1971 - YRY483J -Restoration

[marmite monster]

good work !

 

[philstar]

Day 12
March 14th

Good progress today! Welded up about 20% of the spot welds on the roof, and welded the front edge to the existing front lip...

First I trimmed the skin to fit in line with the front panel

I left just a tiny gap all the way along to fill with weld

This is where I made an error. I tack welded it in a few places, and noticed the off-side was bending up slightly (this photo exaggerates it somewhat). I SHOULD have removed the tack welds and re-tacked it after pulling it over to the nearside slightly, if I had marked the centre of the skin and the centre of the frame I would have been able to improve the accuracy. Having said that, it's not really noticeable and won't be at all noticeable once I have worked the corners some more with weld and then some filler. It's important to keep the end goal in sight here - I'm turning a scrapper into a solid bus! Onwards...

My solution was to trim the skin to give me more flexibility and allow me to flatten it

First round of welding completed

Weld ground back with a 40 grit flap disc

Etch primer applied to protect it. I will weld where any discrepancies have occured, and will grind and re-shape the raised corner on the offside until it's is smooth again

So a very good day, one silly mistake has annoyed me but it could be a combination of factors - I don't have the privilege of a perfectly flat drive (mine slopes down and slightly sideways) and the skin could have bent slightly during storage. I'm not going to be too hard on myself, I nearly have a DRY bus!

 

[gninnam]

Keep it going, coming together nicely (though hard graft)

 

[philstar]

Day 13
March 15th

288 spot welds.

Welded. Along with the clamp.

Ground down.

Welded again.

Ground down again.

Shoot me now.

 

[Tony123]

What a job you can always have another try with my van :lol: filler & fibre glass is looking more & more attractive now though , I am still repairing my rear wheel arch I started last year & just attacked the rust on the cill all the way along & up to the front wheel arch Gulp!

 

[philstar]

I'm definitely fibreglassing the other areas - I'll deal with them another time!!! I think the key is to tackle small sections at a time; my old man is forever reminding me of the time he restored the front end of my uncles bay and he ended up ripping everything off leaving nothing left to line the new panel up with!

I'm used to working on minis which are a whole lot smaller than a bus and nowhere near as complex, but with this project I just had to go for it, otherwise or I would have never done it. It's been a great experience so far...

 

[philstar]

Day 14
March 16th

Today I made the decision to replace the rear side windows with metal, returning this part of the bus back into a panelvan at least. I had a long hard think about it and came up with the phro's and con's:

Keep the windows:
Better visibility
Higher resale value

Return to metal:
Better privacy
Better security
Warmer in winter
Cooler in summer
Can use the wall space
Less likely to rust

Window frame top clamped on while I decide. Here you can see the difference between a factory built campervan and an aftermarket conversion, there is a lot more strength in actual campervans as the windows are inset slightly and have a box section frame.

In the end the pro's far outweighed the con's, I will be happier sleeping in the bus with a bit extra privacy and insulation, and I have the middle side windows which I will keep anyway. So I made a start!

Always start with a cardboard template! Measure twice, cut once!

Panel made! The sides and bottom are joggled and holepunched, but the top edge will be butt-welded to the box section.

I used a gas bottle to curve the panel, note the ring of weld running around the center of the bottle. I did not. This has created a number of high points where it deformed the panel! Nothing too bad that filler won't sort it out, but annoying. I will be using a smooth gas bottle for the other side!

Curved panel held in place with some seriously strong and useful magnets!

Began tacking the panel into place, very slowly and moving around the perimeter to avoid the panel heating up too much and distorting.

Tomorrow I should have the welding done and ground back, and the other side up to the same standard!

 

[philstar]

Days 15-18
March 20-24th

Right, after running out of welding gas (another £80 bites the dust) I have been working flat out again, I have finished welding in the side panels on both sides, and am now attacking the rear end.

Eventually I want to replace the rear quarters wholesale but with money fast running out, I am making panels myself to repair the internal frame and the outer skin.

What a mess! Couldn't really avoid repairing this...

Feels better now I've cut the rust out!

Making shapes...

Therapeutic. Messy, but therapeutic.

Making complex shapes...

Use cardboard templates religiously!

Don't let the panel get too hot or it will warp and ding

No need for expensive fireproof clothing, your skin extinguishes 47% of all small fires*.
*Not a fact and not recommended.

Happy days though!

 

[Tony123]

Great work just been grinding my rear end & roof rust has eaten through inner strengthener is rotten, roof inner rotten Gulp, but at least my cill side is good up to well arch just needed cleaning & filler on top.

Some pics (not hijacking your thread)




going to have to do the same as you cut & weld something in or :msn4: lol

 

[philstar]

I was apprehensive at first but now I've done one side at the rear it's not so bad, just take your time and accept that it will take a while and it is quite enjoyable! Safe in the knowledge that your bus will be better than it ever has been under your ownership!

