VintAGE-Vans

Would you like to react to this message? Create an account in a few clicks or log in to continue.

BRINGING IT ALL TOGETHER.... A's, G's & E's


+49
sundanceuk
jimthefred
66mnecotruck
vanny
RipVanArkie
BlueSteel
Scotts_A100
RodStRace
campin'fool 2
jkr
Gothboy
dodge man
1040imp
transam400
Vanner63
dan nachel
sidspop
Vanadian
kykayaker37
white-lightning
Rayallen
southern man
whopman
Scott
VanninBlaino
Stoopid john
Zuffen
bumpbug
DanTheVanMan
Big W
Nightmoves
kgdb
wylee
EconoUSAparts
sasktrini
Vantastic
toad
Oldsmobubble
Twinpilot001
SDEconoTruck
econopoor
bugeye bob
Sy Hollinshead
dix
austinmodhouse
67a 100 pickup
G-Man
Van Halen
kevbarlas
53 posters

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration

    avatar
    kevbarlas


    Number of posts : 60
    Location : Edinburgh, Scotland
    Registration date : 2010-12-09

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 Empty Re: 1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration

    Post by kevbarlas Thu Apr 28, 2011 2:21 pm

    cheers for the replys everyone, it really helps to keep the enthusiasim going and make me feel better, really appreciate it.

    Well, i made my own folder. I looked around the internet at mass-produced ones and ones other people have made and ive based it on a mixture of both.
    Its made from 50 x 50 x 5 angle, 50 x 10 flat bar, 2 x heavy duty door hinges and other bits and bobs. Its a metre long over all and will fold a sheet 600mm wide.

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 2wqd2ir

    Here you can see i used a M12 bolt to clamp it down and i made a stop so the 'sharpness' of the bend can be consistant. The hinges are heavy duty rated to 120kg, I flipped them upside down so that the centre of the hinges is exactly at the corner of the angles.

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 1zobvc4

    Theres a triangulated brace on the angle that folds up. I used a bolt for the centre so i can adjust how much tension is on at the centre.

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 E8x405

    It will fold upto 125 degrees which is plenty.

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 2hwo2zp

    My battery ran out so i cant show you a good picture of it actually folding something but you can kind-a make out a fold in the first photo.

    I still need to weld a couple of handles on but i can do that later, the brace works as a handle just now.

    I'll attempt the upper body repair section this Saturday so i'll see how it goes
    avatar
    Guest
    Guest


    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 Empty Re: 1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration

    Post by Guest Thu Apr 28, 2011 3:36 pm

    Nice sheet metal brake. Is your break bar hardened or just plain mild steel? Would love to know how much capacity (18 gauge?). Are you getting much play/slop with just using 2 hinges? Thanks for sharing your work with us, you are clearly a very talented fabricator.
    Cheers

    312
    G-Man
    G-Man
    Mayor
    Mayor


    Number of posts : 30743
    Location : Fowlerville, MI
    Age : 62
    Registration date : 2008-05-06

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 Empty Re: 1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration

    Post by G-Man Thu Apr 28, 2011 4:02 pm

    Being a lover of the Thames van also I'm interested in your updates and look forward to more. Are there Thames clubs over there??? If so welcome them to come over here for us
    avatar
    kevbarlas


    Number of posts : 60
    Location : Edinburgh, Scotland
    Registration date : 2010-12-09

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 Empty Re: 1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration

    Post by kevbarlas Sat May 07, 2011 5:50 pm

    Thanks, its not hardened no. Im using it to bend 18 gauge (uk, 1.2mm) and the hinges i used have no play, They are for heavy duty doors and use bearings inside.


    A little re-cap,

    I started by cutting the rusty section out and making a cardboard template.

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 2wnr9yt

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 107jjo8

    I then had a think about how to make it. As you can see it has a slight curve in it the whole length and theres also a curved lip. I thought the best way would be to make the bottom section out of 3 folds then cut the upper 3 section seperatly and weld it all together. Like this.

