Dez
Club Retro Rides Member
And I won't sit down. And I won't shut up. And most of all I will not grow up.
Posts: 11,790
Club RR Member Number: 34
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I’ve been pressing on with various other bits once I got the ally finished. Some of which I should have done before I painted the bed frame really, but the timings just didn’t work. I was gunna bolt the winch on but decided to weld it instead.  So I had some paint touch ups to do.  I also wired it, it has a 100A maxi fuse under the seat next to the battery (still in situ from the tipper setup) then goes out the cab back and up to a cutoff, which I made a nice bracket for.   Then a new cable from that up and into the control box, so that’s all working now. Note paint also touched in there too.  At the other end, I’ve sorted out what will be eternally known as the poop chute. It’s basically just a hinged flap to cover the ramps and give me somewhere to mount the number plate to.   I used some brass piano hinge I had laying round, tbh stainless would have been better as I could have welded it rather than have to rivet it which would have been neater, but it’s turned out ok. I made up these pin/tabs for the corners from some 10mm bar and some plate-  Which weld here to keep it shut, with some R-clips pirated off some old bonnet pins (which weren’t suitable as they were ally, it was easier to remake the pin part in steel).  I then threw some more paint around and reassembled things, and that was another part done.  |
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Attention to Detail Detail Detail Detail. These are the things that make the difference. I see that if you are super squint, the registration plate reads Disciple As always Dez a pleasure watching and learning. |
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As always Dez a pleasure watching and learning. This. Dez, your threads are always great reading, whatever the subject matter, as they are well written, very educational (whether technical / skills or hot rod history) and as such, also very inspirational too.  |
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Dez
Club Retro Rides Member
And I won't sit down. And I won't shut up. And most of all I will not grow up.
Posts: 11,790
Club RR Member Number: 34
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As always Dez a pleasure watching and learning. This. Dez, your threads are always great reading, whatever the subject matter, as they are well written, very educational (whether technical / skills or hot rod history) and as such, also very inspirational too. Tbh I feel I’ve got bogged down somewhat with this thing, all my time has gone into it (I’m incapable of doing anything half-ar$ed) and I want to be back working on some of my other projects, like the hot rods you speak of! |
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Dez
Club Retro Rides Member
And I won't sit down. And I won't shut up. And most of all I will not grow up.
Posts: 11,790
Club RR Member Number: 34
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With the bed almost done, most of the cab welding done, and most bids nailed back on, thoughts turned towards what actually needed to be done to get it legal. I hesitate to use the word ‘finished’, but usable and the man from the ministry happy to sign it off will do for now. The spare wheel was still sat on the workshop floor, so I fitted the new carrier up (same as the old one but with the cable in one piece) and made a tool to wind it up and down. They usually use the end of the wheel brace, but I didn’t have one of those so I ground the end of a knackered old 1/2” extension down so it fits in the recess on the winder-   This fits through a hole in the chassis rail to drive the winder unit I forgot to take a pic of. And seeing as I used a half inch extension to make it out of, it means I can use this to wind it-  Which makes it a very quick and easy process. I picked the best condition one out of the pile of spares, gave it a wash and fitted it to the carrier.  So that’s another thing ticked off. The spare wheel carrier was actually quite expensive at about £60, so got someone to buy me it for Christmas last year. Better than socks or perfume or whatever. Looking round the truck I did menial jobs like screwing on the number plate, bolting the driver seat back in, refitting the inner front arch mats, etc. I definitely wasn’t putting off doing the cab back corners that I didn’t want to do, but it got to the point where they were almost the only thing left, so I had to relent. The passenger side was fairly easy as it hadn’t spread far. Worst bit was making this corner for the inner skin-  Then a small bit of the lower lip-  And I was ready to make up the outer section.   With that side sealed up I could see the finish line which spurred me on for the other side. This was more extensive but still not too bad. This curved stepped section took a fair bit of hammer work though.  But with that on it was only the two section of outer to make. The back one is fairly straightforward, once the swage is sorted-  The other section is more involved, with steps, curves and a fadeaway swage, not to mention the corner itself.    But that’s it for the welding! Not something I thought I’d ever say. A tidy up, some sealer and paint-   The passenger side is pretty much perfect, the drivers has a dent I couldn’t get all the way out but it’s nothing some minor filler work can’t sort when I paint it. I then rung up for a MOT and was surprisingly told to bring it down immediately and it would be fitted in. Surprising as this is not my normal tester, he went under because of covid, and it’s not my ‘new’ tester either as he doesn’t do class 7. So it was a recommendation through a friend of a friend, and a totally ‘new’ tester I’d never dealt with before… |
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Don't leave us hanging!!! Did it pass??
