1947 Bradford Restoration

[Chris Spencer]

Rear nearside door pillar had split on the upper hinge rebate

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- Used the old broken sections for a pattern and made up a new section in ash

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and then fitted it

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I opted to bolt the splice for strength rather than screw it into position and have been using a waterproof expanding wood glue which I have to say is very impressive stuff

[Tony Fearn]

......using a waterproof expanding wood glue which I have to say is very impressive stuff

That's interesting Chris, what's it called and where do we purchase it?
Tony.

[Chris Spencer]

Tony - Pics attached and a link to the companies website below (which has a list of stockists) mine came from our local builders merchant - was about £10 - invaluable stuff has it bonds most other surfaces - great for work on the Bradford has it fills any loose joints on the frame - just make sure you wear gloves when using it has it will not come your skin easily - Chris

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http://www.hippoproducts.co.uk/hippo-ex ... -glue.html

[Keith Clements]

Mar 5, 2017 at 10:33pm
A few more images of the layout / construction





Rear floor planking is going require some selective replacement

The rear floor support member requires complete replacement

Nearside door pillar requires repair

So some progress then - roof side panels - I had taken the loose rust off them with a rotary brush on the angle grinder

Now just needed to treat the deep rust so a good coat of this


Covered with a thin polythene and left for 24 hours - we will see what results I have tomorrow

The front screen aperture panel is in a proper crusty state but replacements are not available and ones that have been recovered from scraped vans are just as bad - the bottom edge / rail is in good condition and can stop in situ - otherwise is a major job to remove as it is spot welded to the bulkhead panel - cut the A posts on a 45 degree angle at the bottom and then released the panel from the timber frame - took an age has all screws were rusted solid and I ended up drilling the heads off most of them - I resisted from using too much force in order to avoid damaging the ash frame - the glue has let go on some of the major joints and these need remaking




As you can see it is in quite a fragile state - I welded a temporary horizontal brace to the bottom of the A pillars and bolted a second brace at the top through the wiper spindle holes


Then started on the A pillars - removed the aperture edge flange and welded a replacement in then formed an angle and spot welded it to the aperture - this angle then fastens the aperture panel to the ash frame - pics detail the repair with the replaced section alongside



Managed to get both A pillars done and the radius completed to one side



Mar 6, 2017 at 10:06pm
No shrinking required - the windscreen glass is flat - there is however a slight curvature to the panel above the windscreen and I just used a packer between the panel and the angle brace has pictured

I do have a shrinker / stretcher that I used to form the angles on the radius corners and the top section angle
Mar 6, 2017 at 10:14pm
Bit more progress - I continued to weld in sections of the aperture


I formed the upper angle in one piece and shrunk as required to obtain the radius prior spot welding into place

So that's the windscreen aperture sorted - the panel still requires repairs to roof edge and both sides of A pillars that abut the vans frame


May 8, 2017 at 10:11pm
Recent progress includes continuing to sort the front screen aperture

Roof edge flange was dead so this was trimmed back and flanged - new metal let in


Just required a little shrinking - the aperture panel now just needs the A post edges replacing prior to cleaning it up and refitting it

Meanwhile the rear panel forming the roof radius was complete toast - a fellow member had sourced one for me


It needed some work has someone had covered it in some resin based canvas material that had to be hacked off

Old wood chisel sharpened up every few mins seamed to do the job - still took me a few hours to get it all off


Then needed to sort the frilliest edges so that I had something to refasten the panel through to the ash frame


Just needs shrinking on the new edges then can get it cleaned up and into primer
May 9, 2017 at 10:14pm
Two of the roof rails were dead so machined a piece of ash down to two lengths



Fortunately I managed to salvage the radius sections at each end of the rails which are splined / toothed - just need to check for fit tomorrow and then they can be glued up together
Jun 13, 2017 at 11:06pm
Managed to get a bit done on this today - so fastened the two repaired roof rails on and then trimmed in and fitted the lathes

From what I can see most of the joints on the body were assembled dry - i.e. without any glue - in order to return some strength back into the ash frame I opted to use an expanding wood glue which did the job remarkably - along with twin thread woodscrews which were impact driven - certainly a lot stronger now

Next to sort is the nearside rear door pillar which has fractured across the upper hinge - I cut this back to a sound section and will now use the two removed pieces has a pattern to form a new section which I shall splice in


Jun 15, 2017 at 9:06am
Little bit more done on this yesterday - Made up the repair section from a piece of ash for the rear door pillar using the U/S section as a pattern

Opted to bolt through the spliced section rather than use screws - used the expanding wood glue again


Really strong repair - helped by the original metal brace bracket which fastens the side member, roof rail and the door pillar together

Made up one side of the A post edge repair which was shrunk to match the post radius


Aug 4, 2017 at 10:43pm


I had already made the A post edge repair up for one side and now needed to make up the other side



Then get them welded in


With the welds dressed back - I then removed the paint from the rest of the panel

Put the windscreen aperture and roof panels into primer



Then made a start on refastening the roof panels back on to the ash frame - these are nailed on


Both sides and the rear panel on without too much hassle



Then onto the windscreen aperture panel / A posts



The joints on the ash frame at the bulkhead were very weak and loose - it's a budget restoration and new A posts are a a very major undertaking - it is only the joints that were failing but there was sound timber in the joint - just not enough of it

I made up some reinforcing straps from 2mm steel - glued the timber and fitted the straps on either side

Then started to fit the outer panel


Still quite a bit to do to get this fitting correctly but it is on it's way
Aug 13, 2017 at 8:34am
Progress on the nearside with the windscreen aperture / A Post panel fitted - this is screwed to the ash frame on the inner windscreen aperture & nailed down the outer edge of the A Post - next was sorting the door fit / aperture - the door was dropping at the bottom rear corner and dragging on the top of the B post in the top corner


The top door hinge was loose on both the door and the A post

had to strip the door of it's internals to access the hinge bolts

It's all very simple - virtually agricultural in construction


The frame / van is 70 years old so with movement / damp / rust / shrinking of the timber etc things have just come loose or seized - Top hinge just tightened up on the door side but I had to put new countersunk machine screws in has the old ones just sheared when I went to tighten them up - I made up a couple of alloy hinge packers for the bottom hinge to give me the 2 mm gapping that I required

I then had to pack the lock / latch keep out on the B post to ensure that worked

But now a decent fit for most of the door aperture

With exception of the A post / door frame aperture - the A post is tight onto the ash frame and the door fits the rest of the aperture so the A post will require some modification to close up this gap - I can achieve this with some 5 mm round bar then lead the area up to achieve the profile - the fits were never perfect but again it's a 80 year old agricultural design, hand built to no exact tolerances on a vehicle that has spent the last 35 years abandoned in a very damp half roofed shed - More soon

[Keith Clements]

Aug 16, 2017 at 10:40pm
I fastened the remaining section of the windscreen aperture panel to the roof - it's just nailed through to the ash frame

The aperture around the windscreen is screwed to the ash frame on the inside edge


With this done I could now trial fit the windscreen with the new windscreen rubber


Needed some minor fettling to get it to fit - odd fitting process too in the respect that the screen is fitted from the inside outwards

Removed the screen so that the rest of the work to the aperture could progress

Offside door fit was much like the nearside - quite an ill fit



I stripped the doors internals off in order to access the top hinge bolts and tightened these up, then made a couple of hinge shims up for the bottom hinge



