January 2013
I got some good news this month. I won 2 online forum votes.
I won the retro rides build of the year poll - http://retrorides.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=rra2012vb&action=display&thread=142076
and Practical Performance Car magazine 'Thread of the year' - http://www.ppcmag.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=10788
That gave me quite a good boost. It is really nice to be recognised amongst all the other projects people are doing. I really enjoy writing my updates for the van, It keeps me motivated and focused with the build. I always try to include as much details as i can so i can get advice or help someone else out who is tackling there own project. My project has been going on for about 2 and a half years now, doesn't feel like it though. I hope for it to be atleast road legal in the next 2 and a half years. I try not to rush things and stick to my original plan. I want it to be as such that it would be hard for someone to tell it has even been restored. There is some areas that i could have just cut out and replaced with a much simpler repair but i cant let myself do that.
I wanted to finish of the front drivers side corner, this is what i was left with once i had cut it off earlier.
The rear piece was made using the shrinker/stretcher
I cut all the rust from the damaged areas, added the rear section and a little patch for the bottom.
The rot i cut out was used as a template the new piece.
I forgot to take the inbetween photos but this is the repair section complete ready to get welded back in place.
Then I cleaned up the inside of this area on the body and gave it a quick spray of weld-through primer.
And attached the repair back to the body like this and gave it a good going over with the grinder.
Its nearly done, just need to make a new inner section for the post using the old as the template
In place and cleaned up
Finally i just filled the last of the gaps underneath and the corner is now finished.
Really happy with how this area has turned out. One step closer eh.
The next step is a little repair to the seat pan area and i may cut the A-post like i did on the other side and see how much rot is there. Then i will prime drivers side of the cab.
That is as far as i have been able to do this month as last weekend whilst driving to the garage the water pump on the Lexus seized. Luckily i caught it in time before it over heated but i have had to sort that out. I got it towed back to my mum and dads and ive been working on it outside the house. The thing about the water pump is its driven off the timing belt so im having to renew the pump, belt and 2 tensioners. I got all the bits last Friday there and started fitting them on Saturday but it wasn't until then that i noticed the new belt had a nick in it. I don't want the belt to snap and have to repeat everything so im going to send it back and just get a genuine Lexus one. Ofcourse all these kind of things happen just as the MOT and road tax run out at the end of this month, crap.
