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Nov 23, 2008 17:59:33 GMT
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Well, another two months curse word away with no progress This thing was supposed to be finished by Xmas, but thats never going to happen now Anyway, a few days ago bagged a pair of new doors. They arent great condition-wise, but they are much much better than the originals which were literally falling to bits. The frames are solid on the new ones, and there is just a little rubbing down and filling to do on the skins, then swap over handles etc etc. Today, I finished off the left side footwell, then replaced the a-panel. Vans are the same as mkI minis - they have inner and outer panels fitted one ontop of the other. I was a little worried, since the van has had the entire floor chopped out,its been on its roof and sides, and generally pulled about, so I had doubts as to whether I had braced the shell well enough and maybe the doors wouldnt fit. As it happens its all good - took the last brace out of the left hand side and then fitted the a-panel with nuts n bolts. it seemed good, so I welded it in, and hung the door properl, and it fits really well! 2 rubbish phone pics - I wanted to continue, but it was getting dark. I am working by a crappy wee inspection lamp, so need to sort something out if I hope to advance this winter. Dark at 5pm sucks Looks good from here... Panel gaps are spot on... Hopefully more tomorrow.
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1986 Panda 4x4. 1990 Metro Sport. 1999 Ford Escort estate.
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Davenger
Club Retro Rides Member
It's only metal
Posts: 7,272
Club RR Member Number: 140
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Nov 23, 2008 19:37:27 GMT
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Looking good Any progress with the petrol tank?
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brocko
Part of things
Posts: 106
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Nov 23, 2008 20:00:41 GMT
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Bloody good work! As for de-seaming, I'm not a huge fan of de-seamed saloon's, but as the van doesn't have any rear seams, it looks more "balanced" if the front is de-seamed IMO. Some pics of a mates de-seamed van
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MikeT
Part of things
Posts: 86
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Hi - looking good there, shame about the tank Did you ever do a thread about the electrolosys tank - it's something I need to do really. Cheers, Mike.
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'78 Scimitar se6a (now on the road
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Nov 24, 2008 10:50:25 GMT
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I see you found the thread....it works a treat and my brother in law and I now use it all the time for rust removal
Looking at that grey van, I'm going to put the seams back on. IMO that looks rubbish without the seams.
Anyway, went round this morning with the intention of doing the other side, but its lashing down with snow. By the time I had untangled the cords for the grinders and welder and got ready, I was frozen, so packed up and came home. I'm working on the mini at my sisters farm, where its in a Dutch barn - ie a roof with no side walls, so although I don't get wet, there is no way to keep warm. The damp is becoming a problem too, and there is no way I'm ging to be able to paint the van here, so alternatives need to be found. The rest of the buildings on the farm are either in use or filthy and unsuitable. I either need to find somewhere else or pack i away till the spring time.
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1986 Panda 4x4. 1990 Metro Sport. 1999 Ford Escort estate.
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capriscort
Part of things
old fords never die
Posts: 92
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Nov 24, 2008 16:15:17 GMT
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Looks like a mountain of work, keep going mate
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MikeT
Part of things
Posts: 86
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Nov 24, 2008 17:31:42 GMT
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lol, yep I found it after a quick search. Looks pretty cool to me, and it's gotta be worth a try before I bin my coolant pipes. And who says you can't get something for (nearly) nothing Cheers Mike.
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'78 Scimitar se6a (now on the road
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luckygti
Posted a lot
I need to try harder!
Posts: 4,912
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Nov 24, 2008 21:21:19 GMT
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This is really coming on, gutted for you about the fuel tank. That sucks. I do kinda like the deseamed look though. I love mini vans though and I reckon this is a good way to get one without paying through the nose! Shame about the barn situation, you're right.... getting too cold
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Dec 13, 2008 11:31:26 GMT
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Once again, I said "will get more done tomorrow" and infact havent had the chance to do a single thing to the van for weeks. I have measured up and the van will fit into a wee workshop I have at my house, so will move it from the farm soon. Space will be tight, but its fully enclosed and I will be able to heat the place and hopefully get a shift on with the welding. Thing is....the door is very narrow and up a few steps, so the shell will need to be carried in. I will be able to finish the welding, get the prep done and paint it in there, but I will have to carry it out again before I start the mechanical re-assembly otherwise it will be too heavy to shift out the door again! So, why havent I don't this already? Well, the space is otherwise occupied just now. My dog had puppies a wee while back and they live in there. Cant really be doing much while they are under my feet, so once I have killed and eaten rehomed them, I will be able to shift the shell.
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1986 Panda 4x4. 1990 Metro Sport. 1999 Ford Escort estate.
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Dec 13, 2008 13:01:44 GMT
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what dogs are they? rotty cross?
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Dec 17, 2008 23:26:55 GMT
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Awesome work, reminds me of my 1st motor back in the day ;D Monkey
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Last Edit: Dec 17, 2008 23:30:32 GMT by dubmonkey
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Well, I got the van shifted from the farm to the wee workshop at my house. Its a bit more cramped than I had hoped - the workshop isnt much bigger than a lockup style garage, but it has heat, lights and power, so I can work regardless of weather or darkness. To give you an idea why I had to move, this was a brand new panel I bought a few months back... The dampness at the farm where the shell was kept has started it rusting already. The whole shell is covered in surface rust now wherever I had left unpainted metal - it will come off easilly enough, but there was no way I could work in those conditions. Today I turned my attention to the other a-panel. It was a bit more rotten than the first side... I hacked it all off, welded a few plates into the flitch panel which had a few holes and was pretty thin in places, then welded on the replacement step panel along under the door. I fitted up the new a-panel with self-tappers just to trial the position and check the door fits, and thats as far as I got this evening. Should get it welded up tomorrow.
