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Yep, you continue to show the rest of us up. Also, I thought you might like to see what I spotted at the petrol station at lunchtime: 
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Oct 16, 2011 15:04
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| # ? Apr 23, 2024 23:21 |
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I feel bad about bitching about my truck when all I have to do is bolt stuff on. All the bodywork you do is amazing.
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Oct 16, 2011 15:59
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All very impressive stuff! Work like this inspires me to buy an old car to restore... an old car that is significantly less rusty than this.
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Oct 16, 2011 16:21
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Just finished reading this whole thread, amazing work keep it up
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Oct 16, 2011 17:08
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InitialDave posted:Yep, you continue to show the rest of us up. Awesome! where did you see that?
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Oct 17, 2011 18:42
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kevbarlas posted:Awesome! where did you see that?
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Oct 17, 2011 19:13
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InitialDave posted:The Sainsbury's at Grove Farm Triangle in Leicester, just off the M1/M69 junction. A greying older guy was driving it, but I didn't have a chance to talk to him about it, the forecourt was really busy. What's a forecourt?
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Oct 18, 2011 01:34
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Jealous Cow posted:What's a forecourt? The paved area where you queue up to get gas.
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Oct 18, 2011 01:44
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Coasterphreak posted:The paved area where you queue up to get gas. I don't believe they have a word for that in the US. "Gas station parking lot" is the closest I can come up with.
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Oct 19, 2011 01:18
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commissargribb posted:I don't believe they have a word for that in the US. "Gas station parking lot" is the closest I can come up with. Yep, no words. Some blokes (I think?) from a UK business that is investing in us are visiting for a few months. I was in a meeting today where it was me, 4 British guys and a Scot. Had to fight the urge to start talking like them.
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Oct 19, 2011 02:34
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Coasterphreak posted:The paved area where you queue up to get gas. I was waiting for someone else to come in and ask "What's queue?" but it never happened. That would have been too good.
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Oct 19, 2011 03:49
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Jealous Cow posted:What's a forecourt? Where you pull up to get gas. We called it the "apron" back when I pumped gas in college.
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Oct 19, 2011 05:29
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commissargribb posted:I don't believe they have a word for that in the US. "Gas station parking lot" is the closest I can come up with. That's called the 'What are you doing? Are you going to fill up your car? Oh Christ, you're going inside to pay? Oh, no, go ahead and microwave those loving nachos, I'll wait. Oh good, you have a locking gas cap and don't know how it works. Oh look, regular. Figures. Are you actually holding the trigger? Fill it up. Come on, no, don't answer your phone.. Good, you're finally loving done. Wait, are you trying to pull forward into the guy in front of you before backing up to angle? Who the gently caress taught YOU to drive? Oh, good, check your mirrors. They're still attached. Move the car! Move the car! Move the car! Move the car! Move the car! Ok, finally, my turn.' strip of concrete.
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Oct 19, 2011 19:58
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Your dad is awesome. I'm fortunate to have a mechanical engineer for a dad, into cars, who also instilled a lot of the "why buy it when you can build it" attitude in me. I get frustrated when I just *know* I can fix this, or tweak that, or make the other, but I just don't have the time, or a welder, or cutting torch, TIG, whatever... Some day I will have all the tools I need. Impressive work on the van. Defeat that rust!
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Oct 27, 2011 23:46
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Wow, your dad is awesome.
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Nov 1, 2011 02:02
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I just wanted to chime in and say that this project is amazing. Your level of metalwork is simply astounding. I am thoroughly enjoying this thread and it has inspired me to start my own project thread because last week I purchased a 1973 VW camper that I am planning on restoring. Seeing all that you have done on the Thames has really made me want to get my rear end moving on my own project. Also, your dad and my dad are definitely cut from the same mold. It is a mold of awesome. Anyway, keep up the good work and I can't wait for the next update! edit: I used the word "inspired" way too many times.
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Nov 4, 2011 17:41
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I look forward to seeing the pics of you travelling around the countryside in this. my mechanical inclination comes from me. Self taught. That and my lackadaisical attitude are why my work is so rough. You are lucky to have had a leg up with your abilities and it has really served you well. You have inspired me to do some cool stuff for my kids. It's just making things that aren't insanely dangerous isn't my forte.
