Gertie the 72 crossdresser. Full resto....and it needs it!

Discussion in 'Restorations' started by exuptoy, Jul 5, 2012.

  1. holy crap thats a lot of work ..........and I thought mine was bad ;D

    great work and skills you've got there, well done mate top job :)

    K+ for a new resto (well one I've not kept up with yet ;D) and for all the hard graft

    I'll be keeping up with the updates from now on :)
     
  2. Cheers Diddymen.

    Kept up with yours since back on JK. Nice job.

    Lyn
     
  3. :(grinder KILLER lol been there done that lol owen nw
     
  4. Bit of a sh*te day today. I ran out of 0.6mm wire and gas and it seems like the inner arch is more resembling a patchwork quilt than a piece of metal, but I eventually got there. Just annoying grinding back welds and wtching the metal go blue then when you start the next plate it blows straight away.

    I still have a small patch to put right in the corner at the chassis member but it can wait until tomorrow.

    Here's where I'm at.
    Small plate cut and fitted.
    [​IMG][​IMG][​IMG]

    Then finish off the next plate. I had to cut out some of the curved arch extrusion too as it was full of rot and had been previously poorly repaired.
    [​IMG]

    I need to finish the B pillar tomorrow so I can concentrate on getting the arch in place. I was going to wait until I had changed the tub but I reckon I can get the arch fitted as is and either do the tub after or maybe even repair it.

    I need some help, can anyone offer advice?

    I offered up the arch and tacked it in place and jacked the front up to the door. As I highlighted earlier, I had to make up the front skin for the B pillar and thought it was about right. Now I know that the 71 arches are of poor quality but surely the overall length and height is going to be correct. This is where I have an issue, it seems that when the arch is in place, the B pillar looks to be short. It's no problem lengthening it but I just wanted an opinion whether the arch is likely to be the correct height.

    Anyone? Pics below. The lines don't look too bad with a little force! :lol:

    [​IMG][​IMG][​IMG]

    Here's my issue.
    [​IMG][​IMG]

    Clearly the arch is longer than the B pillar. should I lengthen the B pillar front cap rather than bodge the arch?
     
  5. is it a genuine arch? ......I fitted a genuine one to mine and it was pretty spot on, I've heard repro ones take quite a bit of tweeking.

    have you got an outer sill handy for that side?

    I'd clamp the outer sill in place and see how it lines up with the B post and the rest of the bus first. At least you can see if adjusting the B post will then throw out the lines of the rest of the bus, If it will then I'd tweek the arch........but it looks like the B post is pretty much where it should be from the pics

    You might find if you move the arch up a couple of mm, then,from memory there is enough give in that lower part of the arch to tweek it inwards which should appear to push that bottom part up slightly if that makes sense? .............but it was a while sinse I did mine
     
  6. It's an aftermarket one and worse still, it's a 71 early one with no arch lip as mine is a crossover. The original one for mine is £199 per arch as it has the lip of the late and the short step of the early!!!!!!
    The problem with the sill is as I don't have a middle panel fitted, I don't know how high my sill should be fitted and as I don't have the lower extremes of the C pillar and rear panel I literally have nothing to gauge the heights!
    I may take some measurements from the passenger side tomorrow to see if that helps.
     
  7. :thinking: thats a tricky one then.

    I cut out as little at a time as I could so I had something left to line the new panel up to but I know this is not always possible.

    I used a late arch and cut down the step to suit .....but the genuine ones wernt cheap (but worth the extra money IMO)

    definatly worth measuring from the other side if you can to give you some thing to work from.........most of all take your time and dont rush it.

    I'd start at the B post when fitting the front arch like you are, and make sure that is lined up correctly before welding in the rest, and leave the long seam weld between step and A post till last so you can use a scissor jack against the chassis to push the step out more to get it lined up with the door bottom if needed

    I'm guessing your going to fit the same type of arch to the other side so they match?
     
  8. Yeah, I'll need to get a new arch for the other side but there's no rush as I need to go round the front first. The lines really are quite good with the door, so much so I think I will repair the A pillar bottom tomorrow as I can line it up with the end of the arch.

    If the sill is still in one piece on the slider then surely I can get a measurement to the lower edge of the sill from the bottom of the middle window frame yeah? At least then I'll have some idea where the sill fits to then the B pillar and arch?
     
  9. Well, last day working on the bay for the next 2 weeks as I go back to work tomorrow.

    Thought I'd check out what was required on the A pillar bottom while my arch way temporarily in place. Measured what was required, made a template up from card of the A pillar repair section then cut the cardboard template to the shape required then transferred all measurements to the repair section then cut out ready to weld in place.

