Prrdys Thread, Restoration of a slightly rusty '81 A/C

[benlawlor85]

first stuff was tetrosyl but have some U-pol grey stripe now. used tiger seal of the outer seams tho. which was great. its the the tetrosyl thats crap.

[benlawlor85]

Finally pics!
first few are the side of the van after a quick smear of filler and some paint weather been crap down here so not had time to do it properly.




Closure plates


Ball Joints all done



Thats it for now.
Things to do before MOT
Fill and Paint side of van, I want to do this before i attach the tank.
Attach tank
Fit carbs and tinware.
Fit Heat pipes and heat control boxes. decided i am just going to wire these open as its not a priority at the moment.
Fit Throttle cable
Get carbs balanced.
Sort handbrake cable out.

DRIVE IT!!!

[Plasticman]

good worjk there, at least its solid metal and not wrap over stuff,.....................................but
why didnt you pay attention

use less product and it looks nerater, costs nowt........detail

mm

[benlawlor85]

Ah there is a reason i tell you. That crappy tetrosyl stuff was so stuff i cudnt brush it on. had to use a putty knife!
And after the 3rd or forth attempt after cracks etc i didnt really care... was so frustrated etc.
But as you say its good metal and will be well hidden so im not overly worried.
Plus i cant do it too well id put you to shame mike!
I have to say tho i hate to think how it would look without your help. a dodgy seam weld all down the fridge panel.

[benlawlor85]

Well yesterday i got the tank in and today i put the carbs back on and with some tweeks she started and sounds ok. Will need carbs tuning but it runs. so im happy.

However the throttle cable problem has come back again. Now when i bought the van it would only operate on about 1/4 throttle as where the cable goes through the tinware well it wasnt there. So i thiought fine no probs new cable and outer. So i bought several meters of the polymide tube from brickwerks and a new inner.
I then ran this tube from under the acc pedal to the tinware which i welded up the HUGE hole in it and drilled a small hole. In that hole i have one of the brass supporting bushes and a jubliee clip on the back. However when i press the throttle pedal it takes LOADS of pressure and the tube moves in the two guides just behind the acc pedal linkage.
Im at a total loss what to do. i could epoxy the tube to the guides. or are my problems because i have gotten rid of the black outer that usually goes from the tinware to the rear chassis cross member? Really just cant work this out any help would be great.

Cheers
Ben

[benlawlor85]

Well i have sorted the throttle cable, changed th routing near the tank. i had it going on the O/S of the tank but now going through the centre, only problem is that clamps on the cable are right at the end both sides. but im presuming these cable stretch after some use!? She was running very rich so ive just adjusted the chokes so the buttfly is vertical. so NO choke at all. And she sounds much better. Might chuck the drivers seat back in and go for a spin after lunch!

[Dazco]

You'll not be on your own then , seen loads around today.

[benlawlor85]

Well she runs but idle seems abit high. not sure if i should have a play to bring it down or just leave it!?

[benlawlor85]

Just been out and inspected the O/S Trailing arm.

Looking at that i think its possibly beyond repair. What do you guys think?
Couple other pics of rust but i think not MOT faliures.



Cheers
Ben

[benlawlor85]

Its going pretty good at the moment, Still need a trailing arm but apart from that...
Pics of recent work below.


















Sorry for being photo heavy, not really much to say about it tho the pics show it all.

[Plasticman]

done the job nicely that has, nowt wrong with pickies, and a bit of txt if needed
you get that arm yet
mm

[benlawlor85]

Nope no arm yet. Hoping to get one cheaper than £130 ill let you know tomorrow!

[benlawlor85]

Also what do you think is the best way to repair the front of the seat box? any of your builds that have this repair?
Cheers
Ben

[Plasticman]

yep ive done them but not for a while, have a look how its been constructed and why ,then proceed, never bbe afraid to remove metal.it all goes back with the electric glue stick
mm

[benlawlor85]

lol
Electric glue stick! nice!
Im thinking ill cut it across the full length about 3inchs from bottom. Then make a piece up lip on the bottom to be plug welded thats the easy bit. Then i can either seam weld to the old bit half way up the front of the box. or use a strip like u showed me on the fridge panel or a joggler would seem like a nice simple method. half the plug welds... but i don't have one and they damn pricey..
Uhmm Not an MOT failure anyway. so not to worry for now.