I bare metalled the engine bay, and etched primed it. Stone chipped the inner wings due to the fact that the repair panels would have looked terrible without lots of filling when top coated. Seam sealed and a coat or two of primer later it looks like this.
I was going to top coat the engine bay, but decided against it as it would probably get ruined while doing the rest of the vehicle. So I lobbed all the suspension back in, which involved lots of head scratching and this, as it was so long ago it was stripped.
Now its rolling again, i can start on the last bits of welding on the cab. Starting with the drivers side, first job is to chose a suitable door out the pile of 99p ones bought of ebay. Then to hang it, a couple of shims later and it fits nicely around the frame, but the bottom of the B post needed some tweaking. Cut the tacks, sectioned the side of the B post repair panel, judious use of a bolster chisel and lump hammer resulted in a nice fit. Just needs welding up again, a job for tomorrow.
Next job is to fit the wing and check the door gap, and general fit to the wing,
pretty good eh!
Dropped the bonnet on and check wing gaps
Not too bad, looks like part of the inner wing will need slide hammering to close a gap near the bulkhead end.
Chucked on the front panel, and it looks like this
Got carried away then, so trialed fit on my 99p bargain nissan 200sx seats of ebay. I want to keep the spoked steering wheel as I kinda like it, so need to sort out a nice seating position.
Not too bad, but i would like the seat back a bit further, so when the van body is bolted on, a bit of surgery to the rear of the cab, and van floor will allow the seat to go back some more. i want to put the pedals in first though, just to make sure before i start cutting.
So one side of the cab nearly done, same to do on the other side, and then time to start on the cab. The roof of which is like this nearly all the way around.
Luckily I've found a company that makes a fibreglass roof, so need to save up, and then cut the complete roof off and bond on a plastic one. Hopefully that will stop any condensation in the van body. then its wheel arches, inner and outer, and rear corners to do.
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