Rusted Cab Floor & more...

Oh what to do what to do!!

I bought this van and I got a load of issues with it.
They put down carpet padding and carpet & it sat for over 20 years.
I pulled the carpet and padding and this is what I found.


Any suggestions? Any body paneling out there for our floors? I was thinking of cutting it out and welding metal sheets. Also there is rust in the back right corner of the the van and around the top of the rain wells. I wondering if I should stick with it or part it out

Also the previous owner put a V8 318, transmission is connected but no driveshaft to the rear axle. It came with no carburetor or battery. I got a new battery, and I'm getting a new carburetor here soon. I hooked up the battery and nothing came on. I checked the fuse box and this is what I found.


Here is a price list of what I'm looking at to get these things done. I don't know if its worth it. Or maybe I'm just feeling a bit tired  

Carburetor              150-300
Gas Pedal               20-50
Muffler                     200-300
Disc Brakes             385-500
Title & registration   325
Wire Harness          170
Shocks                     300
Welder                     200
Metal Panels           200-400?

Any help would be great. Thanks guys!

fix it -not way bad!!

Any floor board panels out there to fix it with? Or is it better to make my own?

Dose wrote:Oh what to do what to do!!
...
Here is a price list of what I'm looking at to get these things done. I don't know if its worth it. Or maybe I'm just feeling a bit tired  

Carburetor              150-300
Gas Pedal               20-50
Muffler                     200-300
Disc Brakes             385-500
Title & registration   325
Wire Harness          170
Shocks                     300
Welder                     200
Metal Panels           200-400?

Any help would be great. Thanks guys!

I would suggest the following:
Get something to clean those electrical contacts with.
Radio Shack Precision Electronics Cleaner Model: 64-4345 | Catalog #: 64-4345
or CRC QD Electronic Cleaner Part No. 05103
and some small wire brushes to clean every connector and terminal you can find.
Harbor Frieght has Central Pneumatic - item#68155 for the fuse box, connectors and sockets, plus regular toothbrush style wire brushes for ground straps and battery cables.
Next, I'd install the battery and make sure there isn't anything causing a short that could burn it down! Get a wiring diagram for the van and learn the basic circuits. Remove any junk patches and fix or replace any bad sections.

Then, once you have the electrical at least safe, I'd work on getting the engine running.
You will need to run the fuel from a can at first to avoid spending time and effort on the fuel system. Just run a hose from the can to the fuel pump. Make sure you have a fire extinguisher handy!

Even an old carb can often work well enough to start. See if you can borrow one or if there is one cheap in the local yard.

Check out the "This Is How It's Done" section.
https://vintage-vans.forumotion.com/t23498-how-to-start-an-engine-that-s-been-sitting-the-basics
and
https://vintage-vans.forumotion.com/t31974-van-doesn-t-start-checklist
for more info.

I'd suggest trying to get it running for a couple reasons; it gives you positive reenforcement and if you do decide to move on, it will be a lot easier to sell and worth more.  
Once it's running, get as many other items working as cheaply as possible. Lights, horn, gauges.
Then concentrate on being able to drive it. The driveshaft, brakes, transmission and cooling system all need to work. If you give up now, at least you can show what's been done. Don't forget the fuel system in here too!

At that point, you can worry about fixing up stuff so you can drive it legally. Registration, insurance, muffler, shocks. A gas pedal can be made from a scrap of metal or wood and a hinge.

Only then should you consider fixing stuff that is less mandatory. The floor holes can be fixed cheaper. I'd suggest finding a good repair shop or taking a class (and getting access to tools).  

You can make this a money pit or find ways to ensure that you are at least not making things worse and be able to get out without too much of a loss.

You're awesome!! Thanks Rod!!! This will be my bible to getting it running. I just got home with a carburetor for 60 bucks. It's good, and it will fit. Also got some fuses..and after work tomorrow I'll work on straightening out the wire issues. Thanks again!!!!

How is the rest of the body? If you can't do the body work yourself it is the most expensive thing in the restoration. I'd rather have one that needs mechanical work with a great body. Don

Also start lubing everything that is supposed to move.

I like something a bit more oily than WD-40. A good penetrating oil on metal parts,
Door latches/handles/hinges
pedal pivots
heater and vent door hinges
speedo cable (only spray from the bottom, it will gum up the speedo if the top end is soaked)
carb, shifter and kickdown linkage
Ebrake cable, pivot and cables
any bolts you plan on turning in the near future.


rubber lube or silicone spray for rubber stuff.
door and window seals,
front and rear light gaskets (CAREFUL)
any rubber bushings

a quality grease for all lube points on the steering and front axle
Check diff fluid and steering box fluid when it's ready to move, and pack the front wheel bearings when the brakes are checked/repaired.


Pitts is right, rust and damage are the most expensive things to fix.
You posted a couple pics of it out in a field, how bad is that roof?
https://vintage-vans.forumotion.com/t35265-i-m-back#160308
https://vintage-vans.forumotion.com/t34929-67-a100-for-sale#160247

Don,
The rest of the van is in pretty good shape. It's that damn floor board where I'll be putting my feet most of the time    I'll get some black rubber (Home Depot) by the foot and use that until i can get to welding it.

