So Tepper, do you want the minibus then?

[Tepper]

Yes, yes I do:

One minibus. This has been sitting around in the work car park ever since I started working there, I've jokingly been asking "when are you going to let me have that unsightly minibus" for several years. Well... a few weeks back they said they wanted rid and did I actually want it? Like a tramp on chips mate, of course I do. It was mostly used by the sports and social club and failed its last MOT in 2019 for some fairly extensive sill rot on one side, likely caused by a scrape that was left unpainted. First course of action was to give it a good scrub using the fearsome diesel-fired hot pressure washer. Voila:

That's a bit better. It drove back to my unit perfectly, started up first time after being stood for 2 years thanks to the solar trickle charger that had been left on it and even the brakes freed off without a problem. The best part is this:

43k, full service history and an almost full tank of diesel, which is worth more than the nominal donation to charity that was deemed an appropriate payment for this fine bus. Lovely!

My plan is to convert it into a camper eventually, but before that I want to use it more or less as-is for some climbing/mountain biking trips. I've been able to insure it as a day van, so I need to get a fixed bed in within 90 days, but apart from that I just need to get the sill welded up for which I already have repair panels and we should be ready for an MOT.

[wuvvum]

I do like those vans.  Still kicking myself for selling my last one...  The 2.8 JTD is a fantastic engine.

[Tepper]

That's exactly what this one's got in it, which is a bonus. Seems a bit sluggish for a 2.8, but I guess it's fairly understressed?

[Matty]

A thread which truly tickles my pickles. Very good vans to drive

[stuboy]

BARGAIN!!

[wuvvum]

37 minutes ago, Tepper said:

That's exactly what this one's got in it, which is a bonus. Seems a bit sluggish for a 2.8, but I guess it's fairly understressed?

Yep.  Old fashioned lugger of an engine.  130bhp, which is less than you get from a 1.6 diesel these days.  Done all its work by about 3,500rpm.

[Tepper]

Spent a bit of time on the bus today. As readers of the previous instalment will know, the reason it's come to be in my possession is a tiny bit* of tinworm. Mainly this:

Which, as bad as it looks, isn't too much of a worry as I've got inner and outer sill panels on hand. Before I got stuck into this, I wanted to have a quick look at a minor bit of rust behind the rear bumper. I'll let the pictures tell the story.

That whole panel was rotten from inside out, which was a nice surprise. So I've been cracking on with that, fortunately most of it can't be seen once everything's back together but I'm still trying to make a halfway reasonable job of it. Replacement panels are available but they're £90, so instead I'm bashing the roof of an old C15 van into shape with a vice and a scaffold pole. It would be quicker if I could make the panel in one piece, but I was limited today by the width of the roof section I'd cut out of the C15. Will try to pick up some more sheet steel from somewhere so I can make the rest of it in one shot. Today's result:

Not perfect, but hopefully solid for a few more years.

[phil_lihp]

18 hours ago, Tepper said:

Replacement panels are available but they're £90, so instead I'm bashing the roof of an old C15 van into shape with a vice and a scaffold pole. 

My favourite quote of the day, make do and mend at its best.  Excellent bit of resourcefulness, every time I see a thread like this it reminds me that I should learn to weld.  

[PrinceRupert]

2 minutes ago, phil_lihp said:

My favourite quote of the day, make do and mend at its best.  Excellent bit of resourcefulness, every time I see a thread like this it reminds me that I should learn to weld.  

I had the same thought, love the ingenuity, and also very jealous of all the competent welders on here!

[tooSavvy]

Below is my 'famous'* Smiley_IMP......

I had an off-road mishap, ripping the front wishbone mount out and mullering the lower front panel.

The Commer P.O.-Van shown has a box designating the section I chiselled out >> handed to the body shop guy >> welded in and wears the Smile 👍.

Re Cycle = Save the World [and a few bob!!]

[Tepper]

Unfortunately I didn't have any GPO Commer vans, washing machines or other sources of nice flat sheet kicking about, so I had to go all fancy and actually buy some sheet metal. Welding happened, ft. Safety Trainer:

The welds somehow look worse in the picture than in real life, they're not actually too bad. Either way, for those expecting #weldporn - sorry to disappoint.

