Cross member in front of the beam removed and front section of the heater tube removed to make it easier to strip and sandblast. Left a few areas as they will either be getting replaced or getting more attention when i get to them. Stripped, blasted, rust treated and primed. Much cleaner under here now.
Coming along nicely, if you don’t mind me asking, do you have any plans/measurements for that rotisserie you wouldn’t mind sharing
Part of the plans are on page 1. I would have to dig back through my year 12 folders to find the rest
Sandblasting showed that the metal behind the cross member was very pitted and had some rust holes. Cut the section out and replaced before welding in the new panel.
Cable guide tubes going in. Started with the heater cables. Removed the tap sections are rewelded like factory to avoid seeing the join. Welded back in, just need to grind back the welds. Clutch and accelerator tubes also installed. Flared the front part of the clutch tube as per factory. I have had the cables running through to make sure the bends weren't too tight. Front and rear cross members welded in place and welds ground back.
nice, factory fitted seat belt support brackets too!! looking good, thanks for the photos. We love to see the progress, cheers
Cargo floor is welded in. Still some welding around the heater tubes to finish off but I am happy it's in. Used a tip from a mates build thread on DSK... drilling into the i beams to get the weld to penetrate slightly better. Plently of drilling, plenty of welding and grinding...
Gathering from the pics, it’s a clean hole through the deck, and a partial counter sink hole into the cross members? Remove all the metal the weld would have to do, before starting?…….. Brilliant solution for a cooler, less distorting better bond - awesome thinking! Love this thread - gets better everytime I look….
Drivers side seat rail was rusted out underneath. I had bought some seat rails which came with the wheel tub sheet metal still attached. At first i thought this was going to be a straight forward, mark it out, cut it and weld it in. But closer inspection showed rust between the rail and wheel tub on the donor metal. Lucky I had the sheet metal from the passenger side donor as well. Although it was a mirror image I was able to section it and weld it back in bit by bit. All ground back and ready to sort out installing the seat rail...
Seat rail repair is pretty much finished. Still some grinding to do but its solid again. Sandblasted the rail and had to make new plates that mount between the rail and wheel arch. Fiddly job getting them lined up but happy with the result. I will post a final pic once its in primer.
Front panel is off. Stripping and sandblasting paint on the bulkhead, wheel tubs, front floor, dash and inner front structure. This is the last of the sandblasting that will be done in the shed. Had a massive clean up in the shed which was refreshing.
Wanted to get the steering box raise done ready for the inner front valance to be put in place. I decided to fabricate a new box section instead of the usual cut and shift. I had two sections of 2.2mm steel folded up and got to work with the raise. I had originally purchased a wagenswest raise kit and I used the template to trace the angle that the box needed to follow as it went up and back. Original crush tube used for the clutch pedal pivot. All welded together and ready to install.
Your metal fabrication skills are such a pleasure to see. Thanks again for taking the time, to take the pics and upload!
Trail fitting the lower valance which was modified to suit the steering box raise. Reused the wiring hole from the original bracket that was cut out. Left side A pillar welded in and ground back.. Stripped all the green paint off the lower inner valance... Right hand side A pillar welded in place... Plug weld holes drilled and valance installed...
Raised steering boxes are common on lowered splits as it is the first this to smack into the ground at driveways etc
Passenger side dog leg time. This KF dog leg required some extra attention on the inner and outer. This definitely wasn't my favourite part of the build and still have the right side ahead of me. Trial fit... Green paint removed... drilled and dimpled as per the original dogleg. Also did the top one but didn't get a pic.. Modified the inner as the shape was way off...
Some beautiful work you are doing there, you are going to have one beautiful bus to be proud of once finished, no you can be very proud of what you have done now, cheers Greg
