Woody my 72/73 bay window resto project .......an epic tale of rust.......

12th July 2011.....

update............

decided to start things off by removing the steering gear box........that oily looking thing under the cab.

First removed the drag link ball joint, then the drop arm ........sounds so simple doesnt it!!!! the ball joint wouldnt budge with my fork type ball joint splitter so in the end I had to get a puller on it.(Ob Wan: I said use the Force!!!) The drag link arm was also difficult to get off......very difficult, I also managed to get it off using the puller.
Tightened up puller to the max, hit end with hammer and hit drop arm with hammer to shock it to move slightly then tighten puller again...hit with hammer....tighten puller...........and so on until it was off phew.

so here it is along side the puller



I might make my self an electro rust remover soon for some of the smaller bits - (its a bit like electro plating but it removes rust)

after quite a bit of cleaning it came up quite well, I left it propped up to see where it is leaking from - I'm going to strip it down at some point and change the seals etc







most of that oil seems to have come out of the filler plug(I think thats what the red bit is) and from around the bolts and input shaft. There is a bit of weeping around the output shaft too but not nearly as much as I was expecting.

Then I think it was the dash I removed.......also looked at the inner panel to see if it was rusted....but it looks ok







not much in the way of rust stains to suggest a leak some where

next I wire brushed off the petrol tank and cleaned it up, its in pretty good condition TBH. As there was some "water marking" I thought it best to fill it with water to check for leaks



you can see a small mark from where some one in the past had put a screw through the inside panel and it just distorted the metal slightly - no leak here though



This one was weeping though



I'm going to braze that one up rather than welding, I've brazed petrol tanks before so I'm quite confident - it has been empty and venting since last year and I will fill it up with as much water as I can when I come to braze it
the bottom of the tank was fine and is now painted in epoxty mastic

screen is out, heres the pics









not to bad, only a few little holes at the corners which I could patch

..........I'm going to order the complete front panel from work now I've syked my self up for it :

 

12th July....

next moved onto the front valance and heres where the tantrum started and I lost it a bit :-[

Started to modify the inner valance so it would actually fit properly and at least look like a good panel. so I started to fill the end section which was an open box section.






apart from my welder playing up - it only seems to work when the torch lead is in a certain position other wise it splutters (think it needs a new liner) the panel is starting to look ok.

The tabs I made were to form round the back of the A posts. it still needed some finishing, a lip welded on the front, some of the weld needed re doing and some in fill bits needed welding on....so a fair bit really

I was still not happy with how the valance was sitting on the tabs I made - with the tabs/brackets it held it tight against the floor of the "trough"



which is where I think the top should be, but looking at pics on the web, the valance should be level with the chassis bottom.....which would leave a gap at the top. Mine is also now not level at the bottom of the A post





I've had a few restless nights over this and now the red mist is starting to come down!!!!!

I decided to clamp the front lower section on loosly just to see how it fits.......after I cut most of the top section away as it was totaly the wrong profile the panel sat slightly better



I know it would move a bit closer once I trimmed it down further but I noticed a huge gap at the corners between the valance and the front panel which unless I cut the vanance rewelded and more modifications will never fit ....in actual fact that gap at each side was for about a 1/4 the lenght of the panel....dont know if you can see in the pic what I mean



que full on tantrum and valance ending up in the hedge.

At this point I decided to fit the late valance and modify it as it is a better panel to start with I think I can make something I will be happy with.

for those thinking of doing the same low light conversion - I think the problem using the early valance on a late bay is that there is some subtle differences not immediately obvious. Firstly on early and cross overs I think the front chassis is slighty different - on the early I think the 2 centre chassis legs arnt as deep, I also think the "trough" panel on early's is about 10mm deeper so the early valances sit lower down. So although I've not finished it yet I would reccomend any one doing the conversion to use a late inner valance - you could just slap the front panel over the early one and it would probably look ok from the out side but it will never fit right (or at least not to my satisfaction) with out a lot of modifying IMHO ....I'm prepared to be proven wrong though!!!

........so in full on tantrum mode out came the grinder and off came the brackets I made



So to try and take my mind off things and calm down I decided to get rid of more rust under the cab .....when I noticed the break pedal return spring had broken..............

 

july 13th 2011.......

Ordered a new front clip, break return spring, large ball joint separater and a new inner valance......which wont be here until August as every one is out of stock hopefully I'll get the rest of my order through soon, JK are pretty good with deliverys ........

