my 1971 danburyfalia pop top project

[andewilson]

ill take a few measurements of the workshop when i get round tonight as it was v tight when flipping the van over. i'd like to get the front beam done asap as id like to get it flipped the other way and get the passenger side as good as the drivers. i bought some end plates and im going to do a 4 inch narrowed beam myself. the guy at the bus station explained how to do it so hoping to get it built up asap

 

[Alzy]

Looking good so far!! You`ve gone to town on the floors i see!! Much respect!!

Good luck with it all!!

You have PM 8)

 

[andewilson]

spent most of the week removing plates that had been welded over rust.
and got into a situation where you barely have anyhting left. b pillar n/s.
scary moments when most of the pillar is missing

 

[Camperdan]

Your nearside b pillar looks as though it started out as bad as mine is now...... and to hear that you thought it was scary...... scares me even more!!!!!

I've got that to look forward to next!!!!! :shock:

Top job your doing there though so keep the pictures coming as I'm very interested to see how you progress as it is so re-assuring seeing others tackle the same problems and fears! :wink:

 

[andewilson]

Your nearside b pillar looks as though it started out as bad as mine is now...... and to hear that you thought it was scary...... scares me even more!!!!!

I've got that to look forward to next!!!!! :shock:

Top job your doing there though so keep the pictures coming as I'm very interested to see how you progress as it is so re-assuring seeing others tackle the same problems and fears! :wink:

my tactic is to spend hours tickling the old repairs off to get back to the original metal of the van so i can get a visual of how it was new. then cut back as far as you need to go to get a good weld. it takes forever and ill be gutted if it doesnt look right when im done. i could do with a concorse van next to me to take a few measurements from realy.

 

[andewilson]

managed to get an hour a night this week on the van and a few on the weekend too so bit of progress and feeling v good about the van at the mo.

looking forward to fitting my new doors so i can get my arches welded on.
i sprayed all the recent bits ive worked on with metal ready today and painted it all with silver por15 but my camera bats ran out so the photos dont do todays work justice.


also decided to to french the spare wheel well out to make for a tidier engine bay as i am thinking of going new school vw tdi engine so might need the space, im also going to fit cut an access hatch (t25 style) in the back to get better access to the engine in the future.

 

[Guest]

how are you stripping all the old paint off? are you using any particular scratch pad?

i look at this and realise i probably have as much work to do and get alot of inspiration :wink:

 

[andewilson]

i use 75mm crimped wire brushes on my grinder. it works a treat but you do get lots of wire spikes flying in your face and it hurts. for chassis work i use the twisted wire wheel on the grinder, these rip the sh*t out of everything in their way ( including your own hands) but they dont give as nice a finish as the crimped ones. i have other wire wheels that go onto my drill for tricky bits, ive made i concious decision recently that i was being too anal about bits of the van that people arent going to see hence the fact that i chose to hand paint the por15 rather than spray it. i just want progress

 

[Air Cooled Rookie]

Is that a TIG welder that you're using? If so, how do you find it?

Top, top work by the way.

 

[andewilson]

Is that a TIG welder that you're using? If so, how do you find it?

Top, top work by the way.

cheers. i use a very poor old mig welder with 6mm wire and co2.
i'd love to go out and buy a top welder but id have no money left for panels. :?

 

[easy]

ace work! looking good and coming along well 8)

 

[scott wilson]

ande, do you have the t25 hatch yet as a mate of mine is sending one to the scrappie this week and i`m looking to save anything anyone might want.

 

[andewilson]

ande, do you have the t25 hatch yet as a mate of mine is sending one to the scrappie this week and i`m looking to save anything anyone might want.

i was going to make my own frame out of 25mm angle and then make my own hatch to drop in it. its a shame i didnt know there was a hatch going spare or i would have fitted one. i cut it out this week which was i little scary to say the least, hopefully ill have the job complete in a week or so. cheers for the offer anyway mate

 

[T2-Nate]

Wow, this is quite the resto job you took up...
I don't think I would have the heart to do what you did/are doing...

Good luck to you and hope to see a lot more of this thread.

Greetz,
Nathan

 

[andewilson]

cheers for the comments guys. did a bit more work on the camper today. lthe por15 came out again. i had a stinking headache when i finished painting the thing

hand painted it because im a bit impatient, the paint seams realy heavy (dont know if its because the silver is metalic) but it is very hard to brush it on without it sagging and causing very obvious drips

 

[scott wilson]

looks neat to me

 

[Shaggy]

WHS!

 

[Chris]

thats an incredible amount of work you're doing. will be well worth the effort when its finished. good luck with the rest of it. and keep the pics coming

 

[easy]

Really nice

 

[andewilson]

my wife and kids went away for the weekend so worked on the van last night till 9 and spent the day on it today so progress has been good
built the frame for the engine hatch, plated the spare wheel area, hung the doors (which took forever), fitted the divers wheel arch, and trimmed and prepped the arch tub. it is starting to look like a van again.