more painting... just the bit between the roof and the swage to finish off - hopefully by the weekend I haven't seen it in the flesh yet myself - the wife helped me out and took the photos for me I don't think its going to be ready for its MOT and until the end of Aug - so I'm hoping for a mild September..
you've come a long way since starting the resto, it looks great in its new paint, you must be very pleased
Yep its been a journey, we've come along way since Inverness The refit of poptop doors windows bits and bobs is in progress (Fletch) Hoping to get it back before October and maybe even use it The one job I am keeping for myself is the engine run in. So fingers crossed I didn't mess up the rebuild
It's a chap in Sussex called Martyn - @brothernumberone (Fletch) has his contact details He had so much fun with mine he's sworn that this one is his last
rebuilding a bare shell is the fun part ....expensive but fun after all, you cant put old, dirty or rusty bits back on when the body looks that good just be careful not to scratch anything when putting it back together .........and don't worry about the 4 bolts you have left over when you've finished, I'm sure they are not important
ok the bus is back!! Fletch had it for a few weeks helping me out by doing most of the external fit out - windows seals, lights and some mech bits and pieces. Loads of pictures to share coming up... Just spent half an hour sitting in it trial fitting mats, seats and just dreaming Busy couple of weeks ahead of me at work and at home - so might take me some time but the updates will come
Ok heres a flashback to back in august last we saw was paint on bottom half... so heres paint on top half too:- Roof: Side on Rear corner front on rotten poptop Wheels ^ these pictures are before flatting off, polish and mopping Ok thats it from the paint shop... next up back to Fletch then home to me...
So then it made the trip to Fletch (@brothernumberone) who re-fitted all the bits that had come off: Left side Right side Back side I also acquired some of the seat belt extension posts that @davidoft sells on here - and I asked Fletch to fit those as well. But there was no lower mount hole so he did the following: 1) Weld a bolt to a substantial piece of metal: 2) Prepare the area and make a hole for the bolt to sit in: 3) Weld the the metal (with the bolt in the recess): 4) Give it a coat of pastel white to blend it in: Fletch also wandered around the van general.. A) tightening all the stuff that I had loosened B) fitting handbrake cables C) Mucky jobs involving Dinatrol...
And finally the home coming Back on the drive Down the side Unfortunately my garage now looks like an awning, probably because it is: and theres a gaping hole where we are building a new one So I am back on the gravel for the time being trying to sort the electrics and fire up the engine... Get it an MOT Get it camping ready -> sound deaden and insulate the panels - get the interior re-upholstered - refit the interior Yet again I have had to disappoint the other half as its going to take me sometime to get this up and running in the little time I get , but I just can't let it go and things have to be done just so Its strange having the beast back even stranger now it looks so shiny. I am beginning to get back into the swing of pottering around it - I am even beginning to believe that it might actually be on the road sometime this decade
Ok this wknd was frustrating I decided to take off the Brazilian thermostat and just have the vanes open all the time So I took off the fan housing and alternator removed the bits and bobs Took the opportunity of good access to remove the spark plugs and squeeze some oil down the holes While as was at it I tried rotating the crank ... Grrr found a tight spot on the fourth rotation I tried slacking off the rocker assemblies but the tightness was still there. I think it must be a sticky lifter So I will have to press on Let's hope when I put the oil in and pressure it up the lift unsticks itself Had to drop the engine to get the fan and alternator back on Struggled with getting a good fit against the tinwear - but I had that problem first time round. I think it's just that all the tin was cobbled together not necessarily originals but after market crud :-/ Finally got it back to the state I started with minus the Brazilian thermostat My wife summed it up - its a good job we don't live near a tall bridge I am going to test the starter tomorrow with the new battery and try and tidy up the electrics in the engine bay. Some of it is well dodge. Again progress feels painfully slow...
The rust never sleeps The tinwear I painted has rusted but is bearable should've used epoxy mastic or tractor paint curses
This has romped along since you decided to get Fletch to help, and (despite the horrible colour ) what a beauty has emerged!
WAT its the BEST colour - you are in denial you love it really ;-) Yesterday was more electrics Dealt with the mixture of fuses in the fuse box and went back to stock 8amp and two 16amps lets hope nothing melted in the mean time... Got the head lights working a lot brighter by removing the extra wiring and cleaning up the dimmer relay - I think I will get a new relay as a precaution. Still not much happening with the indicators / emergency flashers -> think the relay has bought it as neither work but the stalk seems to light up on the dash. On the plus side the ignition key works and the starter motor fires up nicely. Removed the wiring for the snail fan -> as there is no snail fan . Removed the fog light wiring for the rear cluster as again it wasn't part of the actual loom and wires looked tired Today was fuel system day -> stuck some fuel in the tank and tested all the connections including the big pipe hiding behind the paint can lid - took the firewall off to check both ends (easy as I dropped the engine the other day). Everything checked out ok no leaks - I wrapped the connectors with tissue and checked them regularly. So finished off the fuel pipes to the engine bay and did the vacum pipe for the brake servo while I was there Drilled out a snapped off bolt from the tin wear so I could screw the tin nice and tight ... edging closer ... one last job on the engine will be to try locate the sticky lifter so I know that it isn't some else up with it I have some electrics in the engine bay to tidy up - needs a bit of soldering - then we should be good to wind the engine up
Did a little wiring in the engine bay, just repairs and replacement stuff. Tick Pushed the engine back up and in - tick Plumbed fuel lines in - tick Cranked it over to get oil squirt out - tick Cranked it over to get oil pressure light off - tick Fire it up - fail Scratch head and check everything
So I checked for fuel - tick Then I checked for sparks - fail Hmm seems I wired the coil back to front or upside down depending on where your head is at So rewired that plus the school boy error with the accuspark dizzy being also wired up wrong Then check the battery and decided it needs a charge before it goes again I don't want to kill yet another battery :-( So probably try again tomorrow - I've waited this long another day won't hurt :thumbs up:
My suspicion too is that I killed it - which sucks if so then I need to dig out the original and muck about with that sigh
