1970 DORMOBILE - COMPLETE RESTO - IT PASSED :)

[Guest]

nice work 8)

 

[pinheaduk]

well today had another trip to dentist but managed a couple of hours, so i tidied up the upper welds on the aposts

on the o/s the gutter was rotten near the tip so i also cut off a section off the donor posts and welded it to the van

i have also taken all the glass and rubber etc out of the cab doors ready to strip the paint off and clean them up.

had a better look at the engine conrods and i am shocked that this engine was built by KCW, it was a 2054cc with standard heads, standard rods and a standard cam, and they actually ground the corners of the rods off so that they would fit it the case, absoloutely awful, no wonder the engine blew, i wonder after the vicious grinding the weighed them to see if they were of a similar weight

i am off to but some nitro mors as its great for getting the stupid amounts of paint they slapped on these doors off

 

[pinheaduk]

ok quick update, have mitro mors the cab doors and they are pretty straight apart from a few minor dings over the years but no rust

after one coat

two coats

i will wire wheel the rest of the stubborn bits off tomorrow then etch prime them

 

[pinheaduk]

ok today i disturbed the entire street for a few hours with my grinder and wire wheel, i wasnt bothered as i had ear defenders on

but i cleaned up both cab doors and the engine lid. the engine lid is a little worse than i though but its dead straight and the areas that need attention shouldnt take to much effort and the cab doors are solid but have a few dents which is expected after so many years on a bus.

nitro mors the engine lid

and with everything removed

then i dug out some etch primer and activator and gave them all a coat, kinda wierd having a beige etch primer as my last lot was grey

over the weekend im hoping to get the doors straight as possible, weld the engine lid and hopefully finish skimming the a posts and maybe make a start painting the interior

 

[gninnam]

Definitley moving forward with the van - doing a cracking job there :winking0060:

 

[pinheaduk]

well i was supposed to be in the garage all weekend but ending up building some internal walls at the inlaws so today i started what should have been finished over the weekend

i used my hammer and dolly to beat out the dents in the o/s door and the gave them a skim of filler and worked it back until its good enough for a decent coat of primer

after first skim

this was sorting out the low spot due to curve in panel

all nice and straight [this was the easy door :bottle: ]

the n/s door has a few more dents so spent a bit more time with the dolly so i dont need as much filler
does look more than it is but it really isnt that bad

still a few high/low spots but not much work left to do

also made a start on the repairs of the engine lid but ran out of gas, and the place were we used to get pub bottles has gone into administration so have to go back on those little bottles that cost the earth

cut out the rust on one side, cut the repairs and tacked in place

i also cleaned the rear brake backing plates i got from dubfreeze ready for a good paint - so shiny

 

[easy]

Coming along fella :cool0008:

 

[combideluxe1969]

8) 8) 8)

 

[pinheaduk]

IVE GOT GAS , but before i finished welding the engine lid i noticed a little dint in the o/s door so finished that off and now that door is ready for primer

i then moved onto the engine lid and finished welding the left side and ground it back before moving onto the right hand side of the lid

i also plugged a few holes on the top lip and gound them back

the lid before a skim of filler

this is the lid with a rough skim of filler, was very cold today so the filler was taking ages to set so will finish this off tomorrow hopefully

 

[gninnam]

As usual a fantastic job done - can hear the end of this saga calling louder and louder :mrgreen:

 

[pinheaduk]

well today i finished the n;/s door - yippee it was a ballache but its nice so tomorrow i can give it etch and primer coat

the last two low spots

all done

i have also done the bottom part of the engine lid the to im still going over but its only the little bits that need shaping which are prooving tricky

bottom with final skim

bottom done just need to shape the top

 

[pinheaduk]

ok didnt do anything over the weekend as was at the gf's parents again supporting structural walls, but i got the chance to buy a gravity fed spray gun as i dont really like the suction fed one that i have been using and its a lot better, getting a nice constant spray pattern and some fine orange peel so i know its working ok

i finished to engine lid and gave it a coat of primer and also put it on the van to check the lines, looks ok and more like a van every day

and in situ

i also gave the front doors a few coats of primer and then painted the rear brake backing plates

 

[Haveacamper]

mate i have a concern about that hatch. if you are running an aircooled engine then putting that hatch in is halving the cool air flow into the engine bay. this will decrease the temperature gradient between the hot and cold zone of the engine - causing things to overheat.

NaFe

 

[pinheaduk]

tis very true, i was going to vent the hatch but then the gas fumes could still get to the engine, i have seen someone do this before but i cant find the link to see how they got round diverting the flow, so until then i will have to scrap this idea.
I think they vented the doorway but i cant be too sure

cheers dude, i kept thinking there is something wrong with doing this lol, butwhen your on one, your mind gets stuck on one thing and you dont see the obvious

 

[Haveacamper]

no prob mate. touble with venting the engine lid is thst it is similar to driving with it open. the exhausts can easily get recirculated back into the engine.

one though, definitely think about the airflow

NaFe

 

[gninnam]

The orginal location for a Dormy was in the location and they never had any extra venting as far as I have ever seen.

Unless, someone knows different

 

[pinheaduk]

they didnt have an extra venting etc, but i saw this somewhere as a custom addon, but cant find it so scrapping it, restored enough of these buses to know that it wouldnt have worked

 

[pinheaduk]

well today i flatted back the front doors and gave them a few more coats of primer ready for flattingback with 800 grit and painting, i also did the same for the sliding door which needed a bit more stopper in places

after flatting

both doors after more coats of primer

loverly and flat

sliding door after flatting and primer

i then moved onto the aposts and sanded back until i got the shape right on the n/s [havent finished the o/s yet] but its getting there

n/s lower

n/s upper

i then sat the screen in loosely to see the lines and im very happy with the fit, i also took a photo of the o/s to see how it looks before i start sanding it back

n/s

o/s still needs a bit of sanding but the shape is there

 

[pinheaduk]

well i can feel the day coming when i might get chance to paint the bus, still after all this time cant make my mind up on the finish, i saw a few buses other day done in matt paint, well they were painted and just lacquered over, no flatting back or anything and they looked pretty cool and a sligtly wierd finish to the paint.

i am trying to sort the front panel down the sides and around the indicators

not much needed on the n/s

have primed both areas just forgot the photo lol, plus it will need stoppering etc

also a little thing but needed all the same is the petrol flap, ready for last coat of primer and i also masked off the superbly original sticker on the rear as i want to keep them

 

[gninnam]

Hope you don't damage the stickers when you take the tape off :shock:

Doing a fantastic job matey - well pleased for you the way its starting to come together 8)