1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration

February 2013

I got the Lexus sorted. Decided it would be better to get an original Lexus timing belt. It made it a lot easier actually as the belt also had the timing marks on it. Ive had no problems so far so its good to know the engine has a new timing belt on it for when i go to put it in the van. It also passed its mot so its good for another year. If it makes it that far, hopefully I'll be needing the engine sooner than that.

I took a little break from the van the past month. I chose to more than anything. I just fancied doing nothing for a bit. Sometimes when i wake up on a Saturday i feel almost obliged to go and do the van rather than actually look forward to it which is something i must break out of so that's why i was taking it easy, allowing myself to not over do it and destroy the enjoyment i get from it.

Anyway, last week i was finishing work at 2:30pm so i thought seeing as I'm already in my overalls id go to the garage and do something. Now that the front was nearly complete i wanted to set myself a goal of getting that piece in primer by the end of the week. I had a little snagging list of things yet to do , first thing was the drivers seat area, a couple of patches needed welded in.



tacked in place



Then welded and cleaned



I also had to make the little bracing panel that goes underneath.



Sorted!



Next up was the A-post. If you remember the passengers side was really badly rotten on the inside and i didn't want to take any chances as it wasn't looking too good from the outside of the drivers side.





Once it was off it wasn't really that bad, but I'm glad i did as it let me take care of the surface rust on the inside.





The panel i cut off will also be treated for surface rust.



The lower lip panel was pretty bad though so i thought id replace that little section.



Cut it out



Forgot to take another photo before tacking the a-post panel back in but you can kinda see it. Very similar to what i done for the whole waistline on the drivers side i done months ago.





Cleaned up again, you could never tell Ive been behind there





There was a little piece i had to replace on the drivers seat pan area just behind the door opening.



Loadsa rust/primer converter in there so it doesn't repeat its self.



Quick template done.



Cut it out in metal, one fold and tack in place.



When i first go the van it had been fitted with a light bar which i wasn't too keen on so I'm not going to be putting it back on. That meant having to sort out the holes that had been put there for it. It looks like the light bar mounts were domed as the holes had been 'pushed' through so the metal was kinda like a slight cone shape.

Here's the passengers side as i had already cut the old one out and never took a photo.



Easiest way to cut it out was using a hole saw in the drill.



Then using the same hole saw i cut another disc out from some good steel.



Tip : if you can make a repair a circle then you will get a lot less distortion when welding.



Dressed.



The paltry seatbelts that were fitted previously were pretty poor. Whoever had fitted them just drilled a hole from the outside so i needed to fill that hole too.



Magnets are your friend. They can hold tiny pieces in place and at the right level.



Finished.



Bit of a rusty patch on the floor that i never noticed until now, silly me.



Welded in, forgot to take an after photo (i was on a roll so that's why i forgot to take a lot of pictures)



Also a bit of the windscreen surround that i of course forgot to take a photo of when it was done. I did fix it, honest.



With all those out the way i prepared to prime. Lots of sanding, buffing, grinding, wire-brushing etc..











Then acid was, degrease and tack cloth



Then i mixed up some primer, I applied it today so i managed to succeed in my goal, woohoo.



I only applied it to the areas that i was defiantly finished with metal work wise, so that's pretty much just half the front and drivers side interior.

















Now all i have to do to the main body is the passengers side. Then, then i can start on the mechanical, slowly but surely i will get there.

Something i have been thinking about. As a lot of you will know that once you are married money gets a lot tighter, especially if your planning to have a family in the future. Ive been thinking of somehow making money from what I'm doing to the van to help pay for bits for it. I really enjoy writing this blog and letting other people see the progress as I'm going. I have had a few people in the past complain about how long the photos take to load or if i can send them higher res pictures so i thought about making a book CD. I hate seeing people that are doing something ask for money and give nothing in return to the person that donates (except a real charity of course). If i made a book CD then i could sell them and post them out world wide. That way anyone can look at the project any time and see higher res photos.

I actually started to make a book a few months ago as i planned to make it a 'photo album' for myself to print out.

