37 days to go....
- Thread starter giraffeinbath
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giraffeinbath
Well-known member
- 25 days to go.....
Well I could spend as much time as I like getting the body of the van sorted but it's going nowhere without a motor so I thought I should probably spend some time getting this thing back together.
My bro' came around the other evening to take a look and lend a hand and proceeded into to trying to talk me out of the idea of getting the twin carbs fitted and set up prior to going away. Although common sense isn't really featuring here in any great capacity, I'm inclined to agree that perhaps getting the twin dells fitted and running correctly is perhaps a can of worms that I don't have time for so I've conceded to rebuilding the motor with the original solex in the way that it came apart over a year ago...
...and besides, if it all starts feeling a little to easy and I have time to spare I could always take the belly pans off and see what's under there
So the motor is basically together which again feels like a distinct step forward, while I was getting it back together I noticed this;
If you can't make out the photo it's where I scratched 'Gareth March 1999' into the top of the generator pedestal the first time I assembled this motor for my 1302s bug. That poor little car was only on the road for a matter of months before it had the engine ripped out of it to go in the van when the original '68 single port gave up the ghost on the motorway only 30 minutes after we collected it. If you look in the background of some of the pics here you may catch a glimpse of the '02, that little car is a keeper but for now will remain a project for another day.
This carb was never intended to go back on when I stripped the engine down so it's been residing on the floor of the barn getting covered in barn grit for 12 months.....I'd forgotten about my penny and blue tack repair on it when the blanking plug blew out on a trip away some time. I've tried to fit the blank again properly, hopefully it will hold in place this time.
(I'll be taking some blue tack to Cornwall just in case )
Anyway, by the end of the day I had one of these so it's all going in the right direction;
Well I could spend as much time as I like getting the body of the van sorted but it's going nowhere without a motor so I thought I should probably spend some time getting this thing back together.
My bro' came around the other evening to take a look and lend a hand and proceeded into to trying to talk me out of the idea of getting the twin carbs fitted and set up prior to going away. Although common sense isn't really featuring here in any great capacity, I'm inclined to agree that perhaps getting the twin dells fitted and running correctly is perhaps a can of worms that I don't have time for so I've conceded to rebuilding the motor with the original solex in the way that it came apart over a year ago...
...and besides, if it all starts feeling a little to easy and I have time to spare I could always take the belly pans off and see what's under there
So the motor is basically together which again feels like a distinct step forward, while I was getting it back together I noticed this;
If you can't make out the photo it's where I scratched 'Gareth March 1999' into the top of the generator pedestal the first time I assembled this motor for my 1302s bug. That poor little car was only on the road for a matter of months before it had the engine ripped out of it to go in the van when the original '68 single port gave up the ghost on the motorway only 30 minutes after we collected it. If you look in the background of some of the pics here you may catch a glimpse of the '02, that little car is a keeper but for now will remain a project for another day.
This carb was never intended to go back on when I stripped the engine down so it's been residing on the floor of the barn getting covered in barn grit for 12 months.....I'd forgotten about my penny and blue tack repair on it when the blanking plug blew out on a trip away some time. I've tried to fit the blank again properly, hopefully it will hold in place this time.
(I'll be taking some blue tack to Cornwall just in case
)
Anyway, by the end of the day I had one of these so it's all going in the right direction;
giraffeinbath
Well-known member
- 24 days to go.....
Not such a productive day today, primarily because my grinder caught fire which halted play on getting the remaining areas that need welding cut out and prepared.
So I painted [myself] the rear chassis with por15 and poked some holes in the front chassis instead. Not so good.
We have also made a bit of a decision regarding the paint. I've been provided with the opportunity to use a pro spray booth which means we can use 2pac instead of 'safe to spray at home' pain in the *** cellulose. We'll still need to undercoat and prep the van in the barn but with the potential of a longer lasting better quality finish we've decided that it will actually be quicker and easier to bare metal rather than spray on top of the dodgy paint that is there.