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1986 Panda 4x4. 1990 Metro Sport. 1999 Ford Escort estate.
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Welded on new inner and outer a-panels, patched the hole that had been cut in the wing, then repaired the bodged de-seaming effort and welded a new lip on to take the seam cover.
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Last Edit: Jan 8, 2009 19:46:04 GMT by dave21478
1986 Panda 4x4. 1990 Metro Sport. 1999 Ford Escort estate.
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looks like a good job you got it moved then! wouldn't be much left in a few months
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Glad to see you´ve made some process Dave.
Bet you´re glad you´ve got it home, it was rusting faster than you could weld it up ;D
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Last Edit: Jan 9, 2009 6:30:18 GMT by Oldbus
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Jan 10, 2009 17:33:38 GMT
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Things are ticking along nicely for a change. Mojo is high, and the end is in sight. Far away, mind - but within view! Today I sorted out the other side a-pillar. Tidied up the nasty welding by whoever tried to deseam it, then welded on a new lip to take the joint cover. Thats both sides done now. I have new joint covers, which needed a little re-bending to fit well, but thats done too. Inside, for some reason, someone had chopped out the lower dash rail. They had welded in a bit of scaffolding tube in its place, which was hardy pretty. tube removed... I then chopped the dash rail from the donor shell back on the farm, and welded it into place... Then onto the front valence - it was folded right under and again, someone had tried to deseam the front and hacked off the bumper lip, making a right chuff of it. So, I tidied up the valence, bent it back to shape, then chopped the lip from the donor shell and welded it on... Still need to do a little panel beating there to smooth the curve of the valence out before I start paint prep, but that can wait for now. The Gods of MIG were smiling on my SIP today, it was working a treat for a change, so I decided to finish off the last remaining big welding job, which was the outer sills. So, I took the van off the trestles and flipped it onto its side... (not easy when you are on your own and in such a small space, but got there without mishap. A new pair of sills had been included in the original sale. I hadnt really looked at them till now... Cheap and nasty cover sills Cover sills (also called oversills) are just that - they are designed to be welded straight over the top of the old rotten sills. They are a fair bit wider to allow you to weld to good metal on the floor away from the original rotten sills. You can see their width here compared to the line you can see where the original sill was welded... They are a complete bodge, that will get a mini through a MOT or two, but the rot is still under them and spreading rapidly. The original sills were long gone, so I cut these things down along their length to convert them into standard sills. The fit isnt great, but its workable. Drilled all the holes required for the plug welds and thats one side ready... I then treated and painted inside the sill section to prevent grot returning soon... Then realised that I cant weld the sill on till the paint is dry. Past experience told me that this stuff is VERY flammable when still wet and welding near it before its dry results in big flames and nasty black smoke, so I left it for tonight. Should get the sill welded on tomorrow morning, then I can flip the shell the other way and attack the other side. I was thinking today - I have the sills to finish, then a few wee bits and bobs to weld up...a couple of hours at most, then thats the shell finished and ready for stripping and paint prep! Still got all the doors to do though, which might be tricky, but once they are done, I can get some paint on, then start with the mechanical refurbing and rebuild. I will eat my boiler suit if its not finished for this summer!
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1986 Panda 4x4. 1990 Metro Sport. 1999 Ford Escort estate.
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Jan 11, 2009 17:36:31 GMT
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Not much to show for todays work apart from some nasty photography... Welded on the sill panel. My cruddy old SIP is working well. Too well. Its probably lulling me into a false sense of security and I expect it to die completely at any moment. Flipped the shell over the other way, and id the same for the last sill... Will weld it tomorrow once the paint is dry. I then attacked the floor to clean it up ready for painting. A years-old mix of paint, dirt, waxoyl and leaked engine oil was foul to remove. I used a wire wheel in the grinder, which proved to be easiest. Due to the grinders rotation, if I worked left to right, it flung the goo all over the front of my boiler suit, if I worked right to left, it flung it all over the ceiling. Well, the ceiling should never rust now! End result is a clean floor. Tomorrow, once the sill is welded on, I shall use seam sealer on all joints I have welded, then paint the floor in primer and stone-chip stuff. I also did the(hopefully) last few welding jobs around the bulkhead and inner wings - nothing photoworthy though.
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1986 Panda 4x4. 1990 Metro Sport. 1999 Ford Escort estate.
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Jan 11, 2009 17:44:46 GMT
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Well done again Dave, I do like this little vans development.
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Jan 12, 2009 19:13:43 GMT
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Went out to weld the other sill on.... It would seem that at some point either last night or this morning whilst doing other stuff, I accidentally locked the cat in the workshed. She has expressed her displeasure by having a sh1te in my welding helmet. Thats a mojo-killer right there.
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1986 Panda 4x4. 1990 Metro Sport. 1999 Ford Escort estate.
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Jan 12, 2009 19:35:05 GMT
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I accidentally locked the cat in the workshed. She has expressed her displeasure by having a sh1te in my welding helmet.( ;D ;D ;D
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Ich habe kein Geld!
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