Altered the door locator pin along with the door catch & striker plates

Still too much flex in the A post for my liking so followed the factory mod for reinforcing the A post which consists of a piece of studding cut to length - hole drilled through the A post and rebated for a nut - then the studding travelling through to the bulkhead - add some reinforcing plates and lock nuts either side of the A post and bulkhead


Then had to trim the door frame in order to prevent it from catching where the frame had swelled


Then fitted the A post / door aperture trim to ensure clearance



By which stage I had achieved a decent aperture fit



With exception of the screen pillar which is 5mm too wide and I will have to let metal into to correct

So now need some 5mm round bar to finish the screen pillar apertures off with so I turned my attention to the bonnet fit for the last hour of today




Bonnet was a poor fit with it overlapping onto the bulkhead - It held in place by the central hinge rod - I removed it and elongated the bolt holes on the bulkhead so I could move the hinge rod keep forward - then adjusted the radiator cowl moving that forward to match - then refitted the bonnet - made some tweaks and got a reasonable fit to edges with the exception of the offside vertical edge to the bulkhead aperture


I will make a few more tweaks tomorrow but will probably have to reduce the edge by 5mm or so
Aug 17, 2017 at 10:03pm
Removed the bonnet and trimmed the edge accordingly which resulted in the flanged edge being lost so I made up a new one



Tacked in

Fully welded and dressed back


I then added 5mm to left side of the rear bonnet location catch aperture to prevent the bonnet locating too close to the bulkhead



Bonnet refitted and the equal gapping achieved around the bulkhead

Next was to sort the metalwork at the bulkhead / base of the windscreen pillar


This means welding adjacent to the ash frame so out of the arsenal comes this


returned to a solid structure and dressed back

I removed the door to allow access the hinge fastenings (countersunk machine screws) were half rusted through - I cleaned the hinges up and primed the rear faces and refitted them with new machine screws



The started on the nearside - door & hinges removed and repair of the bulkhead / windscreen pillar commenced

Aug 18, 2017 at 10:25pm
Finished the making good of the bulkhead / windscreen aperture - refitted the nearside door after I had cleaned the hinges up and refitted with new bolts - cleaning the hinges up made a difference to the door fit and I had to make up another shim for the lower door hinge to account for it

Next job was to strip the front end of its external fittings & panels


Removed the bonnet and the centre hinge rod to part it

Plenty of surface rust on the undersides

Stripped the catches off the side panels of the bonnet


With the bonnet stripped I carefully measured the radiator cowl distance from the bulkhead before removing the fixings

Removed the front bumper and the bumper irons

Removed the headlamps & bowls

Then commenced removing the wings - most of the bolts were seized and had to be cut with a thin disc on the angle grinder





Plenty of repair sections required on the wing flanges & edges




Both wings require quite a bit of work

Then went about removing the wing support panels, front panels & radiator cowl

Removed has one structure then stripped down into component form

Ready for taking to the blasters on Monday, other metal trims that have already been removed from the interior will also be added along with the front doors


I will degrease the front chassis rails / engine bay before cleaning them up / priming and painting in situ

Made a start on removing the rear wings which will also be going with the rest of the panels for shotblasting

Finally my favoured route for ensuring that all small parts / reusable fastenings get labelled and don't go missing
Aug 20, 2017 at 10:46pm
Rear wings now removed and added to the growing pile of bits for the blaster - needless to say it took the diligent efforts of the angle grinder & cutting disc to take the bolt heads off which were all seized

Spent a little time scraping the thick rust / grease off the front end of the chassis & components then a quick wire brush off

I will degrease the area along with the engine prior to applying a rust treatment

So with the front panels removed a better view of a very different engine arrangement than the one that most of you are used to can be seen



Note the lack of a water pump - it uses a Thermo Syphon process for the water to travel (Has do quite few other vehicles that were designed / built pre war)

Removed the last of the side windows from the offside

Then removed the alloy panel beading from either side

Whilst this could have been left in situ and painted I am aware from experience that it would only be a matter of time once the van was painted before the corrosion would find it's way from under the panel bead and into the new paintwork - better to remove the bead at this stage - treat the corrosion and replace the panel bead with new

Removed the passenger seat to allow access within the cab and to prevent any damage to it whilst welding

Started on closing the windscreen pillar up to the correct aperture gapping - initially tacked a 5mm round bar into place

Added a second 5mm bar to take the gap up

Then started to work the gapping with careful use of the angle grinder


A alloy roof gutter trim follows the rebate in the roof for approx two thirds of radius - now having the basic profile for the aperture I can now use body solder to fill the gaps between the welds - with the metal work of the windscreen pillar mounting directly to the ash frame this means that a low heat process can be utilised rather than using the high heat process of MIG welding - more to follow tomorrow
Aug 21, 2017 at 11:27pm

Is the large body section aluminium on this one? Doesn't seem to have the same sort of corrosion as the other parts you've removed and fixed.

Correct - talk about a composite body so the large side panels are alloy, bulkhead, doors, wings & bonnet are steel, frame is ash, roof is fabric - I do have the upper alloy panel on the offside to replace which has suffered from dissimilar metals corrosion

[Keith Clements]

Aug 22, 2017 at 12:31am
Leaded the windscreen pillars up

Solder paste is applied then heated to a melting point and wiped clean (Known has 'tinning' in the old days)


Then the body solder is added to the pillar - roughly


Then the solder is heated slowly and in small areas just has the solder comes workable it is shaped with a paddle that has tallow applied to it to help with the shaping

With the basic shape formed it is then shaped with a bodyfile


To achieve close to final profiles


A quick buzz over with the DA and a 80's disc yield the following result


Minor skim of polyester filler and you will never know that I have been there

The pile of bits were dropped off at the blasters today and should be ready sometime next week



Removed the drivers seat and the floor coverings from the cab



Then removed the side panels from the rear interior





Retained the old panels for pattern



Toolbox lid is scrap but retained for pattern



Removing the side interior trim panels revealed that the side sliding window drain tubes were long dead



These would normally channel the water from the side sliding windows down the tube to the underside of the van



Sid my quality control inspector called in and gave me the ok to start the panel repairs now that the van was stripped out



Just enough of the lower bulkhead existing for me to pattern it up



Transferred to card



Then to metal which just requires some minor finishing in the morning

Aug 22, 2017 at 10:14pm
Removed the step plate from the offside which will require replacement



The brackets are formed from equal angle with a radius - they are welded to the chassis - they are a little weak so I shall straighten them up and add some strengthening to them



Removed the support bracket for the wing / lower bulkhead - the 3 coachbolts retaining it were completely seized and had to be chopped out with the angle grinder





Made a new support bracket up using the old one for pattern and fastened it in place with new M8 coachbolts



Commenced piecing in repair sections to the lower bulkhead area



Then welded in the lower section





Ready for dressing back / cleaning up in the morning

Spent a few hours today sorting out a plan of attack to repair the rear cross member & floor (timber) - then sourcing the materials to undertake it

Aug 23, 2017 at 10:31pm
Dressed the lower bulkhead repair up



It fastens to the A post - ash frame by nails but I have left it unfastened for now until the door comes back from the blasters - I can then refit the door and check for aperture gapping - by leaving the panel loose I can make any adjustments easily