This may sound mental with the time scale we have available but with so many layers of paint on the van already trying to feather them all together so the edges don't show through the new paint is probably going to take longer, plus it removes the possibility of the new paint reacting to old.
I'm working tomorrow so that's the bulk of it for this weekend, D-Day for paint is the weekend of the 18th, so slightly less than 2 weeks, no pictures today but there should be some more horror pic's coming pretty soon.
Not such a productive day today, primarily because my grinder caught fire which halted play on getting the remaining areas that need welding cut out and prepared.
So I painted [myself] the rear chassis with por15 and poked some holes in the front chassis instead. Not so good.
We have also made a bit of a decision regarding the paint. I've been provided with the opportunity to use a pro spray booth which means we can use 2pac instead of 'safe to spray at home' pain in the *** cellulose. We'll still need to undercoat and prep the van in the barn but with the potential of a longer lasting better quality finish we've decided that it will actually be quicker and easier to bare metal rather than spray on top of the dodgy paint that is there.
This may sound mental with the time scale we have available but with so many layers of paint on the van already trying to feather them all together so the edges don't show through the new paint is probably going to take longer, plus it removes the possibility of the new paint reacting to old.
I'm working tomorrow so that's the bulk of it for this weekend, D-Day for paint is the weekend of the 18th, so slightly less than 2 weeks, no pictures today but there should be some more horror pic's coming pretty soon.
68_early_bay
Well-known member
giraffeinbath said:
Crikey :shock:
giraffeinbath said:
If your bare metalling what are you doing with the filler museum? Are you swapping the panel out?
Shaun (23 days to go lol)
OLIVE-BAY
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68_early_bay said:giraffeinbath said:
Crikey :shock:
giraffeinbath said:
If your bare metalling what are you doing with the filler museum? Are you swapping the panel out?
Shaun (23 days to go lol)
:shock: :shock: Holey cow :shock: I'd take the panel out dont think there will be a lot of metal left under there anyway....I'm truly shocked at the depth of filler bet the filler cost more than a new panel would have done :lol:
giraffeinbath
Well-known member
Given more time I probably would take the panel out and replace it, at some point somebody has run the van down the side of a gate or similar as there is a long horizontal groove that's pushed it all in. We'll see what it looks like with all the filler removed.
I was actually grinding that lot out (again) when the grinder caught fire, I didn't realise at first as there was so much dust I could see the smoke, the penny dropped when it started getting to hot to handle :mrgreen:
I was actually grinding that lot out (again) when the grinder caught fire, I didn't realise at first as there was so much dust I could see the smoke, the penny dropped when it started getting to hot to handle :mrgreen:
68_early_bay
Well-known member
Probably quicker to cut the panel Out and put a new one in, by the time you grind out try and straighten re-filler etc it's in and straight metal
giraffeinbath
Well-known member
- 23 days to go.....
Well, with new grinder in hand I spent the evening taking out the [known] filler around the van, took a lot longer than I thought it would;
OUCH!
The camera does nothing to highlight the contours in this panel, you can see where a previous owner has staved the panel in somehow but you can't appreciate how it looks like somebody tried to knock the dent out with a baseball bat....
The thick grey dust on the floor (and everything) made the barn look like a set for a 'first bus on the moon' movie. If somebody wants to make that let me know it still looks like that, I couldn't face sweeping that up last night so I just closed the door on it and went home for beans and mash then bed.
Well, with new grinder in hand I spent the evening taking out the [known] filler around the van, took a lot longer than I thought it would;
OUCH!
The camera does nothing to highlight the contours in this panel, you can see where a previous owner has staved the panel in somehow but you can't appreciate how it looks like somebody tried to knock the dent out with a baseball bat....
The thick grey dust on the floor (and everything) made the barn look like a set for a 'first bus on the moon' movie. If somebody wants to make that let me know it still looks like that, I couldn't face sweeping that up last night so I just closed the door on it and went home for beans and mash then bed.
giraffeinbath
Well-known member
- 22 days to go.....