Here is a little sample. Click to make them bigger.

https://2img.net/h/oi45.tinypic.com/zjhxyq.jpg

https://2img.net/h/oi49.tinypic.com/2vd61pg.jpg

https://2img.net/h/oi45.tinypic.com/w1oph.jpg

The final book would be in a .pdf file format and the pages would be much larger than these, i think these images are around 50% of the size you will see in the .pdf

It would certainly help me buy stuff for the van. I was thinking of a cost of about minimum £5 including P&P for the UK and about $8 including P&P for the USA, then you could add a little extra if you were feeling generous . I would also post it anywhere else in the world. I also thought i could add my folder of over 1000 original photos at 3648 x 2736 for a little bit extra.

Of course, it all depends on demand, is this something anyone would buy? I imagine the final book would be about 500 pages worth with all my photos up to this point.

To put it into perspective, when i get paid i have about £30 to myself a week and i still need to buy a rear axle, door rubbers, window rubbers, paint, wheel banding, disc brakes, callipers, interior, lots and lots of various consumables etc.... I mean, i know i will get there but if i could make some cash from it then it would be a lot quicker.

Don't worry if no one does want to buy it, i will always keep showing my updates.

outstanding work......

Nice to see some paint going on it, can't wait to see it with color. What color are you thinking

G-man, im thinking a nice light pastel green and white/cream combination. Something in keeping with the time it was released.

March update

If you rememeber a couple months ago i said i had some exciting news, well the van has been featured in a magazine called 'classics monthly'. Its quite a big magazine in the UK, check out their website (http://www.classicsmonthly.com) Its a good 6 page spread that im very happy with. I wish i could put it all up here to show but due to copyright i cant. The editor has sent me a small image so i can put it on the forum though.



I had a good laugh the day the photos were being taken. Its also gave me a good buzz to keep going. Thanks guys!


The next stage of the bodywork has been the passangers side rear. I started on the lower waist-line. Thankfully its not as bad as the drivers side



Inspect the bad bits and cut them out.



Measure up the bad.



replace it with the good.



clean it up



And repeat, il let the pictures do the talking.















Ok, so now that that is over. My next bit is the rear of the side door opening. The metal here has corroded quite a bit.



I had to take a little bit of time to think what to cut out first as there is a few layers here that need to be sorted. First to come out was the door hinge brace.



It was a bit awkward getting to some of the spot welds so it looked a bit of a mess when out.



Little bit of carefull tapping and some CSI style re-creation i have it back to how it was so i can use it as my template.



I placed it to the side and carried on inspecting the rot.







I needed to cut the lower of the door post out to repair so i thought id put in an extra brace to stop it springing back.



Next to come off was half of the door step/sill peice. This looked to be a bit thicker than the rest of the bodywork, id say about 2mm. I think i may replace the whole peice with some 3mm like i did with the rear doors.



Then i cut the rusty peice that held the door hinge brace.



This let me get to the 'floor' and rear tub that needs replace. Where they meet they have been spotwelded together and there was a lot of rust between the seam so i though seeing as ive taken it this far i may aswell sort this out before it becomes a bigger issue later. I marked out with chalk where to cut.



Finally im left with good metal to weld to in this area.







And in order of what i need to fix first. I need to make this

The floor/wheel tub. This is actually 3 seperate panels once i break the spot welds.



Door hinge base



Side step



Door post lower
(forgot to take that pitcure, oops)

Door hinge brace





Hopefully the next update i will have all this done.

Thanks for looking. Dont forget to get your copy of 'Classics monthly'

Congrats on getting a magazine shoot. Wow...not even done and already making headlines. How cool is that. Keep up the excellent work.

Great looking work. You have to be looking forward to that first camping trip!!
Congrats on the magazine article.

Joel

Great to see the mag coverage!
I'll have to go in to town and see if the local shop carries that title.
EDIT: Which # is the one with your project in it? The website says the current one is 199 and they are making a big deal about #200. I'll look thru whichever one is on the stands, but want to make sure I can get the right one.
As for the CD, I'd be in for that, provide that it included all the photos. I've seen maybe a half dozen of these vans in my life, so I'm not very familiar with all the construction details. The drive and quality of work on this undertaking is amazing and would be great to have a copy of the process regardless of the model being done. I really enjoy that it's a van too!

