Blunderbus

[jimpainter]

Well its been a while since i last updated but i have been drilling hundreds of spot welds out of used good panels. The weather hasnt been brilliant either but im hoping for a better week next week or my unit to be finished so i can move the van inside.


This is where we finished off last time. With the offside battery tray knackered and had been patched poorly.



Marking off how much metal i need to move to erradicate the rust off the rear corner.



Started to make up a battery tray. i made it too short but didnt realise until i had welded it in. (Thicko)



I dont have a bead roller (yet) so all swages were made by hand.



A couple of peices needed letting in to make this solid.





Battery tray finished and oxided. I did dress the first weld but the second weld where i had to add the bit i didnt bother as its covered by the air filter tube and the ignition system gubbins.



And letting in a piece that was getting rid of the rust. Not the easiest panel to get to line up due to it being double curvature. It is pretty close though and will only need a thin skim of filler to get right.



And thats where we are at for now.

Happy days

[fidget]

Crikey

how much of the van is left. looks like a challenge

James

[jimpainter]

Lets just say i havent finished on this side yet. I still have a side panel to put in and a complete outer b post.

[fidget]

Could have done with a complete b-post meself

James

[Cyrus]

Good work on the battery tray, mine was rusted at the same place but I decided to just cut and weld a plate as I have little means of forming metal, especially the x that is indented into the tray. Don't forget to drill a hole in the center of the x indentation to let water out as it enters tho the air vent and sits on the tray rotting it out.

[jimpainter]

The centre part is the original piece and has the hole there already. As for forming it i just used a straight piece of 2mm metal and a chisel and bent it that way.

Re: the b post. Trying to find a good second hand one proved really difficult. The one i have is solid apart from the very lower peice that will need repairing. Nevermind, at least it will be consistent with the repairs.

[jimpainter]

Only a short update for now.
I wasnt too keen on the lower swage line.

So i used this which is being totally removed anyway



And welded it here.



And then i started on this which is the second swage line.



I removed the little tag that holds the cover panel on, it allows better access



I used this

[Cyrus]

I like the way you're repairing holes by cutting more holes.

[jimpainter]

Its recycling. The side panel is being replaced from top to bottom so i can use the cuts.

[jimpainter]

Remember the last bit i cut out of the side panel. Well its been let in here

I did a small repair ready for just tacking the rear quarter on for moving to my unit. Obviously the rusty bit above is going to be sorted.



With the rear quarter i also needed to replace the inner arch as it was well beyond repair. Luckily i had access to a quarter panel and a rear arch complete with inner arch. So the plan was to remove the inner arch from the rear arch panel and tack it on to the quarter panel.




I started to remove the side panel once the van was at my unit



You can see now how the sealer splits and allows moisture between the strenghtening bar and the side panel causing rot



I removed the side windows and found this on the rear one

Most of it was filler...

And also the reason why there was so much filler between the side panel/b post....... A poor repair. You can see a gap where the post wasnt welded right.

[jimpainter]

Just a quick couple of pics. I should keep up to date but i dont find the time to upload pics etc at the min.

Window frame repairs.






Had this dent to sort out. I couldnt get inside to knock it out so a bit of inginuity needed





The dent caused this bulge



So i used some hooks, welded them to the panel and used the heat to help pull the panel out.







Thats all for now. I hope to update more again soon.

[Cyrus]

With the rear quarter i also needed to replace the inner arch as it was well beyond repair. Luckily i had access to a quarter panel and a rear arch complete with inner arch. So the plan was to remove the inner arch from the rear arch panel and tack it on to the quarter panel.

That how I tackled mine on the OS. Used an inner arch and tacked it to the full quarter. Took a bit of trimming but works great.
Keep up the good work.

[jimpainter]

Right update time. I have almost finished this side but my updates are lacking.

Complete 2nd hand b post fitted, just needing a small repair at the bottom


Also got the centre panel fitted



Lower repair was fabricated and fitted on the b post


Lower repair panel being fitted onto the middle panel. The tape is my cut line.




Not looking too bad now


Had a piece to repair on the front arch. So used a repair panel and cut the piece out i needed


Forgot to get a pic of it welded in.

Next piece up was the lower window/sliding door track cover piece.


Made a repair section up. I dont have a bead roller (yet) so i had to press the little step in the metal myself.


Offending section removed and the new piece ready to go in




I also need to replace the recessed piece where the door cover mount is fitted.
From this


To this


And this is what i have to fab up


Thats it for now im afraid,

[jimpainter]

More updates, i'm slow with these i know
Took the windscreen out and found a little more than a couple of small holes


No wonder there was a leak
So the front panel was removed (note the new (2nd hand) panel waiting to go in.)

Once the front panel was removed I found the inner part had also rotted away quite badly.


I forgot to take pics of the repairs.... Or there still on my camera. Not too sure.
The dash itself had started to rot as well

The other side was the same so both ends were repaired


And last for now the piece just behind the front indicator that always seems to rot
How it started

With the outer panel removed

And after being wire brushed, blasted and then treated with jenolite and finally sprayed with zinc rich primer.

[Mickyfin]

Some good work there Jim, impressed.