Next up was the rear cross member for the floor / frame which was rotten





The floor abutting the cross member was also dead





With only the last 100mm of the boards affected it really did not make any sense to rip the full floor out bearing in mind that I am working to a budget for the client



So placed temporary supports in for the roof has I would be trimming off the bottom of the rear door pillars and just took out what was necessary









All previous fixings had to be cut out with the angle grinder

So after creating a pile of sawdust & wood chippings



I was left with this



Rebated to support the end of the floor planking and trimmed to size / shape - formed from treated timber I have simply extended the depth of cross member - this in turn has returned the rigidity into the rear of the van with the new arrangement taking the full load of the rear frame & door pillars

Cleaned the steelwork / brackets up and primed them prior to fitting the cross member






Fully bolted up with M8 coach bolts and a additional set put through the chassis



The floor planks were drilled countersunk & screwed to the rebate within the cross member along with the rear steel work

[Keith Clements]

Aug 24, 2017 at 11:30pm
Only a few hours today on this - there is a modern in the workshop that's absorbing my time in the main - still managed to get the timber in the nearside rear floor corner where rot had set into the timber







Removed all the weak / rotten wood



Rebated & mortised a new side member - proper jiggle to get it in but eventfully got there - let in a repair section to the inner wheelarch - utilised the expanding timber glue for the joints with impact driven screws



Managed to tie the new side member to tie into the wheelarch timber has per the original - made the side member over length and then trimmed it once installed



Then made a new closing section for the floor area and sanded over to level the minor deviations between the old & the new





New coachbolt fitted to secure the floor to the chassis out rigger and the side framing reinstalled to the new repair area



Sanded over the floor planking to bring the planks (which had cupped) level with the new rear cross member

Aug 25, 2017 at 9:56pm
Just a small job done today to cut in the lower framing for the nearside rear wing


Formed from ash - tenon joint to the wheelarch frame then glued and screwed the rest



This supports both the rear wing section and the rear corner panel



One of my fellow Jowett Car Club members forwarded me a few images of the van being initially recovered after it's 35 year slumber and prior to coming to me for restoration





Aug 26, 2017 at 8:50pm
The Jowett Factory closed in 1954 so has you can appreciate parts are a bit of an issue - However the Jowett Car Club runs it's own spares / parts department - all staffed voluntary - what is no longer available is remade / manufactured by a select group of suppliers - focus tends to be on the parts that keep the vehicles on the road so mechanical rather than cosmetic - having manufactured from 1910 - 1954 a vast range of models it's quite an undertaking to keep stock but the guys at Jowett Car Spares do a admirable job. Individual Jowett owners also squirrel parts - sometimes coming with a vehicle that they have purchased and sometimes purchasing a job lot of parts from a previous Jowett owner. Tim whom owns the van has been working his way through his parts stash and occasionally a small parcel will turn up with a few bits for the restoration - latest couple of deliveries have yielded these



All 'New Old Stock' - a pair of door window locking catches along with a radiator cowl badge - all has rare as hens teeth

Oct 10, 2017 at 8:31am

Other things have got in my way and currently only managing 2 -3 days a week in the workshop due to family illness back up in Yorkshire - non the less some progress has been made



Loose panels returned after being blasted


Offside rear frame for the rear wing / wheelarch rearward of the wheel fabricated & fitted







Nearside bulkhead & bulkhead mounting to chassis area patterned, fabricated, welded & dressed back















Nearside rear wing / door pillar panel repaired with several sections and refitted - simply nailed on to the ash frame












Offside rear upper panel which is alloy had corroded upon the top edge so was removed and utilised as a template to cut a new panel from 1 mm sheet - then fitted to the ash frame with a combination of nails / screws has per the original





Paint removed from all other fixed panels - couple of doses of a good quality paint stripper and then a quick buzz over with a 80's disc on the DA soon had them sorted


Oct 10, 2017 at 10:09pm








Offside rear wing / rear door pillar panel - repaired in various areas, trial fitted then fully fitted


Fitted the rear door (second hand with the original ones being totally shot)





Ill fitting at both the top & bottom on the rear pillar and too tight towards the centre



3 of the hinges on the replacement doors had extensive play on the pins - I recovered the original ones and cleaned them up / ground them back then replaced the worn ones with them





Started by adjusting / packing the hinges out where required



The doors had both been repaired - in this case the door skin was distorted at the point of repair along with being tight against the frame which was throwing the bottom corner out



Lower section of the frame on the door had also been repaired using softwood which was now rotten



Had to strip down suitable timber sections in ash to make the repairs up - after producing a suitable pile of sawdust & wood chippings




Frame repairs completed





With a little reworking on the edge of the door skin a suitable fit to the adjacent door pillar panel was achieved



Top of the offside rear door frame was dead



Sectioned the rot out and pieced fresh timber in



Rehung the door after the repairs but a very poor fit at the top corner



Ended up removing the door skin to make the adjustments



Rehung the door frame without the door skin and made the adjustments insitu



Refitted the door skin along with further adjustments made on the door hinges



Final fettling required to the top of the nearside door - this will require reducing / rewelding and dressing back





Both doors have poor aperture fits - the nearside with the centre aperture and requires closing up by 5mm - this I will achieve with a sold bar packing



The offside requires 5mm adding to the outer edge in order to provide an overlap to the pillar



I cut some 2mm flat bar down to form the overlap and will weld this to the edge of the door skin

This is not unusual that in ash frames that have been poorly protected - they tend to spread and apertures open up - given that the doors were not from this vehicle in the first place and everything was hand built but not to any real tolerance on these vehicles



Completed framework of the offside rear door
Oct 11, 2017 at 9:03pm




Sorted the offside rear door edge by welding a 5mm wide x 2mm deep steel edge - cleaned back and dressed and we have the desired overlap to the door pillar panel



Then sorted the alignment of the nearside door top by cutting it back, rewelding / dressing to match the top of the offside door






Closed the centre aperture gap up to an acceptable tolerance by welding a solid bar in to the nearside door reveal and dressing back as required



Fitted a suitable sliding door bolt for the bottom of the nearside door and made a keep plate up which was rebated into the rear cross member



Fitted the offside door with it's locking bars and adjusted them as required to achieve a good fit









Can't do anything more with the rear until the new spare wheel door arrives which I will collect on Saturday - The Jowett Car Club spares dept have had a batch made - the original one is completely rotten

Turned my attention to the front panels







Inner front wing / splash panel - quite thin in places with rust perforation





After a good round of sectioning out the weak areas and letting in fresh steel - the offside panel is ready for dressing / fettling in the morning

[Keith Clements]

Oct 12, 2017 at 9:21pm
Works progress to complete the front inner wing panels


Although this removed section looks solid - it's full of minor perforations



If repairing areas and piecing in you will find it easier to deal with panel distortion if you cut your repair section has part radius rather than straight edged



So that's both the inner wing panels sorted



Fitted to the offside along with the wing / headlamp support bracket











Offside front wing requiring repairs to all edge / perimeter & mounting areas





Initial flange edge repairs underway





Front lower section of the wing attaches to a split front panel which needs to be taken into consideration has the repairs progress





Flange edge welding completed - needs dressing back in the morning before I progress with the rest of the repairs on the wing

Oct 18, 2017 at 10:15pm



Repairs to the offside front panel section in progress




So in-between the repairs I attended the Jowett Car Clubs AGM (bit obliged to attend being a committee member) - stayed over and went to visit my mum whilst up country but also called upon a fellow 'Jowetteer' en-route home - said member just happens to the clubs Bradford van registrar - so a little hunt and a few pics from his place