RodStRace wrote:Great to see the mag coverage!
I'll have to go in to town and see if the local shop carries that title.
EDIT: Which # is the one with your project in it? The website says the current one is 199 and they are making a big deal about #200. I'll look thru whichever one is on the stands, but want to make sure I can get the right one.
As for the CD, I'd be in for that, provide that it included all the photos. I've seen maybe a half dozen of these vans in my life, so I'm not very familiar with all the construction details. The drive and quality of work on this undertaking is amazing and would be great to have a copy of the process regardless of the model being done. I really enjoy that it's a van too!

It is magazine #201.

April Update,

Last time i wrote i was just getting started on the side door area. All the crap had been cut out and was awaiting fabricated. So, i started on the inside flooring/wheel tub area.



This section is made up from 4 separate panels, beginning with the easiest bit, i made haste.



Nice simple cut out.



Couple of folds.



Tacked in.



OK, what next, i went for the flooring area around the door.



Folded the repair panel up and tacked a couple bits of box section to make sure the panel was flush and wouldn't try to move when welding it in place.



This is the adjoining piece to the previous one, worked out easier to split it into 2 sections.



That got tacked into place as well.



The wheel tub is a bit tricky. It has a nice curve where it joins the floor section. I got a piece of sheet much larger than i needed and bent it around a piece of tubing.



Then i got another piece of tubing slightly smaller in diameter and done the same to make the curve a bit tighter.



Kept repeating the technique until i got it as close to the original curve as i could.



Then i cut the excess off and folded the lip.



Which inevitably got tacked in place also.





Doh, silly me, i forgot to drill the holes for the plug-welds before tacking. Little tip if you happen to do the same mistake as me. Use the spot weld cutter drill bit to make some holes, cuts a hole in the panel you want and not the other.



That was that area done, now to sort out the upper section.



Once cut off i used it as a template to make the new one. There is actually a lot happening in this panel, quite a few subtle curves and twists.



Lots of clamps to keep it in place.



Welded up.



I had been welding the floor section up at the same time. Doing it in little bursts to minimise distortion and letting it cool.



Then cleaning it up a little.



Third thing to do was the side door opening sill/brace. It was made from roughly 2mm sheet so i decided to go stronger.



Using more of the 3mm plate from work i went to my old work place and used their sheet folder .



Doing this meant i had to cut the remainder of the sill/brace out.



Which meant i could clean up and repair the outriggers at the same time.



Lots of holes for the plug welding. I don't want to be the person to take this off. (hopefully that will never be needed anyway.)



Welded the door latch post piece back on as well and cleaned it up, nice'n'strong now.





Getting there, this little piece was the next up.



Made a couple of sections using the original as a template again.



Then a 10mm strip for the edge.



Looks horrible eh, soon get that sorted.



I put the back piece repair in first on the body using my good'ol chums "the magnets".



Tacked in.



Then a quick skim with the grinder.



Last bit to fabricate was the door hinge brace.



Unfortunately i forgot to take photos as i was making this, so eh, well, here it is finished. Just done the usual, made a cardboard template, cut it out of metal, few taps with the hammer and then its done.



Stuck it in place and tarted it up a bit to look good.



And that was that! Side door area done.

I decided to give myself another little boost and see how the side door fitted after all that. So i cut out the half the diagonal brace on the inside as it was obstructing the door opening at the top.



Bootiful!



It even opens, see!



Then, just to get an idea of it again i placed the side panel in place to get a feel for it.



Looking good, but here's the real test. Can it hold 13 and a half stone of pure muscle?

Apparently so,



That's all for this time. Ive been dragging my heels this month really. I could of had more done but for some reason i just haven't felt that too much into it. Never mind, I'll get my mojo back. To be honest, i haven't got a lot of work left to do to the main body of the van now. Just the passengers door opening and a couple of bits around that area. Then its onto the mechanicals to give me a break from sheet metal for a bit, woohoo!

Great job!
Thanks for the info, I found that the local news stand does not carry it, so I ordered it as a back copy from the website. 6.30 Pounds with no added shipping when ordered. For us Yanks, it's $9.60.

