April update - part 2
More metal work plus a little extra good news, info at the end.
I've been determined to get the back end of the van finished so the last part to do was the cut out on the wheel arch. When i had done this one on the other side i had made a bit of a pigs ear of it. I went about it the wrong way and made more work for myself so this time i was determined to do it better. Instead of welding a few sections together to make the panel i opted to make it from one panel. So, first thing was to drill the rivets out of this panel. These were added by Dormobile to make space for the seating arrangements.
The aluminium panels are nicely made but they were quite rough when it comes to cutting metal out. Looks like its been burned out and the edges just left rough.
I broke the panel down into its measurements and drew it on to a sheet, then i cut it out.
A few folds in it then tacked it in place.
Then tidied up. I took a bit more time working this panel out and it paid off with the fitment.
I had a little bit left to do on the flooring section at the side door to finish.
Use the old bit i cut out as a template.
2 folds and its done, nice easy patch.
Then welded in place and cleaned up.
With the rear complete i moved forward to just behind the passengers seat area. Forgot to take before pics of these, this area has 3 panels that meet together so i cut out all 3 sections out at once.
These are the sections to make up.
So, get rid of the rust, tidy the area up a little and spray on some weld-through primer.
Nice simple patch, no folds or anything.
weld it up.
Smooth it down.
If you remember when i was doing the other side i had to make this whole panel up. Fortunately the passengers side wasn't as bad and just needed the bottom part replicated.
I started by getting a scrap piece of sheet and putting it in the vice and bending it over by hand. I didn't want a crisp edge, just a gradual curve.
Then i clamped the fold line in the edge and used the hammer and a piece of wood to form a lip. Then i cut a few lines to make folding the curved section easier.
Welded in place.
Then cleaned up a little, I'll neaten this up again later to smooth it in better.
I also replaced the other section i cut out, forgot to take photos of it as i done it though.
Thankfully this is the last piece of waist line section i have to replace. Just as corroded as the others.
Done the usual, cut out and replace.
The other half.
Just behind this panel was another bit needing done.
Put in place.
Then i had a little bit of the door post to contend with.
I peeled back the lip and cut out the rot. Then welded in a nice bit.
Buffed it down.
Nearly finished with the main body, im hoping for the next update it will be complete and i think I'll have to have a celebration.
I also bought myself a new toy. I got a pillar drill form a mate who is a fabricator. He sold it to me for a very good price along with a 12 ton pipe bender (roll cage!!) and a plumbers pipe bender. Really grateful for things like these at good prices. The drill is one of those ancient ones that never fail and always stay true. So much easier drilling holes in panels.
Now for the big news! I got an axle for the van. It started out by me asking a mate who is also restoring a Ford Thames about one of his Scimitar projects he had. I asked if he would sell me the Scimitar axle but at the time he had other plans for it. Then a couple of weeks ago, i was having a******day at work when he phoned and told me i could have the axle for free, which really cheered me up. Only problem was, i had to take the whole car.
A bit of a dilemma as i really wanted the axle but never had anywhere to put the Scimitar and i really didn't want to just rip the axle out and scrap the Scimitar as i hate seeing old classics being destroyed. I decided it would be best to see if i could find someone who was looking for a project. I put an Ad on a few forums saying i have a Scimitar for free, but i want the back axle, 4 link, shocks and watts linkage. After a few days a guy from rodsnsods contacted me and he came along and had a look at the car.
The next day he phoned me up to say he would take it complete, then when its at his i could go down on the weekend to take off what i want as he has an Aston martin axle waiting to go on ( fancy). A few days later, phoning to confirm i was still going along he told me he was bored and has already taken everything off for me, bonus! So, on Sunday there, me and my brother headed along and picked the axle up. The guy was really sound, if a bit eccentric. I'm just really glad to know that everyone has won in the situation. The car has gone from its previous owner who just wanted it out the way. I have a back axle and someone else has saved another car from the crusher.
Here is the axle, infront of it is the standard Thames one, you can see the pigs head is a lot chunkier.
Then my Bro helped me to put it roughly in place under the van. Looks good, forgot what a wheel looks like in there.
Looks like i will be needing to cut off the 4 link bracket and putting a new one on a few inches closer.
There is a lot going for these axles. They are a Salisbury unit that can cope with 400bhp standard, not that il ever need that much, just good to know its tough. They are also heavy, which is good for me as there wont really be a huge amount of weight over the rear wheels.
Thanks everyone!
