The MALLYVAGON

[Plasticman]

Well, hacking time
its very localised, so top off to gain access and

so cut the bad out and extend a touch further

gas a small bit in here and it will be good as new
straight edge is handy

im doing all the cleaning up and making bits this aft then an enjoyable morning welding it all together
easiest to remove the inner complete

I have cut it to the original horizontal seam, the upper part here will blast back to clean steel

had the blaster out, good view of the jp strengthening bracket, ..I make these a bit longer so they can be puddled through from the inside the cab

the rot cut out of the B post side , blasted and a coat to protect overnight

and

this is 18g, the sill under the jp will be the same, and the x member will be 16g

the filler part has been blasted and the only weak area is as shown so I have layered a deep run of brass over the inside so that should sort it

the outside i will run a disc over it and that will be that, a bit of work to the lip and then join the top and bottom and refit

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[Plasticman]

F1 qually and tea so
little work in the front jp, cut the front of the outrigger and added a small bit, its resting in here at the mo

this is nice 16g

repair bit welded in

where it abuts the B post is not welded asd per oe

top guide bit back on

a light dusting with a disc.... i may be having a blonde moment, (sorry real blondes) but what is the large reccessed hole for

drilled 6.5mm holes for this, any larger and you woulld be burning into the sides

silly little bit at the end here

a toutch with the dremel i think

reshaped this a bit more so it will press up against the inside of the new bit of B post,

weld isnt the neatest but had to be quick, anyhow it hasnt distorted much and its in line so happy.

back to it
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[300CE]

Looking good Mike Always watch in awe as how you chaps complete this kind of work.

[Plasticman]

Well its bank holiday and as i dont work in one im not having it off, too busy and too busy out there so
new upper part made , old hammer comes in usefull for placement

rapid tacks,watching which way the metal moves, managed to keep it nice, if i migged this like this and then go over it with the gas i would end up with a lump at each tack as the mig weld is too large, if you look you can see the heat is greatest on the new part as i welkded r to l , the new part is smaller and has a fold in it quite close to the weld so less chance of heat effecting it this way

not the neatest weld ive done but it was very quick...

the last inner part now fitted, seems to have gone in ok

the gap at the top is where i cut a bit of rot out and i made it larger to accommodate a straightedge so i got this face 100% straight

quick confirmation with the old arch prior to its chopping up

this lot is now done so a quick coat for now

so onto the arch, you can see the deep grinding marks left by the last do-er, when you have pitting there is no point hitting it with a disc, all you will acheive is to remove good metal untill you get to the bottom of it, by which time the panel will often be way too thin. blast bit or cut it out,

ive removed the sealnt and the underside is really good, its such a pleasure to have a nice bit of factory steel, it feels right and the shape is defined well.

but this is what is left of the lip...it could be blasted free of rust and i could trim it and fit it and it would work but

but im not, its taped and i have cut it off and am making a new part to match as i have done on the B post, then it will be new metal each side and retaining the original arch

now it was a lovely day so doors open and i treated it as a holiday cos it was really nice welding so hd the full version of Volkerball on then went for a bit or ozric tentacles then followed with obscure stuff like 'Members of Mayday' and 'The Friendly Rockets whilst i had a beer and a large GJ and ice,who says you cant mix work and pleasure, roll on tomoz
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[Paul_Van_Denton]

Man.......Every update is a master class!

[Aidan]

Large hole in floor should have a plastic cap in it, it's for access to the bolt on the bottom runner of slider so you can adjust the fit of the door at the bottom relative to the b post when door is closed

[Plasticman]

yes of course.usually though there are step covers in place,
ta
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[Wychall]

a light dusting with a disc.... i may be having a blonde moment, (sorry real blondes) but what is the large reccessed hole for

According to page 58.14 of the Bentley Bible, the large hole is used in adjusting the lower roller guide of the sliding door. Have you ever adjusted a sliding door Mike?


E D I T - Oops - Aidan beat me to it.

[Plasticman]

haha. you cant really adjust them single crewed through the hole. its a nonsense,as your fighting the rubber seal.now leave me to play with p bucket to sort the efforts of this aft
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[ZsZ]

Nice progress

[Plasticman]

Well .nsf arch bit to make good, cut the old of and 1st bit made, its a replica of the B post so same curvature and same method of making etc
here its clamped in place

had a play and welded both sides, no gain realy so wont bother next time

quick light run over with a disc

same with the lower half. when you do this, it helps in this instance to only remove the part your doing, reason is you can use the other to reference size and position like so

and from the reverse side

you realy should do this on all seam areas as they have to be straight,i often weld a lug to an otherwise good panal to give somethinmg to clamp an edge to
quick little tacks, again note the heat spread to the edge with a lip , i will knock one up and try it with the mig to see if it still the same, anyhow with these small tacks they are easily absorbed when i do a run over them

i have made a new bit for the bottom of the arch, they usually go here, i have welded it on both sides to give it some meat... the arrow points to a tiny bit i missed so have gassed it over

a quick run of weld along here, i did tack it all in place first

and its back where it belongs. a good gauge of steel andf the seam is new metal b oth sides all the way up

a light run over with a disc then a touch of the 'hammer' then i will be happy with it, note the brazing in the top corner, these are not usually welded here but i like a fixing as i should help support the arch better
which brings us nicely back to the rear and this little item

so what to do

and how as it curves 3 ways...

T
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[Plasticman]

Well a nice day,
added a back to the hole, this is like 1mm thick so a bit delicate but had to stick with it to match

nipped over it with the disc so its ready and clean to accept the next part, this is being done as built, cos its the easiest way and i think th the only way to do it
this little part is/was the highlight of the job for me

a right pig to make with the curves and it has to be correct or it would stick out like a sore thumb and prob wouldnt work,also needed the tiny little turn in at the seal edge ,this help locate the seal and sort of frames it , makes it look neater than a cut edge

more trial fitting

happy with it so drilled out ready, note the first one i started, had to fold and assist by hand as it needs a very tight radius, but... the arrows denote where i measured wrong and is 1mm too short/small here may not sound a lot but it would mean the gap for the seal would look awfull,

clamped in place

and from the biz end

nice little gap between this part and the inner 1/4

and welded in, past the point of no return if its wrong

ran a very skinny ,2mm-ish bead down here

will take some of it all sanded down later
on with loads of little tedious bits that make it right
arches have beeen treated now for some brush on sealer

inner floor to tape up prior to sealing

applied,there is a little work to do on the inside of the panel , rust removal and treating mainly

tape removed and a nice neat line

so an enjoyable time was had
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[davethebus]

It's so good to see someone putting this kind of effort into a wedge! We usually only see this kind of dedication on bay and split forums, Bravo!

[Plasticman]

i dont view those places ,thing is if we collectively dont keep appreciating these vans then we shall rue the day in time to come.
i during a bored period some years ago recued a 1950 swb ex waterboard landy from a field, did a fair old rebuild on it, to cries off madness, some 30 yrs later and i beleive its still in a dealers showroom in bradford alongside the blingwagons...saved for posterity
i get asked to do the early vans but been there already and dont know if i could be persuaded to do another
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[davethebus]

i dont view those places

Yeah me neither, honest. It's just what I've heard