Post by grumpynorthener on Dec 6, 2023 8:23:45 GMT
Nearside rear door profiles are now complete
Just the profiles on the spare wheel door to finish off
I'm now on with preparing the smaller / trim parts that will require painting
There's 9 internal metal window surrounds - they have all seen a life and and require some remedial repairs
These are being profiled as required
Once I've completed the surrounds along with the remaining small parts that require preparing for primer & paint - I'll then remove the bolt on panels on the van and complete the profiles on the flange edges / panel returns that I can't currently access
Post by grumpynorthener on Dec 7, 2023 8:56:30 GMT
Spare wheel door completed
So that's all the panels that are on the van completed with exception of the flange edges that are addressed when the panels are removed
Last of the inner window surrounds being completed
And these are all now completed
Steering wheel has a fine finishing filler applied and I'll profile that back this morning
Front bumper bar irons have been shot blasted
But are too heavily pitted for just painting as they are
Hence these also have a skimming filler applied
And are being profiled back
And just when you think that you have finished with the preparation work - There's another box full - Most owners just don't vision or see the amount of work that goes into paint preparation especially on the older style vehicles like this which have numerous small painted parts
Post by grumpynorthener on Dec 8, 2023 7:42:08 GMT
Steering wheel profiles advanced
All the finger grip grooves have to be profiled individually - There's very minor hairline cracking in the original moulding and these have to be filled otherwise they would show straight through in the freshly painted surface
I eventually got there
Now ready for primer
Then the box of bits and even now I can think of another few parts that need preparation for paint - There's the starting handle for one and the heads of the front bumper bar bolts too - I'll have a final check through the other parts up in the stores to see if there's anything else that needs paint
Quick tip for sanding areas that are tight on access - A plastic spreader normally utilised for applying filler used inbetween the abrasive works very well
That's the bumper bar irons out of the way
The internal window surrounds have ugly gaps between the frame & corner fillets
These had seam sealer applied to them over a base primer to neaten them up - The open gap to the centre of the front bumper bar irons was also sealed against water ingress hence preventing a future rust trap between the leaf's of the irons
Post by grumpynorthener on Dec 9, 2023 7:36:47 GMT
First job sorted yesterday morning was the measure of the materials & fabrics required to advance the vans interior trim
Then place the order for the said materials & fabric - Mrs GN will be returning home from working away on a film set over the holidays and will advance the make up of the seat covers for me
Still on with fabric - The roof on the Bradford vans is fabric - originally a one piece canvas type material which is no longer available and just as well because it holds a short lifespan - other roof covering materials are available but not always in the correct width - I need 1.6 metres wide and the vast majority of roll widths are only 1.4 - 1.5 metres wide hence resulting in a main centre panel then a 300mm section stitched on each side to create the width much like period vinyl roofs - looks ok but would be much better undertaken in one piece - Most of the roof materials don't tend to form or stretch to the shape of the rear radius corners and tend to wrinkle / pucker
So after much research I located a one piece 4 way stretch small grained vinyl 1.8 metres wide - result but not really
Because its not available in the required colour of black
Its chocolate brown
But I've been here before and a phone call to a leather / vinyl paint specialist then a subsequent delivery - then a test sample creates the desired result - good to go then and enough vinyl ordered to undertake 2 vans (I have another van requiring a cosmetic restoration next year)
Starting handle located
And prepared for paint
Nearside panel beads prepared and sealer applied
Then fitted to the body
I now need to fill over the screwheads and make them good ready for primer
Rear corner bead also fitted - more progress later
Enough to make those roof corners look really good and without the wrinkles - Then again its also taught enough to hold its own shape and not look like Norah Batty's tights - Its also very sensibly priced when compared to the specialist vinyl roof material market
Post by grumpynorthener on Dec 12, 2023 8:16:18 GMT
Parts & materials are still arriving for the van in advance of the fitting up works once the van is painted
In this case a decent selection of stainless countersunk but raised head self tapping screws - just about all of the vans interior is screwed together with several hundred screws
The roof gutter rails on the nearside
And rear of the van have been removed in preparation of the roof covering being fitted
Still some minor profiling works to complete on the offside gutter and this is better undertaken with the gutter rail fastened to the van
Some final trial fitting - The rubber corners fitted to the bonnet panels are original and typical of a vintage / post war vehicle design
Which prevents the paintwork from damage especially on the front edges as the bonnet is held open by the bracket on the radiator - The radiator cowl has a rubber fitted to the flange edge to prevent further damage to the bonnet edge
None of which prevent the bonnet side panels contacting a area of the front wings which in time creates scratch damage to the paintwork
Not original to the van but utilised on other pre / post war vehicle designs is this rubber bonnet spacer that prevents the bonnet edge contact with the wings when opening the bonnet
