[Propshaft]

code name "money pit"

Back on all 4's (for a day or two!)

I originally bought POR 15 for the chassis, but after some research found it wasn't that suitable, so cleaned up the axle, drums, springs and gave then two coats. Wow what a finish and its incredibly durable!

new exhaust on, tank back in. Found one of the handbrake cable snapped as it enters the drum, and the other handbrake cable sheath swollen and gripping the wire. Upon removing the drum, the cable being gripped has in turn led to premature wear of the brake shoes and one was pretty much on the metal. So an unexpected 130 odd quid for two handbrake cables and a set of brake shoes. On the plus side, both sides are dry inside the drums. the previous owner did fit a newer axle, so all good there. All electrics back together, new axle breather and so on. its like a new truck back there!

Went for the g shackles for the rear suspension lift. Not sure how these will fair, but I've fitted poly bushes all round, so should reduce additional squidginess (invented word I think) created with the extra bushes.

Jets washed (with that high power spinning nozzle) the front of the chassis and got the majority of loose rust off. Next on the do list starting this morning:

jack up and make safe, drop the struts, brakes and various.
Clean up the front section of chassis and treat.
Fit front body lift, suspension lift components
fit new springs (one is broken)
new discs and pads maybe (previous owner gave me new pads)
Anything else found worn or broken!

 

[Propshaft]

and to add, the rear cab mounts lined up perfectly. that was my biggest fear since I didn't give enough thought to bracing the chassis and didn't envisage i'd have to do so much weakening/welding of the chassis.

 

[Propshaft]

The business end...

front suspension stripped out, steering rack, driveshafts in order to access as mush chassis as possible. Yes, I should have just taken the engine out originally, but in my defence I never intended to go this far!

Descaled the chassis as much as humanly possible and in the process of treating with RC800 before a spray coats of chassis black. Took off the front fender expecting access to the chassis internally and met the front plate. ground out the front plate to find a small partition in the chassis, so ended up taking out another hatch!. it all needed to come out anyways to get full access and rust treatment. Rusty bugger, but far more original paint found, and far far less corrosion.

Went to extremes with descaling and recoating all removed parts as you can see. it's turned into a nut/bolt resoration at the front. Various components not failed, but in the post. a few steering/driveshaft gaiters in need of replacement. one of the tie rods on the steering rack with a bit of play.

Poly bushes and a fair whack of suspension components inbound from Milners.

Should be onto the nice assembly jobs very soon.

 

[Propshaft]

Front end is progressing.

After the many hours spent removing parts, descaling, cleaning, masking I finally finished the front chassis. Internally waxoyl'd as per the rear, but this time went with thinning it about 20% and put about 4 coats over the space of 10 days. A few coats of RC800 again on the bare chassis, then a good couple of coats of chassis black, then this time I went with dinitrol 4941 as a final coat (I don't want to have to do the front again for a long time!)

Suspension components built up and started to fit them. ARB, steering rack etc starting to go back in. Also built the front end up after I stripped and gave the front panel a rub down and repaint. it was starting to get quite scabby.

Went with terrafirma shocks in the end. the old ones were so worn that anything would be an improvement!

o/s mock up showing UCA contact with the coil bucket. not sure which way to go with this yet. either machine down a bit to help, fit a bump stop, go as is etc. Dont have the budget to go for custom arms!

Also new front brake lines and steel hoses . steel line on the o/s was badly pitted and found crossed threads on one union, and an overtightened union on another, so basically all new front brake lines.

pics:

 

[DeviousNavara]

I'm amazed at how this truck is looking! Good work and good luck with the remainder of the work.

Sounds like it's going to better than brand new when it's done!

 

[Propshaft]

too F'ing cold!!

Finished off the running gear.

Rear shocks fitted, braided brake hoses fitted, handbrake cables fitted, and also replaced the brake lines out to the rear axle, just because it was easily done with the tub off, and having the swivel is a huge advantage for replacing hoses.

Front is all back together, replaced the rear diff oil seal also. preload torque seems within spec after a minor nip past where it was originally (as per manual) so fingers crossed!

Started on the body work (going for a full respray).

Had bad rust above the windscreen and finally decided not try and bodge the paintwork and plucked up the courage to remove the windscreen. Been researching removing bonded windows DIY style for a while, and finally took the plunge with a cheap removal kit from ebay. really took my time with it and managed to remove it in one piece . Now its out i'm glad i did, it would have leaked badly as you can see and the back of the headlining has some watermarking.

Interestingly from the bonding underneath, the windscreen has been replaced at some point, and although seems fitted very well, it looked like it had dropped a couple mm and the seal wasnt touching the top of the aperture. this is likely why it has rusted so badly, since water can get in there far too easily.

Its arguably too cold for working out in there at the moment (-10 tonight) and definately too cold for painting. will continue stripping and prepping, but its going to be at least april before i get some real progress on it.

Also removed the drivers seat and stripped out the seat base. the switches are broken, and the drivers seat pad bolster is disintegrating. Ordered some foam and glue etc and will get it back to a nice comfy seat again for less than 20 quid . pics to follow.

