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Many moons ago, as a child living in The Midlands, I can recall often seeing lorry chassis with effectively no cab, merely an excuse for a small front panel, being driven on the roads using Trade-Plates. The driver of said vehicle would be clad in what I would guess would have been ex-WWII flying gear, accompanied by leather flying helmet and goggles; rather a vain attempt to combat the conditions experienced, whilst perched atop of a single seat, which was the only nod to creature comforts.. You could always go back to the good old days, and don't bother with a cab. I don't think that there would be much call for facilities to accommodate and passengers though. You used to see them a lot on the M6 as well, hammering down from Leyland on the way to whichever coachbuilder was to fit them out. You'd see them in all weathers too, must have been bloody freezing at times!  |
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Many moons ago, as a child living in The Midlands, I can recall often seeing lorry chassis with effectively no cab, merely an excuse for a small front panel, being driven on the roads using Trade-Plates. The driver of said vehicle would be clad in what I would guess would have been ex-WWII flying gear, accompanied by leather flying helmet and goggles; rather a vain attempt to combat the conditions experienced, whilst perched atop of a single seat, which was the only nod to creature comforts.. You could always go back to the good old days, and don't bother with a cab. I don't think that there would be much call for facilities to accommodate and passengers though. You used to see them a lot on the M6 as well, hammering down from Leyland on the way to whichever coachbuilder was to fit them out. You'd see them in all weathers too, must have been bloody freezing at times! After you sent that picture, I did a quick bit of research. Apparently they were bus chassis. Here's a link where a few people share their stories... www.trucknetuk.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=33988 |
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Opel Commodore A Coupe
Opel Rekord C Coupe
Opel Rekord C Saloon
Vauxhall Magnum Coupe V8 (Magnumania)
Mk1 Scirocco GLS
Mk1 Scirocco GLS (early chrome bumper)
Corrado G60
Mk1 Cortina 2 door Pre Airflow
Mk2 Escort 1300 2 Door
VW LT35 Tipper Truck
BMW 320D E91 Tourer
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glenanderson
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 4,338
Club RR Member Number: 64
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I never drove bus chassis’ like that on the road, but I used to occasionally deliver DAF coach ones on my transporter, and used to hoon around Dartford docks on them. Great fun in the summer, with a 400+ BHP engine and an auto gearbox, like something out of the Wacky Races. Much less fun on a wet/icy winter’s day trying to get one on the back of a slippery metal decked wagon.
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My worst worry about dying is my wife selling my stuff for what I told her it cost...
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Those racing chassis’ were a big part of my growing up.
We used to see them often in South Africa on major motorways.
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Scott
Part of things
Posts: 51 
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Feb 15, 2021 15:07:00 GMT
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Many moons ago, as a child living in The Midlands, I can recall often seeing lorry chassis with effectively no cab, merely an excuse for a small front panel, being driven on the roads using Trade-Plates. The driver of said vehicle would be clad in what I would guess would have been ex-WWII flying gear, accompanied by leather flying helmet and goggles; rather a vain attempt to combat the conditions experienced, whilst perched atop of a single seat, which was the only nod to creature comforts.. You could always go back to the good old days, and don't bother with a cab. I don't think that there would be much call for facilities to accommodate and passengers though. An old lad (Now long passed away) I used to drink with worked at Albion Motors in Glasgow, he used to tell funny and frightening stories about this exact thing,, he said even in the hot summer days it was a bitterly cold job |
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Last Edit: Feb 15, 2021 15:09:09 GMT by Scott
What looks right is not necessarily right,
but what looks wrong is definitely not right!