.........I suppose there is always the chance that I might actually finish all the other welding before the valance arrives!

...................anyway, I was going on about the break pedal return spring I noticed whilst cleaning the underside. It was the one on this shaft.....



cant remember if I meantioned but getting the pedal arm off that shaft was a nightmare job!!! .....hope it will last for another 40yrs before I have to replace it!
here it is along with the pedal arm



I'd also started to clean up this area now the steering box was gone and all the oil cleaned off



I also un bolted the master cylinder and had to use a jack to separtate it from the bus due to all the corrosion. This is the push rod I took out first



its pretty badly corroded so was the end it came out of so I think a new master cylinder will be on the cards.

after I'd wire brushed and cleaned up the areas I gave them a coat of epoxy mastic





forgot to say I also painted the bottom of the fuel tank in epoxy mastic



its going to get 2 coats eventually

so this evening I decided to braze up the pin holes in the tank.....and Im still here so no explosions.



I decided to do both even though only one was weeping (this one)



this one wasnt leaking, I put a bit much on there and it slumped a bit .....well as I've not brazed in ages :-[



decided I might do the cab floor next. Heres the nasty patches on the drivers (off side) side





.....still got to weld in the rear window surround and the other rear seat belt mount......and the cab floor on the passanger side. Then its just the front.......and a few other bits

 

Coming along great that matey... 8)

 

Thanks mate ....its getting there

still not sure I'll have it in paint this year though

 

Where theres a will theres a way (or a wealthy relative) 8)

Not alot left on Ollie to do now, then we can look at bodyprep for primer.. woohoo

 

I'm sure you feel the same, but I reccon that even with the whole bus in primer it will feel so much nearer completion

 

Nah your right mate... i see the bus in loads of different colours now and need to see it in one....

i have however bought a rather super 4x3 gazzebo, which is going to become my spray booth, not ideal, but its the best i can do...

 

That gazebo sounds interesting ....its more than I've got at the moment.

where did you get it and how much did you pay if you dont mind me asking??

I've got a few scaffold poles which I was hoping to make some thing from, but I havnt got enough to completly tent the van in all my scaffolding contacts have moved on so Im not sure if I will be able to get any more

and I dont really want to spend much ;D

 

July 16th 2011.....

got a couple more hours work done today, a bit more on the cab floor but the rain is here now and it looks like it will be for the whole week end

heres the pics from yesterday.......

got the top of the step welded back on and a bit more of the floor cut out, also made a repair for the tub



one more little hole on the tub on the passangers side to do



so I ended up cutting out a larger section to repair the lip the floor sits on



and cut some metal for the cab floor



that bit is all welded in now, just one more bit on the floor this side to weld in then I might do the other side..........but depending on the weather I might not get much more done this week end

 

July 19th........

some one had asked me about brazing and how to do it/what it was.....

if you can weld, brazing should be no problem.

Couple of things you will need - brazing torch with small nozzle (or failing that you can use a plumbers type blow torch not as accurate for localised heat), couple of sticks of silver solder and some flux.

The flux comes as a powder, mix a small amount with water until it is a milky paste. Clean the area to braze (such as unioins, holes, flanges etc) then smear over the area with the flux paste.

using your brazing torch heat the area evenly until the flux goes clear and just starts to bubble .....leave it too long and the flux burns off and the braze wont run well.

Once at the right temperature (and its just a case of practising a few times until you can tell) take your silver solder/brazing rods and touch against the area you want to braze.

If you've got it right then the silver solder should melt and flow around the union by capillary reaction with out direct heat from the brazing torch. If its too cold the solder either wont melt or wont flow nicely. If it melted but didnt flow then a go over with the brazing torch should melt it again and it should flow round - might need another dab of solder on it.

The trick is getting the heat just right and not putting too much solder on there, otherwise it looks messy and can sag ....like mine :-[ . get it right and it looks dead neat

wipe/clean off any excess flux as its corrosive and you're done

I reccon its easier than welding (obviously no good for structural repairs to the body) but great for things like petrol tank repairs or delicate areas as its a bit more gentle than MIG

If your mad enough to braze a petrol tank then empty it and leave it to vent (ideally for a couple of months like mine) there may still be some residues and the possibility of vapours still in there so I then fill the tank with water to the brim to push out any fumes. I do this a couple of times.

I then fill it up to just under the area I want to braze (to be on the safe side) - fill it too much and the water will cool the area too much for the silver solder to melt and flow

 

July 27th 2011......

Been quite busy this weekend.

