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Fuel Tank, Firewall and Engine bay panels back in

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!

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Last of the running gear epoxied tonight. Hoping to have it all top coated for the weekend so I can finally start bolting bits back on.

Also got some bits back from the powder coaters; the brake backing plates and all 5 wheels. Shiny shiny! 

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I got the N/S inner sill, and rear of the middle sill in epoxy mastic last night as I won’t be able to paint these areas once they’re welded in. While I had the spray equipment out I gave the front arches a coat of it too as again I won’t be able to paint these areas once the two halves are welded together. This stuff goes on really nicely!

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Bracket welding complete

So I’ve not got much further over the last few weeks, however I have finished the welding on the rear bumper brackets. These were in pretty poor condition when I took them off the van, with a lot of pitting on the surface that sits behind the bumper. 

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The second one I worked on was particularly bad, needing around 6 sections let in. Repairing these has been more of a learning experience than an economical repair as reproduction ones are readily available (about £120 for the 2, so I’ve saved a bit of cash doing it myself I guess). Here’s the worse one partially welded up (I couldn’t grind the welds down for an invisible finish as some of the metal was already pretty thin):

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And both with a lick of paint (I’m using Bilt Hamber’s Electrox for most of the chassis primer work, it’s 90% zinc. This will then be covered with Epoxy Mastic and then a wax. It’s a bit of a minefield when it comes to paints, I’m sticking with Bilt Hamber for this).

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I also gave the new jacking points a coat of paint too (I’m not sure if I’ll need to replace all of them, but I bought all to cover the worst case scenario):

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Next month should be an exciting month though as I’ll have access to the workshop share. We’re taking one more camping trip before I take her off-road and start the restoration proper.

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