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Rich
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 6,325
Club RR Member Number: 160
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Feb 15, 2021 18:01:11 GMT
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We have a chassis like this in Bristol in L shed, part of the museum. Occasionally they take it out for a drive. Amusing to see it trundling about, it has a smaller rolling bus chassis bolted to the back. I think ours is a Bristol RE chassis.  |
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Last Edit: Feb 15, 2021 18:02:10 GMT by Rich
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Feb 15, 2021 21:40:11 GMT
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I think both the chassis on this page are Bristol REs but, to be honest, I'm not as much of a bus spotter as I'd like to be. (Never thought I'd be saying that in public!) The link above is fascinating and horrifying. I knew that most Bristol chassis were bodied at Eastern Coach Works in Lowestoft and that they were driven across. That's 250 miles at 35 or 40MPH. I suspect 35MPH is plenty when you are hiding behind a sheet of ply. If that's made you shudder then imagine the ones heading to Alexander's coachworks at Falkirk. That's, like, another country! Or it will be if Nicola Sturgeon gets her wish to be Queen of Scotland. Alexander were / are tied up with Dennis and Dennis had a factory in Guilford of all places. I'm not sure when all the tie ups happened but Guilford to Falkirk makes a trip from Bristol to Lowestoft look like luxury. They couldn't possibly have done Guilford to Falkirk surely? Men were real men in those days. |
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Feb 15, 2021 23:01:56 GMT
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Many years ago when I was in the motor trade, I would sometimes have to collect vans & 7.5t trucks from a van higher place.
Every now and then it would be a brand new 7.5t Ford. But with just a cab and a bare chassis. Not even wheel arch’s on the back.
They were lethal in the wet with so little wait on the back end. And if you clipped a curb on a corner the hole back would go flying into the air, and bunny hop down the road.
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1955 Austin A30
1981 Jawa Mustang
1990 Trabant 601 (Tommy)
1989 Trabant 601
2009 Jaguar XF
2012 Toyota AYGO
2018 Scomadi TL
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This update will be done segments as I'm posting it inbetween jobs I'm meant to be doing at work.....so bare with me... With lloyd now under cover, it was time to think about how I was going to carry out the repairs to the upper door frame/roof structure.      Instead of hacking it all off in one go, I decided the sensible route was to approach it like an archaeologist.....slowly remove what was left of each layer to find out how it was originally attached and to make as many datum patterns along way. The process took a while as It was difficult to see how it all went together.....because most of it had rusted away. But, after a while, it all started to make sense. This was the first part I started to cut away. This was the structural part of the roof. You can see in the left of the picture where the box section (as it were) disappears back under the roof skin......  This structural box section should go all the way across the front, then do a 90 degree turn and go all the way to the rear of the cab. You can also see in the above picture that I started to fabricate the lower frame work ( or upper door frame depending on how you look at it ) that goes back towards the rear of the cab. MARKER POINT You'll find out why I put 'marker point' there a bit later To kick the reconstruction off, I decided to fabricate the 90 degree lower part of the structure that sits right on the front corner. This bit here.....  I started with a pattern......  The cut the same shape out of steel and then start to form the relatively complex shape. Because of how complex the shape was, I decided to heat the sheet steel up and shape over the anvil while it was hot.... to limit the risk of splits or fractures.  A quick trial fit.....  Then what followed was what seemed like hours and hours of hammering, bending, shaping and more hammering. I'd get one side right, but then it would kick up the other side and put the fit of the panel well out of line. You can see by all the hammer blow marks on what's meant to be a new panel just how much it took to shape it.        This panel then tucks under the beam/structure ( inner windscreen frame) that runs from left to right on the inside of the cab.   Before I started cutting this out, I thought it wise to bace everything up to ensure that everything stayed where it should be.   Plus....while the rusty metal was still there and the correct shape, I thought I'd make up the windscreen frame repair for the upper left corner.  Then a bit of cutting and tidying of the metal surface.....   Now to form the lip on a separate piece of steel to be welded to the fabricated corner plate..... Firstly, form the lip on the bead roller.....   Then into my 'homemade' mini English wheel.....which I have to say, works surprising well.....considering.......  Then a bit of lining up....  Trim the corner plate back a bit.....  Then weld the two pieces together.....  More shortly...... |
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Opel Commodore A Coupe
Opel Rekord C Coupe
Opel Rekord C Saloon
Vauxhall Magnum Coupe V8 (Magnumania)
Mk1 Scirocco GLS
Mk1 Scirocco GLS (early chrome bumper)
Corrado G60
Mk1 Cortina 2 door Pre Airflow
Mk2 Escort 1300 2 Door
VW LT35 Tipper Truck
BMW 320D E91 Tourer
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jamesd1972
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 2,919
Club RR Member Number: 40
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Wow, you had your big boy pants on getting stuck into that !
