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OKR
Feb 24, 2023 8:09:32 GMT
Post by 1800heap on Feb 24, 2023 8:09:32 GMT
I forgot to mention in the last post that I used a large cardboard template, which is a copy from the good OZ crab wheel arch. It goes all the way from the sill to the fish bowl, following the profile. I also used another small template made of the side profile at the center of the arch. It takes in the set in the rear wing where the pin stripe goes as a datum and then goes down the profile of the arch, so that the height of the arch section is correct. I didn't take any pictures of this but will later on. With the front section in the last post, I could not get the curve to follow the correct line all the way. I had to cut off about 4 inches of it. Because of this it no longer meets the rear section, as you will see later. It seemed easier than fighting it to get right! As with the front section I seam welded the inner and outer arches together where they were close. They are touching most of the way so this was easy. It is also probably the reason the arch rusted in the first place, once water made its way in! So this picture shows the top section seam welded in place using the template. It was all tacked to where it needed to be first. You can see the tacks in the lower section. I neglected to take a photo of that being done but you get the idea I'm sure. Bit more welding. Small sections at a time to stop it warping. You can see where I have welded it to in inner arch for insurance above. I will tidy that up with a few spots of weld on the outside and some grinding. As I was going to grind the outer welds flat, I went over the inner side with a seam of weld as seen here to add strength. I do that wherever I can get to the back. Here is the little section added back in to join up the two bits. Sometimes the welds look a bit messy but any bits you miss you redo after a flat back with the grinder. It takes a while but you end up with a nice neat job. I try to etch prime as I go because I don't always get back to a section straight away. It saves recleaning surface rust. A bit more grinding required but the outer part is basically done. At this stage I have only primed the section and as you can see there should only be a light skim of filler to finish. This is a result of a lot of fiddling and adjusting, plus careful alignment and loads of welding and grinding! Next time the fish bowl itself! Nick
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OKR
Feb 24, 2023 8:54:16 GMT
Post by Penguin45 on Feb 24, 2023 8:54:16 GMT
Good stuff, Nick. I had a huge déja vu moment with your last picture!
C.
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OKR
Feb 24, 2023 9:37:02 GMT
via mobile
Post by 1800heap on Feb 24, 2023 9:37:02 GMT
I did the last bit of welding on it today and I am very relieved. It still needs a skim of filler and paint but thats the easy bit. Given what a pain it was to get right I am not surprised you had that feeling Chris. It seems I have now joined the fish bowl club! I have to say it was way easier to bodge it with filler. I just can't be that dodgy any more!
Nick
Good stuff, Nick. I had a huge déja vu moment with your last picture! C.
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OKR
Feb 24, 2023 9:59:44 GMT
Post by andrewa on Feb 24, 2023 9:59:44 GMT
You're on a roll now! There can't be much heavy metal left to deal with? Bristol was as much for the driving experience - it's not the sort of car you should have to move the gear lever to where "D" is indicated and then gingerly remove your foot from the brake to see if it has selected "D", "N" or "R" ! Model A is slightly more convoluted - on my one it uses a mark 2 transit steering box - which was a favourite among hot rodders in the '80's as it looks trad with the external drop arm etc. Getting a rebuild kit - or getting anyone that'll take on rebuilding it has been a challenge as it's one of those jobs where the parts no longer exist so there's a lot of faffing around possibly machining and searching for stuff of the right size. Somewhat bizarrely if it still had the original setup all the parts are commonly available! Cheers for now Andrew
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OKR
Feb 25, 2023 0:07:04 GMT
via mobile
Post by 1800heap on Feb 25, 2023 0:07:04 GMT
Hi Andrew
How ironic that the original part is available from a car thats pushing 90, but the newer one you have is not! What a pain. I suppose the MK2 Transit is getting on for 40 now and being a van wouldn't help for parts availability.
Is that kind of selection issue a common one with the Bristols? It sounds like a nightmare too. I hope it is not too painfull to get them sorted!
With OKR, am trying to keep up the momentum yes. The car is 50 on the 11th September this year, so I am aiming for back on the road for by the 50th!
The back is done apart from paint and underseal as of yesterday. I do have quite a bit more welding to do though.
Now I have the engine out I have noticed a couple of metalwork repairs that are needed. It wants a big clean up with the sand baster in the engine bay. I expect that will show up some other issues.
The other outstanding section is N/Side tie bar area which I started a while back.
Onwards and forwards.
Nick
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OKR
Feb 25, 2023 0:31:43 GMT
Post by Penguin45 on Feb 25, 2023 0:31:43 GMT
A long, long time ago, my first work van was a MkII Transit. I'll be polite and say that the seller saw me coming... It steered in a series of corrected arcs due to the amazing amount of slop in the steering. Research* revealed that the steering box was the culprit, and led to about 9 months of crawling underneath on a Sunday afternoon to slacken the locknut on the top of the steering box and tweaking the tension bolt down. Nine months brought up the MoT and the van's demise - the only time I have had an MoT tester giggling manically as he went through the underside of a vehicle.
I have never owned a Transit since.
Chris.
* I asked a bloke in my local pub.
