Club 80-90 Forums

Good work and at least you can keep your hands warm with a running engine whilst testing it all tomorrow.

Nice small cab to warm up as well!

Toasty!

I want to remove the dropsides, but the pins seem to be solid. I need to punch them out I think. I can't see myself wanting to use a metal disk cutter - as I'd like to save the pins if possible.

Only thing actually holding them in is the c-clip and probably years of crud, so a bit of persuasion with a suitable drift once the clip is removed and they just slide out, no need to resort to cutting wheel

Borrowed some 230V ac for my disc cutter off Wilber’s inverter.






The reveal; worse than expected. That won’t buff out!






I’ll cut the base off, the cross struts will get replaced, then some wood me thinks.

I assume the bed is not structural?
will it pass an mot without it?

There is large box section, almost chassis rail size, runs from front to back, which is in good condition. The 25mm cross box section, left to right which the base sits to isn't structural from what I can see and I'm replacing this. Think it'll be ok.

Does anyone have wood type experience? Would tongue and groove cedar wood be suitable?

From a durability point of view yes as it's naturally resistant to weather/rot so it's used for various external things (cladding houses. greenhouse construction). My only concern would be keeping water out of the locker area - how do you propose to seal it as even with the t&g joints water will seep through especially as it's laid flat. I guess a very well fitted bed cover would probably keep the worst of the weather out but i'd be surprised if it kept it totally dry. If you do go with wood i'd give it several coats of a decent (solvent based) wood preserver and possibly overcoat with yacht varnish. However can you not get metal sheet(s) welded in place of the old bed floor?

Good point. I’ll look into seeing what I can put underneath the cedar.

http://www.alanhschofield.com/ourparts/ ... 01361.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Good to see the ‘top hat’ section here, so that’s the cross section I need.

That links to a T2 / Bay window part, are you sure it's going to be the right size/fit?

As for what to put under the cedar whatever it is needs to be rigid as any water that gets through will pool/puddle if you use any sort of sheeting/membrane. I know wood gets used for truck beds (looks nice too) but the T3 is a bit unique with the locker underneath, whereas others just sit over the chassis so don't need to be watertight. For what it's worth I'd look around for a sheet metal supplier to do a single sheet of steel the right size, bed it down on the supports on a decent sealer / silicone and then drill through and rivet it,if you don't want to go down the welding route. Give it a coat of spray on bedliner and it's done.
I would think the cost will be comparable to the wood option (if not cheaper) by the time you've sorted out something under it and sealed it etc

Metal is surprisingly cheap, I got a 2m x1m sheet of 1.2mm for £32+VAT. Thicker would be more expensive, clearly.

RogerT wrote:Metal is surprisingly cheap, I got a 2m x1m sheet of 1.2mm for £32+VAT. Thicker would be more expensive, clearly.

yes I'm lucky enough to have a stockist near me

http://www.fhbrundle.co.uk/groups/30GSS15__1_5mm_Thick" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.fhbrundle.co.uk/groups/30GSS2__2_0mm_Thick" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Cedar is very good at weather resistance but also very soft and will not last well if you are actually going to use the pick up for any hard work. Iroko or idigbo would be more suitable as they are durable and tough. Any timber you use will weather to a light grey if left untreated. I’ve had good results with ‘Osmo’ uv protection oil, but even that will need re-coating every couple of years if left exposed to the weather. If you go down the steel sheet first route (as already pointed out, you’ll need some way to keep the lockers dry) then you will find it difficult (as in impossible) to prevent water from going past the timber and getting trapped, with long term results similar to the mess you are sorting. If you can put up with the look then the one-piece welded aluminium checker-plate will outlast anything.

Thanks for all the comments, good ideas there. I’ll get one of these covers too, any ideas where I can get one?

I don’t think there are any ready made covers available. I’ve had many made up by a local canvas/tarpaulin guy.
It’s worth considering fashioning a couple of ‘hoops’to support the canvas otherwise it’ll droop and fill up with water when it rains.