Van roof - section thro' construction

[capnblack]

I have been studying the excellent pics of Gillian Shaws van rebuild on the Potteries branch website (being an ex Potteries bloke myself, well... I feel I have the right to!). I am about to get down to the roof job on my van, it doesn't look as ominous as the work on JUL****, but I am forever looking for more info on this. I still find it difficult to imagine the actual roof / gutter original construction and then compare it to the rebuild, does anyone have the info to produce a sketch, showing a section through the van roof/side/gutter? I'll have a go at what I think it was like and sketch it, then I'll put my sketch on here for comments. Unless of course, someone beats me to it. The only way I can think of is to do a sketch, take a pic of it and then upload it here.

[capnblack]

OK, here's my interpretation. Any comments?[frame][/frame]

[aupickup]

IT IS NOT AN EASY JOB TO GET IT ALL STRAIGHT AND THE CORRECT CURVE WITHOUT IT LOOKING A MESS

[MarkyB]

I think there is another piece of metal between the roof and side.

Haven't got a van any more but I recall the outside gutter being double thickness, and a flange with a downward pointing edge on the inside of the side panel.

[capnblack]

I suppose we will find out definitively if / when we take the tin opener to it.

[MarkyB]

Close observation should do it.
This picture agrees with my memory of the construction;
http://potteries.mmoc.org.uk/Members_Ca ... 728_02.jpg

[capnblack]

That is the same picture I used to come up with my sketch section thro the roof - can't see any downturning bit on the inside?

[MarkyB]

I must have dreamed that bit .
It was a while ago, and it made my poor brayne hurt trying to visualise it.

There does look like there is a strip of metal on the right hand side though.

[les]

My van roof is off right now to reconstruct the side tops and then the actual gutter. Your sketch has missed out the main gutter section. I could try to do the same as you and do a drawing or perhaps post some photos if it would help. The repair of these sections is quite involved as the areas that generally rust are curved both ways along the length! I found the best method of constructing the repair sections was to make templates of the curves before removing the original metal, this makes sure that the profiles of the sides and roof are the same.

[capnblack]

Hi Les. Any info u can supply here will be of great assistance. A sketch would help if poss. I have studied loads of pics - a really good set on the Potteries MMOC site showing the job being done in some detail.

I wonder if the gutter replacement sets which are available are good? Did you get any?

[les]

Interesting, I'll take a look at the potteries site. So far I have made my own sections, so can't comment on the guttering available. This is my next area so will be finding this out in due course! Will do a sketch shortly.

[M25VAN]

Both ESM & BM list guttering for the vans but Fairmile have the more comprehensive selection i.e front and rear corners etc.

[les]

If you want photos of a particular area I can possibly supply.

[capnblack]

Nice one Les
Very helpful
Today I continued stripping my van.
I am considering taking the van-back and cab to a local firm near here who do blast cleaning & coating.

[capnblack]

Update, almost 3 years onward. I've actually started work on the van now. The roof / gutter area is not too bad but still considering total removal so that I can have full confidence in the finished article. I'll take some pics as I get on with the job and post them on here. Looking for some advice on colour scheme numbers (BS or RAL) for this Postal Engineering van. I seem to recall the chassis should not be red?

[capnblack]

A good weekend. Got the roof off. Turns out it was a good call. Although the gutters looked mostly OK, water trapped between the three layers; van side, gutter and roof, had rotted out the lower layer - the van top side.

I've emailed Iain at Fairmile Restorations with a list of panels I now need. Hopefully he can get them out for me soon so that I can begin rebuilding.[frame][/frame][frame][/frame][frame][/frame][frame][/frame][frame][/frame][frame][/frame][frame][/frame]

[TFM150K]

I'm suprised that POMMreg hasn't come back here regarding chassis colour - as I understand things, Post Office vans were always painted silver underneath pretty much every time they went into the workshop BUT I don't know if they were silver when they came out of the factory! Try posing the question on the LCV forum if this doesn't prompt a response. Regarding the gutters, I have a "tradesmans sample" from Iain at Fairmile _ it weighs about half a kilo but I'll post it on loan If you need - it will show you precisely how they need to be made - and why they rot (mainly fom the inside outwards)! Alternatively I will be at Gaydon ( and I guess Iain will be too).
Dave

[capnblack]

Hi Dave
POMMreg has already PMd me the colours; black for the chassis.
Tried Iain for the panels I needed, but got no response, either I have wrong contact details, or he is too busy, or maybe something else. Anyway, in the end I got the angels from ESM. I wonder if they are made in Sri Lanka? Not that there's anything wrong with that. I was most impressed with the website of the Sri Lankan operation.

[capnblack]

Only four months since my last post on the progress of my van roof work.
The news is that I have replaced all the corners of the roof with new repair panels. Gutters all replaced too.
Today I enlisted the help of me old mate Woody - in one day the roof is now back in place. Woody made the make up pieces by hand to replace the 40mm section I took out to replace the corroded areas. He has made a super job so far and I reckon another days help tomorrow will see me back on the long road to completion. It's quite amazing how my enthusiasm has been given an uplift after the progress made today.
I will post some pics as soon as poss.
Well chuffed so far.

[capnblack]

Here we go:[frame][/frame][frame][/frame][frame][/frame][frame][/frame][frame][/frame][frame][/frame][frame][/frame][frame][/frame][frame][/frame][frame][/frame][frame][/frame][frame][/frame][frame][/frame]

Not bad for a day's work