Restoration of Project Panther

Discussion in 'Restorations' started by bagpus, Sep 22, 2019.

  1. After much checking, refitting, taking off, scratching head and repeating, I eventually got the front panel to fit and am quite pleased with the results.
    The A panel where the edges crimp over were in pretty good shape so I had these as reference points, however, I couldn't get the top to fit to a point where I was happy that it was good enough and this was especially bad arounnd the top.

    Drastic action was called for so I got a ratchet strap on it- only enough to crimp the edges over.
    IMG_0754.JPG

    The edges of the panel where the windscreen pillar meet were a good fit before ratcheting but stood proud after the pillars were pulled together. As soon as the edges were crimped over I let the tension off and the panel went back to fitting flush where it joins the pillars (phew!)

    So the sides are crimped, other areas plug welded and the doors fitted to check for alignment. Then the nearside wheelarch was fitted, which for some reason seemed to be a lot less troublesome than the offside- or perhaps I just know what to expect! Essentially it was the same process as I used for the offside where the door was used as a reference and adjusted accordingly working towards the A pillar.
    Results are as below and this is definitely one of those days where progress is great and everything is good.
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    Still a few plug welds to complete, which I should be able to do during the week.

    A preview of the inside and the return to the original colour
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    Once this is done it's time to move to the roof and guttering, which I'm hoping to get done over the Christmas break. Plan is to get through a snagging list and then sent it off to be painted in February.
     
    F_Pantos, paradox, MorkC68 and 3 others like this.
  2. Welded the n/s wheel arch in place today. Knowing what to expect makes fitting a lot quicker ..... I think probably 20% of the time it took to fit the o/s one!
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    Modified step all in place
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    Welding the arch and adjusting the fit as you go is very counter intuitive but seems to work.
     
  3. Moving to the roof now and the first challenge was to get the large Moonraker Double top off single handed because of Covid restrictions.

    I built a gantry after getting some good advice and then drove the bus (carefully) from underneath the now suspended roof. All went remarkably well and the bus is now free of the roof and ready for guttering surgery

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  4. With the pop top now removed it was easy to see that the roof needed some surgery.

    The offside rear corner looks to be the worst and therefore that is the starting point.

    IMG_0784 (2).JPG

    and along the side, things didn't look much better.

    IMG_0785 (2).JPG

    I set about cutting the rotten parts out and it was much better than I thought as the rot is mainly confined to the outer skin, with the inner sections remarkably unscathed- looks like it was just caught in time.

    IMG_0792 (2).JPG

    There was only a small section which needed replacing and you can just see it in the photo after it had been welded in and dressed- it's the shiny bit!

    Then, using the repair sections, the first of four was cut to size and tack welded in place. I wanted to get a bit if strength back in the side before cutting the remaining forward part but still retain the ability to adjust the panel if needed.
    IMG_0793 (2).JPG
     
    Last edited: Dec 28, 2020
  5. It's pretty cold at the moment, however, I've been making progress on the roof and it's pretty solid now.
    I've ended up replacing all of the guttering due to the poor state it was in, with the exception of the 2" on either side at the front which have had metal let in at the top.
    I was very lucky that the inner structure was amazingly solid, especially considering the state of the exterior panel and believe that if the van had sat outside for another 12 months the story could have been very different. It's very noticable that when you rocked the van by the gutters there used to be a bit of flex where ever you tried, but now it is absolutely solid.

    The corner panel was made in 2 sections. Obviously there is a need for some filler at the painting stage but the basic shape is there and a solid base to work from. First was to plug weld the gutter (I wasn't happy with the first attempt so ground it off and started again) and then added the roof repairs.
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    Then it was really a case filling the gaps gradually with weld to avoid heat distortion, very much the same as other panels.

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    I thought the nearside rear was ok, but when the paint was taken off there was lots of filler, holes and wafer this metal so the same surgery was done on this corner.
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    Bonda primer has been applied as a temporary coating because there is a lot of condensation in the garage.

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    Then the the sides were cut back to good metal and the new panels butt welded to them
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    A view from the front looking back.

    So I now have a rust free bus and the next stage is to make a snagging list and when the jobs are completed, it's ready to go out for painting..... does anyone have any recommendations of who I could use in the midlands?
     
    Last edited: Feb 15, 2021
    Iain McAvoy, mattw, PanZer and 4 others like this.
  6. So this feels like real progress as I'm looking at how the bus can be protected from the elements and need to get rid of the old waxoyl and all the underseal, which is brittle.
    Armed with hot air gun and scrapers I got underneath the van and cracked on. Although it was really messy work, there is something quite therapeutic about doing this and I'm constantly amazed at how the paint has survived remarkably well on the majority of the underneath.

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    Centre section

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    centre section looking forward
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    Rear offside corner
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    Front nearside, which is my favourite shot because I know how bad it was before. IMG_0220 (1).JPG
    How it was back in 2019- can't believe I've been working on it for 2 years!

    The underside will be covered with Mareno yellow tinted Raptor so just before spraying, will use panel wipe and rub down the paint to give a good key.

