The Great Royal Nail Rebuild Thread

[Steelie600]

Righto, i've aquired an Escort van off me old pops after the clever sod blew it up, by not listening to me and replacing the cambelt. Engine is buggered, I threw a new belt on out of interest to see if it would start, but nay compression captain. IST BIN KAPPUTT!

So a restoration is in order and im going to fit a 2.0l BGA RS 2000 engine on Bike carbs, onto a 6 speed box hopefully. This will give me decent gearing so it will cruise well but the motor will be pulling 170-180bhp so will have the poke to drag its !Removed! about. Brakes and suspension will also be suitably upgraded too. Exterior is in !Removed! good nick for a 12 year old van. and only needs minor work with very very few dings.

Tother day I took pics of it in its current state and will document every step of the rebuild as I work my way through it.

This is how it started out before I had chance to do owt to it.

[Steelie600]

Right It went a bit quiet for a few days cos of my glass back, but I eventually took enough opiates that I could brave the Van again

So over 2 afternoons (dont do mornings) Ive been sweating, procrastinating, swearing, skinning my kuckles, and generally pulling the front end off the van.
Here are my fruits of my few hours labour and about 2 hours with a jetwash.

























So thats it fer now. When Im feeling the inner Hulk ill drag the engine out, not had enough shredded wheat today. I need to get the diesel pump off, the alternator, and the power steering pump, then the engine will get taken off the box n weighed in. Either that or ill give it a passing pikey save me havin to lift it in the Mondeo boot on me jack jones.

Next job is buy a couple more axle stands get the back end in the air, rear axle tank etc off, and then im either gonna buy or build a rotisserie so I can work on the bottom easier. There isnt much rust underneath tbf but what there is will get removed, treated etc and the whole underside repainted with the rubber protection and colour. Going to keep it red, the VIN plate says red, the inside is red, The engine bay is red, so im gonna re Postman Pat it and ill get my mate to do me some royal nail stickers.

[Steelie600]

This morning I had enough shredded wheat that I was able to drag the engine from underneath the body and strip the ancillaries and put stuff away that I want keeping and ive put the engine on show so hopefully a passing pikey might have it off.

All that needs to come off now is the fuel tank and rear beam and then ill fabricate a Rotisserie so I can start work on the underneath to clean all the scabby bits off zinc prime it all and re do the stone chip etc.

Initially I was gonna get it dipped, but its really too good and straight for dipping. It just doesnt need it, just wants some proper attention. Ill get some more pics of the engine beam etc in current state afterwards. Im dying in agony now after all the lifting and mauling

[FOCA]

Nice one! - not sure about the planned bike carbs though because it may need a catalytic converter (if it is to be used on the road) to pass an MOT emmisions test and the carbs are liable to contaminate the cat - i would be interested to see how you get round that - carbs are normally used on pre- car cars (1991 or earlier) or off road (hot rods/ banger racing etc) not sure about q-plates etc

[Preee]

Looks like you have a good project going there , i will follow with interest your build thread , thanks for sharing.

[Steelie600]

Nice one! - not sure about the planned bike carbs though because it may need a catalytic converter (if it is to be used on the road) to pass an MOT emmisions test and the carbs are liable to contaminate the cat - i would be interested to see how you get round that - carbs are normally used on pre- car cars (1991 or earlier) or off road (hot rods/ banger racing etc) not sure about q-plates etc

Carbs are no more likely to contaminate the cat than an injected car. The biggest plus running singular carbs is the engine is properly balanced, you can control each cylinder individually and make sure each cylinder is working the same as the rest, so in theory theyre better for cats than injectors.

Ill be using a straight thru passive cat anyway, so no restrictions for me! LOL

[Steelie600]

Hallo peeps!! Eeeets me! been busy again today!! Didnt do owt yesterday as I was earning a crust, so today after 6 weetabix and 4 shredded wheat and a can of Monster, I was feeling sparta so got mesen a fulcrum sorted and got the van tipped on its side on a soft bit of carpet and some owd tyres. Inner hulk came out, much procrastination, swearing effort and even a little bottom quack and over she goes!! YAY.

