[chris161190]

72 Bay Resto

So I've had a thread going for quite some time now but i thought id put up the full story if anyone fancies a read, these pics are going from when i bopught the van off ebay in 2007 to present day and updating as i do anymore, (and theres more to do!) the welding and spraying was done professionally at a autoworks near to where i live we went down a lot and did wiring etc whilst they were working and so there are pics as it has gone from what it was to present day at present i have about 123 different photos so ill be trying to upload the majority of them if i don t get too bored... happy reading...
Chris.

Not quite as empty as the photos suggested he used us as a mobile tip to get rid of all his old crap, there was beer and ketchup from the 70's back there!

All looked ok n pretty sound, i was new to the scene at this point only being 16 so really didnt have a clue what i was looking for, we began to give it all a good old cleaning out to see where we stood.

Chris.

 

[chris161190]

Engine looking a bit sorry for itself, still ran though...

Bloke was even kind enough to chuck in some brand new seals... from some other random car!

TailGate and Engine lid looked pretty shot near the bottom.

Usual rust patches on the Front Panel

Good clean out seemed to be doing ok, turned out to be cleaner inside than we have first thought.

After driving it to the autoworks...

Paint removal revealed the lower six inches of most panels needed replacing

Again more pics from another angle they were pretty well hidden by any old crap someone had tried to repair them with.

Chris.

 

[chris161190]

New Front Panel Welded in, Looking better already

divider put in where the lexan roof will be seated... Never much liked Pop-Tops...

Gonna need some looking at!

New panel welded in.

Panels were alright on the drivers side, Maybe it was sat at an angle in a big puddle

 

[chris161190]

IN FOR PRIMER!

Was flattened off n shot again with more primer then repeated to try n achieve the highest level of straightness they could, looked very straight in the booth but you never can tell till your in nice natural daylight...
So what seemed like an eternity passed and the van was left primed with no real clue when they were gonna spray the thing, eventually after weeks of going round every week to 'check progress' (egg them on a bit ) we turned up one saturday with my dad to complain (well no one takes two 17 year olds seriously) and it was being painted as we arrived!

Its A BMW colour if anyones interested, space grey i think it was called, looks really nice in the sunlight, got a nice sparkle to it and hides and minor ripples in panels etc

 

[chris161190]

Getting the lights plumbed in and sorting out the mess of a wiring loom, luckily my best mate did A-Level electronics and knows his stuff with wiring so weve pretty much roped him in through the whole project... Cheers Ant.

Nice bright halogens should keep us seeing in the dark

bought some empi 5's and tyres for £400 from midlands wheels, not a bad price, they do look a bit swamped by the size of the van, i wanna lower it in the not too distant future but only by 2-3 inches or so just to make accessibility easier ha!

Rear lights and Hazards working nicely

That most important thing installed, the radio.

Out in the day looking rather nice

And all lit up nicely...

Right off to work, somethings gotta pay for it, more updates if i have time later tonight...

Cheers,

Chris.

 

[caz75]

excellent work , cant wait to see some more of this

 

[parkieboy]

You and your mates made a great job of that our kid!

 

[shielsy]

first class j0b there looks the dogs bollocks owen nw

 

[chris161190]

Cheers guys apreciated, got some more pics to follow...

 

[chris161190]

Some general tinkering in our own garage after all paint and welding had been done, fitting the washer jets, seals windscreen etc, also found some mirrors on ebay for about £13 each not sure how well the 'chrome' will last but at that price i really dont mind replacing!

Chris.

 

[chris161190]

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[chris161190]

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[chris161190]

engine removed for an overhaul going completely stock with it for now cos of insurance two 19 year olds ain't cheap!

Finished on the bench ready to go in... Loving the Neon Green tin!

And in!

Chris.

 

[chris161190]

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[chris161190]

these are pretty much up to date of present day (feb 2010) more work tomorrow the van is MOT'd and were scrimping for insurance atm lol really wanna get out n about in it, were lucky enough to have an economical daily so we can go for a low milage policy until the NCB starts coming through ha...

Whilst chnaging the brake system fluids we took the calipers off and painted them in high temp paint and lacquer to give them a fresh look, think it goes well with the anthracite empi 5's?

Well thats all so far will update more as we do stuff probably within the next few days theres coverings for the sofa and some strip lighting along the top also got some xenons for the headlamps as there a bit too dull for my liking

Cheers Guys,

Chris.

 

[Natcab]

Looks pretty dang cool boys!
Nice too see something new & fresh, some good ideas.
What did you do for the headliner?

 

[caz75]

wow that is so impressive , great work , wanna start on mine next :lol:

 

[Roadkill443]

good work, i love the roof my bay is still a long way off this but inspiring stuff

 

[chris161190]

Looks pretty dang cool boys!
Nice too see something new & fresh, some good ideas.
What did you do for the headliner?

Not done the headliner yet, am gonna get some aero ply and wrap it in headlining material and pin the boards up, it will make a seemless join throughout the whole thing, the cab area will be as normal with the steel rods holding it in place, cheers for all the comments guys...
Getting to work on it now...

Chris.

 

[DocVW]

Bought some Lexan polycarbonate to sort this son of a bee sting out, as well as some rubber seal, in all the Lexan was about £120 for an 8x4 sheet and the rubber about £50 for 10 meters or so think we ordered 12 to be on the safe side :incheek:

bloody tough stuff we broke two hammers trying to smash an off cut and still no luck ha will scratch fairly easily though...

Chris.

Not surprised you broke two hammers!!

That's the stuff they used in the Robot Wars arena's to hold the robots in. Seriously strong stuff!!