Rod,
The roof is pretty good, its the rain guards in the back are rusted through. So I'll have to weld that too. I lubed it up once I got it, and I lubed it some more
I'll get some detail pictures up tomorrow.

PB Blaster is the best penetrating oil I have found. Great stuff. Floorboards aren't too hard to do. Be good to have a bead roller to fabricate replacement parts. Almost every A 100 I have seen has rust on the front floorboards from the stock rubber floormat. I wonder why some company never made those parts. My 8 door has no rust at all except the flooboards and of course the windshield pillar. Don

RodStRace wrote:Also start lubing everything that is supposed to move.

I like something a bit more oily than WD-40. speedo cable (only spray from the bottom, it will gum up the speedo if the top end is soaked.

I have to throw my 2 cents here as I just went through this myself. My speedo needle used to sometimes bounce around a bit, one day just went mazzo and would peg back and forth from 0-100 while just cruzin along, drove me nuts and made a big racket. I removed the instrument panel and removed the cable from the panel. There is a 2 piece thing [for lack of a better term] that controls the speedo and odo where the cable connects that when I twisted either one, they were real stiff to turn, I guess from dried out oil. I used a needle oiler and put a couple drops around this area and hand turned them a few times to work it in. It loosened up real nice, slapped it back together and all was good. If you don't have a needle oiler, you can use a long wire dunked in oil and let it drip. Good Luck.

Good call, 69A100

a TINY amount makes it work. A large amount gums it up!
You can also remove the cable and clean it up, then soak it. But, you gotta remove 90% of the stuff before putting the drive cable back into the sheath. It only needs a small amount of lube and the stuff tends to 'climb' up inside.

Just another part that has been subject to years of dirt and sitting that can be brought back to life with the proper TLC.

While up in the cluster, clean the voltage limiter contacts and all the connectors, along with shining up the printed circuit contacts and tightening the amp connectors.

http://www.autoweek.com/article/20130809/carnews01/130809850

RodStRace wrote:Good call, 69A100

You can also remove the cable and clean it up, then soak it. But, you gotta remove 90% of the stuff before putting the drive cable back into the sheath. Just another part that has been subject to years of dirt and sitting that can be brought back to life with the proper TLC.

I had to do that with my brothers Satellite cable that sat in the desert for years. I just spray bombed it with PB, Liquid Wrench mix and hung it in a U shape to free it up. Them just hung it out to drip dry, works great

Regarding the condition of that fuse block, that is where you will have the most electrical issues I believe. You really should spend as much time cleaning the prongs (sandpaper) so you have clean bare metal for the fuses to contact. Looks like a good bit of rust. I had flickering lights as well as dimming issues with other accessories running. Also, the ignition power was affected as the engine would seem like it was running out of gas when under heavy throttle at night with the lights on. This was due to the resistance and lack of full voltage. After reading up further, and doing some checks, I determined that the prongs for a few fuses were oxidized and causing resistance. Cleaned them up and no more flickering, and smooth running under higher rpm running. Just another tip among the many you will get here......a great site!!

A 100a have such a simple electrical system I have torn out all of the old wiring and I'm going to rewire with a modern fuseblock and wire. Don

Here is some more rust The rust is inside the doors too. It's going to be hard to get that out because I can't fit a grinder down in there. Any ideas on that?

Have to replace the wire harness. The wiring it pretty shot from all the weathering.
Any suggestions on wire harnesses, EZ wiring or Painless? I was told ez wiring is shit but I wired my old 64 Chevy van with it and it was fine.
Also the the rust around the top is inside the van too. some parts rusted all the way through. It looks like the factory beading around the top is coming off. Is that silicone? or rubber?

They used seam sealer on the roof overlap/drain channel.
Knock it out with a screwdriver and hammer.
Get a narrow wire wheel you can chuck up into a drill and get that down to bare metal. Apply a rust converter first or just go with an etch primer. If the holes aren't too bad, reseal with seam sealer. If they are too big to simply seal up, you will have to patch or repair.

Cheap 'N Dirty = fiberglass - this does not kill the rust underneath, and it will continue.

Best = cut out a small section at a time and wled in new metal. See the Thames van build!


The rear inside roof corner is a mess. Expect holes in the gutter above.
If possible, knock off all the flakey rust and treat with a rust converter, then ecth prime and seal with POR 15 or a good paint that will keep air out.
Same with the right rear floor, Expect holes in top right rear too.

Thanks!

I came across a few things for the rust.

masterseries rust remover

OSPHO 1G Metal Treatment

Rust removal article

Home Depot's Rust removal

I work at Home Depot and my buddy James in the paint department said Rust removal works great. People come in there all the time looking for the stuff it's so great. Now working at Home Depot I know there are tons of shitty products.. So, i'm not one to know ..YET if it's any good

I know I asked this before but does anyone know where to find replacement floor panels or what kind of sheet metal to use? i did a search here and find only a few side panels

No repair parts for the floors. It's cut out the old, fabricate new and weld in.
Check out the Thames restoration.
https://vintage-vans.forumotion.com/t18092-1959-ford-thames-camper-van-restoration?highlight=thames

There are other forums and threads that show how to make, fit and install patch panels.

Thanks Rod!. I'll keep you guys posted on the build. Thanks again for everyone's help!