Withdrawal syptoms

[surferboy]

I'm suffering from withdrawal.. 

I dropped the wagon in at Flames place this arvo ready to be pulled apart and fixed up.


 

[surferboy]

Thank god I've got Cathys 'Ugly Duckling' FE to drive for the next few months   

 

No more boring beige, dirty, rustbucket to be attending the Nats in !

[DN2168]

NOOOO!!

Do the "Ugly Duckling".

Just tell the guys to leave the wagons personality intact .

Dean.

[surferboy]

Dean
I'd love to leave any part of the wagon intact
but I dont think the rust will hold anything intact much longer !

and I can't do the ''ugly duckling" as that would mean spending money on it


and the rebuild begins (or at least the pulling apart )


on the chicken rotisserie


a previous "modification"  (and MORE bloody locusts !)


Flames fitted wheels to the rotisserie and the whole lot went on the tilt tray to the sand blasters, to give them access to every nook and cranny



 

[Paul In Ireland]

Will it be ready in time..... 

[surferboy]

G'day Paul,    The answer is .....       YES



Flames said three months. And gave me an estimated quote

and I believe him        .

But if I rock up to our Nats in the "Ugly Duckling" and I'm completely pennyless you'll know something went HORRIBLY wrong.

I expect it to take a while ( and cost a bit ). We're doing it properly not a patch up job. Theres a few previous "modifications" that need to be fixed up and theres a few minor modifications I want to add to it while its all apart. I want it in tip top shape for our Nats and I want it to last another 50 years.

It's Flames (and his team of specialists) full time job not a weekend fix up thing. I just have to pay for the labour and parts and materials and etc etc etc.......

Got to go now,  I've just received the first bill, so i've got more overtime at work to do 

 

[surferboy]

One of the previous modifications...

the 'Lets just tack weld a new trans tunnel over the old one and leave a dirt and moisture holding double skin' modification


We found a couple of fibreglass repair patches from the original rebuild ( It was built by a previous owner approx 20 years ago)

bottom of both front guards
and the bottom of both rear doors (which are now in the rubbish bin)

and SUPRISE... we found some rust !
heres just some of it






but not as much as I expected

 

[fink fc]

NEVER SEEN A DOOR RUST AT TOP L/H CORNER LIKE THAT BEFORE.MAYBE A BIG RAT LIVED IN THE CAR,LIKE THE PREVIOUS OWNER.GOOD LUCK

[Paul In Ireland]

Yeah, a mild to decent case of tinworm there - have fun!

[surferboy]

Here's some of the other stuff Flames like to work on



 

[surferboy]

And the job continues..

The trans tunnel has had a trim and tidy up... no double skin, no sharp edges and welded ALL the way around now




Found the usual rusty bits
Drivers floor, bottom of pillars and most of the tailgate and rear end.







Drivers side sill
was a bit rusty.....and a different profile to the passenger side sill (and the sills on Flames FCs)


the profiles


every tiny hole gets filled


and after 11 years of driving the wagon all over the country...
my question has been answered

 Q.   What is holding my seatbelts onto the B pillar ?
 A.   One small nut !

So it's being modified with a welded in reinforcing plate


some of the modifications that Flames is doing along the way

Radiator support panel thing. (the original dissapeared during those earlier "modifications" when the bigger radiator was fitted


The gearbox mount has been strengthened so its not supported by 4 bolts through a rusty floor. And modified so gearbox can be removed without ripping out interior carpets and seats 


Got to go now,  and ask the boss for some more overtime
another bill has arrived in the mailbox

 

[surferboy]

And I had to apologize to Flames for the mess all over his workshop floor

after 12 months we're still finding locusts (now I know where that horrible smell was coming from)




 

[fc_ute]

just a little bit of info on the sills, the drivers side had been replaced about 15 years ago but the profile was wrong so i ordered another from rare parts over here in perth. i had lent them a NOS sill about 5 years ago which they used as a template, so they could have there own made up
when i picked it up i thought it didnt look right and told them i would check it when i got home, they said they had sold a lot and no one else had said anything.
when i got back i checked and the profile was wrong so i made a cardboard template and took it back so they could re-do it.
over the years i suppose they have had different guys on the bender and it has changed, so they re did it and now it is spot on
cheers
craig

[customFC]

Looking good Surferboy and Craig.
That sill profile was way off.
Keep the updates coming.
Regards
Alex

[surferboy]

Cathy came around to Flames workshop for the first time since we dropped off the wagon.

She nearly cried when she saw it       


lucky she didn't see it when it was on the rottiserie full of rust holes 



I don't think she fully realized what she agreed to when she said I could spend some money doing it up ready for the Nationals

 

[Stewy]

Wagons looking better all the time surferboy.
just tell Cathy it's like buying a brand new one and will give you both many more miles
together and lots more adventures.
keep up the good work

Cheers Stewy   

[snuff69]

Looking Good  Get back to work and keep that overtime coming    Dave

[surferboy]

Five minutes before I go do MORE overtime 
just enough time to post a couple of pics

The wagons back on its wheels again with all the holes filled in, the undercarriage is all rustproofed and painted. Craigs going to put it back together to make sure all the panels fit correctly before smoothing everything out and pulling it all apart for painting


No more ratty holes in the door


front end together and painted. it looks better when its not covered in dust


can't remember what this was ? I'm sure you can figure it out 



the bottom of a door that was saved, and the holey piece that came of it
Flames found fiberglass repairs in the bottom of all the doors. They were very well done (about 18 years ago) and if I hadn't sandblasted and taken the easier option of rubbing back and respraying they could have been overlooked. Now its all steel, rustproofed and painted

in the driveway





ps I think pic3 was the new sill all fitted. straight,rust free and the correct profile

 

[surferboy]

Will it be ready in time..... 

Bugger

We've blown the 3 month time frame 

But I'm still within the budget   
(so far  )

 

[surferboy]

It's all back together now



well.....
for a short time at least



test fitting all the panels,  the repaired ones and the replacement ones

The bonnet repair was left till last because it was a pig of a job




was rusted through the front edge from inside to outside
but it's all fixed now   

we're playing around with some of the modifications I want
here's one




Now it's primer,bog,rub,primer,bog,rub etc etc time
to smooth out any imperfections  (but it is pretty straight as is)
that rear left patch is from a dent my neighbour put there reversing out of his driveway