One corner repaired. Now for a BBQ as I’m a exhausted!
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A good test of my fabrication skills and a chance to use my new sheet metal machine recreating the corner section of the cab doors.
I made it in two parts. The section that forms the seal channel starts life as a sheet of steel:
After a bit of folding the piece turns into this:
Trimmed down and a curve cut into it for the second repair panel to attach to I then tacked it to the door (I trial fitted the door skin to make sure the repair fits correctly):
The second repair is formed by rolling a sheet of metal into a curve with a slight lip on it to follow the style lines of the door:
And then trimming it down to fit:
I’ve painted the inside of the repairs and will get it all welded in tomorrow. It’s a lot of work to get this to fit right but hopefully worth it (I screwed up my first attempt as it wasn’t a right angle, and then my second attempt was the wrong way round but I can at least use that on the other door).
Good productive day down the workshop today.
Schofields lower door repair welded in. They’re slightly too deep but I’m having to recreate the style line on the inside anyway so i’ve cut the lower edge and need to re-weld it to sit further in.
Made good use of my new sheet metal machine to make repair panels for each of the door braces. So much quicker and accurate than an angle grinder and a vice.
Next up I need to make the funky corner panel up. Luckily I have my new roller so it shouldn’t be too bad.
A bit further this week with the cab doors. The inner frame is pretty thick metal (2mm) however on the N/S it had started to rust through in places so I cut out a huge chunk of it and replaced it with some fresh steel. The O/S frame wasn’t too bad (some pitting in places) so just got a clean up and rust converter applied:
The inside of the doors has a style line which the door cards sit inside, on both sides these were sculpted out of filler! I’ll need to make some repair pieces for this as the panel I’ve got from schofields doesn’t have this. You can see in the below where I’ve chipped away at the filler.
I’ve zinc primed these areas, and will get some epoxy in there on Friday. Then I should be able to get the panels from schofields in over the weekend and make a start on fabricating some further repair panels for the rest.
I’ve just bought a nice 3 in 1 sheet metal machine which will help in making up the curved corner section and some U channels. Quite enjoying repairing these!
Out in the sun today. Made a start on this cab door. Inner frame needs the pitted metal cut out and replaced. Now I know why most peeps replace doors with imported ones!
Starting the N/S cab door. This looks like fun!
It’s taken 2.5 months but it’s finally done! I finished up the front panel today, unfortunately I cracked the windscreen trial fitting it; but at least it fits ok!
I got it lining up pretty well with the A pillars but it’ll need some filler to be perfect.
It looks much better now, and I’m really happy with how it’s turned out.
There’s very few like her. Helped me prep the front panel today and get it into position. Just needs welding. Carvery treat too!
And a spot of neptune blue today! My first go at spraying top coat. Really pleased with the outcome and it’s given me some more confidence to paint the whole van.
Deformation panel welded in tonight and applied some seam sealer to the seams which will be tricky to get to once the front is on.