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 2gt8eid

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 2hfn9ft

    As I was welding I think I may have done it too quick as it did start to distort slightly. I managed to tap it near enough back into shape. The only thing is the part that holds the gutter in place is still a bit warped. I don't know if I'm trying to make it too perfect or if it is actually crap. The part that will be seen once its all back together is ok and so no one would know how it looks. This is how it looks just now.

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 160poq9

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 2wqxvdi

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 18jafp

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 2jc7dqa

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 14kayyo

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 Sb1wk1

    I wasnt too happy with it but after showing my dad and a few other sheet metal workers they say its quite good. I tweaked it a little from when i took these photos and i feel happier about it aswell. I do self doubt myself a lot which can be a bad thing at times. It sort of hit me when one of my friends who does this stuff for a living said that people spend years and years with the proper tools to achieve a perfect flawless repair part. I dont have that much time. I havent fitted it yet as i need to fix up the A post first, its rusting quite badly all the way down from the inside but the way the panels are joined im having to take my time and think about the best way to go around fixing it.

    To be honest. The first part of the van i done i wasnt happy with so i never posted it but seeing as i think i'll re-do it i'll show it here. I really started on the metalwork one night when i was bored and went to the garage instead of home. It was a little bit around the windscreen that had rusted quite badly.

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 Op2ves

    I cut it out and made up a patch, it has a slight slight curve to the panel which i managed to get.

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 Vimekx

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 Kce342

    Then i tacked it in and welded it up. When i dressed it all off i realised i never really lined it up very well on the left. You can see its about 1/2 - 1 mm lower, thats why i never wanted to show it at first but hey, we all make mistakes and its all part of learning.

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 Jpzeie

    Anyways, back to the better stuff.

    I went and bought some really good rust convertor,

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 2pqjaep

    and after filling a couple of holes and cleaning up the top channels i brushed it on. It turns the metal black like this.

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 5un6sn

    I then went and bought an underseal probe and ghetto attached it to my weed killer pressurised spray bottle.

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 16hutfm

    I diluted it with water ( you can dilute upto 50%) It meant i could then spray it inside the channels that i couldnt access so i can help stop whatever rust is in there and it would run down the seams and help stop the rust there too.


    The next thing i started on was one of the brackets that the roof bolts down to the body, i forgot to take a photo of it on the van but here it is once i had cut it out.

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 30icqbq

    I made up a cardboard template, cut it out and formed it then tacked it into place.

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 Nvqwiv

    I then welded it all around. I decided to really take my time with this one. I need to have more patience with the welding so i done a few 10mm bursts then worked on something else whilst it cooled. Done a few more, let it cool, bit more let it cool etc... It seemed to have done the trick, once i ground the crap away i was quite happy with how this section turned out.

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 2w2lssx

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 Rsy0s0

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 Bjan1e

    I just need to drill a couple of holes and fix some nuts on it now.

    I also started on the driver side upper channel. I was amazed to see that although the drivers side is a lot worse along the full length of the van than the passangers side , the channel was not so bad as the passangers?!?! The part that the gutter attaches to was quite rotten but the rest of it was ok. That was actually pretty good because i never really wanted to go through the hassle of making another complete panel. So i cut it out.

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 99laox

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 34pgtvk

    I then went over the inside with a wire brush and painted on the rust converter stuff inside. I cut a 19mm strip out of metal and tacked it to the bottom curved section first then to the top. This section really did try my patiance as its about 450mm long so having to start and stop all the time was annopying but it paid off (practise makes perfect).

    I also feel quite happy about this repair, i still need to continue it forward and back but i need to fix those other sections first.