This truck will repay you in skills and knowledge if nothing else.
James
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Wow, you had your big boy pants on getting stuck into that ! This truck will repay you in skills and knowledge if nothing else. James Yeah.....the knowledge part will probably be.....NEVER take on something like this again! 😆😆 |
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Opel Commodore A Coupe
Opel Rekord C Coupe
Opel Rekord C Saloon
Vauxhall Magnum Coupe V8 (Magnumania)
Mk1 Scirocco GLS
Mk1 Scirocco GLS (early chrome bumper)
Corrado G60
Mk1 Cortina 2 door Pre Airflow
Mk2 Escort 1300 2 Door
VW LT35 Tipper Truck
BMW 320D E91 Tourer
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Norman
Part of things
Posts: 449
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I think you are brave to tackle this, it’s a lot worse than my Vogue. I am sure you will get there and i look forward to the panel forming with method explained. You will soon have it done, all the best, Norman
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tofufi
South West
Posts: 1,459
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Just brilliant! I had a similar situation with my T2 ages ago - the roof structure was similarly rotten. I chickened out and swapped the roof. Your way needs much more skill!  |
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Next was to make up the framework that goes from the corner plate back towards the rear of the cab.  It was then welded to the corner plate, but not before having to make a lipped piece like I did for the other side. No pictures of this process, but I've circled where the action took place.....  Cut out most of the rotten stuff.....     Time for another trial fit. In the picture, you can see that the door frame piece that was added to the corner plate, will join part of the original frame in the background.....   TIME TO PUT THE BRAKES ON!! ......now......what's obviously difficult to put across in pictures, is just how difficult it was to weld the lip sections on each side of the corner plate. All work pieces were clean steel.....so....why so difficult, I hear you ask. Well....it was where I'd stretched the steel so much to form that complex shape, the steel had become so thin that was almost impossible to weld. It blow holes everywhere. I was frantically trying to weld them all up again.....which just blow more holes!!!! I stuck with it.... and after what seemed like an eternity and a lot of swearing at the welder.....because let's face it.....it's ALWAYS the bloody welders fault!..... I managed to get it looking presentable. Has anyone spotted the big issue with the last paragraph?  ....... I'll give you a clue....it was in the last sentence? Despite sticking with it and spending so much time on it...... I just wasn't happy with it. In my mind the whole piece was a complete bodge job! The next day I stood around and contemplated my next move. Let's think logically about this, is what I had to tell myself. 1: I'm I pleased with the way I fabricated the panel? = No 2: I'm I happy with the result? = No 3: does the new panel ( baring in mind that it's meant to be structural ) meet the specifications of the original? = that's a big NO!!! 4: Why did I stick with it if I knew it wasn't right? = ......I DON'T KNOW..... 5: Am I a moron = ABSOLUTELY! Now.....let's get back to that big issue with the last sentence in that paragraph I mentioned. I said " I managed to get it looking presentable ". I had to give myself a boll##ing for putting the way it looked over it's original intended function.....which of course was structure. Don't get me wrong.....these LTs aren't the most impressive vehicles when it comes to crash testing, but the metal originally used in that structure was a certain gauge for a reason. I don't mind sharing my mistakes here......got to take the rough with smooth. The bottom line was that I rushed into the repair with no thought as to the correct gauge of steel required. This was school boy error stuff!......I genuinely know better than this......honestly. Plus I found myself worrying about how it looked as a fabricated panel.....which actually, it didn't look that good anyway. Lesson learned! Here's a picture of the panel to show how thin it was. All I did to make the holes was push a nail into it with my fingers.....  Remember that red ' Marker point ' I randomly plonked in the thread.....well everything I fabricated from that point to........ HERE....Went In.... Here.....  🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬 Binned!!!! Go back.....and start again!!! |
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Opel Commodore A Coupe
Opel Rekord C Coupe
Opel Rekord C Saloon
Vauxhall Magnum Coupe V8 (Magnumania)
Mk1 Scirocco GLS
Mk1 Scirocco GLS (early chrome bumper)
Corrado G60
Mk1 Cortina 2 door Pre Airflow
Mk2 Escort 1300 2 Door
VW LT35 Tipper Truck
BMW 320D E91 Tourer
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Amazing work on this, I think I would have pushed it outside and set it on fire ages ago lol.
