My 75' Panel Restoration (my first bus!!!)

Oof you've got your work cut out. Good work M8.

 

Fair play for taking it on, have some karma

 

Its fine dropping the beam on your own dude
I dropped mine onto a wheeled tray and pulled it out from under the bus

However id reccomend getting someone to help you refit it as its a nightmare to do on your own

Good luck with the resto dude

 

Your doing a great job there keep in up ...have some karma!

 

Don't worry guys, I haven't sold up and moved on. I'm just parts gathering at the moment. As the nights have drawn in and the van being on a drive I can't really do much during the week now. I'm parts gathering at the mo so when I do get to tackle the jobs I should have everything I need. I have also enrolled on an 8 week evening class on welding in Jan at a local college so that will help no end!

 

Small job today. Cleaned up the bumper mounts I got off ebay. They are pretty solid so will anti-rust prime them and paint them white.

 

Just wondering, would it bbe best to replace or overhaul the brake calipers? They don't look too bad and if I can save £180 odd quid by not fitting new ones. Or would it be best to bite the bullet and replace them? Got some anti rust primer on the bumper irons yesterday. One more coat then they are ready for paint. Will post some snaps later for all you pic lovers! Oh yeah, and is it worth cleaning up and refitting the belly pans or do you guys run without them?

 

I'd overhaul them if possible.

just check there is no corrosion or scoring in the bores or pistons, change the seals etc.

if they need replacing Owen has some for sale in the classifed section that he has overhauled

 

Cheers for that. They don't look too bad so will strip them if I can get the pins out! A good soak in degreaser is what's needed I think!

 

mine are nt over hauled there new , they where fitted to the van and sat for 3 years i just gave them a fresh coat of paint , owen nw

 

What colour should steelies be? I see a lot of white, but I have been told they left the factory as silver.

 

its your van you can paint them what ever colour you like , ford diamond white is handy to get and cheap owen nw

 

Silver was standard. Same white as bumpers looks summery.

 

A few snaps for you photo lovers. Cleaned and anti-rust primed ready for painting.

 

Repairable or bin it?

 

Repairable

 

Bin it

 

Bin it, for the effort involved in repairing, you'd be better just buying a good dry tailgate for £50-100.

 

With a vote of 2 to 1 it's going to get binned. With so much to do on the van I need as little hassle as possible. Also, would it be worth investing in a new one? VWH are only £140.

 

I think the new ones are probably thinner metal.

get a second hand one, I picked a good one up for £50 .......and my old one wasnt as bad as yours