Stripping the light Vantastic
Just as I’d predicted, the project to restore my Mum’s old Minor Van has got much larger, more invasive and with more rust to contend with than first expected. Dad and I had agreed to keep to the bare minimum required to get the van back on the road due to the fact that we both have our next major restorations lined up. We just want to get the Van going again, as it’s such a useful workhorse. However, we aren’t up for any terrible bodge. There’s no satisfaction in doing that, so you may as well do a ‘proper’ job in the first place.
We’d originally hoped to avoid splitting the back of the van from the cab. However, further investigation showed that in order to gain access to the corroded flange joining the load area to the cab front, the two structures would have to be split. In the event it all came apart easily; there are not so many bolts actually holding the back on. Most came undone easily, or could be sliced with an angle grinder and the rest just weren’t really holding anything other than crumbling rust.
Unsurprisingly, splitting the joint revealed another load of rust on the B-pillar and the area linking the B-pillar to the sill very close to the safety belt mountings. This means more welding, but it will result in a much better job and we’ll be able to reinstate the rubber sealing strip between the cab and the back of the van. Thankfully, taking the front wings off didn’t reveal any more ‘sins’ and we want to replace the badly fitting fiberglass ones with some better second-hand steel ones.
Some of the fabrication work for the rear body is now easier
because we were lucky enough to pick up the top half of a rusty van side online a few months ago for just £3.40, as someone was making a pickup. This section had incredibly rusty gutters, which usually go on a van but my Dad had repaired ours about 15 years ago and they are thankfully still good.
The acquisition of these van sides has also re-ignited a long running debate in the family-what to do about the side windows? Dad put them in back in the ‘Eighties’, the justification being that they dramatically increased visibility and removed blind spots when driving. My brother and I have long wanted to weld them up, as they are ‘non original’. Until recently this was a moot point, as making a panel to fill the hole left by the window would’ve been fairly difficult and likely to result in distortion. Having obtained the topside panels complete with the original pressings, it would now be possible to fill the rear windows in. The question now, is whether this is the right thing to do? It would make the van look more original, but harder to drive. Reader’s views on this are appreciated please.
Back on the Minor Lowlight, I’ve been working to devise a solution to the headlining problem encountered over the summer. To fashion a repair, I had some later headlining hoops in stock and decided to use these for support. The method was to slide these into place and then cable tie some wooden battens to them. I will then screw the hardboard headlining to these using stainless steel cup washers and screws.
After a long wait, I’ve just received the propshaft from the company that’s making it and soon the car should be ready for the road once more. The old one turned out to be terrible and I am told would have soon destroyed the gearbox, I can’t wait to test it out, it was expensive but I hope it was worth it. With this done, I’ll turn my attention back to the paint missmatch.
Thankfully, taking the front wings off the van didn’t reveal any more ‘sins’ and we want to replace the badly fitting fiberglass ones with some better second-hand steel ones