1980 Austin Princess mild custom - 1951 Lanchester LD10

[varelse]

I'm with ElWoody on this one. It was close to becoming one with the ground, anyway. Might as well create something you enjoy and have a use for, thus prolonging the life of the car.
And remember; purist rage only makes you stronger!
While I think it's a cool little car, I don't think it's special enough to stop you having your way with it.

I think that one project at a time is probably a good idea, however. I'm not going to start on my other project until I've at least got my car on the road and registered. Granted both require a fair bit of welding, so if I don't feel like welding, there's not much chance I'd work on either, anyway.

[Deleted]

I do like the van idea,  I'm currently in the process of doing the same to my mk1 golf 3dr.

BUT

If your going to go ahead with it, Id advise making it reversable,   The rear windows you could use the window rubbers, Or bond the panel in place.
With this you save altering the shell  (which is a pretty rare little thing)

Also if you make it a van, it has to be registered and insured as such.  , If you don't want to go the  strictly legal route of doing that, then at least make it quickly reversable i.e using the rubbers)

You might get away with explaining to a copper at the side of the road, that you just fit those panels to stop the glass getting smashed when you move things.


Whatever you do, don't get sidetracked like i have, 

I bought my mk1 as an unfinished project, mostly in bits and partly parted out.   I started on it , got it running etc, and then pulled the rear windows and plastics out and now its come to a standstill as it now looks like it needs more than it does.

Get it legal first, Then decide what you need it to be.

[barryj75]

Go for the van, don't let people put you off.

[grifterkid]

What a debate the little 6 has raised...!!!

I'm torn as I love it as it is but the van idea sounds great as I can imagine it'd be very useful as those old motors are quite roomy inside.

If it were my vehicle (which it is not!) I'd just replace the rear glass sections with metal and leave the opening doors as they are as it'd make loading/unloading infinitely easier as I've found that just having a rear loading vehicle is a nightmare if you need to have some assistance to load/unload within the vehicle...

With regards to lowering please be careful as a lowered car will end up even lower once loaded as a van!!!

Keep on with things the way you are sir... It's always inspiring and impressive to see what you do and you've not really got anything wrong so far!

[MK2VR6]

Vans are cool. Two examples on here are the Passat and the PT Cruiser - both seemingly built on a budget and a big step into the unknown when making good. However, I echo the sentiments of others r.e funding issues. If you're struggling to afford £160, I wouldn't even entertain the idea of chopping the R6 around. Doesn't it need engine, brakes, tyres and the like before you even consider an MOT? Get the welding on the Princess done when you can afford it, tick the box and then make the Renault roadworthy when funds allow.

[mk2polobloke]

May 4, 2015 13:27:42 GMT MK2VR6 said:

Vans are cool. Two examples on here are the Passat and the PT Cruiser - both seemingly built on a budget and a big step into the unknown when making good. However, I echo the sentiments of others r.e funding issues. If you're struggling to afford £160, I wouldn't even entertain the idea of chopping the R6 around. Doesn't it need engine, brakes, tyres and the like before you even consider an MOT? Get the welding on the Princess done when you can afford it, tick the box and then make the Renault roadworthy when funds allow.

Seconded.

[nomad]

DIY van ideas

* do not* move the B-posts or you are into IVA/BIVA inspection stuff (welding up rear doors is allowed without IVA/BIVA )

Get it up to MOT standard before starting any van conversion work.
Avoid any non-reversible changes where possible, but that's no reason not to have fun with it
I'd miss the access if I locked the rear doors on mine - something to think about before sealing the rear doors

Keeping the rear doors : remove side & back-door windows & rubbers, fix rust scabs around the window, make steel infill panels to fit flush around the window recess, spot-weld in place for security, seam sealer around the edge, repaint the whole side of the car.

If you're happy to loose the rear doors : remove side & back-door windows & rubbers,fix rust scabs around the window,  make steel infill panels to fit window recess, spot-weld in place, seam sealer around the edge, tiger-seal around the rear door to fill the gap, bodge & sand over that to blend door into the rear panel, repaint the whole side of the car. Front seats will need to tilt to allow access to rear seats if you're keeping them.