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 K3nllf

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 2jg5un4

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 2knii0

    Thats all i got done for today. The good thing is, from the 16th of may i took a weeks holiday to get more done on the bodywork so expect a bigger update in the next fortnight.
    G-Man
    G-Man
    Mayor
    Mayor


    Number of posts : 30743
    Location : Fowlerville, MI
    Age : 62
    Registration date : 2008-05-06

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 Empty Re: 1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration

    Post by G-Man Sat May 07, 2011 7:15 pm

    Like I said before impressive metal work
    dix
    dix
    Moderator 1st Class
    Moderator 1st Class


    Number of posts : 8726
    Location : pittsburgh pa
    Age : 66
    Registration date : 2008-05-29

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 Empty Re: 1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration

    Post by dix Sat May 07, 2011 7:23 pm

    Wow nice work. keep it fun......
    kgdb
    kgdb


    Number of posts : 266
    Location : Canada
    Registration date : 2009-12-03

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 Empty Re: 1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration

    Post by kgdb Sat May 07, 2011 8:39 pm

    Nice work! I am a bodyman with over 33 yrs experience so I really enjoy your updates. |Keep them coming.

    kgdb
    67a 100 pickup
    67a 100 pickup


    Number of posts : 1319
    Location : ann arbor, mi
    Registration date : 2009-01-29

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 Empty Re: 1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration

    Post by 67a 100 pickup Sun May 08, 2011 5:53 am

    You are a very talented fabricator and the photos help me a lot on how to make some off the pieces I am going to need for my project. The "digger" was a real nice gift and as you say will last a lot longer than "store" bought, and will probably be passed on.
    Nightmoves
    Nightmoves


    Number of posts : 2214
    Location : Old Hickory Tenn.
    Age : 63
    Registration date : 2008-11-17

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 Empty Re: 1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration

    Post by Nightmoves Sun May 08, 2011 11:09 am

    Man,you've got a talent there.We enjoy the pics.I''d have a pile of scrap iron and a bunch of sore fingers.Keep up the great work.
    Big W
    Big W


    Number of posts : 3282
    Location : Saskatoon,Sask,Canada
    Age : 59
    Registration date : 2011-01-13

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 Empty Re: 1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration

    Post by Big W Sun May 08, 2011 6:33 pm

    The fabrication work you are doing looks great, don't sell yourself short. I have seen guys with journeymen papers using state of the art machines make a lot of scrap metal..lol..Keep cruising forward and YES keep the pictures flowing, you are an insperation to a lot of us who have to deal with rust issues... Now I need to make a metal bender, again thanks for all the pics.
    avatar
    kevbarlas


    Number of posts : 60
    Location : Edinburgh, Scotland
    Registration date : 2010-12-09

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 Empty Re: 1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration

    Post by kevbarlas Fri May 20, 2011 4:11 pm

    End of a good weeks worth of metal work on the van. I wanted to get the upper part of the van done so I could get ready to attach the guttering but I didn't quite get that far. I only have the front, above the windscreen to finish off but I think I made good progress none the less. First thing I started on was the upper channel just behind the drivers door.

    This is how it looked.
    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 Bdqfcp

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 10z9wqv

    So, I had to cut the crap out which left me with this.

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 Ampan7

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 25t9u9l

    I considered cutting further down the panel, just below where the gutter would meet as it is quite pitted. I went over it with the wire brush in the grinder and it stayed in one piece so I left it as it is, if its strong enough to take wire hitting it at 11,000 rpm then that's good enough for me. I will fill the pits with filler later on.

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 Jpfscn

    You can see the panel that I cut out is missing what remained of the face that held the gutter. I cut it off so I could get a better gauge as to the curve it has. Its a very slight curve but just enough to make extra work for me. As the panel is 880mm long I decided it may be easier to cut two pieces at 440mm long and fold them separately.

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 Dbm2w

    I marked and cut them out. Notice that one them has the bracket that gets folded and bolts the roof down. I took a bit of extra time to work that out on the panel to where it should be. Then, halfway through folding it I realised I had folded it the opposite way to how it should have been, doh! . So I cut it off flush and decided to just cut one out and weld it in place when it was finished.

    Now, I don't have any fancy shrinking/stretching machines and my skills aren't quite up to that task manually yet. I can do a wee bit of basic stretching but anything that has more than two faces just confuses me so I cheated. I cut strips into the panel so I could bend it then fill the gaps with weld later.