 

[Propshaft]

the roof has been a bugger so far. grinder, peanut grinder and many treatments with jenolite and a wire wheel to rid it of rot as far as I can. no welding which was a bonus, then the filling and shaping. the roof is ready for its first coat of primer.

Rest of the car pretty much stripped and working on the doors at the moment. the cills and bottom sections of the doors have been stripped back bare. spot welds and a rash of corrosion starting. theres nothing eating into the metal, just the beginnings of the factory protective coating failing, so it made sense to strip bare. positives are that there are very little dents and the bodywork is straight.

Very cold ATM!

Heres progress so far. hoping for a dramatic change in temperature so I get some proper painting done. As you can see i'm going for a full colour change. at the moment i'm considering Audi Nardo Grey, or a powder blue.

 

[SAMOKEEFE]

Proper job :awesomework

 

[Propshaft]

Thanks, life has got in the way of this over the last couple of months, but i'm pretty much clear of that now, and hope to get some shiny new paint on it over the summer

 

[tigger24]

fantastic job, going to be better then new when finished !!!!
So impressed, and well written with pics !

 

[Propshaft]

its no longer black

after inspiration from @superblack , I looked into using 2k paint, and made the leap. Thank you sir .

Everything repaired, rubbed, flatted with red scotch pad, cleaned, cleaned again, rubbed, cleaned, fixed (you get the drift!), I finally gave the old girl a couple of decent coats of 2k epoxy primer. My first attempt with this type of paint, and I haven't done too badly I think. It's little bit orange-peely as I was a little bit cautions putting on it on. Second coat went much better. its thick paint and you can really throw it on. will be flatted back anyways. Its so much better to paint than conventional air dry paint.

looks a bit odd with the wings hanging out there. I needed to get 2k on the sills behind the wing











cheers, Al

 

[superblack]

Nice one , looking good. Give it a day or two then whack some black grafitti on with a rattle can, then wet flat back. When you put the 2k on just be aware that unless its baked it still stays soft for a few days ?

 

[Propshaft]

yes, I managed to get my palm print on the A pillar late on Saturday night. doh. seems to melt a bit as it dries, so a far better finish yesterday. Really impressed with it. What grit would you recommend for flatting? 600?

 

[superblack]

yes, I managed to get my palm print on the A pillar late on Saturday night. doh. seems to melt a bit as it dries, so a far better finish yesterday. Really impressed with it. What grit would you recommend for flatting? 600?

600 will be ideal

 

[Propshaft]

No huge progress. Just plodding along with a couple of fiddly bits.

1: Roof skin joint. I had to dig out the old material in order to tackle the rust. It's had two coats of epoxy primer in the channel, so time to replace the material . I've been dreading it for a while. I made up a template of the profile using an old spreader, and although the width isn't uniform throughout, it was near enough to get a consistent profile. A cerefull bit of cleaning after with white spirits and a rub up with wet 600 grit and scotch pad the next day, and its looking good enough for some primer

Nearly a tube of tigerseal per side!!









Also threw a can of gravites onto the sills. flatted back where it transitions and hit it with a good thick coat of epoxy primer.

The main body is very close to final flat and hit it with colour (sample pot should be arrive this week)

 

[dobblerdave]

This is an amazing resto, it reminds me of the "good ol days" when i was a painter
love the work and the attention to detail going in to this, you are clearly someone who takes pride in their work.

 

[Propshaft]

This is an amazing resto, it reminds me of the "good ol days" when i was a painter
love the work and the attention to detail going in to this, you are clearly someone who takes pride in their work.

Thanks for the kind words Dave

 

[Propshaft]

thought it was a good idea, since i'm going to such an extend on the door shuts etc, to strip the underside of the bonnet and give it a quick rub up and whiff of colour.

Well 3 hours later its ready for a coat of primer. F my Life what a nightmare. On a similar theme to the bottom half of the whole cab, its got the rash! no majorrust as such, just the galv coat starting to fail.





Al
.

 

[Banxi]

Lookin good. Keep it up

 

[Propshaft]

Operation "Forth Rail Bridge"

Been a while since my last update, but plenty been going on.

Not a stranger to automotive painting, but not to full colour changes on a huge truck, and not with modern paint systems, so theres been a lot of R+D on my part, upgrades and testing on bonnets and the likes.

More time involved with additional compressors, water filtration, breathing equipment, even down to the lighting in my shed, which has been fine up until now, but for painting/prep didnt really cut it.

Many hours wet sanding, prepping, polishing and its nearly time to put humpty together again. (minus rear tub!!)

Paint colour is likely marmite. Its Porsche's "chalk grey". its got a bit of green tinge (musty old school) to it, which i like, its much lighter than the audi colour which can look a bit drab, and theres a nice contrast against black. Most will just say "its just undercoat" though

Most pics are straight out of the gun without any wet sanding or polishing except the bumper. It's all wet sanded and polished now and i'll take some decent pics later.