Things are finally starting to happen, Firstly a bit of work has been done on the braking system. And the collection of new metal is growing
Nice one fella! Keep the pics coming Got quite a bit of ye old tinworm on the front suspension there...
More bits have arrived Plan is to get it rolling and to workshop over Easter so I can finally start on the welding
Its taken 16 years but finally we have touchdown, the front end is off the stands Now to the rear brakes after applying the correct amount of violence the first drum has been removed, I suspect it would have been easier without the handbrake being seized on solid.
Another day bit more progress, got the other rear brake free so we could actually get it away from garage wall and look at the engine, looked surprisingly good in there Engine was not seized so we put new battery on and powered it up It lit up so that was a good sign, next we put some new oil in the engine and cranked it over with the coil disconnected to get oil round the system as it has been sitting for such a long time, oil light went out everything looked good. Next got the old fuel out and put some fresh in the tank, so with my son in the cab an me round the back with the easy start this happened looks like we might get it to the workshop now as planned
Got a bit more done this weekend, Drop Sides Removed and look to be in fairly good condition, just a couple of patches required and started cleaning the load bed. The homemade locker door has been removed Rear bumper removed to reveal rusty rear valance panel and some interesting repairs to the rear RH rear corner involving cardboard wire mesh and filler, at least LH corner looks basically OK just a bit of a patch. Rear valance now removed and work started on RH corner. Another weekend done
Few more bits arrived this week, I have now spent more on panels than the Pickup originally cost me Saturday was spent doing a bit more cutting and grinding to reveal more interesting repairs,
I love this bus. What are your plans - just deal with the rot and leave the rest as is or full resto?
For now the plan is to sort the rot and the brakes and get it through the MOT, but the job seems to be growing the more I dig
Few pictures from yesterday, Uncovered some old accident damage, Then a bit more work done to the RH rear corner, Ventilated battery tray The remains of the RH rear corner, quite a lot of patching been done at some time in the past, Its coming on slowly, Seeing as this is the most progress that has been made for the last 16 years I cant complain to much
Those pickup only vertical panels in front of the battery are just a rust trap nuisance aren't they, can't really see the point in them other than to gather crap and moisture that must get in through the vents on the side panels? You and I are at very similar stage, this is giving me incentive to get back on it! Keep up the good work.
They certainly are a pain, but it looks like there is only one to repair the other side looks good, think the old homemade sills may be more trouble some pics to follow Is Cheshire where all the Single Cabs end up seem to be a few in the area.
This weekends progress, Found more cardboard and filler My son busy removing the petrol tank, A bit more cleaning and painting Even managed the first bit of welding on the pickup, forgot I needed more wire so that didn't last long Next decided to have a look at the RH sill, this is all homemade at present and looks like it was done a long time ago, long enough for some serious rot to set in, inner, outer sill have got to be replaced which I knew about but also looks like I need to replace some of the floor so the new inner sill will fit correctly Does anybody know if the remains of the pillars you can just about make out in the above picture should extend through into the sill or stop at the floor, I think the one above the jacking point should go into the sill but unsure about the forward ones as they have all been cut off when the previous repairs were done.