    Next is moving onto the rear arches and windows for some more snagging.... getting closer to paint.
     
    Kruger, Iain McAvoy, CollyP and 4 others like this.
  7. Great work. The roof and getting the bottom clean. Your bus looks quite sound. Rust is a funny thing. I’ve never tried using a heat gun. Looks like it worked well.
     
  8. Cheers, the roof was far worse than I thought & took a lot longer to repair. The heat gun worked well to just soften the waxoyl enough so it could be scraped off and although fairly relaxing, I kept thinking it would be a lot easier with a rollover jig as most of the contents landed on me.
    Odd thing is that I've started thinking how I would do things differently on the next one....... time for aversion therapy!
     
    Lazy Andy, Valveandy and PanZer like this.
  9. Onto the floor and cleaning up the inner and middle sill plug welds. The paint is not too good and there are many areas where there were signs of rust forming so it was all stripped back'
    IMG_0848.JPG

    Not bad for the original floor on a 42 year old bus!
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    and then a quick coat of paint to keep it all good. I'm going to apply raptor on the floor as it seems to be using it for it's original intended purpose.

    Got a painter lined up today, so the bus is going to be delivered to them at the end of this month and will be away for 10 weeks having the inside, outside, engine bay and underneath painted.
     
  10. Lots of snagging being carried out at the moment, mainly this seems to entail grinding down plug welds and getting paint onto the bare metal before it has a chance to go rusty.

    So far have done the rear arch repair section, front panel, nearside front arch and then I'm stripping any original paint back to bare metal(there isn't a great deal left!) because it looks as though the original paint is failing which is evidenced by tiny blistering.
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    Good to see I didn't uncover any nasties!

    Then a thin coat of primer as a temporary measure so it doesn't go rusty between now and when it gets to the paint shop.

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    Makes quite a difference to the look by having the whole panel one colour, but we definitely need the skills of a bodyshop!
     
    Last edited: Apr 19, 2021
    Purple, PanZer, Valveandy and 4 others like this.
  11. Thanks to my brothers and nephew we were able to trial fit the Moonraker double pop top at the weekend..... man it's heavy!

    I think it is pretty much there but does anyone have any pictures of of how far in the hinges are positioned inboard from the gutters and how far it sits off the roof? Just really a bit of double checking.

    It's going away for bodywork and paint next Tuesday and I want to drill all the holes for the hinges before it's all shiny, so would really appreciate any pictures you have.
     
    Iain McAvoy likes this.
  12. More finishing jobs today.
    One of the bumper captive bolts was not present so I made a nut plate and then using rope, threaded it into position and tack welded this to the deformation panel in holes that would plug it to the plate. Then inserted the bolt, did it up as tight as possible and plug welded the nut plate to the deformation panel.

    Once this was done I was able to complete the side by welding in the closing panel. First, the A panel bottom had to be repaired

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    as the lip had rusted out

    Then the closing panel could be plug welded onto the deformation panel, and crimped onto the newly remade lip.

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    nicktuft, PanZer, Zed and 3 others like this.
  13. I’ll see if I can take pictures of where the hinge mounts tomorrow for you.
     
    paradox likes this.
  14. Thanks Iain, that would be great.
     
  15. Not the best pic but it shows the hinge is pretty much set in to the profile of the gutter, also it seems my rear hinge is coming away from the roof.

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    2C86011E-CB5D-458F-A42F-4A7D059B146E.jpeg
     
  16. Zed

    Zed Gradually getting grumpier

    Lack of lubrication. :(
     
  17. Lack of use too, roof has been up about 5 times since 1996, it’s only up at the moment as I’m redoing the carpet along the sides. The front one isn’t attached to the roof, so I expected more issues, when I replace the struts, I’ll check all the hinges and redo any that need it (probably all of them).

    Shame I didn’t notice it before doing the carpet on that side, hopefully I can still get to the hinge.
     
  18. Thanks for the photo's Iain, gives me a good idea of where the hinged part should land relative to the roof. Hope you are able to get a pop rivet gun in there to fix the hinge.
     
    Iain McAvoy likes this.
  19. Today I've welded the outer sill in place on the sliding door side. Took quite a lot of grinding to get the remains of the old sill off the underneath of the door track, but worth the effort and pleased with how it all tied in

    IMG_0866.JPG


    Then the acid test- what will it look like with the sliding door which had the modified lower repair section?

    IMG_0868.JPG

    Result was really pleasing, it needs some adjustment but the line from the bottom to the sill is pretty even and validates the decision to add to the lip at front before the skin was attached.
     
  20. Yesterday was one of those key moments where you realise progress has been made! The bus has all the panels attached and it was loaded onto a trailer and transported to the body shop where it will be worked on over the next 10 weeks.

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    The offside sill repair section was the last piece welded in and with the floor also welded to it, the whole side now seems very solid.

    If you count the hours spent in monetary terms, there is no way this bus would have been viable to save, but this is a hobby for me and I'm enjoying the journey. Can't wait to start putting it back together.
     
    Last edited: May 6, 2021
    Kruger, PanZer, leflipflop and 6 others like this.

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