well luke, you asked for it ...Gunslingers Mk2 LWB

[Gunslinger]

ok managed to get my mate to do some more pics

passenger side chassis outrigger and inner arch area ... now with nice new metal in place



one solid floor ... lets see the mot guy fail this for being weak !! and view of the numerous plates required on the inner arch (i think a couple are actually out of view )



and finlly one VERY strong door step ... couldnt lay my hands on friends swaging tool to put the ribs in the step so made it out of 3mm thick steel instead, and the section at the back of the sill which is welded to the underside of the step is now made from one piece of stainless steel all the way along the length of the step


just got a little patching up around the front inside the wheel arch now and thats all the welding done barring a few little bits to cover the original minibus seat mounting holes

[madmark]

wow mate this baby isnt going to rot! you have done a great job !

[transitgeoff]

mate that work is spot on, i couldnt have done it any better myself and thats saying something as im a fussy f--ker! top job cant wait to see the van

[Gunslinger]

thanks guys, yeah i tend to be fussy on this sort of stuff too, i hate having to repair things that have already been repaired, so i tend to over kill them a bit, also if i cant see a good reason why something is made out of 2 or 3 pieces i'll replace it with one ... the step being a prime example

as for the rest of the van, it should be ok, but my ability to flatten off filler leaves a lot to be desired, and as for spraying .... hhhhmm lets just say my weldings good and leave it at that

oh ... forgot there is one other piece of welding i need to do and that is to add some 3mm plates between the ribs where the seats mount as 2 of the mounting points have cracked a little and the others are not looking as flat as they did when new, so a nice thick piece spanning the 2 chassis sections will solve that problem nicely

[FredTransit]

So, as a bodyworker you are a great welder (pictures prove that!)

[Gunslinger]

lol, yeah something like that, i hate stuff that you can see all the time and has to be perfect ... case in example was this afternoon, the back windows have been plated over (panels rivetted in) due to the fact the metal is not in the best health around the edge i opted to re-rivet them back in the other week, so used a sealant between the metals and riveted them in no problems, used some filler primer to give me a smooth finish before putting the p/s panel back in, spent a bunch of time preping it today, so i could run a small bead of sealant around the edge (stuff i can paint over) and it reacted with the filler primer (dam acrylic stuff ) now i have to clean it all off and start again .. gggrrrrr

[madmark]

mate i know what you meen about bodywork i hate it , its took me all week to paint my bonnet and grill for the v6 conversion! the bonnet i used £70 off airosols x 6 at over £10 each and the grill i filled and brush painted as it was in a bad way ! i cant sant bodywork i can never get it write! , mind you i cant weld either! mate you have done such a good job of the welding that should out last the van!

[Gunslinger]

someone told me a funny story the otherday about placing 2 flashing orange lights either side of a bonnet his mate had just sprayed ... cause there were that many stripes it looked like a pedestrian crossing ... working on that theory, i better get some of those orange roof lights and fix them to me wing mirrors

[madmark]

at least you wont have mk1 mirrors ,cant see anything! i will have to ask people to see me back when i am reversing!

[madmark]

can we have some picks of the van or are you waiting to show her when she is done??? what is it 2ltr petrol???? 2.5 di?????? or even essex v6 powerd???????

[Gunslinger]

it was originally an 84 2.4d minibus, its now a 2.5di with mt75 and a van. but it has been said that for the extra metal i put in it maybe i should have gone for the V6 or a V8

the rear side windows were covered over with a panel riveted in place, and because of the condition of the metal i had to re-rivet them, but they wont look horenous, afterall it is going to get used for anything and everything, so is not needed to be perfect and showroom condition.

the front side windows have been replaced with ones from an ldv 400 as they are slightly bigger and the metal had rotted away under the original rubber window seal i still have to cut the hole in the sideloading door for the window and that is going to prove a little tricky due to the support locations inside the door, but i'll get that done as soon as i have finished the underside, which is nearly there now

i am kind of restricted to whenever my mate is down with his camera and that might be few and far between now as he has finsished his project (anyway it looks baddddd at the moment lol) but i'll see what i can do

only one side is "finished" so to speak although it does need a couple more coats of paint, mainly due to my inability with a spray gun

[madmark]

mate she sound good am looking forward to seing the rest of her! i think you need a digi camara for xmas my mk1 by end of the year will have to be my only van as such , i cant aford to inshure 2 of them so the mk3 will go
i am nearly done with the v6 conversion i just have the exhausts to sort out now as its hanging down to much underneith so i have some how got to re make the down pipes again to go round the crossmember better! as i cant get the proper ford items anymore!

[Gunslinger]

took the windscreen out yesterday .... not pretty .... got to go back today and clean off all the crap then get it back to metal (whats left) and see what i can do with it, gotta get it done for sunday as the screen is scheduled to go back in then

as for the rest not really done too much, underside is finished, needs undersealing and then waxoiling, prop is now in 2 pieces waiting new bearing (oh and the balancing adapter to be repaired, the centre spigot was broken off and still in the end of the prop )

got my batteries .... dam their big lol, front inner arch area all done and sealed, needs stonechippping and painting next, then i can crack on with the body work and try and sort something out for the front end .... just dont know what to do with that

front hub all rebuilt and painted, new caliper fitted, aeroquip hose all ready just needs cutting to length and the fitting putting on (mmmm no more metal brake pipes, that will be the last time i replace those ... ever)

inner side panel braces and supports all finished now, will spray it with underseal soon, that should deaden some of the noise/vibration

got a towbar but not happy with it, so after the van is finished i will redesign it and then fit it

thats it for now, and i gotts go clean a windscreen fitting area

[mk2panelvan]

Got a pic of the full van?
Before you started and as she is now?

[Gunslinger]

nope ... forgot to take one at the start, and to be honest it would probably scare me stupid right now ... and all i would be thinking was "why the hell did i start this" as for what its cost i could have spent 800 on another run around that would have done one or 2 years, anyway ... it dnt look so hot right now either lol