The MGB clutch master cylinder leaked all its fluid last week so I had to rebuild it and bleed the system as its my daily driver.
Whilst underneath I noticed some large holes .....So I've slapped some patches over them for the MOT later this week (please let it pass, please let it pass) .......and the same with the sills :'( . The poor old girl really needs to come off the road for a complete re build so I've got to get the bus finished soon. To be honest though its not really economically worth it. Looking at what I'll have to replace I think I will be left with the transmission tunnel and a few other panels inner wings etc as the only original bits :'( ....and sadly that isnt an exageration I meantioned it to my kids that I might have to scrap it and they nearly started crying ....so being a glutten for punishment I WILL RESTORE IT!!!!

So dispite having some dry weather at last I didnt get much done on Woody this weekend - the battery was flat on my camera so I had to charge it up before taking pics so theres not many this week.

Anyway I'm getting off topic .....on with the epic tale........

decided to do the drivers cab floor area - pretty much the same repairs as on the passangers side. Here it is before starting





some nasty patches ....which I was tempted to leave to get the bus finished sooner, but TBH I think it would have niggled at me that I didnt do it.

So all of them were chopped out and the lower tub was repaired





I grafted some of the ends onto the recess bits....again the repair panel I had wasnt the same but I did the best I could



not really sure how that area should have looked as there was nothing under the patches so this is the best I could do.

then made a repair bit to fill the hole



and welded it in



I dont know why I have to keep making odd shaped repair bits to graft in rather than cutting out more metal!!

and finally made some bits for the lower corner of the tub for the cab mats to tuck under as there was nothing there either ....I say "made the bits" but I had a small bit left with the right profiles from the front seat belt panel so I chopped it up and welded it on



Not sure how much I will get done over the weekend as the MOT for the MGB is on Friday and it depends if it passes or fails. I suppose if it fails I'll have to wait for the bits to arrive so I may get some work on the bus.

Jobs for this weekend on the bus if I get time are -

weld in rear window repair and rear seat belt mount/rear tub repair....and if I get time chop the front off

........so untill next time happy restoring every one!

 

Aug 2nd 2011, at least were in the right month now .........

Well the MG failed its MOT on Friday , I done the usual checks, patched over a few holes (in contrast to the work I'm doing on the bus :-[ ) and checked everything over

............but only failed on the hand break quite pleased with the fail really

an hour on Friday and all of Saturday morning stripping the brakes and shes good to go .....took it back this afternoon and it passed - Any one in the Havant area I can recommend C & S autos they are sympathetic to classic vehicles and understand they arnt made to the tolerances of modern vehicles which is quite a refreshing change to a lot of garages I've been to

So not much on the Bus this weekend - nothing done Sunday as the father inlaw was ill, he was in hospital for a while (turned out nothing serious luckilly) so I was looking after the kids whilst Mrs Diddymen went to the hospital.

So the only thing I got done was to fill the hole in the rear arch.

started off as this



went to this



then welded up



not a great difference I suppose, at least its a bit neater and butt welded rather than a patch over the old arch tub. I've still got to weld in the seat belt mount but Im going to wait untill I've got a R&R bed so I can get it in exactly the right place....still got a couple of pin holes that I'll have to go back and squirt a bit of MIG into

And today after the MOT I decided to hack the front off the bus very enjoyable .....hope the new one goes on ok :





just as well really as there will be a little bit of work to the inner section at the corners




A few little bits left in place but hopefully I'll get rid of them at the weekend. If I've got time and good weather I really want to get the rear window surround back in too

 

Last few posts to get up to date of where I am now with Woody. I'm pretty sure that the last post was the last one I made before the TLB V 2.0 crashed and the posts all lost

So I dont think you will have seen this one on here...

Aug 14th 2011.............

A bit late on the update from last weekend...............

started on getting the rear window surround welded in at last, clamped it in place and started trimming the body cut to size







then after a lot of fiddling to get it all lined up nicely I welded it in







I started grinding down the long lower weld but it was such a chore and difficult to get to I ground it down a bit but not flush, it wont be seen under the track cover anyway.

next I moved to the front inner screen panel or what ever it is called. Didnt get any during pics so here are the corners with the bits welded in that I made



and the other side



which just left a small bit where the windscreen wipre spindles go through



so it was cut out and a new bit made







to get the hole, I used a 31mm hole punch so I made the repair bit enough to punch out a whole hole and cut it down.

then it was welded in





the profile doesnt look too bad





then I started the repairs to the lower trough bit, I was sure I took some pics but cant seem to find them :-[

that was all the work for last week end

updates for this weekend soon

 

Aug 15th 2011......