 

[shedvan]

Maybe folks are taking a little photoshop doodle a little too seriously! haha

But if you really want to mix things up a bit why not mention to the owner of the car sitting around in your shop waiting to get welded that your gaffer is dragging his feet on buying a bottle of gas, could get spicey

[vulgalour]

urgh... I'm not kicking that hornet's nest in the face with flip flops on.

I am still very taken with the van idea and the options. I'm not going to weld up the back doors, I'm only going to panel the rear windows and even then it'll be done in such a way that it can be reverted if need be at a later date. It'll look cool, it'll work for what I want and it won't cost the earth. With that said, I'm hitting the reset button and getting on with the important business of telling you what I've been up to today.

----

Bank Holiday Monday, traditional for doing stuff you want to do just because. Who am I to argue with tradition? Started small by polishing the hubcaps, because I could. Interestingly, shortly after getting the Renault home I found a set of NOS hubcaps for 20 Euros on Leboncoin. I didn't buy them because I didn't think they were too important but now I'm thinking they could have been a wise purchase. Mind you, I have heard Leboncoin is difficult to buy from if you're not in France.


That wasn't too hard to do. I might do the bumpers to match. Next, turned my attention to the roof. If I'm to do anything with the Renault I need to sort this roof out. Shiny new set of hammer and dollies were available to me and with the headlining out I could hopefully get to the worst of the dents. First I had to work out how to remove the headlining itself, I was expecting it to be held into the window surrounds, which it was on the rear quarter lights that were easy to remove. At the back, there's a plastic strip attached to the headlining that pushes under a metal groove/flange thing, the only way I could see to remove this was to carefully pry it out with a screwdriver.


That meant I could work out how to remove the sides. Unlike the rear plastic strip, the sides have a barbed groove/flange that the headlining fabric is stuffed into, the fabric held up with conventional wires across the width of the shell. For the most part, it was easy to remove without damaging the fabric and I was well on track to removing the headlining whole which is not always possible.


Unfortunately as I got closer to the gutter damage over the front doors I found the headlining had gone brittle and no matter how careful I was it tore on the edges in a way I won't be able to repair or refit. Thankfully, it looks like an easy headlining to make and refit. The nail in the coffin for the original was when I got to the windscreen. I had intended to leave the windscreen in and carefully bundle the headlining on the dash board but as I free the fabric from near the A pillars it just tore across the line of the windscreen seal. I was expecting it so wasn't too mortified though I'm aware I'm now going to have to remove the windscreen if I want to fit a new headlining.


With the headlining out I could see if there was access to the dents. The good news is that there is some access, the bad news is that the strengthening beams get in the way so I'll need to get the slide hammer on some of the dents I can't get to. Managed to very nearly get the profile sorted on the drivers side, a light skim of filler after repairing the gutter should see this resolved nicely.


On the passenger side I had equally reasonable success with the roof skin pulling back in line with the strengthening beam as it ought. You can see the two obvious dents where the strengthening beam is in my way. Again, some filler will be inevitable on this, but not a great deal.




I had a go at straightening the stainless gutter trims, it's hard going but it's possible to get them reasonable again. I suspect I'll just hang on until I can find replacements. There wasn't anything more I could really do on the bodywork today, I was happy enough with this so far. Turned my attention instead to the engine which is still locked up. Decided to take the clutch off and it could really do with replacement as expected. Then I took the sump off to see what I could find in the bottom of the engine.


Sludge, and obvious water contamination. It does look like the bolts I need to get at the remove everything are all where I need them to be which is fortuitous so the next task will be to carefully dismantle and clean the innards, find out what damage there is and replace parts or engine as necessary. Oil strainer/pick-up is also pretty gunged up, I suspect it will clean up well enough.




I need Mike's experience with engines for me to be confident to undertake the next stage, it'll also be easier with two of us working on it. He was unavailable so I assessed what else I could do and realistically it wasn't a lot. The Princess could be turned around so I could make a start on the displacer replacement next weekend, but a flat battery and me being unable to push the car on my own put paid to that. Happily I did see that the condition of the metal replaced and waiting to be replaced hasn't deteriorated so I feel a little more comfortable about that for now.