 

[philstar]

Days 19 - 22
March 30th - April 5th

Lot's of half days here and there with interruptions, but I have managed to finish making the panels for the rear - including some compound curves which was an interesting first time exercise!

I have got to the point now where I have nearly finished all the welding and have red-oxided everything in preparation for filler and painting. I did want to fill directly onto the metal but spots of surface rust was creeping through already so I cleaned everything down and gave it some protection.

I also repaired the outer skins of my front arches and built new inner sections for the front bumper to bolt onto, that was quite good fun!

Compound curve made where centre profile meets the bootlid

Repairing the N/S inner rear frame

N/S rear panels made

Rear welding finished

Replacement front step made

O/S front arch repaired

N/S front arch repaired. Slightly too wide but better than the previous!

Gutters cleaned and red-oxided all round

 

[Tony123]

Some really good work going on you must be nearly there Mot time soon ?

 

[philstar]

Days 23 - 25
May 14th - May 16th

OK been slightly sidetracked by having to MOT both of my parents' cars, but I have managed to finish the roof! (Gutters upwards...). Target for MOT was end of May but along with the interruptions I have just removed the engine and will be sorting the wiring and steering box so I will try to finish it in June!

The roof has been sprayed with a couple of coats of clear matt lacquer to preserve the patina and retain the dull finish. One waterproof bus, hooray!!!

First I painted the gutters with white to try and blend into the roof patina, but I wasn't happy with the colour.

I tried again with some Ford Nordic Blue (used a pantone swatch book to match up with the nearest rattle can lid in Halfords) and that's good enough for me!

 

[Fernando Palmela]

but saved congratulations for the work.............

 

[philstar]

Hey guys just an update on this project. Sadly my Father passed away in September 2016 after a long battle with cancer, he taught me everything I know when it comes to vehicles (and having a positive attitude!) but found that I lost all enthusiasm to do this work, and it was difficult to even be in the garage. It's very different now I am on my own doing it without him or my Grandfather involved.

A year on and I have finally managed to force myself to get back into the garage, the engine is all but rebuilt (aside from needing to buy a couple of cylinder heads which I just don't have the cash for) and I am aiming to have MOT by April next year so I can use it to drive my best mate to the church on his wedding day (he doesn't know what it looks like...).

So once I have got the engine back in and running I will turn the bus around and repair the front, then I fully expect it to fly through the MOT with no advisories... just another winter of working in the cold to look forward to!

On a side note I was considering moving this board to my personal website, because unless you are a member you cannot see the information here which is a real shame and I would like for this to help as many people as possible. Is there a way to make this particular board public?

 

[nobbly]

Sorry to hear of your loss. However, glad to hear that you are keeping the faith with your T2 [emoji106]. The roof work is awesome and summer will come, then it will all be worth it.
I know, as another rhd rust bucket owner!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Tony123]

Hi Phil sorry to hear of your sad loss. Been a while keep the faith glad to hear you've still got your bus & will get it back on the road will be very rewarding once its on the road ,I have been using my bus regularly until today, went to work boxing dayheard an un-usual noise & think it needs a new drive shaft or cv as knocking from the rear + gearbox as noisy & probably engine (poor mpg) Gulp.

Regards Tony.

 

[ajpepe72]

Great thread, I’ve got a lot of the same repairs on my 69 panel van, it’s windowed but I’m going to return it to a panel van, same issues with rear corners on mine as well.
http://forum.earlybay.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=74708
Sorry about your loss, lost my dad on 2009 and it was same situation, he taught me everything I know and he was a mechanic, miss being able to phone him for advise.

 

[philstar]

Back again!

I'm in a much better place now, both mentally and physically (moved in with my fiancee, all grown up) and have finally had the bus moved to my new house so I can get back to work on it. I have prepped everything for the first run of the engine, and it's turning over nicely on the ignition but I have no oil pressure (OIL light stays on during cranking for over a minute, on multiple attempts).

Both the oil pressure relief and control valve pistons are stuck in the case, not sure if this would be the cause of no oil pressure but I've ordered the proper tool to help remove them anyway which should be here in a week or so.

Assuming freeing up these valves doesn't fix the issue, what is the next likely culprit? Do I need to check the oil pump?

 

[philstar]

Frustratingly, the oil piston puller (Part no AC000117) doesn't fit my pistons! But as if by magic I found my Grandad's old tap set and managed to extract them with the 1/2" tap:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/81geGNdhuK4pfQJw5

The pistons measure 16mm outer diameter, and 12mm inner diameter, and the puller tool is about 12.75mm in diameter.

I'm now trying to sand the bores to ensure the pistons move freely but it's difficult to do without catching the threads for the end plugs—I'm currently rolling some emery cloth into a tight cylinder, inserting it and letting it unravel to the bore circumference but it doesn't seem to be having much effect. Using plenty of carb cleaner and tissue to clean out the bores as I go...