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OKR
Feb 25, 2023 6:02:49 GMT
Post by andrewa on Feb 25, 2023 6:02:49 GMT
Re the Bristol it’s not a common problem. I suspect it’s more to do with it having a later gearbox with an earlier selector mechanism that’s been modified to work. On the steering box agree they were always a bit rubbish and vans had a hard life in general. Wear is only in straight ahead position and no untoward stiffness or grittiness from box itself so am hoping have caught it in time. Over in Germany where there seems to be more of a following for Mk 2 Transits you can buy a complete new box…it’s just they’re LHD! Deadline for OKR doesn’t leave you a huge amount of time so good luck 🤞. You will have to do a video or live stream (whatever that is) of maiden voyage. Cheers Andrew
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OKR
Feb 25, 2023 20:34:35 GMT
Post by 1800heap on Feb 25, 2023 20:34:35 GMT
I doesn't leave me much time no Andrew! Hopefully you will get your cars fixed without too much pain. Also I have to say Chris that I have a Ford and it will be the first and last Ford I ever own! The last two bits to go in to complete the fish bowl. I made them quite a while ago and finally they get to go on. I have added a drain to hopefully prevent the fish bowl effect! Finished wing, which will require a skim of filler before paint. I am very happy with how close I got it to give minimal filler. Good old concrete! You can see the second pass inner weld a bit clearer here as I mentioned before. This adds strength as the outside is ground flush. Bottom section final fit and adjust. Plug welded in. And the final piece, fit and adjust. Almost there. A couple of small holes to fix with weld. Done and painted ready for underseal. The rest of the underside is painted with blue so I might as well keep up the trend. I figure a bit of paint will help with rust prevention rather than just used underseal. All I have to do now is clean up and paint the underside section where the petrol tank is and the back is done. Nick
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OKR
Feb 26, 2023 8:20:03 GMT
Post by andrewa on Feb 26, 2023 8:20:03 GMT
That’s really neat work. Any thoughts on paint colour at the end or going to stick with same colour scheme? Also can you please give her one of those exceptionally cool external sun visors…if so am presuming it’ll be to your own design, buying one off the shelf would be far to straight forward…
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OKR
Feb 27, 2023 21:44:26 GMT
Post by 1800heap on Feb 27, 2023 21:44:26 GMT
Thanks Andrew Its is going to stay the same colour. I actually have a sun visor somewhere that came off the OZ crab. No plans to change the look of OKR, sorry to disappoint. I also don't want to destroy the aerodynamics of the car! I will probably have one on the OZ car though when I get there! That’s really neat work. Any thoughts on paint colour at the end or going to stick with same colour scheme? Also can you please give her one of those exceptionally cool external sun visors…if so am presuming it’ll be to your own design, buying one off the shelf would be far to straight forward… Here are the last couple of pictures of the rear as of this weekend. Cleaned up and treated. You can still see some of the original coating. Etch primed and painted. Ready for underseal. I will leave it for at least a week to dry properly before the underseal goes on. I still have to paint the floor as you can see. Nick
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OKR
Apr 9, 2023 4:41:47 GMT
Post by 1800heap on Apr 9, 2023 4:41:47 GMT
Happy Easter everybody. I am still cutting out rust! Taking advantage of a bit of time off over easter actually. Problem is it keeps raining, which is not very helpful! I have moved to the engine bay. Because the engine is out it is relatively easy access. Bit of sand blasting has happened and prep for this section. It is mostly flat stuff so relatively easy to make a template, cut it out of steel and weld in the piece.
There was a little bracket here for the tie bar which I have had to make up using a former made out of a block of steel. Not shown. Next time maybe. Nick
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OKR
Apr 18, 2023 9:06:20 GMT
Post by dave1800 on Apr 18, 2023 9:06:20 GMT
Hi Nick It's good to see you have reached the front of the car after such a marathon effort. Hopefully it will be plain sailing from now on (as far as anything can be with crabs)and OKR may be back on the road in time for your summer. ( I won't remind you of your original estimate. David
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OKR
Apr 19, 2023 10:06:25 GMT
via mobile
Post by 1800heap on Apr 19, 2023 10:06:25 GMT
Hi David Thanks for the link you emailed the other day. He was an interesting fellow! It has been a bit of a marathon effort. It is a bit telling of a marathon that the import permit was over 20 years old before I used it! No don't remind me. I am trying to push to the end, but still there is so much to do I am hearing you. September is looming too! I keep finding stuff that needs fixing. I shall have to stop using the sand blaster! 😁 I am glad that I am not staring down at a set of rusty sills like brianr any more though. Hopfully the oxide gods are good to you mate. I did OKR's many many years ago, before the internet was invented. Luckily they have lasted very well and are still in good condition. The Waxoyl seems to have worked. It is mainly the doubled sections where two bits of metal are spot welded together that I am fixing. Can't complain though the car has lived in England on salty roads and is 5 months from it's 50th. The front is a good example, where the reinforcing bracked for the tie bar is attached to the front cross member. Or where the gusset plates sit against the body. Places where water wicks in to the gaps I suppose. It looks ok with underseal on top but you can tell it is not right because of the bulge that rusting in between causes. As soon as you sand blast, it all appears. As we know rust is not very strong! Nick Hi Nick It's good to see you have reached the front of the car after such a marathon effort. Hopefully it will be plain sailing from now on (as far as anything can be with crabs)and OKR may be back on the road in time for your summer. ( I won't remind you of your original estimate. David
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OKR
Apr 20, 2023 8:12:03 GMT
Post by andrewa on Apr 20, 2023 8:12:03 GMT
Glad to hear you're still plugging (!!) away....I'm still beached at the moment....waiting for parts on the one hand (Bristol) and coming to terms with the joys of mixing old Model A parts with new repro/hot rod stuff which only really wants to work with other new hot rod stuff so quite a bit of lathing (if that's a word) and other fettling going on. I'm sure I'm inventing the wheel/making heavy weather of it but it's all new to me! Cheers Andrew In my more reflective moments I do sometimes wonder why I didn't just stick with the 1800
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OKR
May 21, 2023 20:35:21 GMT
Post by 1800heap on May 21, 2023 20:35:21 GMT
Talking about engine mounts Chris, this is not something I had anticipated finding! Impossible to see under the crud, but once cleaned up. I wonder how many others are cracked. Nick
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