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I’ve got 2 MOTs at short notice in May. They are dead because of the 6 month covid extension thing, he said it’s terrible as they are busy until May like they used to be, then dead quiet until September then it’s absolutely flat out! Hope it passed anyway  |
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Dez
Club Retro Rides Member
And I won't sit down. And I won't shut up. And most of all I will not grow up.
Posts: 11,790
Club RR Member Number: 34
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Don't leave us hanging!!! Did it pass?? It did not. It came surprisingly close though, and as usual the main reason it failed was something totally unrelated and surprising.  I was basically scuppered by a damaged brake hose I didn’t know about. The other things could have been fixed/bodged/worked around at the test station, but there was nothing I could do about this-   It wasn’t leaking, that’s from me removing it. So I actually have no idea if I did it and didn’t realise whilst working under the front, or it’s been like that for ages. The problem was that the test was last Wednesday, and due to this compulsory 4-day nationalist circle-jerk we’re all been subjected to, it was today before I could get the part in my hand, get it fitted, and test station be open again. Which happened this morning-  The other fails were nothing difficult to fix. -There was a bulb gone in one of the roof markers (which I didn’t even think to look at, I forgot it had them). -The new rear lights don’t have reflectors in them, which I didn’t notice either, and is annoying. I’ve nailed a couple of the usual trailer board triangles on for now to get a pass, and I have some reflective tape on the way as a more permanent solution. -the ‘headlamp source incompatible’ fails are because it had LED bulbs in, which I didn’t know. They are now in the bin and some normal H4s are in. -brake pipe loose. Some extra clips were added, not that I think there were actually any missing. The brake pipes do run out in nothingness on these, I think part of the issue is it’s got copper pipes on where they were steel originally, so they’re not as self-supporting. -iffy bonnet catch. Two hidden screws that hold the latch on from the back simply weren’t done up, so it was pushing the catch out of the way rather than hitting the second latch. I adjusted it appropriately and did the screws up right and that was that one sorted. I also topped up the PAS fluid so the only minor was on the incubators flashing a bit too fast. This is because of the LED rear lights, I’ll add some resistors at some point just to cross it off, not that’s it’s actually a fail. I don’t particularly agree with the corroded brake pipe advisories, The disc is a bit crappy though so I’ll chuck some discs and pads on at some point, they are cheap. The bit of corrosion underneath is a small bit on one crossmember. Nothing difficult but I’d want it on the ramp to do it. So with the easy stuff sorted out, I ran it back down and I now have this-  Great success! |
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Happy days, and a lot of the fail / advisories down to a tick box doing my job type thing - which I can understand, but annoying none the less.
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1968 Mini MkII, 1968 VW T1, 1967 VW T1, 1974 VW T1, 1974 VW T1 1303, 1975 Mini 1000 auto, 1979 Chevette, 1981 Cortina, 1978 Mini 1000 1981 Mini City, 1981 Mini van, 1974 Mini Clubman, 1982 Metro City, 1987 Escort, 1989 Lancia Y10, 1989 Cavalier, 1990 Sierra, 1990 Renault 19, 1993 Nova, 1990 Citroen BX, 1994 Ford Scorpio, 1990 Renault Clio, 2004 Citroen C3, 2006 Citroen C2, 2004 Citroen C4, 2013 Citroen DS5. 2017 DS3 130 Plenty of other scrappers!
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Dez
Club Retro Rides Member
And I won't sit down. And I won't shut up. And most of all I will not grow up.