Meant I could pull some reference pics and scrounge a few parts - main one being a offside front wing in far better condition than the one that I am working on - which still requires extensive work - more thinking about the clients bill than anything





The flange edges are rolled over a wire these are perforated all the way around the wing and would take considerable time to sort



Paul had a used wing that requires minor repair



So I dropped this in to the blasters along with a another dash panel and a spare wheel carrier - I will collect these in few days time once they are paint / rust free





Meanwhile I made a start on the nearside front panel







Then fitted the wing to check on alignment before commencing the repairs









Still have some finishing to do on the rearward flanges but will complete those once I have the front radiator cowl sorted







Which happens to be bent, battered, poorly previously repaired whilst the remainder resembles a colander





But like everything else parts are becoming scarce and where they are available they are in the same state or worse than this one

Oct 20, 2017 at 6:50pm










Significant repairs to the radiator cowl completed and now refitted to check for fit & adjustment








Repairs to rearward section of nearside wing including new end plate completed






Wing fitted, checked for adjustment, new rear stay made up & fitted, headlamp / wing mounting bracket checked for fit






Final check was with the road wheel fitted and the car on the ground to ensure that the wheel had sufficient clearance on the wing on either lock (I have seen several cars restored with panels fitted with the car on axle stands - still on axle stands when it's painted only to find that the wheels contact the bodywork when fitted - especially on sports cars where the wheel apertures are tight)
Oct 22, 2017 at 11:12am
So with the front nearside corner just about sorted and still awaiting for the offside wing to be returned from blasting I could now complete the rear panels



New offside rear panel made up & fitted





New spare wheel flap / door was supplied by Jowett Car Spares - this is the clubs own parts department run entirely by volunteer members of the club - although I could have made this myself it was decided that the club would invest in a small batch of them being custom made - I am always happy to channel / purchase what I can through the club has this ensures parts supply for all Jowett models - its a massive undertaking bearing in mind Jowett produced a whole range of models from 1910 - 1954




Flap fitted after I had fabricated & fitted the cross member cover that sits immediately above the flap





Once the spare wheel carrier returns from the blasters and is fitted I can fabricate a stay for the new rear panels but need the carrier in place to ensure that nothing fouls the placement of the spare wheel




All sits nice and true and nothing fouls the rear bottom of the rear doors



The scrap that the new panels replaced - which I shall retain for patterns for any future Bradford restoration work

[Keith Clements]

Oct 26, 2017 at 8:50pm
Onwards with the front offside door



Which is rust perforated along the bottom edge



Rotten section removed, flanged edge to original door skin and repair section made up



In place and ready for tacking up



Duly tacked up - bottom edge is simply nailed to the ash frame and the edges are folded / flanged over



Cleaned / dressed back



Very minor rust perforation to a mid point on the door skin which I opted to lead load rather than attempt to weld a piece into which would create quite a lot of panel distortion at this point



Repairs completed







Turned my attention to the offside rear wheel arch which is slightly ratty on the bottom edges





Completed this then did the nearside







Done so on with the nearside front door which was a virtually identical repair to the offside front door





Again a minor perforation on the nearside door identical to the offside - this where rain water soaks the window felt channel which is in direct contact with the inside of the door skin which in turn over a long period rots through (I will obviously have to prevent the water / window channel contact when I refit the door)



Again I shall lead load this repair area

Meanwhile a couple of coats of strong paint stripper had the paint off the rear doors and down to the filler





I wanted the filler off has I assumed that it was probably plastered over the top of rust & dubious repairs



30 minutes with 80's disc on the DA got the filler removed from one door



My assumption was correct this is someone's idea of shrinking damage on a panel - just whack it in with a hammer to an inch deep and throw a bucketful of filler in to it - rust around the window edge was also just plastered over with filler

after you tack a repair section in on say those rear fenders....how do you then get the area in to shape?...and are you using all mig, or tig....do you use heat with hammer and dolly, or cold shaping?

firstly it's all mig - but very careful mig at that - used in short sharp well spaced out bursts in order to avoid heat build up within the panel - the less distortion the less you have to reshape - you can just keep joining the tacks up until you have a solid line of weld - but just take your time - if there is a lot to do keep alternating between two repairs that are well spaced apart - I tend to mainly cold shape with a hammer & dolly - care is also required to be taken with the dressing / grinding back has this can also generate large areas of heat build up - gas welding is easier to work back / dress and the weld bead can be kept much smaller / flatter than that of a mig bead - however gas welding simply generates far too much heat within thin car panels and can result in major panel distortion
Oct 27, 2017 at 8:20pm
Just a few bits done today on the Bradford



Nearside rear door had the filler removed from it with the DA and the external screws around the windows replaced



Perforated area lead loaded on the nearside front door - still requires some work with the hammer & dolly but this is best done with the door rehung on it's hinges / back on the van
Nov 7, 2017 at 9:54pm
So need to press on with this one a bit - still waiting for the offside wing & few other bits to come back from the blasters - I needed to trial fit the bonnet panels








Its a four panel bonnet retained by piano hinges - one to the centre and one to each side





Like every other panel on the van it's well battered - the centre edge at the rear has split at some stage - probably due to the hinge being heavily rusted - it's been rejoined by gas welding at some stage hence the panel is heavily distorted













After fitting the side panels I refitted the bonnet catches to see how it held it's shape when closed - answer was not very good





Much tweaking, adjustment, alteration, packing I started to get there



The rear bulkhead needs to be packed higher than originally to prevent the bonnet panels from contacting the bulkhead once they are painted - I will have to source a thicker packer of a woven / webbing type material









The vans were never perfectly panelled if anything they are nearer to a agricultural fit than anything - I just have to get to a point so that it looks original enough whilst ensuring that the panels don't spoil the paintwork with poor fitting / apertures etc
Nov 8, 2017 at 10:46pm


The club registrar found me a pair of chassis end caps and stuck them in the post - the original ones were tissue thin and were not worth repairing


Needed to sort the metal inner trim frames for the glass - there is nine of them - I have had them blasted - the ones for the front doors are fine




Sorted the easy one first - this just required a corner plate replacing





Next one required a few sections welding in and a couple of corner plates



Next one required all 4 corner pates - once done and with the frame strong & rigid I needed to do something about all the minor perforations - it's not a structural part and really don't warrant having new frames made up - they are bevelled edge section with return flanges and would not be easy to replicate by hand - the only reason that have perforated in the first place is that the window rubbers have been leaking over an extensive period - I just don't want to load them up with filler - I took the option to lead load them







It will need dressing back / shaping and a fine skim of filler to obtain the correct profile - I will complete this one in the morning

[Keith Clements]

Nov 10, 2017 at 11:13pm




Dressed the lead loading back on this frame so that's another one done



Next what was left of the nearside rear one - which is next to nothing



It's a very rare part - the club registrar found me a decent offside one but they are handed because of the taper on the rear edge of the window - so nothing for it but to cut through the mitres and swap the sides over



Tack in the corners and trail fit



Make up some angled corner brackets and spot weld to the underside - then make good the mitre joints