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 2hygy03

    I tacked it to the body and clamped a bar inside to support the new panel and minimise distortion.

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 10f2yac

    Then, after learning my lesson with the previous channel I made. I welded very patiently and checked it at every stage. It never distorted as much this time. I mean its not perfect but its passable.

    A good tip for filling bigger gaps. Copper, its a welders dream. I never really thought about using it before for helping to fill big gaps until I read about a talented fabrication on the retro rides forum. You can see in the previous photo where the new panel meets the body just above the windows I had gaps that were about 10mm big in some places. Instead of cutting a strip and welding that in I used a bit of copper pipe that I flattened out with my hammer and held it on the inside. Then give it a few spots of weld and because the mild steel doesn't stick to the copper it just gives it something to rest on instead of blowing through. ( I don't know if I explained that very well).

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 2v9c0ep

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 2i084ky

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 20zphmh

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 Vffiaf

    With that done the next thing on my list was the rear. One of the corners was ok and just needed a good wire-brushing and a coat of the rust-converter. The other side, well.....

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 I23eb8

    I began by cutting off the rust ( beginning to be quite a theme)

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 33wmexf

    With the crap out the way I managed to clean it up the best I could and sprayed some rust converter inside the box section using my ghetto pressure gun.

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 33wmexf

    Its quite a tight bend so I decided to make it out of individual flat panels and tack them together.

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 Wuneaf

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 2emkk7l

    Using the copper pipe trick it made it a lot easier to fill the gaps and as it was all tacked together to the body it never really distorted anything.

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 Imrsy8

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 2s6vsci

    Here is the other side that I never had to do anything to for comparison.

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 W2rdj

    Whilst I was at the back I remembered about all the rust that was spreading through the spot welds at the seams.

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 30hv908

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 28t9hs

    I drilled out the spot welds so I could separate the panels and clear out the rust and prepare the panels.

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 212fgh0

    I then clamped them tight to weld them back up.

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 6syurk

    I also went around all the spot welds on the drivers side of the van and done the same to all the areas that needed it.

    So far, the rear and both sides of the upper van are now ready for the guttering (which I still have to fold) . I was now at the stage to start on the front, above the windscreen. To do that I needed to attach the channel I made previously, just above the passengers side. After looking at the A post and humming and hawing, general procrastinating and filling my time by filling in some pinholes around the front windscreen.....

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 2vhwwba

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 Rvaww5

    ....... It occurred to me that it would be silly to attach the channel before I fixed all the holes going down the A post as they both get attached at the top left corner to each other.

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 59yds5

    The A post has an inner channel that is covered by the outer body panel so the only way to properly get access to it is by *gulp* cutting out the nice un-damaged body panel. I thought long and hard about any other way of fixing it without having to do that but in the end I don't want to do a half-arsed job, I want to do it properly and then I can forget about it.

    I drilled out the spotwelds going along the inside.

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 R042yt

    Then thought about the best way to remove a section. I took about 2 hours building up the courage to cut the whole length of the A-post and make a start.

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 1603lnd

    Now, here's where I feel a bit foolish. The exact moment I had cut the panel off I had a very late eureka moment. Instead of cutting down the nicely curved A-post. I should have drilled out the spot welds along the inside of the windscreen opening and then make 2 smaller cuts just above and below the opening, thus leaving the A-post intact, bollocks, oh well.

    Anyway, im glad I did go the whole way and get right into the inner panel as its pretty rotten in there.

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 Sdpb1t

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 25i6avk

    The inner channel was cut out and I done the usual, clean, rust treatment and etch primer.

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 Ivaf86

    With the inner cut out I could get all the sizes I needed to make a replica.

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 X6d16e

    I cut and folded the basic form of the panel.