(not because anything wrong with the truck as it's really cool, I just cant weld lol)
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Last Edit: Mar 3, 2021 10:26:58 GMT by joem83
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You are so bloody brave, or is it stupid, sucker for punishment??
Whichever it is, I absolutely admire you grit.
Your skills are developing daily.
And you certainly are an inspiration.
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Just read this end to end, I love the skills and the way you explain how you do stuff. I’ve rebuilt a mini shell but you can get everything for those. This is next level stuff. Metal magic - loved the back of the cab with the perfectly formed pressings.
Once you’ve built the house it needs a removable camping box on the flatbed...
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Just brilliant! I had a similar situation with my T2 ages ago - the roof structure was similarly rotten. I chickened out and swapped the roof. Your way needs much more skill! Thanks 👍........I would of liked to change the whole roof panel for a new one/better one really......but panels for these are either really thin on the ground or non existent now. I did a roof swap on a Mk1 Fiesta a few years ago. It was so much easier that making infill panels.....and the results were almost instant. I can only dream of that where the truck is concerned. |
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Opel Commodore A Coupe
Opel Rekord C Coupe
Opel Rekord C Saloon
Vauxhall Magnum Coupe V8 (Magnumania)
Mk1 Scirocco GLS
Mk1 Scirocco GLS (early chrome bumper)
Corrado G60
Mk1 Cortina 2 door Pre Airflow
Mk2 Escort 1300 2 Door
VW LT35 Tipper Truck
BMW 320D E91 Tourer
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Amazing work on this, I think I would have pushed it outside and set it on fire ages ago lol. (not because anything wrong with the truck as it's really cool, I just cant weld lol) 😆😆😆......I the thought of an ' accidental ' fire did cross my mind briefly when I found out this front corner was as rotten as it was. Fortunately for the truck, it was too heavy for me to push it out the way of the garage.....so lived to see another day. |
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Opel Commodore A Coupe
Opel Rekord C Coupe
Opel Rekord C Saloon
Vauxhall Magnum Coupe V8 (Magnumania)
Mk1 Scirocco GLS
Mk1 Scirocco GLS (early chrome bumper)
Corrado G60
Mk1 Cortina 2 door Pre Airflow
Mk2 Escort 1300 2 Door
VW LT35 Tipper Truck
BMW 320D E91 Tourer
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I think you are brave to tackle this, it’s a lot worse than my Vogue. I am sure you will get there and i look forward to the panel forming with method explained. You will soon have it done, all the best, Norman Yeah.....the truck on the whole is a lot worse than I ever thought it was. Its incredible to think it had a valid MOT on it up until the end September last year. |
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Opel Commodore A Coupe
Opel Rekord C Coupe
Opel Rekord C Saloon
Vauxhall Magnum Coupe V8 (Magnumania)
Mk1 Scirocco GLS
Mk1 Scirocco GLS (early chrome bumper)
Corrado G60
Mk1 Cortina 2 door Pre Airflow
Mk2 Escort 1300 2 Door
VW LT35 Tipper Truck
BMW 320D E91 Tourer
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....... I'll give you a clue....it was in the last sentence?