Another evening of stripping paint and filler, my bro' came over and gave a hand tonight as well, everything definitely moves quicker with two. I worked around the rear corner and Martin stripped the front clip which revealed another event in the vans history.
All the signs that at some point the van has had the indignity of receiving a front end shunt with the spare tyre mounted on the front, resulting in all the characteristic damage that would result, of course in this case, also lot more filler....
All bare metalled except for the inch thick filler sections where the tyre has done the damage. Why does anyone hang the tyre off the front? This will have to wait until tomorrow as it got a bit late to get the grinder out.
Tomorrow.....probably more stripping paint and grinding out filler I suspect!
Another evening of stripping paint and filler, my bro' came over and gave a hand tonight as well, everything definitely moves quicker with two. I worked around the rear corner and Martin stripped the front clip which revealed another event in the vans history.
All the signs that at some point the van has had the indignity of receiving a front end shunt with the spare tyre mounted on the front, resulting in all the characteristic damage that would result, of course in this case, also lot more filler....
All bare metalled except for the inch thick filler sections where the tyre has done the damage. Why does anyone hang the tyre off the front? This will have to wait until tomorrow as it got a bit late to get the grinder out.
Tomorrow.....probably more stripping paint and grinding out filler I suspect!
giraffeinbath
Well-known member
- 21 days to go.....
A bit more of the same tonight, but finally an element of 'reconstruction' rather than strip, smash and remove. My brother popped around again along with a colleague of his to lend a hand, two sets of hands last night was good, 3 tonight was even better.
As we left it yesterday, you can see where the front end has been pushed in as a result of a front end bump with a tyre on the front at some point. It's actually pushed the whole grill housing back. Nathan got busy with a pin and slide hammer thing the name of which I have already forgotten. He's managed to pull the panel back into shape from where it was, it was good to see some actual metalwork skills being used on the bus, 'it needs to get uglier before it gets better' summed it up. There's a small amount of welding to be done on the front, mostly welding up the numerous aerial holes that have been drilled over the years, if I fit another it will be on the drivers side, which I know is incorrect for a RHD van, but it'll save leaving another aerial behind in a Cornish hedgerow when the going gets a bit tight....
We're still aiming to get the van prepared and ready for painting a week this coming Saturday so that's 9 prep days left....the skilled hands hopefully come back though later this week, tomorrow night it's just me and the environmentally unfriendly paint stripper to finish bare metalling what's left.
I might buy a couple of beers and walk up to the barn, sounds like a top night out.
A bit more of the same tonight, but finally an element of 'reconstruction' rather than strip, smash and remove. My brother popped around again along with a colleague of his to lend a hand, two sets of hands last night was good, 3 tonight was even better.
As we left it yesterday, you can see where the front end has been pushed in as a result of a front end bump with a tyre on the front at some point. It's actually pushed the whole grill housing back. Nathan got busy with a pin and slide hammer thing the name of which I have already forgotten. He's managed to pull the panel back into shape from where it was, it was good to see some actual metalwork skills being used on the bus, 'it needs to get uglier before it gets better' summed it up. There's a small amount of welding to be done on the front, mostly welding up the numerous aerial holes that have been drilled over the years, if I fit another it will be on the drivers side, which I know is incorrect for a RHD van, but it'll save leaving another aerial behind in a Cornish hedgerow when the going gets a bit tight....
We're still aiming to get the van prepared and ready for painting a week this coming Saturday so that's 9 prep days left....the skilled hands hopefully come back though later this week, tomorrow night it's just me and the environmentally unfriendly paint stripper to finish bare metalling what's left.
I might buy a couple of beers and walk up to the barn, sounds like a top night out.
68_early_bay
Well-known member
It's coming along nicely now
creationblue
Well-known member
Mate your doing a great job!
baysearcher
Active member
Looking good mate!
OLIVE-BAY
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I get tired just reading this post...I salute you sir :anim_19:
giraffeinbath
Well-known member
- 20 days to go.....
This evenings progress.....
There was paint.....
Now there's no paint...
Less paint than there was before....
No paint on this....
You get the idea.