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 59zuvd

    You can see at the top it spreads out and also curves in both directions. I cut the channel down one edge and spread them out. I even managed to do a little real stretching/shrinking along with the old cut and shut. I cut a V out of some sheet and curved it a little and tacked it into place. I must have lined it up with the body 100 times but taking the time to do that pays off in the end. The bottom detail of the original panel wasn't actually rotten so I was able to cheat a little and cut that piece off and attach it to the new panel.

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 Wi605u

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 2s01gea

    A little bit of a clean up and voila, a new-ish panel to weld back in.

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 2q3uj38

    A little bit of a de-rail but if you intend on cutting a lot of sheet metal I really recommend buying one of these.

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 2l6q2d

    I got mine from machine-mart for about £45 . I haven't really seen it anywhere else but its came in really handy. In fact, its what I turn to most when cutting sheet. It can handle up to 1.6mm sheet and can cut slight curves. It works by placing the sheet between the two discs, the upper wheel is serrated so it grips the sheet and the bottom wheel is a blade. When you pull the lever down it pulls the sheet into the tool and slices through he sheet easily without distortion, It even handles slight curves.

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 118duty

    Anyway, back to the A-post. I tacked the inner panel back in and seam welded it up.

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 2v3ri8y

    After I cleaned it up I was able to spotweld the upper channel I had made previously above the door opening.

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 2nsz155

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 35co3de

    Then came the other moment I was dreading, the reverse of cutting the length of the A-post. The attaching of the A-post. I really really really did not want this to get distorted (obviously) so I took even extra more patience with it. I tacked it along the seam then as I couldn't clamp the spot-weld area I went and bought some rivets and riveted it to the A-post.

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 2n0rgnq

    After about 2 hours of careful welding, and waiting for it to cool down then repeating I was left with this.

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 2zeh0fo

    After cleaning it up I got this.

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 N69anp

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 2vt2ush

    I don't want to blow my own trumpet but I think after all this practise and time spent on the van im getting quite the hang of it. Its obviously got a few slight bumps in it but nothing a light skim of filler wont fix.
    I could then attach both new channels together at the corner.

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 E7njt4

    And a view of what I was trying to achieve in the first place. (don't mind the lower part, that will be dealt with later, im sticking to the top 1/3 of the van first)

    before:
    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 59yds5

    After:
    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 Wvdaxg

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 206mn0w

    That's pretty much all I got done on my week off. I spent about 42 hours this week doing all this. It feels great to have gotten so much done in a short period of time. I wish I never had to work and I could do this all day long but alas, life doesn't work that way.

    Also, ive said it before but i really do appreciate everyones comments and suggestions. It helps to keep the momentum going and makes me feel pretty good about what im doing, cheers!
    econopoor
    econopoor
    Econoline Guru


    Number of posts : 1747
    Location : Jackson TN
    Registration date : 2010-04-18

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 Empty Re: 1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration

    Post by econopoor Fri May 20, 2011 7:22 pm

    I hear you. Making a living sure gets in the way of having fun. LOL. Great to see you making some progress. Excellent job on the A post. Just keep taking little bites and you will be on top of it soon.

    Duane in Tennessee.
    G-Man
    G-Man
    Mayor
    Mayor


    Number of posts : 30743
    Location : Fowlerville, MI
    Age : 62
    Registration date : 2008-05-06

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 Empty Re: 1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration

    Post by G-Man Fri May 20, 2011 8:19 pm

    Is there any part you can't make!!!! LOL Impressive
    Sy Hollinshead
    Sy Hollinshead


    Number of posts : 466
    Location : Cambridgeshire, UK
    Registration date : 2008-10-11

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 Empty Re: 1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration

    Post by Sy Hollinshead Fri May 20, 2011 11:47 pm

    Great photos as usual. Very impressed with the amount of progress you are making, it makes me look positively lazy....!!!! Can't wait to see this van at some shows in the future... Keep up the good work...
    Sy
    wylee
    wylee


    Number of posts : 917
    Location : middletown,ny
    Registration date : 2009-04-03

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 Empty Re: 1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration

    Post by wylee Sat May 21, 2011 2:41 am

    outstanding work sir...................................
    avatar
    kevbarlas


    Number of posts : 60
    Location : Edinburgh, Scotland
    Registration date : 2010-12-09

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 Empty Re: 1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration

    Post by kevbarlas Sun May 29, 2011 10:36 am

    I havent actually done anythign to the van this weekend but, i did buy the donor vehicle for it.