Problem resolved - much more currently happening with the van - further updates soon
Post by grumpynorthener on Dec 14, 2023 7:04:17 GMT
The original fabric roof coverings were a canvas type material which once fitted at the factory was painted with a dope to waterproof it (dope is a type of varnish) - These invariably over the years would age through use and start to leak - often patched up by owners by anything that would work - Most replacement roof coverings are now undertaken with a vinyl type material but it all depends upon what is available in the market at the time (see earlier post on the subject)
The open area is covered with fabric just to support the underfelt that is laid over it - its will be never seen once the roof fabric & head lining is fully fitted
The factory originally used a loose wadding type material which is still available but due to inconsistencies in achieving a reasonably level surface once the outer roof is fitted its better replaced with a firmer more consistent type material - I use a underfelt based material
Vinyl covering just placed loosely over the roof area - Ill commence fastening it to the body & tensioning it up today
With all the trimming materials now in stock I assembled a colour swatch for Trevor who owns the van as a final check - From left to right:
First body colour: Prussian / Violet Blue - Main Body panels / wheel rims Secondary body colour: Black - Wings, front quarter panels, front bumper & irons, radiator grille & some smaller parts - as per factory Interior colour: Old English White - Dashboard, steering wheel rim, inner window surrounds Roof fabric: Black - as per factory Carpet: Graphite - Front footwell area only Furflex: Saville Grey - Door apertures Vinyl: Dove Grey - Front seats Wool H/L: Golden Beige - Head lining as per factory
Not shown: The rear of the van along with the front door cards are lined with black milboard & rear floor load area is covered with a fluted rubber mat in black
Post by grumpynorthener on Dec 16, 2023 7:25:14 GMT
Whilst most days run to plan in the workshop sometimes & some day's just don't work out that well
The underfelt that I had previously used on the Bradford van roofs is no longer available so my trimming supplier sent an alternative - it will be fine he said, everybody uses it - Well that might be the case but it just didn't have the give that the previously supplied felt had - I found it way too stiff in density and the results showed with the final covering creasing / wrinkling under tension on the edges
Far from happy with the results and they simply didn't meet my standards - I removed the rain gutters / roof covering / underfelt and started again with a alternative plan
I used a 2 layers of a 3mm scrim to build the underlayer
Then started again with a new vinyl covering (the previously fitted one is scrap)
And started to achieve much better results - I'm not chasing perfection the van still needs to represent the period standards to which it was built - Supplied to the market has a reasonably inexpensive workhorse built largely to quality not that far away from agricultural standard of finish - The Bradford Utility offered the owner a economical workhorse through the working week but doubled up as family transport come the weekend - Offered to the market at £750 the van with side windows wasn't subject to vehicle purchase tax which virtually doubled the price of a family car (One of the reasons it proved very popular with small business owners)
I've so far fitted the nearside roof gutter and I'm now happy with the result - the odd very minor lump / bump in the roof which completely represents the factory finish in period
Now happy in my work - I'll complete fitting the remaining roof gutters & front panel bead this morning
Second effort certainly looks spot on. I think the previously cut vinyl will come in useful for trimming smaller pieces of trim somewhere down the line.
Post by grumpynorthener on Dec 17, 2023 8:50:20 GMT
I continued with the refitting of the roof gutters - These I sealed on the back face to the vinyl roof covering / van side panels - The advantage that we have today against what was available when the van was built 70 some years ago is pretty amazing - Sealers & adhesives are light years ahead along with the curing times, availability & durability of the products - I always have in mind when restoring a vehicle to how I can preserve the work / vehicle for a much longer duration than the factory ever intended
Rear roof gutter fitted
Then the offside - these are time consuming - I've used slotted screws to match the period of the van and you just cant drive slotted screws home with a powered driver the same way that you would crosshead screws - Otherwise you create no end of damage to the vinyl covering when the driver slips out of the slotted screw head - hence all screws were driven home by hand - Overtighten and you start to crease the vinyl or snap the the brass screw
Much happier with the results this time
Front panel bead fitted - Now its just a great shame that the vinyl isn't currently available in the correct colour of black
I have since prepared the vinyl for colouring by keying the surface with P400 then applying panel wipe - once dry I applied a aerosol adhesion promotor which is why the vinyl appears shiny - next stage will be to apply a few coats of colour then mask the roof off whilst the primer & paintwork is undertaken - I'll probably apply another coat of colourant to the vinyl once the van is close to completion - More later
I like that the screw head slots are petty much all parallel (horizontal) to each other. Something I try to do at home when fitting door hinges and door handles except in that case the slots are vertical and usually end up being too tight or too slack.