Make up some new corner fillets



Weld in place - lead load in few places - clean up



Check for fit - offside to nearside conversion completed



Next up were the rear door frames - original ones yielded one good - one dead



As I fitted another set of doors to the van that yielded a second set of frames - again one good - one dead - I will send the good ones to the blasters for cleaning up



Just the front screen frame for a full house then - some minor perforation across the top and in the bottom corners







Repairs achieved via lead loading



Front number plate plinth to sort - this originally had alloy numbers & letters placed to it to form the plate - new plates are the pressed alloy type so this will just act has a mounting plinth for it



It had thinned on the edges so I made up some strengthening plates for it and spot welded them on - sorted a couple of very minor pitted areas with lead loading



Pile of completed metal trims / plinths now building



Inner panel for front door has some perforations to one edge in 2 places





Cut out and new sections welded in



This leaves one panel left to repair - the offside front wing which is at the blasters but is now ready collection so I will sort that out on Monday

You are not wrong - 2 days just sorting / repairing inner window trims - unfortunately most owners just don't see the amount of effort / time needed to get things right - don't get me wrong I am not complaining but a good lump of classic / retro owners have little idea when it comes to what it takes to repair things properly
Nov 13, 2017 at 9:57pm
Had to drop some more things into the blasters & collect others that were complete - offside front wing, spare wheel carrier and a dash panel



Wing is suffering a little but perfectly sortable











I will crack on with it in the morning - whilst at the NEC classic car show I managed to a deal on the roof fabric, wadding for the underside of the fabric, & a wool head lining fabric that I will make the head lining from, also managed to pick up the alloy beading for the external panelling, various trim finishers, leather check straps for the doors, bonnet webbing along with various other bits required to finish it
Nov 14, 2017 at 9:33pm
Sorted the repairs on the wing











Bolted the wing on temporally in order to mark the holes up in the repaired panels




Needs to come back off in the morning and the holes drilled prior to the wing being refitted - but getting there now
Nov 15, 2017 at 10:44pm
Wing off - holes drilled and wing refitted




New wing stay fabricated



Fitted

Road wheel refitted and checked on either lock for clearance




Purchased a thicker woven bonnet / bulkhead lace whilst at the NEC show




Temporally fitted to check that bonnet panels no longer contact with the bulkhead & radiator cowl




Now on with the final few fabrication / welding jobs

Spare wheel carrier is completely rotten





Client had supplied me with a skeletal type carrier which is a spare from a different model - I said I would take a look to see if it could be adapted to fit


Made sure that the wheel fitted first


Then fitted loosely to check for clearance




Made some alterations to the rear brackets



Then undertook some repairs to the frame





Fitted with coach bolts through the boot floor cross members



Checked for critical clearance of the brake rod at the rear of the axle





I could now fabricate the brackets for the rear side panels


These were fastened to the rear cross member and through the lower flange of the panel

Made up a couple of brackets for the spare wheel flap to close against - spot welded on - used the offcuts of the bonnet lace to protect the paint






Just need to sort the retaining strap out for it in the morning - then I need to fit a method of retaining the spare wheel in its carrier - probably old school leather strap with a buckle on it now I think about it

Nov 16, 2017 at 10:15pm
Made up a retainer for the spare wheel flap by managing to recover the original brass wing nut from the old carrier - formed from a bit of 8mm round bar and a UNF / Whitworth bolt







Next was the inner rear wheel arch splash panel which required remaking



Fitted




Whilst the van was in the air I commenced cleaning the loose rust off the chassis & drive train by wire brush








I then gave it a good blow off with the air gun - plan is that once I have the area under the cab cleaned of loose rust I will then degrease the chassis & drive train - once dry I will treat the areas with a high quality rust convertor prior to a construction primer followed with a 2 pack black gloss paint







The steel dash panel has been covered with a vinyl cloth material at some stage but with the windscreen leaking so badly the panel is long dead - I had a used spare that I had blasted






Just required some minor repairs to the corners and some non original holes welding up

Done and completes the welding to the van



Keen now to get the remaining dirty jobs out of the way prior to commencing the body prep for paint



Forward section of the ply floor is rotten and requires removal


All fastenings were rusted solid so a combination of drilling them out and a thin disc on the angle grinder



Gearbox tunnel joins the forward section of the ply floor together








Took the worse of the heavy surface rust off the inner rear wheel arches with a angle grinder fitted with a 60 grit flap disc







Piles of crud swept up afterwards - just have a bit cleaning off with the wire brush where I have removed the ply floor then can get the chassis & drive train degreased

[Keith Clements]

Nov 17, 2017 at 8:48am

Expected there to be a lot more welding on this, but then there's not a great deal of metal is there? It's mostly wood it seems.

There is a decent amount of wood in it yes but it rots too, the main problem with this particular project is that it has been in really poor storage for a significant period - one that holds a constant damp atmosphere / air - never seen so many minor pinholes or so much thinned metal on a vehicle that is being restored - but the wood content is pretty typical for it's design era - ply floors were still being used in vehicle production into the early 60's the MGA being one such car and of course Morgan still carry this tradition in production today with about 40 % of the 4/4 bodyshell still being wood

The term "Labour of Love" really does go out the window here..... well, in my opinion.

It really is a different level of dedication and commitment that sees you finish these various cars you take on.

I have on occasion looked back at stuff I made or fixed, and thought it was nice when completed, but why?

Your projects and jobs really do go well beyond that for me.

I am thankful for people like you who still turn out work to preserve these rare beasts, and to the owners who see fit to spend their savings, inheritance or whatever cash they have on doing it too.

Thanks for continuing to share your progress.

Thanks & very happy that you think so - however, my client is restricted on budget and is not going to the extent that I would have - personally I would have liked to brace the body then lift it off the chassis to make proper job of it - but it's the clients vehicle & funding and I need to respect that - it will still make a nice van when its completed - He will get a lot of use out it and is not the type to go trophy hunting on the rally field with it.
Nov 17, 2017 at 11:41pm
So I cleaned the chassis / drive train that I could now access with the floor out



Removed the nearside step plate then cleaned the brackets up

And then swept another pile of crud up

Removed the front panels to allow access to the chassis & drivetrain



I can now roll it outside and degrease the chassis & drive train over the weekend
Nov 20, 2017 at 9:54pm
Outside, soaked with degreaser and washed off

Once back in the workshop I wiped off what excess water that I could then spent 30 minutes with the blow gun to remove the remaining excess - then left it overnight with the workshop heater on to dry out


Took the few bits off that were bolted to the bulkhead and removed the paint & loose rust


Only to find a bit more welding at the top the bulkhead - this hole will drain water straight into the cab - I had to loosen the sound proofing on the inside otherwise I would have been setting it alight



Tidied up the gearbox tunnel - had to weld up a couple of areas around some of the bolt holes


Just checked the interior timber framing and spent an hour removing a load of rusty tacks that retained the headlining in - I will staple the new headlining in but it's a complete failure to leave the old tacks in place - the headlining is wool based should it absorb any moisture the olds tacks will continue to rust and then stains the new headlining



Then put the van up in the air - removed the wheels and masked the radiator, engine, gearbox, exhaust & dashboard up


I will give it a final clean off in the morning and then spray the metalwork with a rust convertor prior to applying the primer
Nov 20, 2017 at 10:50pm

What make of de-greaser do you use?

