My 1971 bay project...

[Tofufi]

cheers guys

J&M, I'll till be around on here posting nonsense as usual..

Ginnam, I didnt use the metal ready stuff. TBH, the paint will only last a short while, but I didn't have te time to prep it all properly.. However I did paint mostly over the transit primer (which could be good or bad?)

Harlequin, the break of uni will be very welcome


No idea about the to-do list yet
:lol:

Just to prove I got the van to uni today...

And my new rear seat which I had to make a small detour on the way for (Thanks to Phil (Flying Split) for being around at 9AM on a sunday morning

Having a great time at uni s far, people in my flat seem really nice (and like the van!) Fairly quiet night this evening, will be much later getting in tomorrow night

 

[Araon]

At least people will leave you plenty of space in the car park :lol: :lol:

 

[gninnam]

I'd leave the colour scheme as is - makes for a very distinctive look 8)

Might even start a trend :lol:

 

[rob-stone]

good work, nothing like a deadline eh?
what uni you at

 

[adamski]

Amazing work, quite new to this forum, so will be looking forward to updates from you.
What is a van like to drive with a 4 inch narrowed beam, considering the same for my bay!

 

[Tofufi]

Aaron, I keep avoiding cars in the car park :lol: There is a brand new Eos with a huge scrape down the side - I don't know if it is worse someone at uni can afford one, or that they've scraped it already :?

Rob-Stone, I'm at the university of Birmingham.

Adamski, My van drives nice with the 4" beam, but I've never driven a stock one on the road... It corners nicely anyway.

 

[Tofufi]

Righty, more than 2 months without an update. Living in a 3rd floor flat means I can't pop out and do work on the van

I'm hoping to get somewhere with a garage next year

Anyway, I have the use of my parents garage for 3 weeks. Woop :lol:

I've started attacking the gutters as the donor roof had a bit of surface rust in the gutters. Nothing serious found yet, just little bits of pitting on the surface. A heavy application of POR metal-ready and then a lot of paint ought to see it right.

I've also taken out the 2 Drivers side windows so I can do some prep and paint on that side. The aim is to get it looking good from 10 foot away, not a show winner or anything.

So first, a bit of filler and final prep on the B pillar, a dent to fill on the swage line where it looks like someone has opened a car door into it)

Filler added to the B pillar:

And to smooth out the dent

Needs sanding in that photo above

:lol:

A bit of sanding and prep work later, and we have:

I got a fair few runs with my rattle can spraying, think I was stood too close. Ought to cut out though, I'll see what I can do when its dry.

More updates to come

 

[Justin & Muttley]

Nice to see you back in the fray Sir!! Keep those updates coming... have you fitted the badge yet???

 

[Tofufi]

It's good to be able to work on it again

I've not fitted the badge yet. I've just got hold of some badge clips, so all I have to do is fill the front panel (just needs a skim) and then I'll be able to fit it

Cheers dude Have a good Christmas

 

[Justin & Muttley]

...Cheers dude Have a good Christmas

You too Jim, have a good one!

 

[Tofufi]

8) Things will be a bit different this Christmas due to my gran having a couple of heart attacks in the last few weeks, but I'm sure we'll enjoy it just the same. Just a bit more to deal with this year.

A bit more progress for today

Gave the white a bit of wax to seal the paint. It comes up fairly well, especially for a first attempt at cosmetic bodywork painting
It ain't perfect though - a few dust specks etc so at shows people had better not look too close :lol: Looks fine from 10ft though, which is the aim.

Got a 1/4light refitted...

And this one is for the rear 1/4

 

[Htotheunit]

I am stunned at how skilled you are! and you're only 18 (I'm 17, no chance of me being able to catch up) my van needs a new front panel, and the doors straightening out.. if only i had your skills, i'd do it myself, instead of spending £800 at the garage... teach me?

 

[Tofufi]

I'm 19 now dude, been 19 for 2 months :lol:

I do live in Brum in term time, so Tamworth isn't that far away.

Got a garage?

You havn't seen my van in the metal either :lol:

 

[Htotheunit]

cool! =) my garage isn't tall enough for my van (why did they even bother with putting a garage door on that isn't tall enough for anything worth while) but my dad has a load of barns i can use when its raining and work needs doing... i need to learn how to get my windows out, so i can properly get rid of rust bubbles that are appearing under the seals

 

[Tofufi]

Don't talk to me about removing windows... :lol:

I did the side ones by pushing with my hands, start with one corner and the glass will properly bend

to be fair, I've only ever had problems fitting the windscreen, which took 4 people on my van :?

If ya want a hand I'm sure I could pop over one weekend in the new year and give it a go... if my bug / van (delete whichever one isn't running at the time) has enough petrol

 

[Htotheunit]

sounds cool my van doesn't need as much work as yours, but i just want to get it back into shape for the festival season.. (rust bubbles, re weld front wheel arch)

shame i already put a deposit on the crash damage..

did you do a course in welding, or teach yourself?

 

[Tofufi]

I had a friend teach me to weld, doing small heater channel repairs on my beetle

He then told me to "finish the floorpan" which had a hole the size of your foot through it, so I picked up the torch and got welding. Took a while to get used to the smells and sounds which are worrying at first, but it ended up alright in the end

I reckon my beetle will need a body-off resto in the summer to do the floors and heater channels properly. Not to mention the A pillars, bulkhead, etc etc.
It currently has MOT til March 6th, but the engine in it I've replaced for a 1641 twin carbed lump, which is being tempermental.

/endlifestory.

 

[Htotheunit]

well, if you need any help drop me a PM.. even though i don't know how to weld.. i am going to learn one day.. so i can keep on top of the van problems, cheaply

 

[Guest]

My Dads a welder by trade but hes swore he wont teach me, i might get him drunk this christmas and see if i can persuade him :twisted: .

Ive bought lots of books the theory seems easy enough but watching someone welding makes me alot more nervy. I think i'll save up for a decent welder like a sealy 220, ive herad good things about it.

 

[Tofufi]

Cheers hasthespaz, drop me a PM when you've got a weekend day free in the new year and I'm sure we can get some windows out.

Johnnyâ„¢, welding whilst drunk sounds a bit dangerous :lol:
At first, it is very nervous as it all seems very loud and as if there is a lot of heat made. After a while it just becomes normal. I certainly wouldn't consider myself an expert at welding, I seem to have good days and bad days where nothing goes right. I've got a Clark 150TE welder, which I think is pretty good. I wouldn't want anything less than 150 amps - I've tried using a 90 amp Clarke welder and I couldn't get it to do anything useful. Snotty welding only.