1970 DORMOBILE - COMPLETE RESTO - IT PASSED :)

[pinheaduk]

ok weather was trully awful today, got soaked walking to garage

but some dried off after flatting back and rubbing back etc, i wonder how many calories ive burned today

well i got a quick primer coat on the rear hatch ready for some stopper

then i got a bit bored of filling and rubbing back so thought id do a bit or welding work [even though hardly any left to do]. I have a late bate dashtop donated but obviously being an early bay doesnt match so i cut out the central area off my rusty top and grafterd this one into the donor top. , its going to have a two custom area put into it, later once the van is ready to be put back together [which ill show yhou when the time is right ]

donor one

oh dear

ah ha starting to make sense now

 

[pinheaduk]

after grinding back gave it a coat of primer then a tiny amount of filler just over the weld areas. it has warped slightly due to heat from welding but nothing major to worry about as it is getting screwed down anyways [touch rust]

just to the left and right of the vent area will be some nice little additions at a later date

i also primed the dash itself as i had a bit of primer left in the gun

 

[easy]

coming along well, keep at it dooder 8)

 

[scott wilson]

dude...i rarely read these threads but the dormie drew me in...gagging for one. I was amazed at the level of rust in the chassis and have to take my hat off to you for the dedication you`ve shown getting this right..well done you should have a very smug grin this summer 8)

 

[pinheaduk]

ok didnt do much over weekend as me and the gf bought a new car so was having fun driving that all over devon

but i did have time to think over the colour choices and i have decided to go for sandalwood beige up to the gutter [mainly because i have 2 litres of it sat in my garage ] and then another colour for the roof, but not sure on what yet - which would you guys choose?

this is the sandalwood colour, its a rover colour but a classic rover colour lol

so to give it a try i did the dashboard and the dash top, i wanted it to be different as to go with my secret touch later on so i stonechipped it first and then put the beige on and i think it looks groovy and the pod and glove box cover have a ripple effect and it goes quite well, not to everyones taste i know but i like it and its different

and a cool quick test with the dash pod

 

[pinheaduk]

i also did a bit of panel beating on the gutters as they were bent and mangled a bit, esp on the rear replacement roof, so got my hammer and dolly out and made a right racket , but the outcome is good enough

going to run a 100-150mm run around the bottom of the van in stonechip as a few vans down here that are in our club have got some nasty chips on the lower edges of the van, so better be safe than sorry

 

[pinheaduk]

its 1am and i cant sleep so ive read a few threads and also to read my own thread from start to finish, and i cant believe how much work ive done on this van and the amount of blood sweat that has gone into it, and theres still lots more to come.

its also nice to read the positive comments and the views/opinions of fellow early bay members as the odd comment can give you that extra boost of confidence and get you back in the garage feeling refreshed, so id like to thank all of you guys for keeping me going, and look forward to meeting some of you at this yrs shows for a few drinks.

whether im there with my bus is another matter :roll:


also with the sandalwood beige going to the gutter what do you guys think of this colour scheme, imagine a white dormobile roof [or red]

 

[pinheaduk]

today i decided to get a bit of work done on the rear area of the bus, so started by sanding back the areas where doglegs/wheel tubs were welded and primed them, to be honest they look better in the pics than up close esp the drivers side, due to me using seam sealer on the inside

then i cleaned and primed the rear even tough it has a coat of black hammerite, due to the fact that ill be spraying it white. not sure if you can see in the pic but there is a line of welds that i did not grind back near the rear arches across the van, this is due to the fact that the new floor does not match the pattern and i didnt want to grind back and have the weld areas so thin that you got stick a screwdiver through, will never be seen due to the sound proofing and the new flooring going in

just had to refill the gun

after that i thought i woul wet flat back the rear hatch and then reprime it, but im not happy at all, used 400grit to start and feels silky smooth yet in areas there are still scratches and a couple of pinholes and a few places the old paint lips are showing through yet i was sure id sorted these.

oh well i guess ill have to get a new DA and try again.

if i can get it good enough, i wont want to paint it as it will look shite, but have been tempted by vinyl wrapping lol a nice comic strip all the way round the van, either beano or dandy

 

[pinheaduk]

well today was a nightmare, some paint fell off a shelf and spilt onto the rear hatch and o/s middle panel last night so today was spent trying to remove it, so now i have to sort out both panels again, skim, stopper and prime etc.

frigging typical with this vehicle dont feel like i am getting anywhere, if i hadnt walked away from the garage this afternoon i would have been tempted to set fire to the darn thing

hopefully thursday will be a more productive day

 