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Nov 5, 2011 02:36
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intangible posted:I just wanted to chime in and say that this project is amazing. Your level of metalwork is simply astounding. I am thoroughly enjoying this thread and it has inspired me to start my own project thread because last week I purchased a 1973 VW camper that I am planning on restoring. Seeing all that you have done on the Thames has really made me want to get my rear end moving on my own project. That sounds great, you should start a project thread for it. 12/11/2011 I've been concentrating on the guttering since the last update. The last time i wrote i had just tacked the front gutter in place. Continuing from the front i went along the passengers side.  I've tried to keep the gutter sticking out 10mm from underneath. I'm not being too critical, +/- a couple of mm wont hurt and probably keep it more authentic looking.   You can see that i actually had to cut the back angle off the guttering. It turns out that I should have had 2 different angles of guttering made up but , well, i had already spent £85 on this stuff so lets not waste it eh. It wont affect the strength or anything. It just meant i had to be more careful about the angle it laid at.  The bits above the doors were a little more awkward. The roof and guttering curve yet the door is actually flat. So at the widest point you actually see about 18mm of guttering. I couldn't fit the doors as i have the braces welded in place. I drilled 2 screws into the body of the van and tied a bit of string taught so had a straight edge to substitute for the door frame.   I then decided to make a curved piece to join the front and side together. It went easier than i thought and it was another good use of the shrinker/stretcher i bought.    Like i said earlier, i had to cut the back edge of the guttering. To help with making sure it would stay at the right angle now i tacked a piece of 12mm Square bar to the body and clamped the gutter to it. That way i could tack it and know it wouldn't distort.  I made my way to the rear. The rear gutter will actually stick out 15mm from the doors. Which isn't stock but i think it looks ok none the less.   Another corner piece.    Then the last piece to join the side to the rear.     Another corner piece shrunk to shape.  If you were wondering how i managed to get the curved sections this is what i done.  First i got a piece of thin card (tesco sell them in the art section quite cheaply) and traced the curve and cut it out to match.  Then i measured 10mm outwards and drew the curve. Ikea is a good source of free pencils   Cut a small section of guttering.  Use the shrinking jaws to make the curve.  Then check it everynow and then with the template until you get it near enough bang-on.  After a little tweak, adjusting and cutting you end up with a corner piece ready to be tacked on.   Its been a little tricky trying to join the sections together to make it look like on piece without kinks.  Last few section to tack on the drivers side.  And were done. The whole guttering tacked into place, yey!   Looking slightly different to how it was when i bought it. I like looking through my old photos to see how far ive came along.      Now i get to start another tedious task of welding up the slits i made to make the guttering more flexible. I cut every 50mm on the gutter and there is roughly 10 metres of guttering so that is nearly 200 slits to now weld up, not so yey. This is how I am planning to do it without making more work for myself and to hopefully not distort the guttering much. Using the old copper plate trick again i experimented on a little bit. I cut a piece of polished copper and clamped it into place underneath a slit.  Then used the Tig welder to fill in the gap.  As the mild steel doesn't stick to the copper it leaves it flush underneath, the bit that everyone will see. this is exactly how it looked once i took the copper off, doesn't even need ground down. The good thing about the copper is it acts a bit like a heat sink too so it should hopefully help to keep the distortion down.  I continued on for about another foot. Stitch welding the gutter to the body as well  After a little tidy up with the grinder and a light coat of etch primer i got this, not bad. It added a lot of strength back into the gutter too.   It had moved slightly but il wait until its all welded in place before i mess around neating it up with the hammer and dollys. Hopefully it wont take me too long to get through the welding then i can make a start on the roof panel.
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Nov 13, 2011 01:43
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That is just incredible.
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Nov 13, 2011 02:02
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Should have just built a new van from scratch. It probably would have been less work.
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Nov 13, 2011 02:07
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Lowclock posted:Should have just built a new van from scratch. It probably would have been less work. Maybe, but it wouldn't be nearly as cool or entertaining.
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Nov 13, 2011 04:00
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Amazing work. Never thought I'd get this excited about guttering... The before and after pics are magnificent.
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Nov 13, 2011 04:30
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I cannot fathom looking at the before pics & thinking "yup, I'll just fabricate a replacement for that" Well done, looking forward to seeing the rest.
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Nov 13, 2011 12:11
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Lowclock posted:Should have just built a new van from scratch. It probably would have been less work. True enough, though at least this way he'll still be able to title it as a 1959 Ford. Probably be cheaper for taxes this way too, if I had to guess?
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Nov 15, 2011 07:36
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That welding is a work of art. Seriously. I couldn't even imagine how you were going to handle the Sockington-esque amount of rust on this thing, and you're doing an AMAZING job! Keep it up!
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Nov 15, 2011 07:40
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some texas redneck posted:True enough, though at least this way he'll still be able to title it as a 1959 Ford. Yup, anything pre '73 gets free road tax (saves about £220 a year)
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Nov 20, 2011 15:00
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Anghammarad posted:Yup, anything pre '73 gets free road tax (saves about £220 a year)
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Nov 20, 2011 20:26
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kevbarlas posted:Then i measured 10mm outwards and drew the curve. Ikea is a good source of free pencils Its somewhat comforting to know that someone ELSE out there walks into ikea and grabs a handful of pencils from each station and pockets them to re-stock his workshop supply! 
