Steady Eddie 72 Body Restoration

Discussion in 'Restorations' started by SteadyEddie, Oct 10, 2017.

  1. Exactly right. You see so many failed projects scattered around the place, I just don’t want mine to be one of them!


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  2. Looking good mate keep at it


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  3. Nice work on the front end. :thumbsup:
     
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  4. A few evenings of work so far this week. A whole load of seam sealer slapped in the welds and seams on the front. Is there such a thing as too much rust protection?
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    Had another play with the big sandblasted last night to clean up the front panel and deformation panel

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    And this evening gave them several coats of epoxy and put some more layers on the front too. I think that’s 4 layers on the van and two on the panels. I’m thinking I might as well just finish the tin on it later
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    Won’t get much more done for the rest of this week though. Amanda’s doing a concert for the tour de Yorkshire at the weekend and her parents are coming over, time to tidy up and get the paint off the drive and my car (note to self, cover my car when spraying on the drive!)



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  5. Not huge amounts to report on recently, I've been distracted with the sunny weekends, family events and birthdays etc. but I'm going to pull my finger out and get back to it again!

    A lot of hours have been spent head scratching looking over wires and diagrams. I've barely done more than wire a plug before so this is a bit daunting!
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    (wiring doesn't make particularly exciting photograps)

    I've also admitted I really didn't like the repair between the boot door and the sill, I got angry with it when I fitted it previously and stormed off saying that'll do. Ive been unhappy with it ever since so finally cut it out again, this time with a proper coat of rust protection underneith
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    I've also enjoyed some welcome distractions in my neighbour's shed where he's rebuilding a mini with a very fancy jig
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    and we had a play with his new spot welder!
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    Last edited: Jun 17, 2018
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  6. Probably one of my most time consuming jobs recently has been engine tinware. I didn't fancy paying almost £200 for a simple piece of tin so I had a go at repairing mine, little did I realise how thin the metal was!

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    Repairs in and a once over with a wire wheel to take all the oil and road dirt off. In some areas the metal was so thin I was chasing holes all over the place
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    Layer of rust treatment to get into the pits
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    Had a light go at shotblasting and panel beating it into shape but that led on to more splits and more welds. By the end of it there was more weld than metal, eventually it just needed more repair sections to replace the ridiculous welding.
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    Eventually it was ready for shotblasting so I gathered a selection of parts together
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    Applied a bit of lead to clean up the welds and pinholes in the thin metal
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    All blasted (the fuel tank wasn't rusty so I just wanted to key it for good adhesion
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    And finally given a layer of epoxy!
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    Maybe I should have just bought a replacement part o_O
     
  7. There hasn't been much to report on lately as we've continued to have 'fun' attempting to sort out the wiring which is not going well.

    anyway, we decided to take some time off wiring and make some proper progress with the bodywork.

    So firstly tidied up the bodywork a little with a few small repairs/improvements. I was sick with the sight of my enormous gap between the rear arch and corner but there was no way to re do it. So simple solution, tack in a thin wedge of metal.

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    Then prep for the bumper to go on. Captive nuts welded in
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    Checking the allignment with the closing plates, could any experts on here tell me if this looks right? I'm guessing (hoping so) but not 100% sure.
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    I've been upping the welder power and playing around with the settings, plug welds look neater than usual.
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    Testing the bumper
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  8. Onto today, as I was welding the under side of the bumper in and crawling around under the floor I managed to rest my arm on the welder nozzle which wasn't too fun
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    More importantly we attacked the front panel. It really didn't fit at all, we used ratchet straps and hammered it to no end. We pried open the sides, ground down the A pillars a little and eventually persuaded it to get into place. I wouldn't want to do that again in a hurry.
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    Exhausting work but it's finally worth it. Just the closing plates to weld in, and I should be able to put the welder away.

    There won't be much news this coming weekend as I'm off on my stag do in Bristol, the realisation is starting to kick in the plan of having the van finished for the wedding at the end of September is looking seriously difficult but we'll keep trying!
     
