Start of a new year and start of the next chunk of work on the bus. Front clip cut off so I can start repairing what lies beneath. I’ve got this week off to try and get a jog on.
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I’ve been burning the midnight oil over the last couple of nights getting the last few bits of the chassis complete as I really wanted to get it done this year so I could take two weeks off over christmas (the first time for probably 12 months).
I didn’t manage to get many pictures of all the bits I completed as I didn’t have time, so I did a short video as well.
N/S wheel tub repaired:
Remainder of the C pillar repaired including the strengthener, and then the panel joining the rear arch to the floor (I did the other side too). In addition to this I also welded shut the three holes that the Brazilian floors come with for heating (no pics).
And the finished result, it’s been a long slog but it’s been well worth it and I’m over the moon with what I’ve achieved. I’ll be on to the front end at the beginning of January as I have a week off to work on it.
And the rest of it:
A bit further tonight. Welds on outer sill dressed and coated. Mostly welded in the final closing piece for the C pillar.
Outer sill clamped and welded in. Today was a good day.
Another Epoxy Mastic session tonight to get the middle sill coated ready for the outer sill to go on tomorrow. I did the inside of the rear arches and a few other bits to justify getting the spray gear out.
A good Sunday evening job giving the dash instruments a clean up.
I’ve made a good start on the C pilar prep, starting with cutting the outer arch off; I need to repair the bottom of the sliding door seal channel and need to trial fit the new outer arch to make sure it fits properly.
The inner arch isn’t in too bad condition, with the majority of the lip looking to be usable, I’ll just need to repair the ends of it:
The rear corner however has an impressive amount of filler and fibreglass in it!
I spent a good few hours trimming the new outer arch to the correct size to get a really good fit (the channel needs more work though):
Lines up with the door pretty well:
And looks bang on to me:
I’ve started fabricating repairs for the inner part of the C pillar:
And the strengthening plate that covers the C pillar (the new one, template and old one):
I’m aiming to get the C pillar finished this week.
I finished the B pillar over the last couple of nights. Before I welded it in I wanted to check the fit of the front arch against it, so it needed to come off.
Cut:
Grind:
Done. The wheel tub is in ok condition so I’m just going to repair that when I get round to it.
The A pillar has seen better days though and will need some work when I get onto the front end:
With the outer B pillar clamped in place I tested the fit of the arch and outer sill, all looks good to me:
And all welded in. I just need to dress the plug welds at the bottom and it’s done:
Next up the C pillar on the N/S. Thus far I’ve chopped out the strengthening plate to get access to the back of the C pillar, I’ll fabricate a new strengthener tomorrow night and crack on with the rest of it:
Started accumulating panels for the front end restoration. Hoping I’ll be onto it next month.
Repairs to the inner B pillar finished ready for outer tomorrow morning (still not happy with the door fit but it’ll have to do).