I use 'Gunk' for engine, drive train & chassis areas - like most things I use in the workshop it's a little more expensive than similar products in the market but it does it's job effectively first time rather than having to wash off only to find that I need to still do the process yet again when using the cheaper products which just are not that effective - I'm all on for saving money (I originate from Yorkshire after all) however unless it passes my 'value vs time expended vs good results' test then the inferior / cheaper products can remain on the shelf.
Nov 21, 2017 at 11:07pm
Sprayed the rust treatment on to the chassis & drive train - I only use the stuff that works - it's a little more expensive than the other brands on the market difference is this one actually does what it says on the tin



Blue in colour when first applied and as it activates it turns black


Whilst waiting for it to do it's job I used the old ply floor sections for patterns

New panels cut & trial fitted

Then made up new joining brackets for the floor to bulkhead ply sections

Then applied a couple of coats of primer to the bulkhead / chassis / drivetrain



More updates tomorrow

[Keith Clements]

Nov 22, 2017 at 10:25pm

Sealed any seam areas on the bulkhead and around the rear inner wheel arches - then sprayed the prepared areas in gloss black






Left the workshop heater on - critical with all paints that are left drying / curing at this time of year - this is a 2 pack finish - critically 2 pack paints stop curing if the temperature is under 5 degrees - good practice is to maintain a temperature above 16 degrees if possible

Nov 23, 2017 at 10:43pm
The new drop links for the shock absorbers turned up today - so set to and got these fitted

The old ones proved stubborn and in hindsight I ought to have removed them before painting the chassis - the new drop links will be painted in when I do the next set of panels / parts in black

Also fitted the new brake rod dust boots that fit the rear of the brake cylinders on the back plates


Replacing what was left of these

Fitted the spare wheel carrier now that it's painted

Then masked the painted areas up to protect them whilst the prep work on the bodywork of the van is progressed



Then commenced with the DA to de-nib the panels ready for profiling works to proceed tomorrow


Nov 23, 2017 at 10:58pm

Can I ask what make the "red lead" is that you use as an undercoat / primer ??

'Bonda Rust Primer' It's a high zinc content product, covers well / high build, solvent based so can be either easily sprayed or brushed - should you not be able to find it locally it's available on E Bay etc - Mine is supplied by my local automotive paint factors and is about £15 per litre

Interesting to read about the 5 degree cut off for curing - I did not know that.

Something to do with the way that the molecular structure works with the catalyst / hardener and once under 5 degrees it fails to happen - apologies for the layman explanation but that is exactly how the paint rep at Lechler explained it to me without getting over technical.

Reet tha arr

PS wer don't' yus word 'Wee' int shire - tats long's 't' kilt donning lot tup nawth ent reet tup 't' yon ginal tit is

Goddam Google Translate!

Translated

One does not make use of the word 'Wee' in Gods own county has it is not a subject of the native language, 'Wee' belongs to the language of the gentlemen in the far North of the country whom wear skirts kilts has part of their attire, right up their passage it is.


Onwards a little more


Had to plug the holes in the ash frame that retain the nearside upper panel screws - could have used larger screws but then you have a dtfferent size from the screws on the rest of the van - soon cured with dab of wood glue and a small ash plug forced in and then later trimmed back - I will re-drive the screws once the glue has set


Then started to apply the first skim of a high quality polyester filler



Profiled back and second skim applied


Nov 27, 2017 at 9:04pm
Profiling continues



Bulkhead & windscreen aperture are nearly there - just a skim of glaze in the morning and a sand back once cured - smaller complex / compound curvature panels always take much longer to profile than the larger flatter areas / panels which you can largely machine sand then hand finish - the bulkhead & windscreen aperture have had to be done all by hand work.



Nearside rear panels are also well underway


Nov 28, 2017 at 9:39pm
Bit more done - the windscreen aperture & bulkhead profiles are still being progressed

Meanwhile I redrilled the nearside rear upper panels where I had plugged the over large screw holes then drove fresh slot headed screws to retain the panel to the ash frame



Nearside rear wing is just about there just needs the final glaze knocking back in the morning

[Keith Clements]

Nov 30, 2017 at 10:59pm
Spent the day progressing the profiles on the Bradford

Final profiling glaze at a mid point in sanding back on the front bulkhead


Completed

Nearside rear panel profiles also completed


Nearside rear door removed to allow access for rear pillar panel profiles to be undertaken


Bonnet prepped and offside upper section skimmed after much hammer & dolly work - this panel is heavily distorted having previously been split by the hinge then gas welded hence the metal is very much stretched
Nov 30, 2017 at 11:11pm

How will you handle the distortion and stretching?....I have not had good luck with this and wonder what process works best for really wonky panels that you want to keep in place!

You can try a shrinking hammer with a dolly for small areas but most of the cheap shrinking hammers don't really work and you only end up making the situation worse - there is a specialist shrinking hammer in the market with patterned face that draws the metal being struck towards the centre of the hammer face - it also has rubber interface between the hammer shaft & face but at £70 (ish) they are expensive and again only useful for the smaller areas - for large areas like this bonnet panel I used heat but very gently - it needs to be a gas welding torch with a low flame and just heat the point of an area for a second - just until the metal blues with straw colour halo to the outer areas then remove the heat and dress carefully with flat toe dolly and panel hammer - you use a grid pattern of circa 50mm centres and work through the area - you may have to go over it again to obtain the correct results - it takes some patience to get it right - get the metal red with the torch, use too big a torch (blowtorch), flame, heat etc and you will distort the panel further and of course it only works if you can access both sides of the panel - here is a you tube link of someone doing the very process (not me)
https://youtu.be/pybLVX3qzvY?t=15
Dec 1, 2017 at 9:23pm

And here is one of the expensive shrinking hammers with a swirl head pattern


Second profile skim sanded back on the bonnet



Third skim applied

Rear nearside panel is now close to completion


Made a start on tidying the rear roof rail - progress now halts for a while and I am taking a week off - still slogging away at it but under pressure to the bring the works on the kitchen close to completion in time for the festive season (and it's currently miles away from being finished)
Dec 13, 2017 at 8:24am
Back on this after a weeks break

Nearside rear pillar profiles completed

Along with the rear roof rail


And the nearside rear lower panels


You have to be reasonably inventive at this time of year in order to get the profiling filler to cure within a reasonable timeframe - a bit of heat always helps - I do have some proper bodyshop infra red heat lamps but I spend more time falling over them - so they stop in the store until I really need them


Offside rear door well on it's way



Nearside rear door in initial progress stages of profiling

Offside rear wing / panels - completed


Offside door sill completed - ideally I need to get the main body into final paint before the holidays - so a lot effort is going into this one to allow me to clear the workshop workload - but lots of places to be, lots of other things to do and the phone is very, very hot with enquiries & work - just about filled the diary for the coming year already - must press on - more updates soon
Dec 15, 2017 at 8:25am


Made a start on the front doors - although I had all the loose panels blasted - you can only do so much with light panels - the doors were heavily rust pitted but keep blasting at the rust pits and you will thin the metal to oblivion if you are not careful - that's why there are good blasters out there which are few and far between and then their are the blasters that just don't care about what they are doing - you may has well not bother and just throw your panels on the scrap pile has this is all that they will be in the hands of the wrong blaster

I used a heavy duty wire cup brush on the angle grinder to dig into the rust pits - you also need to do this with care - dig in too deep / apply too much pressure / build up too much panel heat and you are making a lot of work for yourself with the panel distortion that you will generate - I then treated the areas with a rust convertor

Eventually I got the well battered bonnet top panels to a point that I was happy with the profiles

Then went through the same process with the bonnet side panels - out of all the panels on the van these are the straightest pair of panels and only require minimal work to correct the profiles (unlike every other panel on the van)


Then progressed the initial skimming up of the front doors


But there is along way to go with these yet

Just bringing the profiles to completion on the offside rear door

Again care is needed here in order to not loose the detail - the screws retaining the door skin to the ash frame pull the door skin inwards and leave a panel dimple - it would be so easy just to fill this and loose the original factory detail - would not been done / seen in todays methods of production of course
Dec 15, 2017 at 11:42am

The bottom repair to the doors is not fully welded, only spots with intervals. I would have assumed from your work standard that that would not do for you? I'm told or at least used to fully welding such repairs using the tack here tack there and let cool method to slowly close up the gap.

