RSchleder wrote:
I just discovered this thread, and I'm so pleased I did. I've spent the last hour or so reading every word you've written and examining the pictures with a growing admiration and awe. Thank you for taking the time to share this miracle restoration with us as well as some of your other terrific projects. You are certainly a giving/caring person and Uncle of the Decade!
You have a right to be proud of the work you do, however, it pales to the right you have to be proud of the person you are. Best of luck with the van and be assured, I'll read every post and look at the details of every picture you post. A sincere thank you for sharing this journey with us!!!
Wow, that was a great reply, thanks buddy. Comments like this mean a lot to me.
June part 2
I had quite a good productive week off in the garage. I would like to have gotten more done but then I'll always say that until its finished.
I was looking over the other corner of the van at how bad that was.
Pretty much just as rotten as the other side...... great!
I was going to get start cutting the metal away on the other side but i thought id be best to leave it alone for now as a reference for the side i was working on. I did need to cut the rear valance out of the way so i could get the door frame repair welded in and finish the metal work on the corner i was working on. Here's a few pics of the rotten valance.
And now removed.
The usual, lots of holes and rust.
I used the spot weld cutter in the drill to remove it into its 3 sections plus brackets.
I will be repairing the main valance and making up the other 2 pieces from scratch.
Lets start with the repairs, nasty rot.
I used the wire disc in the grinder. i like to use the wire disc as its quite abrasive and hard. Therefore it will burst holes in the thin rusty sections but just clean up the good thick stuff. Gives me a better indication of what i need to repair. I used a bit of chalk to mark out what i needed to cut out first.
I found myself humming and hawing about whether this was the best approach to fixing this piece. In the end i just grew a pair and cut it.
I flipped it back over and made a patch for the corner piece. The rough shape.
Then tapped the edge over a little to follow the curve and trimmed the end.
Finally i put a curve in the piece to follow the shape and tacked it into place.
Next step was the upper inside piece, this piece only has a slight curve but as it gets to the other repair piece i made it has a compound curve that flows into it so i cut this into a round shape and tacked it on.
Nice easy flat piece with a slight radius on the tacked edge to help the corner flow.
This bit was quite tricky. I used a bit thin cardboard for the basic shape, then traced it out. to get the 'conical' shape i opened the jaws of my vice to about 80mm then used a piece of tubing as a hammer and beat the panel whilst turning it like a fan ( hard to describe). then i used a body hammer to planish most of the bumps out. when happy i tack it in and also tacked in the last piece which was the lip at the bottom.
All tacked and ready for welding.
All welded up.
Then after making love with the grinder we get a nice looking panel which just need a little bit of tidying up with the hammer.
old vs new-ish
I clamped it back into place to get a better idea of what it would like.
i clamped the other repair section with the dome in it just behind for better effect.
No time to sit in my own pleasure, get cracking with the other side Kev!
Cut a bit more out, thankfully not as much as the other
A lot of it was pretty much what i done already so I'll just let the picture do the talking.
Panel is now finished, except for a lip that i need to weld on all along the top. I will come back to that later though as i can now get the corner finished.
I took a little break from the van to get the towbar sorted. My dad gave me his old towbar which i think was last used on his Volvo 340 from years ago.
My original plan was to use the existing holes that are already pre-tapped on the Lexus bumper. Before i started cutting stuff up i thought i better check the threads are still OK. They weren't. Looks like someone has stripped them already or the rust has gotten to them because the bolts wouldn't tighten at all. That left me with the only option of un-bolting the tow hooks from either side of the underside. (2x M12 + 1 M8)
And making up some brackets and use the whole existing towbar. I got some 100mm x 100mm x 10mm angle and cut them about 130mm long. I drilled the holes in the brackets and bolted them in place. Then placed the towbar roughly where i needed it. It needed to come further out by about 40mm so i cut some 80mm x 70mm plates and welded them onto the angle as extensions. Then tacked it all up. I cut 2 x 80x80 gussets and tacked them in place also. I placed a brace between the 2 angles and welded it all up using 3.2mm rods at about 130 amps for good penetration using the Arc welder. Even with the brace the angle4s pulled in by about 8mm so afterwards i used the original Thames screw bottle jack to push them apart enough to bolt the towbar in place.
In place and a quick lick of black paint to make it look a bit more professional. Just need to buy the electrics and wire it up. At least now i know (weather depending) I'll defiantly get the van to the Scottish Ford day on Sunday.
Back to the van and i wanted to get the corner section done.
Eeeugh, time to get the door frame repair section tacked in place. I took a bit of extra time to make sure i got this right as there is 3 axis of movement to get wrong.
When i was certain it was right i welded it up then cut the other repair sections and tacked it.
Top repair.
Welded it up.
Then tarted it up a bit.
With that done i was getting closer to having the corner finished. Cut the lower lip out and welded it in.
Then the top lip, as its the corner its double skinned for strength, i think....
That was it for the week. Like i say, i would like to have done a lot more. I had bought some extra epoxy primer as i hoped to have gotten a some on the pieces that were finished. I do intend to go after work this week to get some more don before the show but we'll see.
Looking forward to the Scottish ford day, after selling My Consul Ive missed taking something along to shows so even if it is a very incomplete van it should be good.