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Nov 20, 2011 22:28
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Anghammarad posted:Yup, anything pre '73 gets free road tax (saves about £220 a year) This is what i love, even after fitting the 4 litre V8 it will still be classed as the year it was built so i still get free road tax. 27/11/2011 I got the guttering all welded up.  I think it was around 200 of those little slits to weld (booooooring), it has distorted slightly but ive been able to get the worst of it out. I went and bought a new toy to help me, a sliding hammer. Similar to this one.  It came in handy as i cant actually get a hammer in to tap the gutter out. and if i used a bit of wood , the angle i have to hit it at would push the gutter down at the same time. With the sliding hammer i can pull it out horizontally...... if that all makes sence? it does in my head anyway. Unfortunatly, just as i got to welding the joining pieces of the guttering on the outside i ran out of Argon gas, bugger. I now need to sort that out, I usually get my gas through BOC which costs about £80 for a yearly rent, £60 a re-fill, and £15 misc. Ive heard of a place local that does it for £57 a bottle and a refundable £55 deposit, think il check them out. In the mean time i thought i better cut the bracing out of the door frames and check to make sure the doors still fit and the guttering looks ok with the doors inplace.   Passanger door looks ok, the frame doesnt have the rubber seals in so the door is fitting further in than it will be when finished. the gap looks pretty even all-round.  Mmmhhmm, looks like this door skin and frame will need a bit of work too.  Drivers side looks not bad either, there is a bit of a bigger gap at the top between the frame and gutter, mabey about 3 or 4 mm bigger but i could make up for that in the door frame if it comes to it.    This door skin and frame isnt quite so bad. When i went to the garage today i had planned on just washing my car but i decided to start the roof plans. I had to make a table 4 and a half foot wide and just over 11 foot long. My brother got me 2 old tables that his work was going to chuck out so using them and two bits of 50x50 from the bracing i made a frame for the table. I then screwed down some MDF down to make a large work surface.   My mate Crighton came over after his work and helped me to put the roof ontop of the table. It was good to see the roof at a better angle again, ready to asses what needs done. 3 of the corners are pretty crap and all along the drivers side has rotted too. Passangers side front corner.  drivers side front corner.  drivers side rear corner (probably the worst corner).  along the driver side.    The main panel overall isnt that bad though, just around the edges.   The plan is to now cut off the remainder of the old guttering on the roof, strip the paint and rust, repair the sections that need done and re-attach. It has a few strengthing ribs inside that bolt to the main body of the van and originally a lip that went aroudn the perimeter of the rood that would be spotwelded to the guttering. Im not going to do that though as the chances are, water could go in the seams and start the whole rust proces again. Instead, im going to not do the lip and i will run a continous weld all around the roof. With the tig it should keep it neat. More picture of the roof repair to follow when i get some more argon.
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Nov 27, 2011 23:10
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 onStill a bit dizzy about the idea of a 4 liter V8 in it, it's going to be amazing. What plans do you have for suspension, brakes and so on?
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Nov 27, 2011 23:43
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rear axle and suspension will most probably be from a mk3 capri as its the same width as the Thames axle plus i know it can handle the BHP. Front is a bit trickier, i will probably keep the suspension the same, its a double wishbone setup as standard but the brakes and hubs will probably be ford granada. Its the same bolt pattern as the Thames so i can use the original wheels but banded obviously. stuill thinking of a donner for the power steering box.
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Nov 27, 2011 23:49
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Did you say space was going to be tight for the steering box? Pick up a kitcar mag & find one of the companies that makes an electric steering rack to retrofit.
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Nov 28, 2011 22:54
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Consider a Corvair steering rack, popular with hot rodders.
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Nov 29, 2011 01:00
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Are the pics working for everyone else? I'm bummed I can't see them as I had been following this. 
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Nov 29, 2011 03:44
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DreamOn13 posted:Are the pics working for everyone else? I'm bummed I can't see them as I had been following this. Working fine for me. Have you got used to the donor engine yet? My Landrover weighs close to 2 tons and that can break the speed limit with a rover 3.9. Looking at your pictures this looks a lot lighter and your engine is more powerful!
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Nov 29, 2011 08:35
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Big Taint posted:Consider a Corvair steering rack, popular with hot rodders. Corvairs are rare in England. There is probably something like an old RWD Escort or Cortina box that could fit
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Nov 29, 2011 08:39
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Great progress. Your work looks mint as always.
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Nov 29, 2011 08:45
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You Am I posted:Corvairs are rare in England. There is probably something like an old RWD Escort or Cortina box that could fit I was thinking something like this.
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Nov 29, 2011 17:57
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Big Taint posted:I was thinking something like this.
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Nov 29, 2011 22:24
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Yeah, the market for rod parts like custom steering boxes and so on really isn't that good here. My recommendation remains a PS box out of something relatively common - Land Rover, Jeep Cherokee, that sort of thing.
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Nov 29, 2011 22:35
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