Another van.

[midget]

More yesterday.

[midget]

Almost there I think, now my work begins--again.

[midget]

Time for an update. A little further on after other (non Minor) tasks had to be addressed.
Very difficult and time consuming task of taking most of the cab back to bare metal, due to many useless modern "paint strippers" that don't!
Decided against the blasting/dipping route for various reasons after advice from many who were disappointed with their results, so now spending on stripdiscs,wire wheel and other abrasives to do the job. Care is needed to prevent damage to surfaces of course, but certainly worth it if I'm going this far to achieve the result. Have ignored the bodyshops advice to use etch primer initially and instead plan to use epoxy Rustbuster 421 as basecoat.

[gason]

that looks like it is coming on a treat

[midget]

Back from the painters now. Just the engine bay in top coat, the rest will be finished when doors, bonnet wings and front panel are fitted.
Got huge b*lla*ing from painter for using "wrong" primer.I used rustbuster 421 but he stripped this off and replaced with deep etch primer as his primer coat pickled. Lord knows how much extra this error will cost--but too late now.
Busy now blast cleaning all the suspension etc ready for painting and fitting then comes the bolt on panels.

[midget]

Another 4 months on, and at last have some more progress!
After a great deal of problems with suppliers and more surprises when sorting the suspension parts I am back on the project.
Busy derusting and prepping all the many bits and pieces for Etch priming--yes I;ve learnt my lesson! All done now, and will be top coating (black) from tomorrow.
Engine plan has changed--its now getting the A+ 1275 with late 1275 midget 'box. also sourced a 3.9 diff and disc kit

Some of the (redundant) stuff is going on another project later, but took the opportunity to paint them at the same time.

[irmscher]

Looks brilliant looking forward to more posts off you

[midget]

Thanks. Plan is to have it rolling and cab bodywork fitted for new year.
Want to get it in a drivable state by spring, then start on cargo body. It is in pretty good overall nick (gutters were done in '09) but will be bare metalled and possibly new floor and attention to door fit.
This needs to be on the chassis to complete. Did consider temporarily fitting a P/U rear panel,mud gaurds,trailer board to MoT and use for summer, but will take too long I think.
Original budget has been blown away, but no stopping now.

[ManyMinors]

Original budget has been blown away, but no stopping now.

Don't worry John, quite a few of us have been there .......
As you say, once you've started, there's no stopping. It'll be great once you've finished but possibly too good to use as a van!

[irmscher]

It will be worth it looking at prices nowadays and availability

[midget]

Not planning to sell this one, but they are becoming expensive for very good examples.
On that point, I have always wondered-after reading many resto blogs that It is rare for the owner to share the details of total cost of their project, which would be of interest to others contemplating one.The rare exception was "Neil MG" some time ago.
My wife is keeping an accurate record of expenditure in a (ballooning) folder, and I will share this when we have finally finished.
She is as keen as me on this, and being a little younger will at some point become the owner!

[RobThomas]

If it helps, I have £15,000 invested in a Lowlight that is insured for £30,000 as a replacement cost. The biggest expenses were...

Purchase. £4000
Blasting. £600
Painting. £2000
Newton interior. £1500
Engine/Box. £1300
Wheels/Tyres. £400
Hood. £800

If I had bought all the bits and pieces at normal market price or had not already owned them I would expect that the figure would have been closer to £20,000. Some other bits were sold off to keep the total cost down. Some purchases were very helpful such as a NOS set of bumper chromes off Ebay for £25 and buying a dead Lowlight for spares that returned more money than it cost to buy, even after donating the rolling bodyshell for free.

I dread to think how many hours went into it.

[midget]

Sounds about right Rob. Difficult to reach a definite figure,as some of the "upgrading" parts saved from this one are for my '60 4door. Engine,box, brakes etc.

[midget]

Bit of backtracking has occurred which has caused some delay. My fault but I did not realise that "we" had forgotten the toe board area when blasting/prepping painting, so it was a case of removing cab again to correct this. Cab is now in the paint shop again,, but I really need to get the suspension finished before it returns.
So, question one is---is it possible to fit the cab AFTER the engine/box is in place to the chassis, as it will be easier to weight the front end this way for suspension assembly? I do realise that the dampers form the top mounting, but could they not be connected when the cab is in place?
Question two is--- in what order do I begin assembly of body components? Wings,Bonnet,front panel, doors?
I appreciate that not all will have done this, but I guess a few have.
I welcome your thoughts please.

[firedrake1942]

Looking good and in better fettle than this S2 Van on sale in Australia for $800 AUS.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid ... 349&type=3

[jaekl]

Engine would be a direct drop in without the cab. The dampers and swivels would be installed after the cab is in place.

[StillGotMy1stCar]

The cab needs to be fitted first as the engine mounting towers sit on top of the tie plates.
Regards John

[jaekl]

That's right, I forgot about the doubling of the top of the frame and the engine bay floor. I must have removed the engine mounts when I did mine years ago. Since the previous owner cut and discarded the damper cross member from the cab, I built a new one and mounted it directly to the frame and had a fully supported chassis with full drive train with no body and installed the body later. I also had to break the brake lines when the cab was installed. Here in the States there were no vans at the breaker from which to take parts, so I made the cross member.

[>Thomas63<]

Some lovely work there. I look forward to seeing this progress

[midget]

The cab needs to be fitted first as the engine mounting towers sit on top of the tie plates.
Regards John

Yes you're right, knew there was a reason that precluded it, but couldn't see it. Anyway,assembled most of the suspension now so will have to wait for a while. Trouble is there's not a great deal that can be done until it is back on 4 wheels.
Thinking making of a small custom made pallet to mount on top of the chassis legs and strap on some weight to set torsion bars?
But would this still need top mounts(shockers) in place?