MK1 CI Camper Project

[MK1Chris]

After having the van for almost a year now, I've finally managed to collect enough replacement body panels for some restoration work to start.

I've got a big list of things to do:

Wings
Bonnet
Front Panel
Door Sills
Door bottoms
Window Seals
Re-spray
Re-chrome the shiny bits
Re-cover the camper seats
New floor cover in the rear
New curtains
Convert to Unleaded
Engine Bay detailing
... the list goes on...

So I thought I'd post up some 'before' pictures taken yesterday.

It dosn't look too bad after a wash in the sunlight, but the close-ups show the true extent of the rust / filler and paintwork which looks like household gloss applied by brush ! !

It'll look awesome once everything has been replaced and resprayed though. Updates when work begins (hopefully next week).

Wish me luck








What's under this filler on the door?


Rusty screen edge and cab roof.


More filler courtesy of the previous owner.










Knackered screen rubber seal.




Think the steps have avoided the rust and appear solid... we'll see ! !


Inner Wing


Battery tray.


Other wing.


The mighty V4. With 22k under it's belt, I think it'll be worth converting to unleaded, strip down, re-paint and generally tarting up the engine bay.

[Ucof]

That looks cool.
Looking forwards to seeing more of it.

[MK1Chris]

A few 'before' pictrues of the interior.

Can't really see in the pics but the two cab seats are in perfect condition, along with the rubber floor mat, but I am going to change the curtains, camper bed/seat covers and floor covering...







The small child isn't mine ! ! These were piccies taken by the previous owner !

Also - should there have been a table between the two sofa seats when it was new?

[bigmastif]

good luck mate im not a camper fan but all the best with it

[MR BigBeefy LDV Guru]

very nice m8

[intransit89]

least in side is not bad just matter of sorting the body work out and a nice 2k respray

[AlanN]

I know its a bit expensive, but I would seriously look at getting the cab and bay, bead or shot blasted, youve got surface rust everywhere at least your know what your looking at, then a nice coat of 2k. Nothing worst than doing all that work and rust breaking through

[cha10]

Got your work cut out there Good luck

[MK1Chris]

I know its a bit expensive, but I would seriously look at getting the cab and bay, bead or shot blasted, youve got surface rust everywhere at least your know what your looking at, then a nice coat of 2k. Nothing worst than doing all that work and rust breaking through

Yeah - tell me about it!

I've got new wings, bonnet and front panel to be fitted, so that'll sort most of the rust out.

I will get the inner wings, engine bay, doors and roof blasted back to the metal as well. I've a feeling it's going to be a 'budget buster' of a project but if I'm getting it done I may as well get it done properly.

Anybody know if you can spray the fibreglass bits of the camper with the same paint as the cab or do you need something special that won't crack if the fibreglass flexes? Maybe I can just polish up the existing fibreglass bits (roof and bottom 10 inches or so of mouldings)?

[FredTransit]

If the fibreglass is already painted, you can use the same paint as the metal. You can always give it a buff up first to see if it really needs it though.

[MK1Chris]

Right - time for an update...

Wings and front panel are off so now we can see what it's really like underneath... and it's not too bad considering

Next step is engine and gearbox removal and clear out the engine bay ready for shot-blasting.

Front view:



Front with new bonnet:



Driver-Side Inner Wing:







Drive-Side Sill:



Passenger-Side Inner Wing:





Passenger-Side Step and Wheelarch with mat and soundproofing removed (pretty clean):



Same on the driver-side:



There's still a long way to go and I'm pretty commited at this stage. When it gets like this, you can't just stop as you've basically just got a scap van !

Going to tart up the engine while it's out with a proper steam clean / degrease and then paint up the block. Anybody know what colours the V4 would have been painted in? I don't want black. Was thinking a similar blue to the air filter housing.

After taking off the wheel trims, I've realised that I have got 3 wheels which look like later (Mk2 wheels?) and one original MK1 wheel ! I'll have to drop the spare down to see what that is like as well

When the news wings are on, what does everybody recommend in the way of rust-proofing the the areas that get attacked with spray, mud and salt? Would you apply some sort of coating over the fresh paint, or just leave it painted and spend some time and effort in cleaning up under the wheelarches regularly?

[rover]

Ive seen much worse than that Are you blasting everything before welding and plates? or just the engine bay?

Dinitrol appears to be the best for rust proofing after painting.

Rover.

[MK1Chris]

Going to attack the whole cab - engine bay, inner wings, cab roof after taking the screen out (if we can get in the small gap) doors and step.

The rear is fine as it's made of ...aluminium?

I'll start on the chassais when I manage to get some axle stands up to the job!

[Luke]

proper job nice to see

[malta transit]

Not to much rust,just surface rust. Good to tackle it by striping it.