Ive taken the rest of the dangly bits off the van too, the very rotten brake pipes, the mingin dirty rear axle brake compensator, fuel tank etc. Tank looks like its new, defo not 12 years old, but the rear leaf springs are worn and will end up in the bin, rear shocks are shot to sheeet. But now the dog can see the bunny, I can get to all the rust underneath. It seems when they anti corrision treat the vans its done by Stevie Wonder cos it only goes half way towards the rear of the van!! Out came the jetwash and an hour later most of its off, all the crap is off and ready for me to start wire brushing and rust treating tomorrow. Unfortunately I have found 1 bit I need to cut out and replace with fresh metal. So untill tomorrow have some pics!!

[Stoney871]

A true labour of love but definitely looking forward to seeing the beast grow and breathe again.

Keep up the good effort Kev.

[stef123]

When i first come across this I thought, I bet this is another 'project' thread that gets started but never updated. So after looking at the first load of pics I thought this is looking really good, now looking at the pictures of the body on its side - its getting serious

So you have another very interested follower :)

[Steelie600]

this is a real project, not just yer run of the mill chavtastic project! LOL.

Basically, seeing as im on the dole, have the skills and im bored to death. WHY NOT. So far the cost has been £0. I have identified many things that need replacing, many more that can be refurbished. Once the underside of the floor is completed it will slow down, but this is the worst bit for corrosion, and needs treating asap

[Stoney871]

Nice to see proper dirty fingernails mechanics for a change

Very refreshing indeed.

[Steelie600]

Been at it again all day today with my wire brush on th'angle grindette! And I can happily state that the underside of me van is sans iron oxide!!

Ive removed all the rust, treated it with extra strong hammerite rust treatment and ive started to paint the underside with stonechip paint. But I ran out.... Seems 2 mahoosive cans dont go anywhere!! !Removed! burgers....

So need to get 3 more to finish it off tomorrow. I also need to blag a sparkly spanner off someone so I can weld a plate on the rear cross member to patch the hole. I will be fitting a new outer skin to the rear cross member cos its more bent than Dale Winton. But ill patch the inside as its too good to be chopping the back off to replace the whole xmember. Id get some pics but im sunburnt to hell and cant move. Ill get the pics tomorrow.

[Steelie600]

So onto this weekends activities.

Much much wire brushing, and rust removing and I was back to bare metal underneath the floor. A very liberal coating in rust remover and left it to soak in for 2 hours. It was quite theraputic cos I was sat there watching the rust to back to shiny steel!! Was ace!

I jet wash the floor again and then spray on a caustic cleaning solution to get rid of all the grease and leave it to dry overnight.

Then its on with a liberal coating of acid etch primer. The front floor got a new rubberised sound deadening coating. Then the front floor was sprayed in white stonechip resistant primer and the cargo area in grey. and when this lot had dried I painted the front floor with Halfords finest Ford Radiant Red rattle cans.

Im not too bothered about the finish underneath, just that its red and theres no !Removed! rust!! Engine bay and wheel arches ill take more time over, but I can do them when its the right way up better. And when ive welded the holes in the rear cross member I will be black shultz coating the underneath of the cargo bay. I have only used the stone chip for its anti-corrosion properties and to add a bit better sound deadening for the Sounds that I have planned. So here is where im upto now. I cant do anymore till my mate brings the welder.

[stef123]

Looking good.

I thought there might have been more holes but it looks like yours is quite good.

I hope it's a gas mig welder and not one of those gas-less migs?

[Steelie600]

Yeah proper professional Sip with argo shield mate. Im a fully coded welder too, Its part of a mechanics skill set, but we never get seperate qualifications for it so I got my papers so its something I can turn to if needed.

My quals are City n Guilds level 4 Road vehicle systems skills and layouts

City n Guilds level 4 engine diagnosis and repair

City n Guilds Level 3 Chassis technology

City n Guilds level 2 Customer service

City n Guids level 3 Business administration

City and Guilds level 3 Business management

City and Guilds level 2 Welding techniques

Volvo factory Mastertech

Ford engine Mastertech

Turbo Technics conversion specialist

Bilstein suspension technologist

and MOT tester

And I still cant get a !Removed! job!! I think people hate me LOL

[Steelie600]

Looking good.