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 19xi8p

    Check it out, 1994 LS400 with all the goodies. 107,000 miles which isnt much on this V8. The cars good but it has a bit of slight damage to the front drivers side and a bit of a crack in the windshield. The idea is i will drive it until i need the engine so i can get used to the power and see if there is any niggles with the engine.

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 3308abl

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 1j5jba

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 Mkao9y

    Heres the damage, apparantly during the winter the guy couldnt get it up a hill so he left it at the bottom and someone hit it and drove off with out leaving detail. Its not bad, just need to bolt the bumper back in place. It does have a crack in the windshield though, which i hope wont get worse.

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 Fnd9wz

    And the reason i bought it.

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 R2t5r7
    toad
    toad


    Number of posts : 355
    Location : ohio
    Registration date : 2010-05-30

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 Empty Re: 1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration

    Post by toad Tue Jun 14, 2011 12:11 am

    Can you come fix my van? I can do mechanicals, but damn that body work. toad
    Vantastic
    Vantastic


    Number of posts : 290
    Location : So Cal
    Age : 54
    Registration date : 2011-02-28

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 Empty Re: 1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration

    Post by Vantastic Sat Jul 30, 2011 12:50 pm

    What's it look like now??? it's been awhile since you posted pic's
    DanTheVanMan
    DanTheVanMan
    Commissioner
    Commissioner


    Number of posts : 7899
    Location : Escanaba, Michigan
    Age : 62
    Registration date : 2008-10-08

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 Empty Re: 1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration

    Post by DanTheVanMan Sat Jul 30, 2011 2:55 pm

    kevbarlas,
    I have to say that your undertaking the restoration of that van is amazing and the work you've done is first rate cheers I can't wait to see how your going to retrofit that Lexus engine in. Keep the updates coming!!!!

    Dan


    _________________
    DanTheVanMan    
    1965 Chevy G10 Sportvan Custom
    1984 Jeep CJ-7 Laredo, Restored
    2004 Kawasaki KLR650
    1997 Jeep TJ Sport

    My Mini Gallery

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 Qr_cod10

    <-<-<- Cruising is not a "Point A to Point B" thing, but an "Everything in between thing!  <-<-<-
    avatar
    bumpbug


    Number of posts : 147
    Location : Riverside ca.
    Registration date : 2010-01-16

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 Empty Re: 1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration

    Post by bumpbug Sat Jul 30, 2011 11:09 pm

    I seen one of these out at a pick a part in rialto ca. not long ago. . . . didn't know what it was.
    Twinpilot001
    Twinpilot001


    Number of posts : 6186
    Location : spokane ,Wa.
    Registration date : 2009-09-28

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 Empty Re: 1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration

    Post by Twinpilot001 Sun Jul 31, 2011 7:34 am

    Nice Work!! When is the last time anyone evere -ever =ever = had seen a hand crank for starting a van??/ look closely.
    avatar
    Guest
    Guest


    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 Empty Re: 1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration

    Post by Guest Sun Jul 31, 2011 7:37 pm

    Thanks for motivating me to get off my lazy ass to do a little work to my own project. I decided to do something about the big hole that took up the entire center 1/3rd of the dash that was cut out for some unknown reason. My biggest motivation was to have somewhere to install a stereo into.
    Your project is looking pretty good. Way to go!
    avatar
    kevbarlas


    Number of posts : 60
    Location : Edinburgh, Scotland
    Registration date : 2010-12-09

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 Empty Re: 1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration

