the MEGA project begines... episode one...

[vuuup]

hey Zeeman, yer keeping it mostly standard except some minor body work like tail lights and gutters. my budget is small but will pay for quailty work and parts, so will be braking the build up, starting with body work since the mechanical is in ok condition (minus the brakes). once the respray is done i will drive it around till i can afford to do the mechanical properly, then one day may afford to do the interior, dash, and finishing touches.

[Zeeman]

Sounds like a plan. Bodywork is by far the biggest headache. Finding a good panelbeater is a struggle..

Read through this thread, I posted some panelbeaters there:
http://www.buga.com.au/index.php?option=com_smf&Itemid=2&topic=2765.20

Do you have somewhere to store the van for the time it will take to do the work? Nothing worse than having to move a half finished project!

For a full body rebuild, I would budget about $10,000 if you are not doing it yourself. That might sound like a lot, but to completely blast the body & panels, repair the rust & paint in two pack, it's a lot of work. Of course the more work you can do yourself the better. Even if it's just stripping the body & reassembly stuff. Once the body is done, say about another 6-10,000 for complete driveline rebuild (motor,transmission & diff). Fitting decent disc brakes is a good idea, as is an overdrive transmission (Turbo 700 or similar).

The Blast Factory in Coburg North do a great job, plenty of experience with car panels. Probably about 1200-1500 to blast the whole van & spray some etch primer on. There is always more rust than you expect & this is usually the 'oh shit, what have I done' moment.

[vuuup]

cheers for the list, will be making some calls.

i have a backyard with a mega tarp which can just squeeze a beddy in, maybe should talk to warehouses around here and rent a bit of space.

good estimates. i will be striping the shell myself, just not sure how far i should go. will be removing linings, lights, flares, engine, gearbox, tail shaft, petrol and gas tank, windscreen and front door windows, ect... what i am not sure about is, if i remove the engine and gearbox with the cross member, then just put the cross member back in so the van can roll? also does the wiring loom need to come out and any thing else that can be damage or to make room for paint?

also does any of these shops do the full soda blast, rust repair, respray? or do i have to go get soda blast and prime, then sent to rust repairs, then prime and respray?

[vuuup]

been looking into it a bit more and it looks like it is best to remove absolutely every thing, my question is how do you transport a shell with no wheels or do leave the wheels on and get the shop to remove the diff and cross member??

plastic media blasting looks like the way to go. sand blasting sound good as it removes rust as well, but is panel warping a real big problem?

also if i take in the fiberglass panels... bonnet, cargo door, barn doors is there prep or do i just get them sprayed with rest of the van

[BusyKiwi]

just leave it on wheels, if it has no wheels it'll probably be put on a pellet to move it around, when i got mine sand blasted I kept it on wheels and we used a fork hoist to lift it up so could do underneath - lifted from each end

sand blasting is ok if the person knows what they are doing, neither will remove bog and some sealers

fibreglass parts, your probably better off just sanding them down or using paint stripper (and plastic) if the paint is real thick, you wont gain anything from getting them blasted

[Zeeman]

Best to remove the engine / transmission & leave the crossmember/ front wheels & diff. Easier to move around that way.
For blasting, you basically want an empty shell, no hanging panels, with just bare front end & diff wheels.
The blaster can get every nook & cranny that way. Panel warpage is only a problem if the sandblaster doesn't do cars. The Bedford has large side panels which can warp easily if blasted too hard. Talk to Andrew at 'The Blast Factory' in Coburg, he's done a few cars & parts for me & knows exactly what he's doing. You want the van in primer within 24 hours, bare steel rusts very fast.

When removing the wiring loom, make sure you label each connection if you are planning to re use the loom. Plan each stage of the rebuild & exactly what you're going to do, budget each stage as well. With the bodywork it's usually better to tackle in stages, that way you keep more control over the process. With the bodywork, best to do one panel first so you know the shop can do good work on time & on budget. If you just hand them the whole thing & get them to do it all, it's easy to get ripped off. Unless they are a high end panel beaters with an excellent reputation.

Also, you will definitely want some undercover storage for the van, especially if it will be stripped down to nothing.

[Zeeman]

Just to give you an idea, these pics are of a LWB I had done a while ago when it came back from sandblasting. Looked about as good as your Bedford before, but blasting revealed a fair bit of rust. This job was done by ST Blasting & Coating in Dandenong, cost about $1000.

[walzaher]

Zeeman did u do the panel work yourself?

[vuuup]

thanks Zeeman and BusyKiwi, really putting the project into perspective. really good to see some photos of what i need to achieve. where is the LWB now and is it complete?

the fiberglass will be new from ben, so will probably need just a sand.

Zeeman is the cheap guy in brunswick any good, and if so do you have any contacts for him? and does all the list of panel beaters you posted part of the "high end panel beaters with an excellent reputation" category. who would you most recommend around my area. and do they and the blasters and painter have much of a waiting list?

any good links or tips for creative ways to remove the engine and gearbox, as i dont have a engine cross member trolly made up, engine hoist, block and tackle, or even a welder at the moment to make parts. just looking for a way with the least equipment. i do have a metal beam in the sky for my gate which is solid and could use to lift from.

[Zeeman]

where is the LWB now and is it complete?

This one is a sad story. I planned to build a LWB van with a 4" roof chop & a lowered / SWB roof. Had a donor roof in great condition from a SWB van. A mate had just opened a panelbeating business, focusing on older cars. I wanted to help him out with some business. So we worked out a quote & a timeframe. The van was shipped off to him up the highway. He seemed to be making progress OK (pictured below), was paying him in instalments. I kept in touch with him & he kept telling me progress was being made. Unfortunately, not only was he making no progress, he was failing to pay the rent.. when he was booted out, he stored my van outside, in a field, in primer.. you can guess what it looked like after three months in the rain.. rust in every panel. The van was a write off. I managed to get back the money I had paid from my (now former) friend. But the van itself, and my time was a dead loss. Moral of the story? Don't trust your friends! Or, use caution when large investments are made, really.