Mk1 VW LT 35 Tipper Truck 'Lucky Lloyd'

Nothing to add, once again, except admiration.

Well done Dan.

So.....I've just had a busy few weeks and have gotten up to all sorts of stuff....18th birthday parties ( sadly....not my own ), local steam rally's, modifying a 1986 Ford Orion front bumper for a friend.... basically, cutting up and grafting an R.S Turbo lower spoiler on to a standard bumper.....long story! But.....most importantly...for me anyway, is that my incredibly boring daily drive in the shape of a Vauxhall Meriva B 1.4 turbo, is now all back up running again. In fact....it's now running incredibly well. Just goes to show how bad it was. Plus.....to top off the happy vibe.....it only went straight through the MOT this morning!!
So, this evening, I've decided to purchase a pack of Guinness by way of celebration. I won't drink all though......it turns out I'm allergic to the water they put in to the stuff!!


Anyway....back to the truck. The last update saw the lower half of the cab painted. I was trying to get as much paint done as possible at this point as it was heading towards late Autumn early Winter fast. It's just another problem you come up against when you are working under a tent.....you have to work with the weather. I soon realized that time had beaten me and conditions really weren't ideal for painting. But, on one sunny Saturday in late October, I decided to chance it and top coat the roof. The results were mixed if I'm honest.....not the best effort I've made if truth be told. But.....the results were good enough for a truck roof. The paint didn't 'flow out' as it had done on the rear of the cab.....it just kind of sat there looking orange peely in some areas and dry in others. But most importantly....I got a good four coats on...and no runs. So this meant a cut and polish would sort out any problems. Plus, lets not forget that there's a billboard going back on the roof.....so that'll cover a lot of the unsightlys.


Anyway.....here's how it went....

I used epoxy first off, then did any filler work... of which there was a small amount to do on the passenger side and the upper rear cab.
It was then on with some high build primer and apply seam sealer to the gutter seams. 

All of this was done roughly a month before applying the top coat to ensure that the filler and high build had fully cured.....









































.....and then on with the top coat. Like I said, not my finest hour.....but it's certainly a result I can work with....





















It was around this time that I spotted an LT35 tipper truck identical to Lloyd being broken for parts on the Faceache Market Place.....and it was literally just up the road. So I contacted the seller and gave him a list of all that I needed form his truck.

Which was:

Washer bottle,
Front mud flaps,
Drivers door,
Gear stick gaiter ( very hard to find, and he told me this one was in great condition.)
The rubber seal that goes around the engine cover.
The rubber donut thingy that sits between the viscous fan and the radiator,
All of the glass,
....and a few clips and other bits and bobs.

Now...this was on the Tuesday, but I couldn't get there until the Friday. we agreed a price and he told me he would hold everything I wanted till Friday afternoon. Well.....I got there Friday morning, and the sod had sold half of what I wanted to some one else!! Bits like the gear lever gaiter, the glass and the rubber thingy between the fan and the radiator. I wasn't happy....and he could tell! He then told me that the gear lever gaiter was in a terrible state....forgetting that he told told me it was in fantastic condition three days earlier.....and even sent photos to prove it. Then, just to deliver another kick to the balls, he told me that the drivers side door now wasn't for sale, as he wanted to keep it for his LT40. What I wanted to do, was tell him to stick the rest of it where the sun don't shine.....but I need them, so a changed tac-tic. I searched for compensation in the form of rear leaf springs.....I got them for a steel....so I walked away less angry in the end.

Now.......who else has gone to raid a vehicle for parts only to find that the vehicle you are removing the parts from is so much better than the vehicle you started with!! Well....that's exactly what happened here.
The cab floors were solid, the roof was solid, the rear of the cab was solid, the outriggers were solid and the chassis was.....less rusty shall we say. Although, like a little school boy, I couldn't resist poking my finger in somewhere......so I poked it into one of the factory holes in the chassis, to which I could feel rust.....this made me feel a lot better! 

Anyway.....here's some pictures I took that day......










































If I'm honest, I was gutted about how good this truck was compared to how mine originally was. It was in great shape.....and it was being scraped!
Still.....it is what it is.....you can't turn the clock back.

These are the leaf springs I bagged.......














Then of course, I couldn't resist taking them apart once they were home......






....right, that's all for now folks. more soon.

Dan.

Very true.....
One thing I was gutted about was that the doner truck had a really good condition ally tipper bed on it. He wanted £500 for the bed, frame work, tipper ram and the pump. But, without my truck, I had no way of collecting it and nowhere to store it once it was back at mine. So regrettably, I had to pass on it.

Thankyou, and thanks for taking the time to read through it all 👍🏻.



I started following and reading the updates on your van when you first started the thread. I’m not just saying this….but it’s probably one the smartest T25s I’ve seen. The colour and style are exactly how I would want it to look like should I ever own one. Basically, I’ve fallen behind with so many threads here on Retro Rides that I’ve probably got a whole day’s worth of catching up to do 😁. That said, I started to catch up with your thread last night. Wow…..you’re doing mighty fine job of it. I can speak from experience on how boring life gets when endlessly cleaning, de-rusting and treating the underside of a vehicle. But, as I’m sure you know, the peace of mind you get from doing so makes it all worth it.

Many moons ago, when I worked in a BMW and Porsche approved body shop, we used a stone chip made by Wurth. It was brilliant stuff. It too was rubberised and once it was on…..it was on! But as with anything that was any good, it doesn’t seem to be available anymore. So…. I’ve tried a few different stone chip coatings, and I’ve found the Dinitrol 447 is the closest the Wurth product. It dries fairly hard, but you can still poke your fingernail into it and it has a ‘bounce’ to it rather than a hard resistance. You can topcoat straight over it without having to key it first if you topcoat within 24hrs……or it might be 48hrs??......I can’t remember off the top of head. Obviously, there are other products out there…..but the Dinitrol is my preferred choice.

Dan.

I don’t get the modern way people sell stuff, there seems to be no trust or respect anymore

Well done on the progress though

Sorry, should have explained, was looking to buy an lt tipper found your thread
Then found gear gator

Good to catch up here.

As always.

Progress.

Nice.

So, is Lloyd now an LT35 Storm?

Hi Dan, Is there no end to your talents? Great job, will look factory by the time you are finished or are you finished? Keep at it, this will be great when it's done. All the best, Norman