restoration held up by the lack of planning / forward thinking and the application of a little effort - it just makes the process so much easier when it comes to putting things back together but for some reason there is a blind vision - by some owners / restorers where they get to a point where the paint has to go on the vehicle regardless and it's normally 2 or 3 days too early which then creates about another 3 weeks additional work - fresh paint gets damaged by ill fitting trim & parts and the project becomes compromised or the owner looses interest at this point and it becomes a unfinished project - end of lecture (well not a lecture if you know what I mean - just a insight of a trend that I have witnessed more times than enough) - apologies if this sounds a little smug but experience can only come with time

Thanks to the wonderful background information in this (and your other threads) I spotted a dark blue Bradford this morning and knew it wasn’t a Deluxe as it had a body colour grille!

Caught up with some minor paint items - grab handles for the front doors in cream and the bonnet catch knobs in black



Then on with the making up & fitting of the front interior trim - NS door card first - loosely fitted the original one to check if it would surfice has a pattern



Patten transferred to the millboard & cut to size



Some of the original panels are not worth bothering with for patterns though - note the bound & stitched edge - not something that we will be replicating in this restoration



Door card fitted and the upper section around the window frame patterned, cut & fitted



Window trim fitted - the diamond shaped piece towards the top centre of the door is the window lock to prevent the window being slid down from the outside when the van is left unattended - still waiting on the paint drying on the grab handle so I shall fit that later



Next was the NS footwell board that fits to the side of the bulkhead - again adjusted the old panel and utilised that for the pattern



Cut & ready for fitting



Before its fitted I need to fit the draught excluder to the door frame - originally it was fitted with rexene / vinyl covered rubber tube that was tacked to the internal face of the frame



Fits like this



Times have moved on and a better product became available - called furflex - a plush type material again formed over a tube



Two types of fitting are available - 'push on' which is fitted to later style vehicles with a steel upstand to the door apertures where both panels are spot welded or in the case of ash framed vehicles like the Bradford 'tack on' - it comes in a wide range of colours and is available from most classic / vintage vehicle trimming supplier and fits like this



Can be stapled or tacked in





Sound proofing / insulation fitted to the bulkhead side prior to the fitting of the footwell panel



Old check straps for the doors were rotten & split so new ones were sourced



Door completed by the fitment of the grab handle & check strap



Footwell panel fitted and the furflex fitted up to the B post



Repeat of the process for the offside



But need to renew these perished connectors first



Replaced and the bulkhead panel treated with the cavity wax - lots of it



Then just a matter of fitting the soundproofing, cutting & fitting the millboard panels then fitting the furflex & internal door furniture



One last job for the day - managed to dechrome the bezel on the speedo so that it matches the rest of the gauges



The story continues tomorrow

Removed the bezel from it's mounting - careful rub back with some P180 thro to 320 onto 600 and left has a brushed brass finish to match the other bezels - you need to check what the base metal is though - it could have been steel

quality nice to see a face to match the name looking good

Hey, Grumpy....wonderful detail work in all that trim...simple and very functional with a touch of elegance in it all....

do you anticipate having to reapply the cavity wax at any regular interval? (or is it a one time and worry free product?)

JP

So you're a magician of great proportions then?

Edited to reflect that this would have been better suited with the original quote about being only as good as your last job... That's what I get for reading back after a weekend..