Posts: 11,790
Club RR Member Number: 34
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Happy days, and a lot of the fail / advisories down to a tick box doing my job type thing - which I can understand, but annoying none the less. I was told he just listed the rest because the brake hose was a hard fail, if that hadn’t had cropped up the rest would have been fudged through one way or another, so I’m not too bothered. It makes his paperwork look good and at least I know about the hose. I’m actually pretty pleased he couldn’t find much else to mention. He was rather impressed by the rest of the work of done, he’d never seen a transit that has been welded up to better than factory, and he liked the bed build too. He wanted to pass it as he could see I obviously wasn’t trying to cut corners, just with what the testing system is like these days some things just can’t be signed off if you want to keep your resting licence. |
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jonomisfit
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 1,789
Club RR Member Number: 49
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Great result Dez and a great looking transporter.
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ToolsnTrack
Posted a lot
Homebrew Raconteur
Posts: 4,128
Club RR Member Number: 134
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I know many people bemoan an over zealous MOT and I've often been one of them, but as you can see above the value in it is second to none, especially highlighting an easily-overlooked item. A fresh pair of eyes is no bad thing.
Great result though, look forward to seeing that bed used in anger now!
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Dez
Club Retro Rides Member
And I won't sit down. And I won't shut up. And most of all I will not grow up.
Posts: 11,790
Club RR Member Number: 34
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So feeling a bit better about it as It was now tested, I did the last major outstanding job of fitting the rear arches. These weren’t fitted before the mot as they’re not a legal requirement., as the bed covers the wheels. But, I know a couple of people who’ve been pulled by vosa for not having them fitted, becuase vosa are d1cks. Both times they were used as an opening gambit to initiate a stop, then were quickly forgotten about once they found something more serious to fine someone for. So I consider them an anti-vosa device. They’re just super cheap truck arches, they were £30 a pair iirc. they're pressed back plastic with a reflective strip on the outer edge, and specifically sized for 16” twin wheels. At the top they just bolt up to one of the bed crossmembers, which I drilled and tapped a couple of holes in.  With them hung at the top I could then space them out evenly and make some supporting rods. These are different lengths because of the slope of the bed. I made enough for both sides, they’re just 50x3 flat (as I had loads of it left over from something else) with the end rounded, a hole drilled and a bend. A bolt and a big washer mounts them to the guard, then they’re welded at the top.     Very simple, and fairly light but nice and strong. The first side took 4hrs as I was designing as I went and fabbing enough for both sides, thee second side took an hour as everything was already made and I just had to copy some measurement over.  I'm actually running out do jobs to do now! |
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jamesd1972
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 2,921 
Club RR Member Number: 40
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Money shot of a car on the back required !
How does it drive? Suspect with far less rattles than most.
James
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braaap
Posted a lot
Posts: 2,749
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Great job so far.
Will You paint chassis and cabin in that green, too?
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Dez
Club Retro Rides Member
And I won't sit down. And I won't shut up. And most of all I will not grow up.
Posts: 11,790
Club RR Member Number: 34
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Money shot of a car on the back required ! How does it drive? Suspect with far less rattles than most. James Yeah it’s fairly silent on the rattles front. I actually stopped to poke some stones out of the tyres tread as they were making an annoying ticking, so if I can hear that it’s pretty quiet for a recovery! |
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Dez
Club Retro Rides Member
And I won't sit down. And I won't shut up. And most of all I will not grow up.
Posts: 11,790
Club RR Member Number: 34
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Great job so far. Will You paint chassis and cabin in that green, too? The plan is to do the cab/chassis a contrasting/complementary sage green, when i eventually get round to it. I’ve seen a few HGVs that use this scheme (namely Bleach of Lavant) and I think it looks pretty good and ‘old timey’. |
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Dez
Club Retro Rides Member
And I won't sit down. And I won't shut up. And most of all I will not grow up.
Posts: 11,790
Club RR Member Number: 34
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Bleach of lavant truck-  And a local-ish farm shop that uses a similar colour scheme that got me thinking on it.  |
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A very smart colour scheme - they are a couple of villages away from me, & I often see their lorries around locally.
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