1983 Austin Minivan Resto begins.
Discussion
Fabricated the latch on to the inside of the wing. To my amazement it actually works really well. I'll put a padlock on when its on the road for safety in case it open and also for security so no one can knick the front end.
Just the other side to do now. Which might be more difficult as the wing still needs pulling some more.
Just the other side to do now. Which might be more difficult as the wing still needs pulling some more.
That was one of the little bits of welding to finish off Guru as i need to do the other side too.
Didn't go to plan though as it took me most of the day and 2 attempts to get the drivers latch to work.
But the wings are now solid. The gap between bonnet and wing is quite wide though :0( going to have to slot the bonnet either side and add metal to widen it at the back.
Didn't go to plan though as it took me most of the day and 2 attempts to get the drivers latch to work.
But the wings are now solid. The gap between bonnet and wing is quite wide though :0( going to have to slot the bonnet either side and add metal to widen it at the back.
High time for an update I think as I've now hit a monetary brick wall waiting to get the cash to paint SAL.
Things I've been up to over the last few weeks.
That takes us up to the present day.
New things I've found out are that the rear left hand door is twisted so looks like I'll need a new one unless I can muscle it into place.
And I'm crap at doing filler work! haha.
I've had a few quotes come in for prep and paint ranging from £800-1500 quid so lots of pennies to start saving. Hopefully I can get the cash together between now and Christmas and make a decision on who I get to paint it.
Things I've been up to over the last few weeks.
That takes us up to the present day.
New things I've found out are that the rear left hand door is twisted so looks like I'll need a new one unless I can muscle it into place.
And I'm crap at doing filler work! haha.
I've had a few quotes come in for prep and paint ranging from £800-1500 quid so lots of pennies to start saving. Hopefully I can get the cash together between now and Christmas and make a decision on who I get to paint it.
RussellG said:
Do you still have the original hinges to try. I had new door hinges which were a terrible fit compared to the originals !
The hinges are original, its the door itself that is different, I also had to re skin the bottom section of the door so perhaps that's what twisted it. The right hand door is original and fits fine.Altrezia said:
This is coming along well. Not sure how to fix the door fit (as I've never tried!) but the rest of the stuff looks great - especially the engine bits!
Thanks Pal. It's awwwww so close now as well which is depressing. I've either got to try and find the money to get it painted or wait till February when my painter get back from his year around the world. Inconsiderate bugger pissing off round the world when I need the van painting...! haha
Not yet Russell, I'll have another go at it this weekend. I spent last weekend cutting the nearside scuttle end off which unearthed some interesting patches of rust on the bulkhead. So spent most of the day rebuilding that and the scuttle end.
I might leave the door at the moment until I can get the seals. Perhaps that might make a difference.
Another couple of hours on Saturday battling with doors.... this time the near side front door.
The door fits nicely without the seal.
With the seal... not a bloody sausage!
I sat on the inside of the car and felt around the door. I noticed that at the bottom of the door there is hardly any gap between the door skin and door step flange. So I bent the flange on the door step towards the inside of the van.
I refitted the seal and the door now sits further in but still a half to 1cm proud.
Which is making me wonder???
I'm also wondering if the door skin might need shaping near the pillar.
I HATE mini restoration right about now!!!!
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