Driver's side step

It's been awhile but I finally got back onto some more repairs. Having completed the inner wings it is time to tackle the drivers driver's side step. 

Jacking point has been plated and I am working on the inner sill.

Right hand inner wing complete

The final inner wing is now complete.
I've covered it with a coat of red oxide while I work on the wheel arch and sill.

I'm bolting the wings on instead of welding them, drilled and test fitted.

Brackets have been made to hold on the bumper ends which I'll bolt on too.

Both doors have been removed and I've started to chop out the rust.

I'll get this side finished then I have to make a decision on whether or not to pull the engine and finish the front end or tackle the sliding door

May update

It's been while.
I have spent most of the last month chasing around doing other things, getting a puppy and finishing sorting out the big van.
Heater swapped, all cleaned and new seat covers. A new stereo and it is good to go.
First festival is in two weeks...yay off to Bearded Theory!!

Anyway I finally got on to the t4 today. The plan was to get the front attached and the second outrigger welded in. Job done.

Heaters and Welding

March has been a vey slow month.
I haven't really got much done. We went to Poland to se he in-laws. I had man flu so I have only spent a few days on the van.
 I re-instated the battery tray and started work on the drivers side chassis leg.

I then had a few problems with the welder, so new liner and swan neck fitted.

Finally getting it finished.

Next will be the towing eye to refit and then I can start filling in the inner wing.
I'm now targetting July for my completion date.

Also I need to prep the other van ready for the off in May. First thing was to strip bits out so I could get to the air heater and replace it.

Next step on this is to recover the set foams and obviously get the cupboard back in place.

Poor progress

I haven't got very far over the last couple of weeks. I haven't been very well so haven't managed much at all.

I got the sill and the lower wheel arch back on.

I painted the scuttle panel, but I'm not happy with it and will probably sand it back and re do it.

I also painted the grill support in the colour I'm doing the lower half in. Really pleased with how this looks..and it stopped me buying rubbish off ebay whilst I was stuck at home.

Hope fully now I'm feeling brighter I can get moving a bit quicker with things. I think I've done about a quarter of the welding so still a long way to go.

Small Progress

I got the inner wheel arch finished and gave bits a coat of primer. 
I have the dregs of a can of red zinc phosphate stuff, which I'm finishing up first then its onto the grey equivalent. 

Once everything was coated I did the inside of the outer part of the wheel arch and the inside of the outer sill and have just left everything to dry.

Whilst I'm making progress it just feels like it is never ending and I'm trying to keep in mind the single jobs rather than panicking about the whole thing..

Anyway, I removed the sliding door ready to repair the step. I'm still unsure how to get to it, I guess I will carefully have to remove metal then start the repair as soon as I am back to good. 

Bought some extra supplies, 50 more slitting discs, 10 flap wheels and some belts for the powerfile. Though I think I may need a new one power file as I have just about killed it.

I also need to order a hinge kit for the side loading door and some welding tips.

February starts with a cold snap

This weekend it's been cold. Luckily dry and no snow unlike some parts of the UK.
I've been a bit slow moving but managed to make a little progress.
The van is up on axle stands and the fuel tank is out.

The fuel tank straps are in pretty good condition, they will clean up and have a lick of paint before the tank goes back in. There was a lot more fuel in there than I thought so I'll drain it to make life easier when re-fitting it.

Having got the front wheels off I check the brakes over, the discs are good but I'll put new pads in before it goes back together. I am also going to do a full service whilst the front end is off. I bought a cambelt kit and filters. As I'm going to do the clutch I'm debating whether or not to drop the engine just to make access easy.

I started back on the metal work. Everything been cold it has been really hard work so I spent less hours on the van this weekend. I cut out most of the rot from the passenger side step and repaired the jacking point out rigger first.

A little bit more cutting and I was able to attach the inner sill to use as a datum. I then set to work on the lower section of the inner wheel arch.

Next I repaired the outer lip of the front section. You can't buy this part. I realised that it was pretty close in shape to the rear outer wheel arch. This section is cheap and readily available.The section used in from the other side. 

I'm pretty pleased with the final profile and the wing will fit nicely with only minor fettling.

I also cut out base of the B pillar and investigate the inner side.But left this whilst I concentrated on the wheel arch. There is rather a lot of metal missing. The edge of the sliding door step is also rotted out, but the runner is good so I;m hoping I can salvage it.

Looks like I shall be spending the week searching for pictures of the underside of t4's to work out what the missing bits look like. Next weekend I'm hoping to finish up the wheel arch and the step. I'm sort of burying my head in the sand on this and hoping I can work out how to repair it when I have done the other bits.