    [​IMG][​IMG][​IMG][​IMG]

    With my arch back in place, it looks like it a close fit.
    [​IMG]

    Turned my attentions to the B pillar infill, cut it to size and joggled the edge then welded it in place.
    [​IMG][​IMG]

    Cut my B pillar outer skin after measuring the PS and it does appear that the measurement is around 10-20mm too short so I chopped it out and tacked it back in to the arch to see what I need to infill the pillar. Not sure the finished length it correct tho as the edge of the B pillar skin seems a little low in relation to the inner sill. Also when offering up the outer sill I reckon it is too low. No panic as yet tho really as I still need the middle panel.
    [​IMG][​IMG]

    As you can see it looks a little too long now!
    [​IMG]

    Cleaned up a few more welds the gave the inner a coat of seam sealer on the welds. Haven't totally finished under there tho as there is still a patch needed above the chassis rail.
    [​IMG][​IMG]
     
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  12. Now I have my 5kg roll of wire and some fresh argoshield, time to get stuck in again.

    Rehung the door again to get the front of the arch in the right place. Welded it to the A pillar repair section. got the back of the arch welded to the B pillar and run a few welds along the outside along the B pillar.
    Not sure how the arch is meant to be welded at the outside skin but it made sense to me at the time to run a few welds then score the body line back into the B pillar/arch interface to be filled with filler at a later date to keep the seam visible.
    Hope I did right?

    [​IMG][​IMG][​IMG]

    Then I chopped the B pillar front skin back and dressed and reshaped the arch so it now looks better and all equal.
    [​IMG]

    Enough for today I think, so I went out for a ride on the bike as the weather was brilliant.
     
  13. Made up a cardboard template from the cab floor repair section and marked out the floor then cut it out so I can repair the chassis. Cut back the floor then drilled out the spot welds so I have a prepared section for when the chassis is repaired.
    [​IMG]

    Still needs sliding back a touch to allow it to sit properly though.
    [​IMG]

    Dressed back my seat belt anchor section which will be welded back in tomorrow, all being well.
    Does this overlap look about right? I don't have a proper section to gauge where the edge should sit. Looks right to me though!
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    Started cleaning up the Y section after removing the steering box and throttle pedal! Real poor condition though.
    Have to make this back up first. I have made my cardboard template ready. ;D
    [​IMG]

    Don't know whether I should repair this section with patches or just cut it all out and replace it. The problem is the repair sections don't have the same profiles as the original. What's the general opinion?
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    What would you do?
     
  14. personally I like to keep as much original metal as possible and blend in repairs ...........especially if the new panels are crap.

    If the new panel was 100% perfect then I'd replace the lot if it was easy enough to do.

    as long as you make the repair strong either way is good so I'd base those particular repairs on which method would be easiest and take the least time especially as its the under side which wont reall be seen once the front belly pan goes on (if your fitting one)
     
  15. Cheers Diddymen, sort of what I was thinking. Probably will just repair it. If it was a perfect swap I would have started prepping it butI'm not happy modifying the rails to that extent as it will also mean having to modify the throttle assembly post as well due to the angle of the pressing.
     
  16. Spent about an hour and half today, dressing the seatbelt mount then welding it in place. Not plug welded it to the arch yet as the arch is loose along the top until I know how it fits with the door. When I've jacked it into place then I'll tack it. I still need to repair the tub edge so I am gonna chop another seatbelt mount and repair the double set edge on the remains of the tub then I'll worry about it.

    [​IMG]

    Still need to dress a little more weld and finish the run underneath.

    [​IMG]

    Measured what was required to finish the end of the chassis section and welded in a repair section and chopped out a little metal which was holed. Next will be to repair the inboard section of the same piece.

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    Thats it for today. Just a quick session.
     
  17. Kruger

    Kruger Sponsor

    I'd replace that section of leg complete, In my opinion there'll be far more strength in that than the flaky wafer metal that you already have there, just think how much metal has flaked away from the inside. as most buses around have got chassis legs full of rusted off flakes, therefore reducing their strength.

    Other than that, well done dude, your're well stuck in so keep the photos coming.
     
  18. Cheers man.
    I've already chopped up my repair section now. Doh! :)) To be honest, if it gets me a few more years then it'll do. I'm not gonna sell the bus as it was a present for the wife (Yeah i know!!!!!) but I'll carry on as I'm going and maybe buy a chassis cut later and do it properly later. I am still going to chop out the inner section in it's entirety (if I can get to it) so there'll be plenty of new metal in there.

    Thanks for the advice though. Nice to know people are reading the thread, and I LOVE piccys. O0
     
  19. Kruger

    Kruger Sponsor

    I understand, alot of repairing these buses is dependent on how much hassle some of the jobs are to do, and a balance of making something strong if not always too pretty, underseal, waxoil, and anything else to stop ingress of water and development of rust is key.
     
  20. Zed

    Zed Gradually getting grumpier

    I'm glad you chopped the b post back - you'd have struggled to fit the outer sill at that height. Great work as always and I'm guessing plenty still to come...
     

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