.........No definatly cant find the before pics of the "trough" or any during .....I was sure I took some, dont think I deleted them...

Oh well, just have to settle for the "after" shots

Firstly the finished repairs to the ends of the trough





and the inner screen section painted





quite please with how they look

some more shots of the front all painted with epoxy mastic









the window repair all painted........







and when I got home from buggin on the beach I welded on the track cover bracket





still got to grind down the welds on that

.....and another weekend was gone

 

Good work whens the front panel going on?

 

probably week after next I reccon ;D .

I've got to paint the inside, maybee give the A posts and inner screen another coat of epoxy ....then it will be going on

I'm getting a bit impatient and am tempted to get it on this weekend (weather permitting) .....but I will try and resist untill the inside face is painted at least

 

15th aug 2011......nearly there!

I keep on getting the list of welding jobs down to 10 items, each time I tick a couple off I recount and there is still 10 bits left to weld

So last bits of welding still to do are:-

2 plug welds to end of off side sill
petrol sender hatch to make and weld in
2 plug welds to rear of front arch to B post
Battery mount for leisure battery
front valance (if they ever get them in stock again ) and in fill bits
front clip
lower front outer clip/section
add a few more plug welds to driver seat belt mount
weld up screw holes inside bus (only the ones which will be seen)
rear seat belt mount captive nut & plate - I'll wait till I've got the R&R seat to get it welded in the right place
remove raised bit from front panel and weld on flat bit

(and thats 12 items )

and thats it

unknowns:-

under poptop
under sliding door and tailgate window rubbers
2 off side side windows under the rubbers
beam
chassis under beam

hopefully thats the lot

 

Aug 24th 2011.......

Well, the year is ticking by and Im still not sure if I will get it painted this year :'(

the welding is nearly done (although I keep saying that!) only a few little bits to finish off. I did find a few more jobs this weekend which will need doing
first I took out the off side windows





no where near as bad as the other side but I will have to weld a bit in and replace the track cover retainer at the very least.

the louver window opening however was in surprisingly good condition



just a smal bit needed here



made a start on the battery mount...



doesnt look much - a flat bit of metal - but hiding in there is potential
a bit of bending, hammering and cutting and you get....



which will go here



not welded in yet and I still have to make a captive not for the clamp on the other side of the battery.

took a couple of bags of metal to the tip which I have removed from the bus over the last few months



still got to get rid of this lot

 

aug 24th...

heres the front panel Chris

I also decided to remove the raised roundal that the front badge sits on



do you ever star one of those jobs you wish you hadnt!!!!

I cut a piece off the old front panel to graft in as is was the same profile, then scribed a line around it



I made my first cut then added some inter grips to keep the panel rigid whilst I made a cut on the other side



the ideal was to cut the metal out but to keep the panel rigid to avoid it getting bent or deformed whilst cutting .....and it worked well

next I replaced the cut out bit with the bit from the original front



I like to have a 1mm gap between bits Im welding to get good penetration, you can see here that a small area is butted up tight, so I run the grinder along it with a 1mm cutting disc to get the gap I want.



next I put a series of tacks around either side of the inter grips. Quenching with water after each tack to minimise distortion. then moved the clamps and repeated a number of times until I built a few up to keep the panel rigid again



so far, so good, no distortion

I could now turn it over



and put the clamps back in



and start putting more tacks in, quenching after each one. It has taken me about 5 hrs to get this far !!!!

I have to also point out that the more I quenched the wetter my gloves got, kneeling on damp grass with your hand resting on a damp panel to steady the welding tip the inevitable was bound to happen .....I got an electric shock :-[

didnt realise at first, thought it was something sharp in my glove stabbing my hand.......so I carried on welding :-[ , 2nd time it felt like touching an electric fence so no mistaking :-[ .......after the third shock :-[ I thought I better call it a day ;D

next day, with dry gloves I put a few more tacks in (still queching with water)

you can see I've started to get some distortion which I suppose is also inevitable :'(





I eventually finished the welding and ground them down (being careful not to put much heat into the panel from the grinding



I tried to take the worst of the distortion out by using a worn flap disk to put heat into the centre of the dent which is what you can see in the pic. didnt make it any worse or any better so Im going to have to live with it, it makes it look worse in the pics than it is though



and that was the front panel done ....well, apart from blanking the indicator holes and welding it on