Less hole, more metal:

It took me bloody ages to shape that panel, I wish I had a roller and/or a folder. It doesn't help that Citroen decided a compound curve was needed on the right, so even after I had the overall curve and folds of the panel right I had to cut and shut it a bit to get it to fit. Probably would've been better off just buying the panel, but where's the fun in that?

Just got this piece left to weld in, I was almost ready to weld but I ran out of time. Eagle eyed readers will observe that it's tacked, but I realised I still needed to grind the paint off and fettle it a bit more before it goes on properly:

Coming along slowly. I'm hoping the sill will be quicker, but we'll see. I'm also trying to work to a standard, at the end of the day it's an old van - it doesn't have to be perfect. If the rust is properly cut out, all repairs are butt welded and it gets decent rust proofing/paint afterwards that'll do me. Even that takes plenty of time, but it doesn't matter if it's not bang on cosmetically.

[twosmoke300]

Check the strut turrets from underneath before you spend too much time and money on it . 

[Tepper]

20 minutes ago, twosmoke300 said:

Check the strut turrets from underneath before you spend too much time and money on it . 

Thanks, will do. There is some crispiness on the seams in the front inner arches, so I'll give that area a closer look before I go any further.

[twosmoke300]

The flat bit between the arch lip and the turret ( about 3 inches wide) rusts a lot on them too 

[Minimad5]

Brilliant welding and tin bashing 👍

[Tepper]

Mixed bag today. Good news:

Finished the repair at the back, seeing as I had already made the panel.

Bad news:

I did as @twosmoke300 suggested and checked the strut turrets. Looks like the turrets themselves are OK, just a bit of surface rust, but after a bit of battering with the screwdriver of truth there's certainly some grot in the inner arch area. Only one side is pictured - this is the van's bad side, the same side as the rotten sill. The other side is a lot better, and only has rust beside the jacking point the same as this side. So there is some more work to do, but I don't think it's beyond saving at all. My plan of attack is to pull the strut on the bad side first, check the turret thoroughly then if that's OK carry on with the rest of the welding.

Mmm van sweepings:

Based on this I don't know if I'll put loads of cash into the camper conversion, but I do think I can get it MOT'd and usable then see if I can do the conversion on a shoestring.

[wuvvum]

The ability of these Sevel Sud vans to rot like bastards whilst still managing to look quite respectable from the outside is quite extraordinary.

[twosmoke300]

Sorry. But I did chuckle at the Chernobyl reference 

[Minimad5]

I hope you're not just using that SGS jack to hold the van up. Normally I'm far from HSE / PPE shouty folk, but my old man had one of those SGS trolley jacks, and one of the rear wheel mounts snapped clean off. Thankfully no injuries, just stained pants.

Anyway - Keep on keeping on. Good work sir.

[Tepper]

On 12/19/2021 at 8:00 PM, twosmoke300 said:

Sorry. But I did chuckle at the Chernobyl reference 

Not at all, thanks for telling me. I'd rather know now than further on down the line! Glad someone got the reference, hopefully we don't get to this stage with the weldathon:

On 12/19/2021 at 8:57 PM, Minimad5 said:

I hope you're not just using that SGS jack to hold the van up.

Absolutely not! You can just about see an axle stand in one of the photos. I've never had an issue with that jack, I've had it for ages and it's always felt very solid but regardless of how much I trusted it I'd never go under something without proper support.

I've also realised I need to downplate this, it looks like the minibus converter got it plated at 3900kg. Anyone got any experience of this?

[Fumbler]

1 hour ago, Tepper said:

 

 

And hopefully not this...

[Tepper]

Welding in progress. It's going slower than I hoped, I finished the front inner arch on the 'good' side today. I didn't think this was going to be a big deal, but about 4 different sections come together here and access is a bit tight for angle grinders and welding torches, so it was a bit of a faff. It's also not the best job ever, it's solid enough but given the minimal factory rust proofing on the underneath of this van I think it's important to recognise that this isn't an exercise in getting it rust free forever, more like buying it a few more years. The pigeons were let loose, and here are the results of their defecation.

