Kevtherevagon

[Plasticman]

well back,
for securing the top down and also for say fixing wood to stuff to then screw panal boards on as in lining the hitop (did mine with battens then space foil stuff/ then woodgrain furniture boards stuff as used in the towed white sheds) never any problem keeping bedding in the top cuboard now.
I use this

the fc40 is very simmilar to sikaflex but a 1/3rd the price and I think a better product, if you use thisd to secure the tops and stuff you wont go far wrong, you dont need nor want to put loads in, just a continous bead,
the CV is a seant, it will never set nor skin over so you dont want to use it where it will be exposed but its good for sealing up the inside edge of the tops and also stuff like fridge vents and that , as you can always remove and refit the item at will.
I buy of my mate at Olearies as its also quicker than going to hull for hodgesons stuff
http://www.hodgsonsealants.com/productp ... -Sealants/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
their P40 is the near enough the same thing.but the tubes are long and dont alweays fit std guns.
mm

[mm289]

Great read as always Mike, thanks for posting up the sealants, this is now noted for Gunther

You never know what is underneath nice looking paint on older vehicles, so I now tend to go down the route of "buy an aboslute shed for not a lot, then at least I know I won't be dissapointed" (just need to find a shed of a syncro to add to the list as well )

Thats the approach I have taken on Rusty, the late bay I am restoring as well


Kev, bet you can't wait to get it back all nice and solid - are you sticking with the original colour scheme?

MM

[kevtherev]

yes although I may have to wait a while before it's back in the full rev livery

[Plasticman]

Well I can skip doing some of it if your not fussed
thought a few picks of the inner construction might be usefull for AS owners....

and NS


this is the donor bit of roof, I have decided where to make the cut and stuck a couple of rows of masking on, the gap is appx 1mm

the thin flexi cutters are very quick ,literaly like a knife through butter, the tape isnt eeven scortched,its also bad news if you go off line as if your a bit slow you got a problem

the ns corner with the old stuff removed, the brazing gets heat till its too hot and splutters and with the other hand a pair of nippers to peel it away.

OS first trial fit

take as long as is needed, its easy to cut but a pain if you try to make good later
this shows the donor over the top of the van roof and clamped in place and marked ready to measure and cut same

this shows the underside, the reason for cutting this far back becomes apparent as It is easier to use visegrips when both side are available.I do have fasteners that will work from one side but why make life hard

this is the van roof marked ready to make the cut, I have taken into account the fact that the donor is going to be shortened by about 1-2mm with joddling and I wish a 2-3mm gap between the old roof and the up ramp of the joddled part, reason for this is that I want the weld in the base of the join ,if I butted up too close then the weld would be effectivly be on the top(finnished) surface and after grinding flat would leave it a bit of a thin weld..

more will become apparent when its welded up tommorow

trial fit on OS with joddle done

and about where I want it now, you should always leave a small gap as when welding the heat will expand the metal and if no gap then it will warp more,I intend to gas this on both sides and re-braze to pillars as per original.

heres a picky of a bit of donor van

Ive got the dies to make the lower swage but this way will be better, loads of unpicking though

Finaly my old mig got sick,

trigger on the torch unhappy so went and treated myself to a new one and serviced the feed rollers and reset everthing so a happy day
mm

[scottbott]

you are a clever bugger,very instructive to see how the hightop fits to the van,great post

[GBA 88 WEST LA]

BRAVO BRAVO
thanks for sharing all this, man shes gonna shine when this is done
something to be said for doing it proper

[Plasticman]

Well, I can confirm its had front end accident damage, nothing earth shattering but enough for all the tell tasles to add up, I'll come to them as we get to those parts.
This is the N/S welded and re brazed, you will see a small area of what looks like fused glass on the left of the brazed bit, this is caused by excessive flux and isnt a problem ,But, if your going to do any brazing yourself then dont use flux coated rods as there is too much flux and they are a pig to use. you can buy plain rods in small numbers and then buy the flux powder, or second best are rods with flux impregnated into indentations in the rod, if you want or need to run the braze uphill or fill a hole then the problem with continual flux is that the brass will travell wherever the flux is, so you cant control it, anyhow back to the van

this is the raw state and looks awful but at least the flexpad makes it presentable

this is the inside of the cab roof, I will treat it and apply a run of brush on seam sealer

the welding is the easy bit, its this mess thats the headache everytime I do it

earth crowns are good, usefull picky for showing whats in/under here

Now I stated that there had been an accident and that thehitop was swopped and the wood bed frame broken at the front etc well kev said the upper front panal had also been changed, well I know that they didnt remove the dash to do it, they did it the bodgy way,
I had a poke at the seams a bit ago and thought they had been welded externaly and covered in bodge, (new panal) heres the pick

ive marked where the migging tacks are, its the same ont other side.

the 2 arrows show the rust trail from the water that has leaked in and run down behind the front frame and into the footwells, same both sides, crowns are very good, while its easy I will remove and clean and refit as its a 5 minute job now...

the following picks are just for info showing the layout behind, sorry if its a repeat.

the washer tube should have been in the platic clip but wasnt and on the N/S it was the wronng side of the wiper drive arm so not a good idea.


and

and the bit I chopped out was genuine,

will do the other half in 5 minutes
mm

[Plasticman]

this is damaged where ive marked it

so something happened to the upper front panal that was almost right in the middle and the damage was confined to this air inlet area and the front panal, cant tell if screen had been out or not, and also the hitop but not the roof under and infront, so if a lamp post then it could I suppose have done the bumper and folded into the front panal then smacked the roof, its certainly consistant with that,also the ns rear wing , maybe a hit from another vehicle, lost control then into a post etc, a lot of the newer stuff is meant to colapse as opposed to real good old telegraph poles,, ?
anyhow trial fit

wish it was as simple

not a lot of options here, but there again I like this type of repair as its sort of theraputic and steady away.so first the rear screen rubber lip

next the small fillet for the corner

now this and the next bit have to be fairly good as they form the visible seam and I dont want to fill it with pod

first part of it gassed in

next is a very small bit that also forms the seam

now all welded in place


now after a touch with the disc

fairly happy with the line

just a little tweaking when the panal goes on and the curve in the corner to refine a tiny bit

That Im afraid is that as bliddy xmas has got in the way, always happens when your having fun and on a roll, so the other side to repaeat but its not as bad, quite... and then the genuine front panal can go on. then its lower front panal and roof and gutters...
mm
and happy xmas to you too !

[kevtherev]

I can't decide if that's art or porn
Awesome work.
thanks for the extra pics too for the AS owners

Merry Christmas Mke..

[axeman]

grate thread, nice to see work like this.

keep it up neil

[jed the spread]

Holy cow this is amazing I love this thread

jed

[lloydy]

Think I just did something in my pants.........

[pocolow]

What Mike can do with metal is amazing ...I am in awe at your skill mate ...Carols in good hands.

Mark

[cygnak]

Definitely got me twitching. Fantastic

[mm289]

Looking good,and as another AS owner the pics are really helpful

Out of interest, when would you braze rather than weld or lead?

Happy Christmas m8

MM