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  9. brilliant work mate ive the front to do on mine in the winter
     
  10. Thanks, it takes a lot longer than you’d ever expect! Good luck with yours!


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  11. JamesLey

    JamesLey Sponsor

    Looking good mate. If you haven’t already I’d check you doors and windscreen now it’s all welded in to see if they still fit ok.


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  12. Good idea! I’m just about to order the window seals too. The window was just held in place by filler beforehand anyway so my placement is largely based on guesswork. I suppose it’s the money of truth now, see if I’ve gone one bodge too far!


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  13. foe

    foe

    Absolutely favorite build thread! This is what it's all about! Not having any idea about whats ahead, but through love, affection and determination your doing it. Same as I did when I got mine over 11 years ago.
    I knew nothing and still learning. I love rose tinted lenses, the world is a better place with them on!!
    Please keep going and enjoy.
     
  14. So true, I am by no means a perfectionist and this will never be a show bus, all I want is something I can keep camping in for years to come without it turning to dust (again). Had I known what was involved I probably wouldn't have started it but I'm so glad I did!

    Thanks for the support!
     
  15. I didn't manage to make any progress last week because I on my stag at the weekend and way too hung over and sleep deprived all week to get anything done. This weekend though we've made some serious progress!

    Started off with some small fettling jobs like welding and patching various odd jobs which had been on my to do list for some time. Also sorted the wing mirror part around the driver's door with some precision tools!
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    Also put in the deformation panel closing pieces
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    Then came the leadwork. Every weld seal got an application of lead and then some
    My botched panel gap on the rear corner
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    the front door step
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    the A pillars
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    and the rest...
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    (yes I did set fire to the paint and filler with the blowtorch a couple of times but it's coming off anyway!)
     
    Last edited: Jul 23, 2018
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  16. Then the exciting part, we began stripping!

    I was initially planning on shotblasting everything but later decided it would be easier to use strip and clean discs to strip all the flat and accessible panels. I'll make a note of all the fiddly bits I've missed and shotblast them later.

    We cut through the filler and layers of blue, red and two layers of orange paint to make a serious mess!
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    Once all the filler was out the way I discovered all the panels, particularly those over the wheel arches are majorly distorted. The filler held them straight but once it was cut out they bent around. Note to anyone planning this for themselves, strip filler of the entire panel before you start welding!!!

    Anyway, I borrowed my neighbour's glass suckers and managed to pull the panels mostly back into shape. They're not perfect but its not a show bus and I'm doing my best ;)

    This also uncovered various hidden dents which I wasn't expecting.
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    It became a race against time as it was getting dark and I didn't want bare metal being left overnight so a lot of visious hammering and shouting was needed to get it done before the end of the day.

    Anyway, the result at about 9.30 as light was starting to fade was this masterpiece:
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    and yes, I now realise my attempt at lead loading was a disaster and I now need to do it all again o_O

    Anyway, this evening was another day and another panel. This time I sanded much more aggressively at the lead and it's not looking quite as bad
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    With luck the rubbish looking lead I've done just isn't sanded down enough, so I'll just cut through the epoxy and try again, this time being a little more aggressive with the flap disc!

    Seriously chuffed with the amount of progress. Now that most of the annoying little jobs are out of the way I can crack on to make some real progress in short time. I'm starting to think the September wedding target is achievable now :beer:
     
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  17. Also one random question now that I'm getting closer to painting, can anyone help clarify where the split in two tone colours goes? As my paint job was not good the line between the two colours wobbles all over the place. Does anyone have any photos of where the split goes? Mine is sometimes on the flat body panel, sometimes on the edge of the rounded section, and sometimes it just seems to be wherever the painter could be bothered to put it!
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    I'm guessing it wants to go in the crease but do let me know if I'm wrong!

    Thanks!
     
  18. Yes put it on the crease under the bulge, previous painter was just lazy with his/her taping up.
     
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  19. Awesome. I assumed so. Cheers!


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  20. Rez

    Rez

    Keep going Eddie.
    I'm enjoying your progress.
     
    SteadyEddie likes this.

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