Has anyone had a lorry transported? Is it hi - NOW BODGE 50 HORSEBO11OX THREAD (Now with added turtles)

27,035 · April 17, 2020

Nice work! You'll be done by next Thursday at this rate!

25,198 · April 17, 2020

Every time I hoover a rust flake out of the footwell on the talbot images like this flash up in my mind.

Fair play to you though man, cutting massive lumps out seems to deffo be the best way to do this, a lot of guys would end up pissarsing about with 9000 little patches snotted on all over the place with spikes of MIG wire dangling out from the back left right and center.

Wouldn't have fancied doing it without the donor bits though!

5,120 · April 17, 2020

Brilliant skillz

When you've got the ability to make up and fettle in large repair sections like this I agree it make so much more sense than the archipelago of welded-in bits I would end up with

56,345 · April 17, 2020

Absolutely fantastic.

1,745 · April 17, 2020

Top job, excellent fabrication and an excellent approach.

It’s a good job you hadn’t got it finished earlier or we might have seen you on the news “car enthusiast from the midlands planned to live the lockdown in a converted horsebox, turned around by pohwleece at the border”

23,535 · April 17, 2020

Don't put the dash back, then you can look at that work as you drive and enjoy the warm glow of a good job done well.

47,368 · April 17, 2020

Ha!!! Know what you mean, it will be a shame to cover this all up again when i know how much work has gone into it.

Got big plans to 'soundproof' the cab however as much as possible, ordered some sound deadening foam to cover the whole bulkhead and various grommets and bungs to seal up assorted unused holes. I don't know if I will achieve any detectable improvement in NVH within the cab, but I hope so as previously it was like being trapped inside a filing cabinet that's rolling down the side of Mt Kilimanjaro

25,198 · April 17, 2020

If it's that shiny faced 8mm thick self adhesive "sound deadening" foam I wouldn't bother with it, I put 3 layers over the entire inside of my T25 and it made exactly FUCK ALL difference, I used about 2 large rolls of it in a little van and it was still a right noisy unpleasant bastard to be in. I think it's primarily for heat insulation.

Flashband/ bitument dynamat knockoff stuff seemed to make an OK difference when I used that on other stuff

47,368 · April 17, 2020

Its some 6mm closed cell neopreney stuff . Don't tell me that!!!!

I have also got a shedload of 'sound deadening pads' (which I think are like thick flashband material) which I am gonna chuck all over the floor as I reassemble the cab.

24,484 · April 17, 2020

Amazing !!

62,965 · April 17, 2020

21 minutes ago, Mr_Bo11ox said:

Got big plans to 'soundproof' the cab however as much as possible, ordered some sound deadening foam to cover the whole bulkhead and various grommets and bungs to seal up assorted unused holes. I don't know if I will achieve any detectable improvement in NVH within the cab, but I hope so as previously it was like being trapped inside a filing cabinet that's rolling down the side of Mt Kilimanjaro

It's never going to be a model of refinement when you've got a 4-litre Phaser basically sat in your lap. The engine cover does have a certain level of soundproofing from the factory on these at least - unlike the Commer Walkthrough where the engine cover is basically just half a coal scuttle.

25,198 · April 17, 2020

8 minutes ago, Mr_Bo11ox said:

Its some 6mm closed cell neopreney stuff . Don't tell me that!!!!

I have also got a shedload of 'sound deadening pads' (which I think are like thick flashband material) which I am gonna chuck all over the floor as I reassemble the cab.

Yeah, that's the stuff. Dark grey foam? I spent hours and hours fitting it all over the T25, I cut slices of it to put inbetween the ribs on the floor and bulkhead around the engine in the back to build up to a flat surface then layered three layers on top. Two layers covering the entire roof, 3 or 4 layers under the seat tubs and covered all the insides of the side panels, doors, up under the front bulkhead and everything. Science can't explain it, but it was no quieter. The stuff I used was nearly 10mm thick too.

4,379 · April 17, 2020

Never was a user name so apt. In awe, mate -in awe.

6,088 · April 17, 2020

10 hours ago, jonathan_dyane said:

Ooof! They do lockups here for £5.99 a week but I’m not sure I would risk it...

May I ask where?

12,509 · April 17, 2020

This level of dedication must be so satisfying.

You're a clever bugger...

