My 71 Bay resto project

[Alfie]

Thanks for the nice comment 71dormy 8)

andewilson.....Oh yes got plans to go a bit lower!!! gonna make a start on the front beam shortly :shock:

In the meantime have finished repairing the front bumper and quite pleased with the result, certainly saved myself a few bob fixing it up

Sprayed it Pastel white to match the roof

managed to clean up the old rubber steps which came up a treat

Just got to fit it back on now!!!

 

[pinheaduk]

looking awesome as usual, cant wait to see this one up close

 

[mrknuckles]

Alfie that is truely amazing. Have you ever tried walking on water? Go on give it a go, bet you dont get wet.

 

[Snyx]

Hey Alfie

If you ever feel like a "working holiday" in South Africa, you let me know :twisted:

 

[faux]

What amazes me is that your block paved drive still looks clean.....mine was perfect when I moved in two years ago......covered in oil, paint etc now :mrgreen:

Keep up the good work, this will inspire anyone who wants to a driveway resto. 8)

 

[Alfie]

Cheers guys Not had time to do too much this week, managed to fit the front bumper back on though and pleased with the result.

So decided to have a go at repairing the old dented rusty rear bumper too :shock: Here's a pic after a bit of work on it, starting to take shape now.

 

[spenmiester]

some top notch graft fella. take my hat off to you ( if i wore one!)

 

[Alfie]

Thanks Spenmiester, been working away in the garage all day trying to finish that rear bumper. I've finally got it as straight as I could and even managed to spray some paint on it by the end of the day, cant wait to put it on the bus in the morning. 8)

 

[Alfie]

 

[gninnam]

Sweet 8)

 

[baj]

anymore update on this alfie

 

[pinheaduk]

how did you find using the earlex, as i tried to use one to spray some primer on my bus recently and the thing what throwing the paint out like a shultz gun, yet my paint gun used with my compressor managed fine.

im guessing i had the primer quite think but what mix did you do with your top coat, as tempted to try again with the earlex as im sick of hearing my compressor cranking over every 2mins

 

[Alfie]

Hi pinheaduk just been looking at your resto thread.......all I can say is Wow!!!! and I thought I had a big job... well done dude 8)
I used 50/50 mix with the cellulose and thinner in my Earlex sprayer. It seemed to go on ok after a bit of pratice and ajustment on the nossle. I gave it about five coats and still had to flat it back after, but it came up nice and shiney. probably not as good as a proper compressor but then I couldnt afford to buy one at the time.

My campers been in Hibernation over xmas as I am skint!!!! but still managed to source this old front beam from my mate Scotty.

The end plates are rotten so the next job is to hopefully get some new ones from Gavin at Trailer Queen restos they seem really good. http://forum.earlybay.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=9289&p=109587&hilit=front+beam+end+plates#p109587" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Also going to try and lower it with some ajusters, so here goes!!! :shock:

Made a start by stripping the old beam

Will update with some more pics soon.

 

[pinheaduk]

daft question but how do your panels look when you look down them, as with a shine on mine for the moment they look very very slightly ripply and the corners arent totally smooth when i rub my hand round the corner so to speak.

I aint going for a concourse finish but i dont want it to ripple all the way down hehe, plus im getting obsessed with it :roll:

and the amount of work on yours is very similar to mine i would say, and i love the interior of yours, superb

 

[Alfie]

My corners came up lovely as did the drivers o/s. However the nearside panel could do with a bit more work but I think you can go on and on forever. I am quite happy in the fact that my bus will never be a show van!! but only i know how much work i have put into it which makes me sort of proud... and thats all that matters!!

Anyway i can always get a body shop to give it a professional finish after. I bet yours looks great though, dont worry!!

 

[andewilson]

i like your theory on it alfie, and pinhead. these vans years ago would have been shown the door and scrapped for no money. the fact that both your vans will not just be back on the road with mot's etc but be used to camp in and hopefully last a good few more years is testimant to the effort you put in. i too am trying to get my van on the road this side of 2020, and spend most nights unable to sleep.either gutted that my 1 hour on the van was stolen from me by my employer demanding more. or planning in what order or how i am to tackle the next repair to my van. im looking forward to the day i see your van at a show alfie.

 

[Alfie]

Managed to cut off one of the rotten end plates on the old beam.

Going to use these new ones instead

Cleaning up the beam and getting it ready to weld on one new end plate at a time

Also got these front beam adjusters as I'm going to attempt to lower the beam at the same time

Will update with more progress pics soon.

 

[Covin]

Great work Alfie, that beam will be better than new when your done :mrgreen:

 

[pinheaduk]

are you narrowing the beam? as you will need to cut the tube from the middle, if not ignore this, just someone locally decided to cut the ends off and then ask me why it went wrong

 

[Guest]

super work alfie... ive never seen adjusters like that before? they look like theres only 2 settings for adjustment?