Today I did a little sound deadening - whilst the tank is still out - Wickes bitumen gotta love it Fitted the breather hoses fuel return etc. could only get r6 grade for them - got r9 for the actual fuel hose though. Given these hoses should only get vapours I hope they will be ok I will have to keep an eye on them... Tried fitting the tank but the neoprene pads didn't have as much give as the felt - so they had to come off Looked good around the fuel outlet so will keep it there... Spent ages cleaning all the adhesive off - think ill just put a few small pads of draught excluder strategically underneath I've heard that in later bays they didn't have any and on ratwell I don't see him adding any... Ho hum tomorrow I will hopefully get the tank in and some more
Fuel tank mk II - Less neoprene underneath and draught excluder strip for the straps as it compresses better It fits Next up the firewall - i derusted the bottom portion and gave it a coat of galvo, other than that it looked passable so I opted to leave it as is for now ... Then I fitted the anti rattle pins to the rear drums, bled the brakes, adjusted the hand brake ... The above tool was the only way I could compress those bleddy springs onto the pins - even then I had use my full weight behind it
Although I should add - I am my best to do it properly ... I am complete newbie and so therefore there should be a health warning on all these posts hopefully someones watching and will put me right - when I c*ck up
Your progressing nicely d5andy Check the security of the pivot pin on your fuel pump dude The brazzy ones have been known to work loose and fall out over time
Couple of days back I slipped the gearbox back in.... Then put the cv joints back on.... Played with the gear change - not sure that reverse is in but will see. Then back to the garage to tickle the engine mounts and play with the thermostat bracket... Did take the front tin off install new plugs and got it down off the engine stand onto my ATV lift which is sitting on my garden truck Need to lugg it round the front, get it down off the truck, under the bus and up into position, sort the carb wiring out, pour a little oil in, charge a battery blah blah blah So maybe fire it up soon
Transported the engine to the bus After a bit of jiggling its in Fitted the engine hanger mounts and called it a night
Thanks Carl, just wished id had the time to finish the engine bay but I need to move the beast round and up to the garage so ... Heres hoping its doesnt explode or spew oil every where
I couldn't resist a sneaky look this evening at the bus - heres a shot with the engine in .. Ransacked the garage and found the missing carb wiring, the right year accelerator cable (I have three) and last few bits I need to complete the engine... All set for next weekend back to work next week and won't be able to get any work on the bus done during the week anymore So the pace of updates will slow up now
As predicted - all I have managed to do is try to fit the accelerator cable ... However still got it wrong - was again the wrong part too long Then the storms hit so no leccy for the last few days .. Visiting relatives now Working all next week so don't expect to make any progress in jan.. May have to outsource ... Merry Xmas 'n happy new year all!
Lovely sunny day today - went out and tickled the rust with fe123 Water had pooled in the engine bay and trickled under the drivers door onto the cab floor and caused a little surface rust. A couple of coats did the trick Still need to replace the accelerator cable with the right one, finish the wiring and fuel lines The garage roof is terminal - all that water has caused the it too bow in the middle and it isn't likely to last much longer - especially if we have snow ... So the goal posts move again looks like I can't shuffle the van round the back and continue work in the garage..
Many thanks to Melvin of http://www.flyingbluedog.co.uk/ for dicing with the fallen trees and flooded lanes to get the bus to its current residence Its a bit of wrench - on the one hand Id love to keep going on my ownsome but many other factors mean that it isn't happening. Work means I dont get back til late everyday... wet gravel ... its been a little breezy lately too ... coupled with my low welding skills Plus now I have some dosh from working - its time to let Fletch work his magic looking forward to it! Especially looking forward to perhaps getting it back on the road this year over to you Fletch
Apologies for the late start on this, I got delayed welding up an old Merc for a friend which was meant to be a couple of days work and turned out to be a rot box which needed 2 weeks work instead. Quality German steel I made a start on friday. David had already replaced the inner and middle sill and the ends of some of the floor supports on this side, so I started on this area. The arch isn't too bad, but the B pillar needs attention at the bottom and rust is creeping out of the seam slightly. The seat belt mount has had some horrible looking welding done. Not sure if a concientious mot tester would pass this. Unfortunately I had to cut part of the arch out to be able to repair the B pillar properly. It looks like the rot has started where the servo pipe enters the arch. With the seat belt mount cut away, you can see the remains of the B pillar. Everything cut out, from inside the van. And outside. Welding in repairs to the B pillar. I've welded this from the inside because it saves time on grinding down. New B pillar outer welded in. I also spent a bit of time scotch-briteing the new jacking points and painted the insides. That's it for the mo, I'll post up some more progress pics next week.
Got some more done. JK home made panels are generally very good, but this one isn't, it doesn't fit properly. But can be cut up to make sections that fit. I've missed a few pics out somehow. All repaired and with the jacking point in place. Next up is repairing the arch. First the bit of the B pillar the arch sits against. Again, I've missed a few of the process pics somehow, but this area was cut back up to the blue paint. Next I welded the remains of the arch back into place which had been cut out earlier to allow access to the B pillar. Then I welded a new section of the outer arch in. Here it's tacked into place to make sure it follows the curve of the B pillar properly. I remade the part of the arch that joins the B pillar which was rusty including the tab. You could weld straight to the pillar, but the tab looks original. All finished, with a new seat belt mount section welded in.
