Dez' 'fleet' thread. Another bl00dy transit!

It was squirted full of expanding foam (as was the arch) to give the filler and underseal something to sit on to bridge the massive hole 😬

I knew about that bit when I bought it, hence me already buying the panels for that area. Tbh Ford themselves like to use expanding form to bridge big gaps to then put seam sealer over though!

Well, nothing in front of the engine crossmember really does anything. The front 18” of chassis rail holds up nothing other than the bumper crash bar and the rad, and I’ve seen them with the crash bar missing altogether behind the bumper skin! The inner wing sections and lower splash panels do pretty much nothing either, apart from hold up the airbox on the drivers side. It’s easy to ‘keep them going’ year on year with blastover patches and rudimentary bits of tin in place of the original stuff. You’d be surprised how many transits out there are actually like this, what is MOT passable can be pretty shoddy tbh, and as long as you replace the front wings when they go they still look presentable from the outside.

It’ll be rusty somewhere. They all are.

To get it going again pressurise the tank with an air line and a rag. Cap off, rag wrapped around airline and stuffed in the neck to get it to seal. Then crack the injectors as someone else is pulling the airline trigger.
Tbh, if it’s been run dry don’t expect the pump to last, it knackers them.

Screams hurt pump with one of these unfortunately...

It was obvious the inner A-pillar/spring pocket area needed the same attention as the other side, so I cut that off high up above the lower hinge as I did before. This side all went a lot quicker as I was familiar with the construction, what it should look like, and how I made the other panels.




There was actually a little more left to template from on this side, but it was still a mess.

I’ve had questions fielded elsewhere about how I go about picking stuff like this apart. Decent spotweld drills and a good thin bolster chisel are essential.
The cut lines are marked and cut through just the one skin I’m working on, the spotwelds marked and drilled, then it should only take a light tap if anything to pop them. Time consuming but the only way to do it when you need the original piece as a template.


A while later and the replacement is made. It’s not a massively complicated panel, as long as you cheat.




There’s no point trying to be all clever and make it in one and bring that edge over and then shrink it down. Just make it straight, cut it, shrink the flange on the shrinker/stretcher til it’s the right shape then drop in a filler piece. By the time it’s dressed back no one would ever know.


It was then offered up and trimmed, and the location of the mating faces drawn on from the back so I can mark out and drill for replacement spotwelds.






Then the outer. I had to replace a lot do this as it was quite pitted between the two skins.


All this was cut out-


Outer skin was a similar story.


Reassembled and smoothed out-


Then the inside of both were painted before they got stuck back together.




After a grind up, that was another section completed.

Good to see you use quality protection ear defenders Too many people use nothing or poor quality defenders / ear plugs, which they will regret later in life
I used those Peltor Optime's for many years offshore. Working in engine rooms next to V16 Detroit's and supercharged EMD's you quickly get to know which defenders are good

Impressive work Dez. Never thought I would be interested in a Transit!

Yeah good ear defenders are something I’ve always had ever since I was given my first pair of peltors at 12, the first time I went shooting.
I don’t like using power tools without them on really. Well maybe a drill bit certainly not a grinder.

Tbh I’m rapidly losing interest in doing it as this side is very much rinse and repeat, the only thing keeping me pushing on is my need to use it!