Great to see all this hard work paying off now, Once you get color on it you will be pumped to finish it. Can't wait to see the paint, those colors should look great

Great workmanship as always. Can't waite to see this on wheels. Don't loose faith Kev, your hard work is paying off and we are all root'n for ya. Builds like yours, gives the rest of us insperation to tackle any kind of rust issues we may have. Your making it look easy...lol.

Kev,

I'm an avid follower of your project and am always amazed at the backyard methods that you utilize to turn out such a great looking job in the end. It really shows what amazing vision and skills you have. Just on heck of a great job. Scott...

April update - part 2

More metal work plus a little extra good news, info at the end.

I've been determined to get the back end of the van finished so the last part to do was the cut out on the wheel arch. When i had done this one on the other side i had made a bit of a pigs ear of it. I went about it the wrong way and made more work for myself so this time i was determined to do it better. Instead of welding a few sections together to make the panel i opted to make it from one panel. So, first thing was to drill the rivets out of this panel. These were added by Dormobile to make space for the seating arrangements.



The aluminium panels are nicely made but they were quite rough when it comes to cutting metal out. Looks like its been burned out and the edges just left rough.



I broke the panel down into its measurements and drew it on to a sheet, then i cut it out.



A few folds in it then tacked it in place.



Then tidied up. I took a bit more time working this panel out and it paid off with the fitment.



I had a little bit left to do on the flooring section at the side door to finish.



Use the old bit i cut out as a template.



2 folds and its done, nice easy patch.



Then welded in place and cleaned up.



With the rear complete i moved forward to just behind the passengers seat area. Forgot to take before pics of these, this area has 3 panels that meet together so i cut out all 3 sections out at once.





These are the sections to make up.



So, get rid of the rust, tidy the area up a little and spray on some weld-through primer.



Nice simple patch, no folds or anything.



weld it up.



Smooth it down.



If you remember when i was doing the other side i had to make this whole panel up. Fortunately the passengers side wasn't as bad and just needed the bottom part replicated.



I started by getting a scrap piece of sheet and putting it in the vice and bending it over by hand. I didn't want a crisp edge, just a gradual curve.



Then i clamped the fold line in the edge and used the hammer and a piece of wood to form a lip. Then i cut a few lines to make folding the curved section easier.



Welded in place.



Then cleaned up a little, I'll neaten this up again later to smooth it in better.



I also replaced the other section i cut out, forgot to take photos of it as i done it though.

Thankfully this is the last piece of waist line section i have to replace. Just as corroded as the others.





Done the usual, cut out and replace.



The other half.





Just behind this panel was another bit needing done.



Put in place.



Then i had a little bit of the door post to contend with.



I peeled back the lip and cut out the rot. Then welded in a nice bit.



Buffed it down.



Nearly finished with the main body, im hoping for the next update it will be complete and i think I'll have to have a celebration.
I also bought myself a new toy. I got a pillar drill form a mate who is a fabricator. He sold it to me for a very good price along with a 12 ton pipe bender (roll cage!!) and a plumbers pipe bender. Really grateful for things like these at good prices. The drill is one of those ancient ones that never fail and always stay true. So much easier drilling holes in panels.



Now for the big news! I got an axle for the van. It started out by me asking a mate who is also restoring a Ford Thames about one of his Scimitar projects he had. I asked if he would sell me the Scimitar axle but at the time he had other plans for it. Then a couple of weeks ago, i was having a crap day at work when he phoned and told me i could have the axle for free, which really cheered me up. Only problem was, i had to take the whole car.
A bit of a dilemma as i really wanted the axle but never had anywhere to put the Scimitar and i really didn't want to just rip the axle out and scrap the Scimitar as i hate seeing old classics being destroyed. I decided it would be best to see if i could find someone who was looking for a project. I put an Ad on a few forums saying i have a Scimitar for free, but i want the back axle, 4 link, shocks and watts linkage. After a few days a guy from rodsnsods contacted me and he came along and had a look at the car.
The next day he phoned me up to say he would take it complete, then when its at his i could go down on the weekend to take off what i want as he has an Aston martin axle waiting to go on ( fancy). A few days later, phoning to confirm i was still going along he told me he was bored and has already taken everything off for me, bonus! So, on Sunday there, me and my brother headed along and picked the axle up. The guy was really sound, if a bit eccentric. I'm just really glad to know that everyone has won in the situation. The car has gone from its previous owner who just wanted it out the way. I have a back axle and someone else has saved another car from the crusher.