[pinheaduk]

ok after my little strop yesterday :roll: i decided to forget about it and crack on.

i noticed that after priming most of the panels there were still a lot of scratches so i decided to sort those out and get it right, i also tweaked the panel lines before attacking the o/s panels

this is the o/s line between the corner and the rear

and this is between the door

i then got cracking on wet flatting the panels back using 400grit paper, my god it was knackering and i got pissed wet through :shock:

i took a few sides views as they were shiny and got a great reflection

after flatting back

this is before i flatted back as i had to sand back some stopper first

after

 

[pinheaduk]

i also did the sliding door but only took a photo of it before i flatted back as it had stopper on and i also took the door off so i could get better access to th e n/s rear. Had to do a bit more work in the handle area as there was a bit of pitting, which turned out not to bad so flapped it back to bare metal, echted and used a little stopper

the n/s rear has had the stopper flatted back but hasnt yet been wet flatted as i found a low spot near the upper left corner so have let the filler dry then ill do it tomorrow

After sweeping all the water out the garage and down the drive [which looked like a rainbow with all the dirty water i lobbed down it] i moved onto the rear corner window areas which is where i welded the rear roof section. I had forgotten to sort them out so i thoughti might aswell do it now


just needed a little tweak on the lip but other than that loverly

just finished this side but only got picture of half way through

 

[pinheaduk]

ok today was a bit hectic as didnt get as much time on the van as id hoped, but i was running my hand over the flatted panels and found the odd low spot so i sorted those out and re flatted over the repairs, the main one was on the o/s rear

i then finished the n/s rear window corners and wet flatted around the window after removing a few paint lips where the rubber sits, as it has had a few cheapo crappy paint jobs

and the rear now ready for a good coat of primer

and this is a shot of the straight and shiny

i then wet flatted the n/s rear corner lower area and im happy with it but only 95% so far

 

[pinheaduk]

i have also put to use a christmas pressie off my mum to list the bits of bodywork i have to work on, list looks massive but some of the jobs are very minor

hopefully this weekend i'll halve this list.

i am also unsure about what to do with the brakes, as i want to upgrade them and cant decide on wether to go for some porsche 944 hubs on the front with 4pot calipers and redrill the rear drums, or fork out for a wide 5 kit all round???

 

[VeeDubMan]

i am also unsure about what to do with the brakes, as i want to upgrade them and cant decide on wether to go for some porsche 944 hubs on the front with 4pot calipers and redrill the rear drums, or fork out for a wide 5 kit all round???

What engine have you got going in?

 

[pinheaduk]

at the moment ive rebuilt the 1600 and added a set of scat 34's but im going to sell that probably and building either a 2110 or a 2276 with FI and turbo , fancy a slot is the USB hehe, or ill build a 1914 turbo with stock heads and get some serious torque :lol:

 

[pinheaduk]

well for the first time in a long time i managed to get to the garage for a few hours on a saturday, ended up working mainly on the rear hatch and also tweaking the n/s rear corner upper area and beltline plus a few bits on the gutters that needed attention

used my panel hammer and dolly and a skim of filler in areas, then flatted back, i also managed to rescue the badge holes as they were hidden under a mass of filler

then put a coat of primer on it, but the pressure was a little iffy and ended up with a few runs and bits of crap coming out the gun but its only for a guide when i flat back and work the low spots

also removed a has job of a seat belt mount which someone welded onto the rear seat panel lol

after

 

[pinheaduk]

did a few hours in the garage today but it was that cold i decided to call it a day, but i managed to do another wet flat of the rear hatch and another oat of primer ready to be flatted with 600

wetflat again

and another coat of primer [and yes these are differnet pictures ]

also primed the side panels after they were flatted but theres still a few pinholes, so used a small amount of stopper so i can wetflat back and primer again some other day

most of the pinholes were down the bottom of the panel

primed the sliding door after flatting and sealed the odd pinhole and scratch

then lastly covered the rear corner and didnt put any stopper on as i was freezing

ont thing hat needs a bit more work is the upper line of the beltling as it is not 100% striaght as you can just see in the picture

 

[71Dormobile]

Good work, it's way to cold out there today though...

 

[pinheaduk]

Good work, it's way to cold out there today though...

your not kidding, and wet flatting with freezing water wasnt the best idea :roll:

 

[71Dormobile]

Good work, it's way to cold out there today though...

your not kidding, and wet flatting with freezing water wasnt the best idea :roll:

Just about warming up now then and it ain't gonna get warmer tonight, biggest smow fall for 6yrs they reckon.....