I did a bit of panel beating on the bad rear wing of the Lancia Flavia but then ran into access problems. Ideally, I need to chop off the badly repaired bottom section of the rear wing, beat it back into shape off the car and then reweld it, a big job but one that deserves to be done right.

[vulgalour]

Over on the www.renault4.co.uk forum (aka Clementine's Renault 4 Garage), user mr-reno139 posted this fabulous Renault 6 picture.

[vulgalour]

oh, is it not showing up for non-forum users?

[vulgalour]

New paint arrived today. After work I decided to get myself over to the unit to try it out. It seemed thin enough in the tin and having used these sorts of paints before you can sometimes go straight from the tin to the car. I prepped the bonnet by getting rid of dirt, loose paint, rust, etc. Then got to work.



Hmm... that's not great. I've brush/roller painted stuff before with great results, normally apply with the brush and dress out quickly with the gloss roller then let the paint smooth from lightly orange peeled to almost flat. Work fast and it's a fairly low effort job. A cut and polish afterwards sees it very smart indeed. This paint doesn't do that yet so I need to flat the panel back and try again when I've found the right thickness and technique. Given that the old pale flat green was brush/rollered on going by some of the less well finished areas it feels right to be doing the same, I don't want to get the car professionally spray painted, that's not what this is about.



The colour is great, I'm really happy with that, I just need to spend more time on the application.

[vulgalour]

Experimented with paint thickness and found 10% thinner was best after decanting some into a separate container to use. I then applied with a brush in one direction, dressing out across the brush strokes applied and getting the paint to start settling out smooth. Previously I've found a gloss roller lightly applied helps achieve a really good result but this time I got orange peel. A nice even orange peel, but orange peel all the same and that's not something I want.



I'll try the bain-marie (sit the paint tin in a bigger tin of hot water) idea for the next coat and not use the gloss roller. I wonder if the roller is reacting with the paint, there's nothing on the label to tell me what the roller is made of nor on the tin of paint. It's like a milder version of the roller problem I had with cellulose paint which resulted in a shrinking roller, massive orange peel and purple 'candyfloss' all over everything.

[vulgalour]

The Princess and Renault are now up for grabs.  I've had enough, time to call it quits.  Neither can be driven away so it's a trailer only job, the Princess does run when it wants to.  They are both projects, ideal to break for spares if you're so inclined.  I'm sad to do this, but it's unlikely they'll get done this side of next year and I'm being messed around so this is what I'm doing.

Princess comes with a lot of spares including the displacer and hydragas fluid to right the suspension. It does need a bit of welding but nothing insurmountable.  £400 collected for this one and all the spares.

Renault comes with a spare headlight and two NOS front wings, is otherwise complete and needs the engine unsticking.  Worst bit are the gutters that need replacing, otherwise the body, chassis and floors are remarkably solid.  £150 collected for this one.

I'm not breaking these cars, they're being sold complete as projects.  I'm also not putting an advert in the For Sale section, I'd rather I focused on those that have followed the build thread so far.


Should my fortunes change then of course I'd love to keep them.  Realistically, it's time to call it quits.  Plenty of people have told me so and I've fought this far.  Now I really am throwing in the towel.



I'll be keeping the Xantia as it's a good car and does all I need it to do.  It doesn't excite me that much, but it is a good old tub.

[nomad]

Sorry to read the latest update, have been watching the Renault since it arrived...
Hopefully things will work out for you - I like your thinking about advertising on the thread first (and the bargainous prices to the thread followers)

Somebody step up and save these please (I'm moving house in the next few weeks so can't find any time/space/cash to help out )

[dodgerover]

I hope things pick up for you soon.

[joem83]

Sad times, id love the Renault but I cant weld and don't have the space

[qwerty]

I'm really sorry to hear this Vulg. Especially the Princess. You've taken that car so far. I hope things improve for you.

[vulgalour]

It's a logical decision, but not one I like to take. I'm not happy about it because for once it isn't even about a lack of money.

[shedvan]

Sad times