Will filler not have a bigger chance of cracking due to the panel working as it's not fully welded?

You raise a very good point here - If you were to fully seam weld this you would end up with an abnormal amount of distortion within a large panel like this regardless of what method you utilised hence buckets of filler would be required - literally! - the joint is flanged (joggled) with the flange faced down on the original door skin so that any water / condensation running down the inside of the door skin is not held in the flange - further to this the flanged edge on the door skin is treated with a weld through primer and the repair panel is made from zinctec sheet - upon completion the flange on the inner side of the door skin will get sealed with a high quality seam sealer - the restoration of the van is to a tight budget - had the restoration been to a higher budget I would have still repaired the door utilising this method but would have lead loaded the repair area prior to applying a polyester skimming filler. The inner side of the door will be treated with a proven / high quality Dinitrol rust preventative / cavity wax once the vehicle is painted. I still remain confident that this a very good / acceptable method of repair that I have been employing for 40 years without issue - filled areas over these type of repairs tend to fail because of water ingress into the flange joint rather than the fact that the repair panel is not fully seam welded although they can fail if the repair is only attached by a few weld tacks - Given the extents that I go to I am more than happy to guarantee the work for my client
Little more done with the profiling yesterday

Offside rear door finished

Nearside rear door ongoing but not has bad as the offside

Nearside front door being progressed

[Keith Clements]

Dec 24, 2017 at 4:50pm
So had to shove the van out into the cold for a day whilst I fitted a new hood to a little Mazda MX5 (last job of the year) - but took the opportunity to give the van a good blow off with the airline and had a really good sweep up / tidy up around the workshop whilst it was outside




Then returned it to the workshop at the end of the day
Jan 2, 2018 at 8:50pm
Meanwhile back on the van !

Removed the offside rear door to allow the profiles on the offside rear pillar to progress





Nearside front door - getting close to completed profiles

Whilst the nearside rear door is also straightened up & profiles progressed

Need to crack on and get the main panels completed and into polyester - then I can start to commit some time to the Corsair structural repairs on the offside that is sitting patently in the wings

Jan 3, 2018 at 8:26pm

Do you find it easier to use the Body line on the door to split the complete door into, what's in effect two separate sections at this stage rather than having the full complete shape to work with as one large panel?

Exactly - that said 95% of the damage / distortion / repair area is below the swage line anyway - but having a swage line gives you a line to feather into with the profiles - Its not an easy panel either the door skin crests to the centre of the panel and you have to allow to reprofile to the original shape of the crest - if it was a flat panel it would be far easier and quicker to profile

More panel profile progress

Nearside rear door completed


Offside rear panel completed

Offside rear pillar on it's final skim

Nearside front door profiles complete

I always like to refit any panels that I have removed for profiling in order to ensure the aperture gapping is still correct prior to applying any primers / polyesters - so I will refit the offside rear door & the nearside front door in the morning

Next on the list is the offside front door profiles which is nowhere near has bad has the nearside one was


And both the bonnet side panels which just happen to be the straightest pair of panels on the entire van these need very little work

Once these 3 panels are completed that will be all the panels for the main body - the van is being painted has per the factory in a 2 tone colourway
(all Bradford vans were done to this spec)

That will then leave the front & rear wings, rad cowl, front bumper & various other odds that need prepping - these all get painted black - then I have all the interior window trims & the dash board to paint in a third colourway

Can you elaborate on what you mean when you say "painted as per the factory in 2 tone colourway" please?

Certainly can - so the main body from the bulkhead back & the bonnet were offered in a range of solid colours, beige, mid brown, maroon, light green, dark green, light blue, dark blue & cream - and a number were in supplied in primer if you ordered a chassis cab for a custom built body ex works (a number were built with high roofs and became ice cream vans) further to this a moderate number were supplied has KDK (knock down kit form) so a kit of sub assemblies for export that were built up by the dealer when exported - these were also supplied in primer and then painted in the clients colour choice when built (good numbers of the vans exist today in Australia / New Zealand)

So main body in a solid colour - front & rear wings, bumper irons, front valance & radiator cowl were all finished in black on every model - with exception of the Delux model which had a chrome radiator cowl

May I ask the purpose of the black lines drawn across the panels being prepped? Please.

Absolutely - So it's a working technique taught to me by a very wise & thorough old school chap that I was apprenticed to 40 years ago - when working large areas of skimmed filler / complex panels / multiple panels / bodyshells etc - It becomes all too easy to loose your way has to what areas are completed / part worked / require further work / skimming etc - During the filling process your hand is the main detector of low / high spots / defects / areas that require further working etc - sight is also used along with guide coats - most people will mix a batch of filler up and then just before application will use said hand to reassess the areas on the panel has to how much filler is required / location on the panel etc - With my method of working I assess the panel first then mark out the areas with pencil prior to mixing enabling the filler to go straight on (remember that you have a product that is now starting to cure since you mixed it - if you have several areas to address you may find the filler has cured before you have had the chance to apply it has you work around the panel - especially in summer months) Ideally you need a process that allows you the time to apply the filler quickly & easily but one that allows you the time to apply it neatly & smoothly - the rougher the application - the more wasted filler / abrasive / time spent in getting it profiled correctly - so that's the first part.

Second part - when you have a lot of profiling to do - it's a laborious, intensively mind numbing process - it's easy to loose your way when working multiple panels - apply paint over poorly worked areas / panels and it will look dreadful regardless of how good / shiny the paint is - once I have a panel complete I drag pencil lines diagonally down it - when working around a complete car with a process has boring has this it's important that you have something that motivates the process - the more panels you have pencilled out the further on you are - it's good for focusing on what needs to be done / completed and from here you can target your days work to completion - critical when you have acres of profiling day after day after day to get done - with some large panels taking several skims before you achieve the correct results. You won't see this process in most bodyshops / vehicle restorers - it's a system that works for me - and the guy that taught me - it gave him a immediate picture of the progress on the restoration - along with the client and anyone else that visited the workshop / viewed the work. Most restorers / bodyshops will just roll their eyes into the back of their heads if I explained the process to them - but again it's what achieves the right results for me and is critical in a market where many, many others fundamentally judge on a 10 second glance of a completed vehicle restoration.
Jan 4, 2018 at 8:01pm
Some time off today to do some running about so not has much done has I had hoped - none the less



Offside front door on it's 4th profiling skim

Offside rear pillar completed


And a start made on one of the bonnet side panels - more updates tomorrow
Jan 5, 2018 at 8:56pm
Hung the nearside front door - then refitted the simple door lock to check for the fit to the aperture


