Club 80-90 Forums

Backwards and forwards with the shrinker/stretcher

It’s looking amazing now. I’m in awe of your skills.

Slow and (moderately) steady, bash bash. I’m making and undoing loads of mistakes along the way. But I appreciate your encouragement!

After the joddler



Front edge and lower section
Grrrr, photos playing up…

Only letting me add one pic now?

I’d come and help (well more like learn) but I think I’m too far away (Dumfries, Scotland).

And then this goes on here, like so…

Then trim the lower edge

Ooo, two pics this time!


Then take the pieces home to do some fettling in my garage at home

Funkyoid wrote: ↑31 Mar 2022, 15:31 I’d come and help (well more like learn) but I think I’m too far away (Dumfries, Scotland).

I did all my learning looking at threads on here, mostly metalmickey/Plasticman, but all his pics vanished in the p/bucket saga.

Welcome to pop in if you’re passing (Stirling)

Oh tempted to just take a run up… oh can’t as rebuilding my van! Doh!

I’m trying to learn from here too. Doing ok just slowly as I can only afford to work on the van one day a week.

Not happy with my joddled flanges, it’s 1.2mm sheet and the joddler is designed for 1mm. So I got to the jaws with a grinder to modify it, and had another go. Better result.


Used an old pair of water pump pliers to ease the pressure on my hands.

Noticed that the seam in here :-
Was mega crusty, so spent some time cutting out a wee bit on each side, and shaping a couple of inserts. Even got one welded in, but no photo.

A Question…

What’s the easiest/best/most reasonable bonding product to use for where the panel above the rear arch contacts the spacing/bracing sections?



E D I T
and the answer from another thread was :-

Sikalastomer 710

Here’s one


Here’s me making the other


Folded and into the shrinker/stretcher


Ooops, discard


Try again, although in retrospect it might have been easier to cut and fillet for the fold, but hey ho…



Snip to shape



A bit more fettling


A wee hole


First one is a bit squint

A wee cut and bend


After welding and grinding


Not the prettiest, but crucially, not crusty in at the back!


Then, used some of the wild garlic I collected with the youngest earlier today in a local woodland.

Looking good