4,355 · April 17, 2020

I'll play devils advocate here, how noisy was your T25 at the outset Cobblers, I've used some of that stuff on my LDV and it's made a difference, although it has taken quite a bit! My understanding is that for low frequencies you need mass loaded vinyl for the bulkhead/floor of the cab, I won't even begin to try and explain it, there's going to be somebody here who knows already!

25,198 · April 17, 2020

It was a right noisy bastard, Loads of road noise from the massive silly wheels I had on it plus I put a mk3 golf engine in as well and had to DIY the exhaust and intake so there was loads of engine type noise. The talbot is like a rolls royce in comparison, but perhaps because I used to drive everywhere at 80mph in the T25 and obviously I'm going a lot slower in the talbot.

47,368 · April 17, 2020

Tell you what it is, admittedly there are some potential downsides to it (such as 150,000 deaths worldwide so far), but I am quietly very thankful for the relentless onslaught of the global Covid-19 pandemic which has mothballed much of the country and gifted me the time to weld this thing up. I would never have got embroiled in this job if i was only able to do 1-2 hours per week on it which is the normal situation.

In fact working less hours, and working from home, is meaning I have some time to do some stuff that I actually like doing, I had completely forgotten what that felt like. When the lockdown starts getting lifted I need to change my life a bit and get more time back of my own.

4,355 · April 17, 2020

Yeah, it definitely makes you think and puts life into perspective.

27,035 · April 17, 2020

I still need to see when my paycheque comes in but I'm tempted to ask to stay at 80% and wfh when all this is over... Saving enough money on fuel not driving to work for it almost to be cost neutral

5,382 · April 17, 2020

I suspect there will be a lot more working from home when this is over (compared to before it started) with obvious environmental benefits. The benefit to mental health of the social interaction with work colleagues shouldn't be underestimated though.

Edited to add: I usually think I'm averagely competent at car tinkering. Then I read a Bollox thread and feel totally inadequate!

47,368 · April 17, 2020

On 4/12/2020 at 10:20 AM, cobblers said:

Nice one man, I must admit I'd be pretty intimidated by the scale of things to do on this big old bastard, good to see some work being completed. Made any plans for the back half yet?

Youtube has recently started suggesting a load of videos by blokes who live full time in converted ambulances and stuff, and if it wasn't for the wife, I reckon that's what I'd be doing, just pottering around between various fields of the peak district. Better than paying a mortgage. A bloke I know is in lockdown living in a trailer tent on a field in Edale, the poxy bastard.

I keep looking at my welder and the crusty passenger sill on the talbot, but the 6 month MOT extension thing is giving me enough of an excuse to not get started.

Yo @cobblers!

Concerning the back half, I have certainly got some ideas, 'plans' is probably pushing it a bit though. My ideas are:

Replace the roof of the box. At the moment its made from some sort of semi-transparent white plastic that is covered in carbuncles on the top surface and has gone all ripply, brittle and horrible. My idea is to drill out all the rivets, remove it and bin it and replace it with 3-4mm plywood with an aluminium skin over the top. I think that thickness of plywood will bend OK to the curved front section and I also reckon if I get all the materials lined up and cut to size in advance (and buy an air-powered rivet gun) I ought to be able to fit it in a day. I think it could well be a 2-man job though lugging all that plywood and ally sheet up a height. Would you be up for helping me when i get to that stage?
Strip the sides of the box back to the frame and clean/paint it. I also plan on moving the 2nd-from-rearmost vertical tubes of the frame forward a few inches, so that they can support a permanent 'back wall' inside the box that will give a space maybe 10-12" deep between the back wall and the ramp when the ramp is up.
Re-clad the box in cedar matchboard cladding (applied on the inside of the frame). Going to treat it with oil. I think that will cost a few hundred quid in cladding but i think it will look great and should last OK and be easy to re-treat with oil every so often.
Make a new floor from that composite stuff thats made in the unit near your place. Maybe with a layer of plywood glued on the top over which some nice flooring can go.
'do the inside!!' haven't planned that in much detail yet TBH but I want to include a bed above the cab, a sofa/loafing bench, little table, decent cooking area and a little shower cubicle/bathroom of some sort. Probs a couple of big solar panels on the roof too. I imagine a dead caravan being involved at this stage.

25,198 · April 17, 2020

When you get onto the back end things will move fast. A big square ish box should be easy to fit out. Happy to give you a hand with the roof, I reckon a few ratchet straps and stuff will make the job a bit easier. I've got an air riveter I could fetch down if I can find the bastard.

