Nice work, mine had white bung type things fitted too, a heavy wieght grommet would work a treat You can just see what the originals are like at the top
Well, on with the corner panel last night. I had worked out the position and marked it up a few days ago, but last night I temporarily fixed in in position with self-taping screws to take some measurements for the back light. (295mm) After a bit of jiggling I got the position right and decided not to joggle the edges, and instead to a butt joint – so out came the grinder with a 1mm cutting disk and I chopped off the old body work that was not in need. Got out my clamps and put the section back in position. Tacked it in place – and then as before, 1 inch seam welded it in place doing alternate bits and using the airline to cool things off. Anyhow after doing the welding and grinding it down – I had got some distortion on the panel just before it goes around the corner – the panel has shrunk inwards- so I got my dolly out and tried my best to bang it out – got quite close but I feel that it’s going to have a bit of filler in there (but at least there is no rust) The next problem was the tray – I just assumed that it would fit to the wing – but it was 3 mm shy- tried to bang the flanges out to the wing but it was no good as it was not stable – so had tack a bit and bang a bit of the flange out at time – and repeat this 15 times to get it welded in place – I think when I do the other side I will check this and do the fitting prior to fixing the corner wing section. Anyhow looking at the camper I think I can safely say that I’m over ½ way through the welding. 1 side done – all chassis done- all sill done (apart from the outer skin) – 1 door re skinned. I originally estimated that 4 weeks would do it (started 11th of Sept 2012 – but I’m up to 36 days now – so I need to revise my estimate – so here goes – I will be finished welding by Sunday the 4th of Nov 2012 – we will see!!!!! There is more welding work in this camper than any classic car I have worked on – and that includes a Sunbeam Alpine – and they do rust with a capital R – but that car has now been overtaken by a large margin by this camper.
great progress, your cracking on quicker than I did. I originally thought mine would be on the road in a year .................3yrs later :
Thanks for that - Its easy when "her in doors" wants a camper - it’s when YOU want something, and you try to dedicate time to it - she will always give you a hard time and make you feel bad about living in the garage - so you spend more time doing nothing in the house, and hey presto it takes a lot longer than you expect. But the best thing is i alwways enjoy the process - so it’s a win win. I am looking to get it on the road for May next year.!! I now have the entire bits (mechanical and electrical) ready to go We will see!!! ;D
Did a 4 ½ hour shift in the garage last night – Got out my favourite machine the Plasma Cutter! Chopped out - drivers inner wheel arch, the rear corner and battery tray. Once chopped out there was the usual rust and holes in the chassis – the bottom of the rear post and the back – the C post was shot – the top chassis section just under the shock absorber mount and all the edged where the floor meets the wheel arch. I cleaned up all the chasis (i have now become to hate my grinder ) and decided that I would dry fit all the panels jus to see how they go together - before making any of the bits tonight. So with a my first attempt you will see that I got the wheel arch in the wrong position – and when I dry fitted the wing it was well off the rear corner panel but with a bit more jiggling about and a few clamps it all fitted quite well at the end. I have marked all the positions for welding but tonight I will make up all the repair sections and weld these in first- I wonder if I will get the outer skins on as well? What remains of the wing/arch and battery tray?
Not too much to see form last night’s work Made up a few sections – The rear pillar (is it called the D post?) and bottom [glow=red,2,300]flange[/glow]. The bottom section of (I have no idea what it called) the bit that goes between back of the wheel arch and the battery tray. The top of the chassis section at the rear of the engine bay And finally the lips to the battery tray and the floor to the petrol tank. Writing that up is sound a lot!!! Then I dry fitted the wheel arch and wing – to ensure that it all still fits – clamped in the wheel arch and welded it arch in place. I decided unlike the other side I would not put on the whole outer wing replacement panel, I would only use what is required. On the other side I joggled the panel – and got ok results but no different to butt welding – so I have decided to butt weld this section – so after offering the panel up and taking some measurement I got the angle grinder out with the 1mm and started chopping through both wings. All went well and that was it for the night. You can see how big the new panel was - I and how much of the orig body work I have saved (with no rust) did I mention rust again! I still need to make the C post bottom tonight and then I should be able to get everything in – hopefully
No hanging about there! Regarding the butt welding, I've always found joggled edges are easier to control as you're less likely you'll blow through, but personally havent found much of a difference with heat distortion when using butt or joggled edges. Keep the moementum and progress up!
great work, your a man after my own heart, thats the sort of shape repairs I make to save original metal ;D I'm not a huge fan of joddled joints, my thinking is that unless you can get to the other side of the pannel to seal the join, the lip will act as a moisture trap.......and if you can get to the other side then they are a bit unsightly IMO so I dont like using them even if they will be hidden by interior trim ;D..........having said that, I think they do make a better welded join
Got the rear wing welded in place tack welding the whole lot – bob on blob – took ages and my hand hurt (getting soft in my old age) very little distortion and a nice clean job - quite pleased. Then I fitted and welded the rear corner – after a bit of messing i welded that one in as well. Putting in the clamps was a bit of fun – I could have done with a small child to climb into the voids to get the backing bits on – Oh yes when I took them off , have lost one of the back bars – I can hear it as I roll the van over – so should find it – one day, I hope. Have a look at the bottom - not weled in yet but a rubbish fit - i need to do abit more there
Quailty work mate, i had the same issue when doing the nesr side rear on mine, with a little fettling it lined up good in the end