I thought there might have been more holes but it looks like yours is quite good.

skipped this point

Its only the rear crossmember thats rotten and thats only because of dumb !Removed! postmen reversing it into walls and bending the outer crossmember. Which inturn let in water and in turn the tin worm set in. Im still debating on whether to fix the outer xmember or replace it with a new one. Im pretty sure a couple of hours with a hammer and mole grips I can have it resembling a factory escort again! Just ordered my paint for the outside......... OUCHIE!! £200 up in smoke! LOL

[stef123]

Yeah proper professional Sip with argo shield mate. Im a fully coded welder too, Its part of a mechanics skill set, but we never get seperate qualifications for it so I got my papers so its something I can turn to if needed.

My quals are City n Guilds level 4 Road vehicle systems skills and layouts

City n Guilds level 4 engine diagnosis and repair

City n Guilds Level 3 Chassis technology

City n Guilds level 2 Customer service

City n Guids level 3 Business administration

City and Guilds level 3 Business management

City and Guilds level 2 Welding techniques

Volvo factory Mastertech

Ford engine Mastertech

Turbo Technics conversion specialist

Bilstein suspension technologist

and MOT tester

And I still cant get a !Removed! job!! I think people hate me LOL

Oh no, not an SIP :o I would test if it can float

Your CV must look good, shame someone like yourself still can't get a job though.

[Steelie600]

LMFAO Not my first choice I must admit, but im pretty sure I can tame the beast! LOL

[stef123]

LMFAO Not my first choice I must admit, but im pretty sure I can tame the beast! LOL

A Clarke 151TE wasn't really my first choice either but it's a cracking machine for the money.

Then comes the ridiculous bill for shielding gas... I use the refillable ones now from Adams gas. At least you are getting it for nout

[Steelie600]

Air products is 2 miles from my house, so I just go there. I have a half size canister of argo shield that I hang on to at home. One day ill afford the welder ive always wanted, but until then ill just keep borrowing and using real gas

[Steelie600]

Right, your not that lucky, Ive not died. Been workin at weekend. And today been grafting on the Van again. Knocking dents out and de rusting some more. I would have done some welding, but my mates not come through with his welder, so im gonna have to put my hand in my pocket and hire one ARRGGHHHHHH

Some bad points, its bin attacked with filler before at the back end so im gonna have to get all that off and treat the rust behind it, cos whoever painted it last time just fillered over the rust and didnt treat it! Cockheads!! No pics today cos I havent done the rust repair yet, ill get some tomrrow. But were cracking on nicely, and my aim is to have all the rust treated inside and out, and the engine bay and arches atleast in primer by weekend.

[Steelie600]

Righto piccy time!! just to recap, ive welded plates on all the holes. Seam sealed all the joints, also seam sealed the joints where the cargo bay panels join to stop water ingress (not done at factory) I've fully undersealed the cargo area and rear crossmember.

Also ive wire brushed all the rust from inside the cab and engine bay, treated the rust with rust remover, and zinc primed the problem sots inside the cab and under the front arches. Engine bay has had first coat of Rosso red. Not bothered priming and painting under here as its generally red anyway, so just a light tickle with the emery paper and straight on with the colour. I will give it another coat tomorrow, and then when I shoot the body itll get another coat. So will be a nice deep glossy red.

Heres the pics

[Stoney871]

Bang tidy :d

[Steelie600]

Aye I thought so! Ive even been out to spray the patch I missed by the rear tow hook! LOL

Ill start the body prep next week. Working tomorrow and flying my helis sunday, so Monday all being well ill crack on with rubbing the body down

[Steelie600]

Today ive stripped the rear beam down, reconed the springs, u-bolts, spring plates, shock mounts. Just need my spring brackets now and I can re-fabricate the beam to sit the proper side of the springs so it doesnt resemble a 4x4. Ive also got cossie rear brakes on the way with appropriate mounting brackets. so will have plenty of rear stoppage. Im gonna be running evo front Brembos and 320mm discs up front aswell so brakes will be more than adequate! LOL

Heres the pics








^^ Best tool EVAR!! Parrot beak self tightening pliers!! Id be lost without these!!









Can always tell when its his tea time! He keeps !Removed! barkin at me!!!