First section to go in, 1.2mm steel making up part of the outrigger:

Next:

Done, with closing panel on end of sill and all sections plug welded together on the flange:

Also a bonus patch in the upper inner arch between the lip and the suspension turret, on reflection I should've done a bigger patch because I think a lot of this section is a bit thin:

Like I said, not the best but she'll be reet with a bit of seam sealer, stonechip and underseal. Beer time now. Happy new year 'shiters!

[phil_lihp]

On 12/20/2021 at 10:28 PM, Tepper said:

I've also realised I need to downplate this, it looks like the minibus converter got it plated at 3900kg. Anyone got any experience of this?

Yes - I had to do this with my Transit when I discovered it was rated at 4500kg.

I highly recommend SV Tech - http://www.svtech.co.uk/our-services/downplating/ - they will, for £120 +VAT, handle the process, provide you with help, info and relevant paperwork and provide you with a new VIN plate to put alongside the old one.  There is a way to do it yourself I believe but for the amount of confusion and hassle involved, I thought it was money very well spent and I was able to be confident it was 100% correctly done as well.

Excellent work on this as always!

[stuboy]

On 12/20/2021 at 10:28 PM, Tepper said:

I've also realised I need to downplate this, it looks like the minibus converter got it plated at 3900kg. Anyone got any experience of this?

you not C1 on your licence?

[Rustybullethole]

Nice steer for an old bus these. Once steered a year old one into a ditch on a french motorway. Crashed well too. 

Top work on the repair 👍

[Tepper]

On 12/31/2021 at 10:05 PM, stuboy said:

you not C1 on your licence?

Sadly not, I passed my test quite far the wrong side of 1997

[Tepper]

Bit more welding done on this, I've had my hands full with other stuff but I've committed to using this for a holiday to France in less than 2 months time, so better get cracking.

I'd been putting off doing this bit because it was directly overhead and also thought it was going to be a twat to make the repair section as it's got various curves in it. It wasn't very fun, but it's done. Nothing like a load of welding shite falling in your ear, listening to it burn while you're trying to shake it out is an experience I fully recommend*. Bonus Vactan action as well, there is a small patch needed in the strut turret but it's generally solid. You can see why they rust though, the paint particularly in the strut turret is laughably thin.

I pulled the strut to get enough access for this and the other bits I need to do - glad I did it, as it's much easier without it in the way but who on earth thought it was a good idea to put the top mount bolts here?

Hopefully more updates to follow as I need to get it over the line soon-ish...

[Mrs6C]

1 minute ago, Tepper said:

Nothing like a load of welding shite falling in your ear, listening to it burn while you're trying to shake it out is an experience I fully recommend*.

Been there, done that! Now wear ear defenders when welding underneath things...

[Tepper]

Good shout! Shamefully this is the first bit of nasty upside down welding I've had to do, everything else has been in a reasonably nice place and on the lift. The van won't fit on the 2 poster, hats off to those of you who do this on the regular.

[Tepper]

The weldathon continues - booked to go to France in this on the 23rd April, so pressure's on!

This patch was horrible, up inside the strut turret. Not really enough room for my head, the welding helmet and the torch in the turret and very uncomfortable welding in such a confined space:

All of this work is in the O/S inner wheelarch area. This is a reinforcing place beefing up the area where the engine mount is attached on the other side. Started off like this:

Reinforcing plate off - no bueno:

Chopped out, new metal in:

Reinforcing plate sandblasted at work and plug welded back in:

Then started to rebuild the jacking point/outrigger area - ended up having to replace the bottom section of that repair as well, thought I'd be able to get away with just a patch on the front. At least it's 1.2mm steel so a bit nicer to weld:

Finally got this piece in, which was a bastard to make but I feel like I'm getting marginally quicker at doing stuff like this with funny curves/folds:

I'll be glad to see the back of this wheelarch, it's taken up way more time than I thought. Just a bit more needed to finish the jacking point area, then a few more fairly straightforward flat-ish sections in the arch before I move onto the sill.