Last few cab bolt on bits into Neptune Blue tonight.
Steering box off the bench, and back onto the van:
Turning my attention to the cab and dashboard area as there’s a fair few bits that need painting before I can rebuild the cab. As seems quite common someone in the past has had a go of fitting a single DIN radio into the dash by persuading the aperture open with a club hammer:
I hammer and dollied the aperture back into it’s original shape as best I could:
And then carefully marked and cut the aperture properly to take my new Alpine stereo. It’s a nice tight fit:
Much better:
Cleaned up another batch of bolt on bits in the blast cabinet:
Everything epoxied and high build primed:
Every time I paint bits I have to push the van out into the yard. She’s definitely the cleanest thing there!
Driveshafts all built up tonight with fresh GKN Lobro CV joints and boots. What a messy job! Finally got some proper circlip pliers as I was getting nowhere fitting the circlips with a normal pair and a screwdriver.
A few more bits painted and reattached to the van over the last few days.
Handbrake cable bar reassembled:
And back on the van (apologies for the awful picture).
Brake calipers all cleaned up. Unfortunately one of the pistons refused to budge under air pressure as it had completely seized so I’ve ordered a new one to replace it.
The other one looked fine when I took it apart so I’ve replaced the seals and primed it.
Gave a few random bits a coat of anthracite to neaten them up before I bolt them back on. Starter motor:
CV joints:
Steering box drop arm. I’ve got a new dust cover for this, it’s not leaking from any of the seals so I’m able to put it straight back in as is.
And making a start on reassembling the drive shafts. What a messy job!
Luggage rack all cleaned up and carnauba waxed. Cab roof given a wipe over and luggage roof pop riveted back into place.
Making a start on cleaning up the starter motor.
Just a few hours on the van this morning so painted the outsides of the cv joints with some black epoxy mastic I had left.
Stripped down the brake calipers ready for rebuilding (I’m not splitting them as I don’t think they need that).
And started cleaning up the luggage rack.
Got a few bits bolted on over the last few days.
Added a sheet of silent coat to the engine bay roof to add a bit of sound dampening:
reinstated the original insulation and riveted the panels back in place:
The original horsehair padding on the fuel tank straps and under the tank were pretty much non-existent so I’ve replaced them with 2mm neoprene sheeting and tape. You can also just about see where I’ve drenched the area above the wheel tubs with dynax S50:
Fuel tank back in with fresh hoses connecting up all the breather pipes, a new fill neck and the fuel tank sender all wired up:
I found a pic of this area when I stripped the van down 3 years ago looking slightly worn and tired!
I opted to spray some Dynax UC in the fuel tank area to offer some protection whilst keeping it looking pretty clean (I’ll be using this on the wheel arches too):
Added some more 2mm neoprene tape around the firewall:
And all bolted in!
The chickens are back seeking out the warmth of my spotlamps again too!
Starting to feel like autumn down here with the track to the workshop covered in orange leaves now. Still relatively warm in the unit though.
What’ve I been up to this week?!
Main cab loom repairs finished and installed loosely back in the van. I’ve temporarily cable tied the cable groupings and will neaten it all up when everything else is attached:
Rear gearbox mount back in. I kept the original rubber cotton reel mounts which were in good nick:
A few bits ready to be blasted:
And most of the above primed:
Firewall, engine bay panels, fuel tank and cold air flaps into anthracite:
Starting to clean up the steering box. There’s no leaks so I’m just fitting a new dust seal and giving it a clean up:
And in a bid to tidy up the unit a bit, a guy from work gave me a load of shelving so I’ve started putting some of it up. Just need some scrap wood to put across it now:
