What did you do today?

[Handy Don 12,217]

14 minutes ago, Stormin said:

27C = 80.6 F. A tad warm for me

Read yesterday of the UK "Red Alert" for temperatures--some places predicted for up to 40ºC. Where folks are unused to, and ill-prepared for, such high heat it can really be dangerous.

You did well to pass on the strenuous work and work on different "fences".

[Tractorhead 9,064]

Found a little time yesterday to continue the Boogie Van a little more.

To remember you with what i started .....

 

this was an inside view from the left rear fender to outside before i start reworking

the other side was what is now nearly finished was that bad either. Maybe a little more worse.

 

 

My plan was to have the right side nearly finished until now, but life and reality and time shows me,  just a fract of it is done now.

The bigges mistake i did, was not to compare before the outside panel with the rest of Structure.

they both have differen radients what was firstly visible after i welded it in.

That results in a gently wave of 2 mm and because of my Arm lenght are too short to hammer it out,

i must close it with a little Bondo.  not much for the most but i would do it without.

dang 

 

 

I don‘t like bondo but i have no possibillity to come between the metal parts with the Dolly.

But hey this Van has so many dents, so i will accept it also with a little Bondo here and there.

 

New parts repair sheetmetal is here extreme hard to find and the Prices for a complete Panel price is that horrible,

so i decided the Van is now 39years old and it can tells it‘s Story from hundrets of vacations over the Time.

I believe it is not a real shame if few marks from removed dents will be seen later.

It cannot become a brand new car. It should be a honestly Weekender - no more no less.

 

Most will give up that Project, because i found lot more structural Metalwork what must be done,

Also the frame is partially rotten in the Front under the suspension springs and so on.

That was the revenge of worse care over the years.

So let‘s do it Step by step with an eye to the importanst things first.

 

 

i made a new Panel for the inside

 

I sicked it to enstiff it little more. The holes show the holes for the Bumper.

This Panel is made of 1,5mm thickness Sheetmetal.

 

 

on the left side you can see a before Pict what was on the Right side cutted out allready completely

 

 

 

To reimprove my Skills they allmost faded by hammering out dents with hammer and Dolly i tried to remove a dent out of the Rear Sidewall on the right side.

I was able to hammer it nearly out. This was one of the bigger single dents, nearly a thumb deep impact on the right side.

similar to the left side but a little deeper.

 

The left side looks horrible either, but this height i can reach with hammer and Dolly when the Windows be removed.

Sadly a previous owner has hammered it out but very ugly.

i hope i can save that Panels.

  

 

 

Today i begin with removing the whole inventory 

 

Dismounting the Kitchen

 

Remove the old fridge

- if it works, it becomes my Workshop fridge.

 

 

Who in the real World mounts real ceramic in a Campervan?

That clears the Weight of the Van a little more.

 

After i removed all the Wirings - whaaaa what shall bring fuses middle in a Van by completely unsecured Wires to them?

Wires run partially on unsaved blank sharp Metal without any caution os scratching.

A typically beginners Fail. All wire where Attached directly to the Battery without any Fuse...

whow, How brave must a man be to do such electric.

 

So removed the Battery and unwired all from the Terminals.

Time to unscrew the rest.

 

 

 

At least i use an hour or two to remove the Silicon, what sticks the rubberseal arround the Roof.

The Gelcoat has some rips and must be als reworked,

so a grinder will help me remove the rest of the dirt what silicon remover was not able to do.

 

steady but extreme slowly ...

[ebinmaine 67,472]

31 minutes ago, Tractorhead said:

Boogie Van

Quite the impressive project Steve. 

 

Slow but sure my friend. It'll get there.  

 

The van is in good hands.  

 

 

[squonk 41,100]

You need one of those " weld the stud to the panel and pull it with a slide hammer" kits

[Tractorhead 9,064]

15 minutes ago, squonk said:

You need one of those " weld the stud to the panel and pull it with a slide hammer" kits

 

I thinkering about that mike,

but i hope with the planishing hammer and dolly i get it out mostly.

it is extreme time consumpting i knew that and time is my rarest goods.

Thinkering about to invest another 3 Day‘s for the right Side

to be able to remove the Bondo nearly complete and try if i can get it out much better.

My goal is 0 Bondo

 

On the other side, there is so much massive Work, i hope i can it solve within the 2 Years i have planed.

Not to forget 

Drivetrain out, rework, new Sealings and reinsert

Rear Axle out, fix Structural damages, reseal Axle, reinsert

Remove Complete Front like grill and Axle do a new Structures and rebuild worn or rotted Parts

Complete Paintjob on the Boogie Van ( i will ask a Friend what he wants for that)

Underfloor Sealing with a Bedliner Coat

Flooding the whole underfloor with Mike Sanders after the Paintjob ( that will be discussing what Bondo does with that Grease)

 

remove the Composite roof and rework the Whole Gelcoat or maybe on the Van if it can be made

Build a complete new interior as i would like to have

 

2 years appears to be a strong Timeline for that all, but firstly it must become Roadlegal.

Than i can it Ice to remove the dust and dirt and also the underfloor sealant what is now debris.

make it Roadlegal again and get a History Lizence plate.

 

[Tractorhead 9,064]

1 hour ago, ebinmaine said:

Quite the impressive project Steve. 

 

Slow but sure my friend. It'll get there.  

 

The van is in good hands.  

 

 

I hope so, i will do my best.

Thanks for your moral support.

 

[elcamino/wheelhorse 9,297]

@Tractorhead Just remember to allow time for your Big Show visit next year

[Ifixoldjunk 778]

Cleaned the buildup out of the old mosquito fogger. It was running a little hot. Flywheel put up one hell of a fight coming off.

[Handy Don 12,217]

16 hours ago, Tractorhead said:

On the other side, there is so much massive Work, i hope i can it solve within the 2 Years i have planed

Your postings remind us that the journey is at least as important as the destination. I am in awe of your willingness to invest time and treasure to bring this van back to a good life!

[Stormin 9,981]

 Went for my fence posts this morning. After lunch ripped out the first section of old fencing. Can't take to much down as a certain pooch would escape.

  To put the first section of new fence in, it is being fastened to the drive gateposts with right angle brackets. Sounds simple eh! Yes. Problem working on my own. Trying to mark out, drill and fix the brackets, fighting the vegetation and not to mention the heat. 31C = 88F and climbing. Who says England is a cold and wet country?

It's mounted now and that's it till I can get some brackets to fasten panels to posts. 

  

[sjoemie himself 3,068]

@Stormin you're a brave man with those temps. Our 'cold-frogland' (kouwe-kikkerlandje) has seen 35°C/95°F today.

All I could do was work in my shed/garage/barn-thingy because outside was way too hot for my liking. Did'nt feel like grinding and welding today so I finally installed and plumbed a small wash basin so I can scrub my dirty paws in the shed instead of in the house. My gf (and myself) is pleased with the outcome. That's a win in my book..

 

 

Edited July 18, 2022 by sjoemie himself
Typo, thanks to lovely auto-correct

[Stormin 9,981]

 I was only out there at intervals. 10 minutes out, then 10 minutes in my nice cool workshop. Repeated several times. 

[Tractorhead 9,064]

Ya do it right Norm,

and lot of drinking is urgently required in this Heat.

 

 

 

[Tractorhead 9,064]

17 hours ago, Handy Don said:

Your postings remind us that the journey is at least as important as the destination. I am in awe of your willingness to invest time and treasure to bring this van back to a good life!

Lucky me found yesterday a Source of rebuild Frame parts, so the rework time can be reduced a little.

But it must be made absolute accuracy.

 

I ordered the Parts, than i will see how much work it is definitely and how i can do it.

it seems i must build a Construct to rework the Frame in the needed accuracy.

 

[Handy Don 12,217]

18 hours ago, Tractorhead said:

I ordered the Parts, than i will see how much work it is definitely and how i can do it.

it seems i must build a Construct to rework the Frame in the needed accuracy.

I do not want to rain on your parade, but sometime getting an assist from a shop with the right tools (like a frame straightener?) can be worth the cost.

[Tractorhead 9,064]

8 hours ago, Handy Don said:

I do not want to rain on your parade, but sometime getting an assist from a shop with the right tools (like a frame straightener?) can be worth the cost.

 

All is fine Don,

your suggestion is absolute correctly.

a friend of mine is a Car Bodyworker, who will help me in this critical part of restauration.

To make it complete allone is would blast my possibilities.

 

[Stormin 9,981]

 Finished the first section of the fence today. The last post was really hard to get in. The others weren't much better. When I bought this place 20 something years back, I moved the double gateway and replaced it with a single gateway, leading up the the front door. The base edge for the gate post I removed, was just where I wanted/needed the last post. Murphy strikes again. 

  Spade, BIG chisel, lump hammer, crow bar and 1-1/2 hour later the post was in position. How does that saying go about mad dogs and Englishmen and the midday sun?

  Anyway, by 3-30pm fence finished. 

 

 

 

  That should get me a few Brownie points. Maybe!

 

 

  

[squonk 41,100]

Took fence down. Cut down some wild sumac in the neighbors "forever wild" section behind their shed that grows over our fence. Wife's  garden backs up to it. They have it fenced off so they don't have to look at it and don't maintain it. All the sumac and wild cucumber vines end up over here. There's a Maple growing in there that will uproot their shed someday. 

 

Put fence back up. 85 ° F with a heat index of 95°

[ineedanother 1,369]

On 7/17/2022 at 9:43 PM, Ifixoldjunk said:

Cleaned the buildup out of the old mosquito fogger. It was running a little hot. Flywheel put up one hell of a fight coming off.

Great PM to get the dust out. I rebuild/repair Stihl as a bit of a hobby and for flywheels I back the nut flush with the end of the crank (so not to peen the crank) and use a large center punch straight on the crank. That hasn't failed me yet and I've never damaged a crank or crank bearing. Been doing it for many years.

[19richie66 17,500]

Met up with @dells68 Dell and his family today. The guy picked me up a shirt at the show, personally delivered it to me on their way to the beach. Kind of out of the way for them. That is what I love about the people I have met here. I cannot thank him enough. Wish we could have hung out for a while but I had to go to work by the time he got close to me. Thanks brother!!

[Stormin 9,981]

   Yesterday morning told SWMBO I was going to have a relaxing day. "I don't blame you", she said. "You've worked hard on the fence."

   I then checked the weather forecast. Rain on it's way, on and off for the next few days. Today, Saturday,  forecast for all day and night, to start soon. 

   So I thought I'd better get the green and verges mowed before the rain arrived. Got it done, tractor and deck cleaned. I take the deck off to clean underneath. Started to drizzle a tad just as I finished. 

  Sun came out after lunch, so did one or two little jobs outside. Now what? I thought. I know I'll start on the next section of fencing. So the first panel is now fastened to the other gate post. 

  SWMBO had been out all most of the day, except for lunch time. When she returned late afternoon and saw what I'd done, "I thought you were going to have an easy day", she said. "I got bored", was my reply. To that I got 

 

Edited July 23, 2022 by Stormin

[elcamino/wheelhorse 9,297]

Spent the morning with my son , putting new pump and lines on his **********________ blank log spliter. Has a vertical shaft motor which mean everything is a BIG PITA . No leaks , drips (except for a lot of sweat) or strange noises so I am home sitting on my A** in the A/C . 

[lynnmor 7,305]

My TRASH trash collector was four days late so I gathered up what an animal scattered and the wind blew out all over the place. I then pulled weeds followed by watering the newly seeded lawn.  Not going back out today and no more outdoor activities planned till this heat wave breaks.

[Stormin 9,981]

  Two panels and a post fitted between rain showers. I was hoping not to need to do anything with the hedge except cut it back to clear where the third panel goes. But that Murphy is still around. The main root for that was right where the post had to go. 

  That took some digging out. Had to use a felling axe to cut through the roots. It's out now but I've called it a day. 

  The forecast for tomorrow is for a fine day until late afternoon. So I should be able to get the post in and the third panel secured.

  That brings me up to a big lilac bush. After that is another length of hedging.  I'll miss anymore roots. Getting the posts in is bad enough with the hard ground.

  

[squonk 41,100]

Mowed some ding weeds!