I realised that 3am would be a stupid time to be still be stripping paint on the van....so I left the barn at 2.57.
Should probably go to bed now......
This evenings progress.....
There was paint.....
Now there's no paint...
Less paint than there was before....
No paint on this....
You get the idea.
I realised that 3am would be a stupid time to be still be stripping paint on the van....so I left the barn at 2.57.
Should probably go to bed now......
Doris
Well-known member
Wow, you're hammering that. Wish all resto guys worked that quick! Think of the sun
giraffeinbath
Well-known member
- 19 days to go.....
This has been the latest one so far, the birds have just started singing outside, that's bad.....
I'm not sure I accomplished that much tonight (probably just because my evening revolved around stripping and sanding again) but my bro and his friend came around to help again which was good. Martin has sorted some of the small holes in the front while Nathan has taken us a massive step forward by taking the rear 1/4 panel of doom to virtually there while the front clip has been skimmed and shaped and with a bit of finishing is going to look a lot straighter than before we started, I completely neglected to take pictures of the finished result though so you'll just need to take my word for it.
I need to get a lot done this weekend but not sure how much I'll manage, it dawned on me that I'm at a stag do tomorrow which starts at 10.30am with a few things going on during the day, possibly a pint, finally all culminating in a table booked for curry at 11.30pm with a possible hangover scheduled for Sunday.
My current short term plan is get some sleep.
My medium term plan is to remember to drink some water and avoid Sambuca at all costs.
My long term plan is to get on with it.
This has been the latest one so far, the birds have just started singing outside, that's bad.....
I'm not sure I accomplished that much tonight (probably just because my evening revolved around stripping and sanding again) but my bro and his friend came around to help again which was good. Martin has sorted some of the small holes in the front while Nathan has taken us a massive step forward by taking the rear 1/4 panel of doom to virtually there while the front clip has been skimmed and shaped and with a bit of finishing is going to look a lot straighter than before we started, I completely neglected to take pictures of the finished result though so you'll just need to take my word for it.
I need to get a lot done this weekend but not sure how much I'll manage, it dawned on me that I'm at a stag do tomorrow which starts at 10.30am with a few things going on during the day, possibly a pint, finally all culminating in a table booked for curry at 11.30pm with a possible hangover scheduled for Sunday.
My current short term plan is get some sleep.
My medium term plan is to remember to drink some water and avoid Sambuca at all costs.
My long term plan is to get on with it.
giraffeinbath
Well-known member
- 16 days to go.....
I did make it up the barn yesterday perhaps against the odds given that Saturday was spent in the presence of beer headed up by a man dressed as the blue thing out of avatar....
I would have liked to have got a bit more of the noisy stuff done yesterday, it's a bit slow going during the week as I can't really use power tools after 9pm as there are houses nearby and I don't get back from work until 7. A bit closer to getting all the paint off, just doing the tricky sections by hand which means at the moment it doesn't feel like there is any progression as it's soooo sloooowwww. It's starting to feel like a tall order to be ready for Saturday...
Here's the pic I should have posted on Friday, front section looking good after Nathan did his thing.
..oh and I almost removed one of my fingers with the sander which was the most exciting thing that happened all evening, just to prove that there is blood and sweat going into this, the tears probably come later....
I did make it up the barn yesterday perhaps against the odds given that Saturday was spent in the presence of beer headed up by a man dressed as the blue thing out of avatar....
I would have liked to have got a bit more of the noisy stuff done yesterday, it's a bit slow going during the week as I can't really use power tools after 9pm as there are houses nearby and I don't get back from work until 7. A bit closer to getting all the paint off, just doing the tricky sections by hand which means at the moment it doesn't feel like there is any progression as it's soooo sloooowwww. It's starting to feel like a tall order to be ready for Saturday...
Here's the pic I should have posted on Friday, front section looking good after Nathan did his thing.
..oh and I almost removed one of my fingers with the sander which was the most exciting thing that happened all evening, just to prove that there is blood and sweat going into this, the tears probably come later....