Here is the axle, infront of it is the standard Thames one, you can see the pigs head is a lot chunkier.



Then my Bro helped me to put it roughly in place under the van. Looks good, forgot what a wheel looks like in there.









Looks like i will be needing to cut off the 4 link bracket and putting a new one on a few inches closer.



There is a lot going for these axles. They are a Salisbury unit that can cope with 400bhp standard, not that il ever need that much, just good to know its tough. They are also heavy, which is good for me as there wont really be a huge amount of weight over the rear wheels.

Thanks everyone!

Question are there any Thames clubs over there??? Sounds like they are rare, but I would like to see more of these vans

There is one main club for Thames. http://www.thames400e.freeserve.co.uk/


Wee tiny update, I know I said I'd keep the next one for when the front end is done but this update is a little different.

When i was doing the drivers door opening, a few people were asking me how i done the door rubber channel



So i thought id try my hand at making a video. The video describes how i make this piece from scratch.



I describe how i make the panel. It might not be right or the best way to do it but it works for me. The video is about 45 mins long. I was going to edit it to make it shorter but i thought its best to just leave it and you can skip bits yourself. I wouldnt make a good presenter or director, thats for sure. Also, i tend to talk quietly but the hammering is pretty loud so you might want to adjust your speakers.
Here it is

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNzCubyqqRU

wow, I feel like I somehow violated the sanctity of this whole process by blasting through the adventures you chronicled over the past 2.5 years in under an hour. Glad that I got to partake in this! Thank you!

June update. 
 
I've had quite a busy past few weeks. Had to skip a few weekends from the garage to move house. I only moved a few houses down to escape the benefit sponging neighbours and their kids that lived above me. So im a lot happier now and not so on edge anymore, phew!. The times ive managed to get to the garage have been busy. I was wanting to wait until i had sprayed the primer on the whole van for this update but i just checked and i have about 70 photos already so thought it would be wise to split this update for now. 
 
I continued on the last few repairs to the body at the front. This is the little lip that runs under the door opening. 
 
 
 
Then welded in. 
 
 
 
I the tackled the last major piece of work. The rotten front corner and step. I had already done the drivers side but this one was a bit worse than that.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
I started by cutting out the crap to give me a good base to start rebuilding from. 
 
 
 
 
 
 As i was cutting the door post away on this side, i needed to put a brace in to stop it moving. 
 
 
 
carry on chopping. 
 
 
 
So, this is all what needs to be replicated. 
 
 
 
I begun with the inner box section as everything else attaches to it. I measured all my sizes and put it on a nice piece of 1.2mm. 
 
 
 
Then folded all the lips up. 
 
 
 
Little bit of weld through primer and stuck it in place. 
 
 
 
I made my little YouTube video for this section and just realised i never took any photos of me doing it. If you missed the video its here. 
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNzCubyqqRU 
 
I made the front section larger than i needed so i could cut it down to size once fixed in place. 
 
 
 
 
 
Then i worked on the rear of the panel. I had to make the little panel to fill this gap. 
 
 
 
Cardboard template came in handy for this. 
 
 
 
I reused my jig from the previous side to get the curved channel. 
 

 
The next weekend , Jana decided she would come down to keep me company. I gave her the old seats to strip down. 
 
 
 
 
 
One of the better things about the wife coming along is the packed lunch she makes, yum! I usually end up just walking to the shop and getting a packet of pickled onion crisps and a red-bull but that day i had about 4 rolls, crisps and coffee, good woman . 
 
Welded up the whole step panel. 
 
 
 
Next up was the door post section. I cut all the rust away from the old post so i could re-use as much as i can. 
 
 
 
cut out the new piece, ready to get folded. 
 
 
 
The fold it and weld to the old post. 
 
 
 
And tack it to the body. I had also tidied up the front section of the panel by this point. 
 
 
 
Wee bit of primer. 
 
 
 
Now to do the corner piece 
 
 
 
Make a new one. 
 
 
 
Get it stuck in. 
 
 
 
I rolled the van over so i could tie in all the pieces underneath and weld them up. 
 
 
 
Tack the pieces i removed for access earlier. 
 
