1976 Panel Van Conversion - complete resto

got your work cut out there buddy! as most have said, don't take too much off before you put back on, it will become very daunting if you do, believe me. i know!

 

Well I got measuring today!

Only got pics of the thrust measurements for you all.

Engine No.1 the from the van


And engine No.2 the engine from the trike.



Finally a small victory.

I also checked the piston rods to cam shaft clearance 8-10 on an inch set of feelers (cant find the metric set) now to check the books.

 

dig in / have fun / enjoy it all !

 

Right time for an update!

Now using firefox as explorer will not let me post!

I picked up a used 1600 tp head off ebay - 'good condition' I was happy enough, then I noticed a broken bolt stuck in a hole .

Out with the drill

Pilot Hole was off center - It was fun trying to drill with the next bit and get back on center but I got it.

So then came the easyouts.



The were not easy and it did not come out!
I had used a 5mm bit to drill to the edge of the thread - maybe to close and the thread caught the easyout?

So I decided the only solution was to re-bore at 6mm, 1mm oversize. It was trick at frist as the steel in the treads made it a difficult start ensuring it stayed dead center and run off into the softer head.



Started OK but then



The fins got in the way, I could not get a socket to fit so the vice grips came out. The thread had only started to take good so I had to be careful not to run off course.



Worked a treat, went for a cuppa and forgot to take a photo of the finished job doh!

 

My car body work welding course starts in Feburary stoked to get stuck in.

I got some nice thick plate metal, in the back ground is a template which give a hint to what I was making.


Can you guess what it is for...
.
.
.
.
Here is your next clue, the pipe bender.



Checking the curve of the plate




Yeah you guessed right



I know and not very aesthetically pleasing(Remember I did say scrap metal!)



I will get it brushed and painted up next weekend (I won't really).

 

As the engine donor van windows are in better condition I figured why patch bits when I can swap the whole window frames.

Started drilling all the spot welds





You can see in the top right some spot welds between the side on the lip are not drilled out yet I got bored and started cutting out the frame! Do NOT do this, I was left with a shaky frame to drill the rest of the welds out.







I got one out, it was messy at a few palaces where the spot welds had been drill off center and I used a fine chisel to try and spilt them, this pulled the lip a bit out of shape so I needed another solution. A hacksaw blade between the two sides of the lip was ideal to finish off and cut any residual spot welds cleanly. I had more photos but can't find them at the minute maybe later.

 

Good on you for taking this on as you are mate. Straight in for the kill

 

Good work so far. Even more respect now I know you're Australian!

 

That "snapped" bolt in the head - it was there to plug a hole that you don't need so I'm afraid you'll end up putting one back...
All good practice though.

 

Now I done some serious laughing when I read this Zed!

 

Warning the following pics are twisted !

Its been a long time since I updated or done anything worth mentioning, I did push the boat out and picked these up.



I got distracted as a new toy was bought for the farm in time for lambing, but it had no doors.



First got a frame sorted then the door, rough and ready but does the job.



from the inside,



and with a ground inspection window,



Still need to put foam rubber trim around the frame and a rubber lip around the door edges to reduce vibration and seal but happy enough with the outcome.

 

Back to the VW

I decided to strip a solex 34 carb for reconditioning ( using the standard kit).




But I got stuck on the middle screw below, it will not budge. All suggestions welcome!




Leaving the carb to one side (in bits) I decided to look at the Heat exchangers to see if they could be saved, the jury is still out.



Patches needed to close up the hot air and prevent its escape, but it seemed repairable then I noticed the flaps were not operating correctly and decided to have a closer look. Unfolded the over lap and took off the outer shell.



The spring which keeps the flaps in the V shape allowing them to close or open was broken!

Does anyone have a picture of the spring so know where you can source a replacement?

 

Right time for an update, cheers for the reminder poptop2

The carb and heat exchangers have been put aside for the minute and I took to cleaning up the tinware again, lots of pics on a camera but not sure where it is now so only phone pics for upload at the minute.

Selection of tinware sandblasted with a 20 gallon blaster and Supafine J medium then sprayed with simoniz red high temp paint from Halfords. I ran out and went back, however they denied ever having it in stock... random so I got the Halfords own which was not red but more pinky orange not happy!

In the background you can see the kitchen which need some refurbing.



The larger sections of tin need some patches so it was finally time to put my fine metal welding skills to the test...tacking and then joining the tacks. A few very thin patchs burned through so some weld building required!

It's messy but cleaned up no to bad so generally happy with it.

 

Great stuff. Cheered me up no end after reading some comments saying all RHD vans are not worth restoring (not on this forum!). I have a RHD and your work is looking awesome!

 

Thats boll.......ocks I saved a right hand and any van is worth saving if you want it

 

My thoughts exactly! Your profile pic is testament to that.

 

I had some help for a weekend and got this fabricated which will make life so much easier when it come to working around the van.



With this I decided to move to the van and attempt a small patch.



I used a vice and old club hammer head as a dolly with a piece of pipe to get the curve then tacked it in.



Check out the depth of the filler on the panel! I am guessing there is a reason for this which I will touch on later.


As the back of the van is facing my work bench I started here. The van currently has no rear valance.. this make working in the engine bay so much easier!

The panels sitting on the rear chassis ends both needed work.

You can see the hole in behind and below what I am guessing is something to hold an air filter?


I drilled the spot welds out but at the D-post I used a plasma cutter to match the curve




Under this the chassis also had a hold so, cut out the area including any heavy pitting and fabricated a patch.



All cleaned up and welded in and painted using red oxide (original stuff). Still considering using vactan on all the other areas before I weld back in the body panel which covers the chassis.

You can see the hole where the wheel arch tub and closing panel have rusted through, more on this later, but now back the body panel. The rust is only on the top so I decided to replace it and keep the vertical section and it had the more complex closing for the engine tin to match up.

 

Right to get the right bend on the top panel I used the following clamping to get the shape I needed.
The panel is sitting on a strip of metal which provides the height difference for the F-clamp to push down the end section


You can sort of see the bend. The donor metal is from an old sheet lying about which is why the it has surface rust, it is easily cleaned off prior to final fit.



Final fitting and tacked on. the back lip will be trimmed closer to fitting time.


Panel in place for fit but before it can go in I have to focus on the D-post repair first.

 

Need to find my camera before I continue posting on the d-post but until then a quick patch in the RHS wheel tub closing panel.




Cut measured and shaped the repair.

Tacked in with spot welds and drilled for attaching to the side body panels.