1st time transit owner - mk5 conversion

[alcapone]

That looks damned good! Where did you get the runner around the doors from?

[Luke]

very nice

re. the rust - best thing for these vans is a good coating of waxoil do the chassis behind the arches etc. if they had been done from new they would be nowhere near as bad ........ but then ford wouldn't have sold as many mk6's

[Goodomens]

That looks damned good! Where did you get the runner around the doors from?

Hey, alcapone. Thanks. its nice for it to be almost finished. Got the rubber trims from a place called Grassroots leisure. Good for a lot of the conversion stuff that I needed. All the random bits that you forget about.

http://www.grassroutesleisure.co.uk/index.html

[Goodomens]

very nice

re. the rust - best thing for these vans is a good coating of waxoil do the chassis behind the arches etc. if they had been done from new they would be nowhere near as bad ........ but then ford wouldn't have sold as many mk6's

Hmm, cynical but probably very true. Shame of it is that there just seems to have been rust almost everywhere and it has just been covered up badly and never treated to stop it. Took off the front bumper and grille yesterday to have a wee poke around and found holes in the side supports for the bumper - not original holes from the drawing board for sure. Think I may have to just bite the bullet and dive in for a Mig welder. Starting to see how expensive it is gonna be otherwise to keep this baby.

Funny, the person that figures out how to turn these vans on their side to allow work to be done will make a killing...

[alcapone]

very nice

re. the rust - best thing for these vans is a good coating of waxoil do the chassis behind the arches etc. if they had been done from new they would be nowhere near as bad ........ but then ford wouldn't have sold as many mk6's

Hmm, cynical biut probably very true. Shame of it is that there just seems to have been rust almost everywhere and it has just been covered up badly and never treated to stop it. Took off the front bumper and grille yesterday to have a wee poke around and found holes in the side supports for the bumper - not original holes from the drawing board for sure. Think I may have to just bite the bullet and dive in for a Mig welder. Starting to see how expensive it is gonna be otherwise to keep this baby.

Funny, the person that figures out how to turn these vans on their side to allow work to be done will make a killing...

It's easy to make something that will turn the van (or any other vehicle) onto it's side, but not so easy to stop the fluids leaking (break fluid, clutch fluid, cooling fluid, washer fluid, engine oil, gearbox oil, battery acid, etc).

[MattBlackMinibus]

Think I may have to just bite the bullet and dive in for a Mig welder.

They tend to come with basic instructions (check first), which is enough for most repairs.
Go for it

[Luke]

Took off the front bumper and grille yesterday to have a wee poke around and found holes in the side supports for the bumper - not original holes from the drawing board for sure. Think I may have to just bite the bullet and dive in for a Mig welder. Starting to see how expensive it is gonna be otherwise to keep this baby.

well looking at the level of work you can do i'd say you'll pick mig welding up fairly easly

Funny, the person that figures out how to turn these vans on their side to allow work to be done will make a killing...

viewtopic.php?f=14&t=626

[Goodomens]

Took off the front bumper and grille yesterday to have a wee poke around and found holes in the side supports for the bumper - not original holes from the drawing board for sure. Think I may have to just bite the bullet and dive in for a Mig welder. Starting to see how expensive it is gonna be otherwise to keep this baby.

well looking at the level of work you can do i'd say you'll pick mig welding up fairly easly

Funny, the person that figures out how to turn these vans on their side to allow work to be done will make a killing...

viewtopic.php?f=14&t=626

Thanks for the compliment any hows. Its funny. I only ever tried this out of curiosity. Just wanted to know what I could do. Damn near destroyed the van a couple of times, but you never see that in people's posts.

Ok, even my girlfriend thinks that the roller is cool. Have you considered selling them? I bet they would make great christmas presents. Although I am not so sure about the stocking to put them in.

May have to consider getting bed ridden for a few days and just read through all the old posts for entertainment

[Luke]

i've only used mine once and that was to test it you can buy em tho i think they are a few hundred ££ - mine was only £80 and that was having the bars rolled other than that it was all free bits

[alcapone]

That looks damned good! Where did you get the runner around the doors from?

Hey, alcapone. Thanks. its nice for it to be almost finished. Got the rubber trims from a place called Grassroots leisure. Good for a lot of the conversion stuff that I needed. All the random bits that you forget about.

http://www.grassroutesleisure.co.uk/index.html

Thanks. I had put looking at this site on hold in case I spent too much - I'd had a few drinks when I saw your post with the link

[Goodomens]

That looks damned good! Where did you get the runner around the doors from?

Hey, alcapone. Thanks. its nice for it to be almost finished. Got the rubber trims from a place called Grassroots leisure. Good for a lot of the conversion stuff that I needed. All the random bits that you forget about.

http://www.grassroutesleisure.co.uk/index.html

Thanks. I had put looking at this site on hold in case I spent too much - I'd had a few drinks when I saw your post with the link

Funny how a chemical toilet can seem attractive when you are drunk

[alcapone]

Funny how a chemical toilet can seem attractive when you are drunk

Ah yes, the smell of those chemicals in an alcoholic cocktail, works wonders at clearing the stomach

[Goodomens]

OK, thanks to Luke - I think, for stopping me looking like I am three years old and using a computer for the first time.

So, to redo this post, where was I....

Yes, the cabinets had just been inserted along with the bed.

Van now legal for insurance, but not finished. have been out using it a few times and I am sold on the idea for sure.
Did I say that I had just sent the documents to the DVLA for registration - I feel an epic story coming on here... Watch this space.

But, back to the work. Now that I have the insurance off my back, I can get on with the other pressing things that need done - mechanical and bodywork.

Finally gave up on looking for a battery tray for the passenger side and made one from the remains of the window panels.



Using my hand french helper cardboard cutout to demonstrate.

ANd the isolator switch to stop the fuse blowing.


Finally, I could start to tackle some of the body rust.

Which did make the van look like it had measils for a while.
But poking around the front wheel arches and I found this on both sides.


Now, I know filler has its uses, but surely this much is not cool?
And, finally got the second track rod end changed today thanks to my mate's blow torch - may have to steal the one for the kitchen
Here it is getting jacked into place


Taking off the back bumpers I found some small bits of rust and just cleaned them and treated them with rustproofing for now as they are covered by the bumper.

But I will post a Government Health Warning for the next shot as I had to use some fiberglass on this as I don't have a welding kit yet.

But it is only two tiny bits and no one will ever see it.
Incidentally, is it worth buying a second hand welder, or should you always buy new on this?

And finally the bits that are worth waiting for, the resprayed bits...





And no, it wasn't intentional leaving the rubber mirror screw caps black


Still haven't decided what to do with the exterior yet, but gonna keep the main paint job white as I don't have the facilities to do a proper respray at the moment. But thanks for reading if you got this far down.

[alcapone]

Still haven't decided what to do with the exterior yet, but gonna keep the main paint job white as I don't have the facilities to do a proper respray at the moment. But thanks for reading if you got this far down.

White has the advantage of keeping the inside much cooler on a sunny day

[Goodomens]

Still haven't decided what to do with the exterior yet, but gonna keep the main paint job white as I don't have the facilities to do a proper respray at the moment. But thanks for reading if you got this far down.

White has the advantage of keeping the inside much cooler on a sunny day

and don't forget the loading bays for free parking