    Post by kevbarlas Sun Aug 14, 2011 3:07 pm

    August 2011

    Its been a very long time since my last update. I have had a busy past 2 months and that has meant not a lot has been happening with the van. First thing I done was get engaged to my beautiful fiance, which meant working more to get a bit extra cash. I then also had a holiday for 2 weeks which meant working even more to get more cash. In the mean time i have scrapped my Fiat Punto. I would need to have spent about £200 getting it through its next MOT so it wasnt really economically sound. I bought it for £70 and managed to get £190 for it from the scrappy. Im now using the Lexus as my daily driver and my pocket is feeling it. £60 a week in petrol just to go to work and back and a couple of other trips is not fun. Driving it with one silencer and side pipes does make up for it though. The sound is amazing, thats probably why im going through so much petrol. So if you afre in Edinburgh and see a silver ls400 being driven loud and hard you know its me.

    So, back to the van. The last time i wrote i had just finished doing the side and rear of the upper channels. I now have the front to do. Its been a little bit of a challenge doing this part. Its hard to see in the photos but the part i need to re-create curves down slightly and to the back. I started on the nearside corner last weekend.

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 9kp3lv

    The way i went about making the panel wasnt the best. I took a while thinking about it and decided to break the panel down into its parts and weld it all back together instead of trying to form the panel before hand. The welding looks very messy here but eh, dont worry about that, im good with the angle grinder Wink .

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 F9gtwh

    I left it like that and went home. I had grinded it but I wasnt really too happy with how i had approched it. This weekend i decided that I really should see if i can form the panel instead of welding a lot of strips together.

    I put a clamp onto one of the wheel drums then stuck it in the vice to act as a form.

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 28suj4w

    I traced around my templatre and cut it out.

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 29nhrgi

    Then hammering over the brake drum i started to form a lip.

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 2mquro8

    I forgot to take a photo of the panel on its own but i felt a lot happier with it. Ive tacked it in place for now.

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 10nzs3n

    I then repeated the process twice to get the majority of the front done

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 Eqz7h2

    I started on the offside corner, the rust has been cut out.

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 2vrtxm1

    I then made a template and cut out the inner panel repair first and tacked it in.

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 2vkyzcg

    By this time it was 5:15pm and as luck would have it, It was also the time i ran out of mig wire, 15 mins after machine-mart closed. I was a bit miffed as it meant i couldnt get more done so i decided to wash the Lexus. The good thing is i will be back at the garage a lot more now as im taking a break from extra work to get back into the swing of things.

    Another thing that im having to do is sell the Consul. I really really really dont want to but im finding it harder and harder to find the time to fix it and drive it like it deserves. The past few months i havent done much to it at all and its starting to resemble more of a statue than a car. I could also actually do with the money. I want to buy a TIG welder and also a cheap run around so im not spending so much on petrol. If anyones interested in the Consul then you can PM me.
    econopoor
    econopoor
    Econoline Guru


    Number of posts : 1747
    Location : Jackson TN
    Registration date : 2010-04-18

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 Empty Re: 1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration

    Post by econopoor Sun Aug 14, 2011 5:07 pm

    Great to see you making progress again. Congrats on your engagement. Any girl that will get out to the garage and help fight rust and rot is a keeper. And she's cute to boot.

    I'd love to buy a tig myself. Looks like a new mig is top priorty. My old one tanked out on me the other day. It bites having to sell your Consul but it will help in the long run. Having only one project will help keep you focused. I bought a driver six years ago and now find it almost impossible to find time to work on my project truck for keeping the project truck running. Good luck on your endeavors.
    Duane in Tennessee
    G-Man
    G-Man
    Mayor
    Mayor


    Number of posts : 30743
    Location : Fowlerville, MI
    Age : 62
    Registration date : 2008-05-06

    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 Empty Re: 1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration

    Post by G-Man Sun Aug 14, 2011 6:59 pm

    Thanks for the update!!!! Always like your pictures

    Sponsored content


    1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration  - Page 2 Empty Re: 1959 Ford Thames camper van restoration

    Post by Sponsored content


      Current date/time is Thu Mar 28, 2024 6:00 am