 
 
Outer corner being assessed. 
 
 
 
Trying to use as much of the original as i can. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Then get it stuck in place. 
 
 
 
Nearly done with the front corner.  
 
 
 
As there was a bit of welding to do here i started to repair the front light bar hole. I wanted to minimise distortion so i let the welds cool and worked on this at the same time. 
Exact same process as the other side. 
 
 
 
Use the hole cutter to make a Nice hole for repair. 
 
 
 
All welded. 
 
 
 
 
 
And cleaned up. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
With the major hurdle out the way it was just a few little pieces to replace. 
 
Little bit under the grill opening. 
 
 
 
Cut it out and shrink/stretch a piece of angle. 
 
 
 
stick it on. 
 
 
 
and clean it up 
 
 
 
The corner of the grill opening was rotten too. 
 
 
 
This is a good example of how something can look not bad on one side but far worse on the other. 
 
"meh, not too bad" 
 
 
"bugger" 
 
 
I traced the rough shape of it on to a scrap bit of 1.2mm with a lot of excess to enable easier folding. 
 
 
 
Then trimmed it and tacked it. 
 
 
 
A little back piece completed the area. 
 
 
 
And now, with out further ado. This is the last, yes thats right, the last rust section to repair on the body. Around the windscreen frame i found this. Actually, just realised something. The first area i tried was the windscreen surround so to finish on another part of the surround some how seems quite fitting.  
 
 
 
 
 
So there we are. All major body work on the van body is done. 
 
 
 
Its only been 3 years...... yeah i could have done more if i never had a full time job and life to get on with but i feel its an achievement. I really want to get on with spraying the epoxy primer on now, to me, that is when i will feel truly happy with it. So im going to go along today and make a start on the prep.  
 
Oh, when i had finished the roof of the van i started to collect all the little piece of the body i cut off. So heres a little collage of about 80% of everything i had to repair , minus the roof sections.  
 
 
 
 
 
Not long and i get to start on the mechanical side, yippee. Although, that means i need a new car. I have seen a car i really want and im considering buying, its a bit unusual so thats cool. I'll post pics if i buy it.

Amazing

Totally awesome man. I can't waite to see it all in primer. Been fallowing along since you started and just amazed at all the work you have had to do on this old girl. truly a labor of love.

Hats off to you.

Truly outstanding work.

Now all you have to do is the rust repairs on all the doors!

Great work!
I got the UK mag, still haven't pulled it out of the wrapper yet tho!

How are the laws over there for donor cars?
Can you go to a place like this?
http://ukscrapandsalvage.co.uk/#/sell-scrap-lotus/4574735620
Or maybe just advertise for a car that suits your needs?

Rodstrace : I already have my donor vehicle, im driving it right now as my daily driver, its a 1993 Lexus LS400. We can do that though. Although if you use a scrapyard (junkyard) the cars are generally what we call a "right-off" it means its been registered as crashed but theres differant categorys depending on how damaged. The less damaged are allowed back on the road but the worse are not. Better off buying a road legal car and stripping that. 

June part 2 

Ive been busy this weekend. I really wanted to get this stage over so i was determined to get it all done. 

With the body finished i started to prepare the shell for the primer.



Quite a bit to get it ready.





I went to my work and borrowed the D/A sander and smoothed down a lot of the inside. I used a combination of sander/wire-brush/wire-wheel and polyabrasive discs.  





I then went over all the bare metal with the acid to eat any leftover pitted rust and then loads of water followed my degreaser.





Then the bit i have been waiting ages to do, the primer! I even bought myself a mid-range spray gun for it. Need to stop borrowing the works stuff so often. I used up the remaining litre and a half i had left.

















And one with your handsome host



Now i am happy. Now that the primer has been applied on the whole body i feel that this chapter has ended for me. Phew, what a relief. I look forward to starting on the suspension.

your work has been worth following. you are a master of the  sheet metal.

Congraduations Kev! What a milestone. It's been wonderful watching you learn and seeing improvement in every post. Then your confidence grows as you near completion. Can't wait to you start the next phase. Every pick a color????

Duane in Tennessee.

Wow!!!!is all I can say on all the work done. I can't waite to watch the next stage.