Not so sure on the plywood though, it always delaminates if you bend it, What about Dibond/ Aluminium composite sheeting? It's two coated aluminium sheets with some foam/plastic core inside, it would be bang on for the front curved bit at least, maybe for the whole roof - It's used for cladding on buildings. About £75 quid for an 8x4 sheet though so it's quite a bit dearer than ply, but probably cheaper than ply+ a skin of aly.

2,662 · April 17, 2020

Just caught up on this, as always fantastic work and detailed write ups.

47,368 · April 17, 2020

That Dibond sheet sounds interesting, I will have a look. Where could be a good place to buy that round us?

25,198 · April 17, 2020

The sign place over the way uses it, I could always ask him. You can print straight onto it, so you could finish it with something like this:

I fished a sheet out of the skip a while ago but it was all buckled and I just used it to paint stuff on. I've still got whats left of it if you want a look at something. Is there any frame in the middle on that front bit?

47,368 · April 17, 2020

yeah it has a couple of tubes going across beneath the curved section.

25,198 · April 17, 2020

That dibond stuff should do the job fine then. I think they use it on HGV trailer sides.

28,522 · April 17, 2020

Nice work!

Can you come and sort mine for me next...I have a feeling I've got similar work ahead...

21,367 · April 17, 2020

14 hours ago, Mr_Bo11ox said:

Back on the lorry, I cleaned up the new scuttle and uncovered a load of rust (surprise surprise)

I don't mind the odd pinhole, but that was too much. So:

Thats better

Next, because I had chopped it out, the ends of the new scuttle were missing. I had to extend it to replace the bits 'left behind' in the scrap cab:

Made it over-long with the idea that I would chop it down to fit. Had to do lots of measuring to be reasonably sure the 'extension' would sit comfortably against the front wing, the bulkhead and the scuttle drains.

OK that will do!!

Right there was not a lot else I could do with it at this stage. Had to get ready to start slicing the old bulkhead out.

Started by draining the coolant:

This was fresh coolant not long ago, now its black! I think I will bin it and clean the circuit out with a dishwasher tablet before refilling it.

With the coolant drained and the expansion bottle off, I could get a good eyeful of the grot:

Took the heater out. Every single cable and lever on this is seized solid. Will see if I can free them off, if not I have a spare heater box from the scrap cab (dont know if that is any better mind you)

Eeeewwww!

OK now we have good access to the whole bulkhead.

Started working out and marking up where to slice this thing down to fit. measured up and scribed all the cut lines:

After a lot of chopping I had this. I chopped it in 'half' as I want to do the job one side at a time so as to not feel too overwhelmed by the whole truck being in a million pieces!! Looks useful though right?

Started marking up on the bulkhead as well;

Lots of measuring and scribing

Ooohhh!! Thats the malignant tissue excised (Yes i know it has gone metastatic)

Nice big gaping hole in the cab now

Offered it up. Needed quite a lot chopping off the 'extension' and a bit of fettling but was not too bad a fit.

Not great though. Those vertical stiffening ribs actually don't line up all that well. I've got it clamped on that rectangular fan duct in the middle, if I align that, the vertical ribs are out by about 8mm at the outer edge!

I did read that the metalwork on these is all over the shop. I think the bits that were common to the yankee van, were pressed in the states and sent to Dunstable. The Dodge 50-specific bits were tooled up in the UK. They had loads of problems because the yankee parts were off tooling that was already ancient and the parts were nowt like the drawings. So tooling up new parts to fit with them was a nightmare and it led to never-ending panel fit and cab assembly problems. Certainly there is a marked visible difference between these two scuttle panels.

Anyway, after having it in and out half a dozen times I was happy with the fit Ias much as I was ever gonna be). I removed it and cleaned up all the edges ready for welding. Then I took a deep breath and stitched it in!!!

Fucking BOOOOOOOMMMMM!!!!!

After like 4 days of preparation it only took about half an hour to weld it in. I've still got to do the curvy bit at the outer edge but will get on that tomorrow. But, the bulkhead itself seems very satisfactory. Phew!!

What a job!!! I can't wait to get it all cleaned up and a coat of paint and seam sealant on it. That will be a right mojo booster.

Obvs I still have the drivers side to do but I'm hoping I can do that a little quicker now i've done it once already. Hopefully i will need less 'thinking time' on it.

After all this high-intensity tat work over the last few days, the garage is looking like a total shit tip! I might invest an hour in sorting it out this weekend. Or I might not!!!

More soon!!!