Door at the top was sitting into the aperture too deeply

And at the bottom was not flush with the adjacent side panel

Door rubbers were not fitted to the van (did not really come about until bodyshells were produced has a unitary type construction) so there is nothing to hold the door off the aperture but with a 5mm rubber packer placed temporary at the top of the door

Which both aligns the top and bottom of the door so once the van is painted I will cut some rubber packing pieces and glue them at intervals on the inside edge of the return flange on the door - should look virtually factory original if done correctly

The door location pin actually prevents the door from closing correctly (holds the door too far off the aperture and in the wrong place) so I will have to modify this or remake a new one


Locates here on the B post


So with no door rubbers to form a seal the doors just had a rebated overlap on the outer frame - has small a gap has possible between the door & the aperture and then a tacked on furflex type interior trim to act has a draught proofing device


I then had to make some adjustments to get the door aperture gapping correct to the bottom of the door


Hung the offside rear door and checked both doors fit & gapping - apart from the rubber stops to prevent the doors closing too far and some minor adjustment to the locking rod - nothing further is required to be done to these




Meanwhile the offside front door is now into it's final polyester glaze coat to remove any minor undulations


And the bonnet side panel profiles are being advanced

The wood at the top of the rear doors aperture looks very the worse for wear.
Will you replace it?

No - it's a structurally sound section with some superficial loss of the outer face - this has had a resin wood hardener injected into it and then the rough outer face made good / levelled up with a skim of polyester filler - the section is strengthened on the inside face with factory fitted steel bracing - when finished with the fabric roof fitted and then the roof rain gutter which travels across the top of the rear doors very little of the section is visible at all - not that this matters - it's more about the strength that it retains - this is a restoration being undertaken to a sensible budget in order to return the van to the road in a sound / safe / practical & usable condition - had the restoration been to a concours standard the body would have come off the chassis and all the ash framing replaced with new, along with new alloy panels - in fact new most things really - however there is crossover here about being sensible with the budget and conserving / preserving the van rather than writing a cheque out for a £40k concours restoration on a van that is only worth £15k when completed regardless of how much has been spent on it or how it good is.
Jan 8, 2018 at 11:09pm

Profiles on the offside front door are now completed

Started to progress the prep on the loose panels / inner wing / splash panels with a rust treatment - although all of the loose panels have been blasted they were all heavily pitted and you just cannot keep blasting the deep pits otherwise you would end up by thinning /holing the metal in the blasting process to the point that the panels become useless


Then did the wing / headlamp brackets


The bonnet side panel profiles are well advanced - taking care here not to loose too much of the original detail - the panels are dimpled / rippled on the top edge by the hinge where the rivets are pulled in which I am trying to retain - same goes for the bonnet catches - the panel is pulled in by the catch - should I attempt to profile what are factory original panel deviations - then the van would look quite false in detail - but it's a fine line between what would look right or wrong when the van is painted

There is a alloy trim that covers the A post / door aperture that requires fitting - I will have to redrill the screw holes in the frame to attach it



But now getting to the end of the profiling / shaping work on the main body - I still have the wings & radiator cowl to undertake but we are now striking the days off the calendar before the paint starts to get applied

Bit more progress

Profiles for the bonnet side panels were completed so that's all the panels for the main body completed that are being painted in maroon


Fitted the nearside A post door aperture panel - sealed in the flange to prevent water ingress and just minor profiling around the areas where it had seen use over it's lifetime and become slightly misaligned


Now on with the loose / bolt on panels - rust treatment first with the profiling following - I shall undertake the initial profiling with the panel off the van then has I get close I will refit the panel to ensure correct profiling alignment prior to paint

Radiator cowl with it's first profiling skimming - this is painted black in contrast to the maroon bonnet that it supports - Chrome radiator cowls were fitted to the much rarer 'Deluxe' variant of the 'Utility' model

Meanwhile on the main body - just checking door fits / catches / locking operation etc and any other thing that needs to be addressed prior to paint - it might be hidden away in a door aperture and not seen until the door opens - in fact it would not bother most people - but it would bother me - so I always check to ensure that it's sorted before the paint goes on!

[Keith Clements]

Jan 11, 2018 at 11:05pm
SWMBO has had a good attempt at giving me her lurge that she had so only half a day on the Bradford today before I felt dreadful and called it a day (very unlike me)




Rear door adjustments / aperture gapping





The left hand door used to rely on these bits of rubber buffer retained by a plate - but they are next to useless



Plan is to place a rubber seal (glue on type) on the left doors rebate to contact & seal with the right hand door edge lip - not original equipment - but something that is practical and does the job and that 99.9% of people viewing the van would be unaware of



Made some hardwood blocks up and glued them in to rebates on the ash door frame that were left by deleting the old buffers - these I shall profile up so that they are not seen once the door is painted



Slight adjustment on the door locking bars to gain a better fit but it's all or nothing has the doors overlap on the vans body - hence obtain too good a fit and not allow for paint depth and then the paint gets marked where the doors makes contact with the other panels



Hung the offside front door which required some minor tweaking to the lower front aperture edge - I will fit the door lock / catches tomorrow (provided madam's lurge has not tied me to a bed - but feeling better already so I should be back to it)






First skim sanded back on the radiator cowl



Second skim applied

Jan 12, 2018 at 8:22pm

Radiator cowl is now getting there but it's a lengthy process





There is a lot of fine detail with it having a raised radius bead profile that then rebates to a flange edge on the grille aperture with a vertical centre bar that accounts for the starting handle aperture





Fitted the internal door catch / lock on the offside front door and the operation is good - however the rear vertical aperture is a little wide for my liking and the front vertical aperture would tolerate opening up slightly so I shall make some 1.5 mm hinge packing's up tomorrow in order to address the situation





Made a start on the nearside front wing - applied rust treatment and commenced profiling it up - it's a bit awkward trying to keep the panel still whist sanding the polyester filler back - intention is get the flange edge something like and then bolt it to the van to complete the remaining areas




Jan 13, 2018 at 9:51pm
Pushed on with inputting a few more hours today





Initial sand back of the profiles on the wing flange edge and checked the fit of the front panel for the nearside - which is not too bad but will require finishing with both panels bolted up to the van - there is a wing bead that goes between both of the panels once painted & final assembled

Protected the paint on the chassis and loosely bolted the inner wing / splash guard on along with the wing / headlamp bracket





Then spent a bit more time bringing the profiles close to completion on the radiator cowl - still some minor profiling to be done but this can now be undertaken with the cowl fitted to the van




Jan 15, 2018 at 9:28pm
Inner wing / splash guard & wing / headlamp bracket now fitted to the offside



Which in turn allows the radiator cowl to be offered / bolted up



Fastens to the front of the inner wing


And the top of radiator which in turn also supports the hinge rod bracket for the bonnet centre hinge



Now the 2 sections of the front panel can also be fastened up



The joint of the two panels will have a piping bead inserted once the panels are painted and finally assembled



So now the nearside wing can be added





Went over the panels by hand & eye - slightly adjusting / improving the fit has required then went over with the panel hammer & dolly improving the areas on the wing prior to skimming - very difficult to show in the images - the main profile shape of the wing is fine - it just has many small imperfections / minor dents to it



Then got the wing skimmed up



Along with the front panels in preparation of the profiling back tomorrow