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Thread: Project Evil HX

  1. #1
    Learner Driver EDDO 77's Avatar
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    Project Evil HX

    Inspired by Grunt's amazing effort on the rebuild of his HX Sandman Panel Van, I have recently decided to have a crack at restoring the large clump of rust that has been sitting dormant beneath my house for the past five years.

    The aforementioned rust pile loosely takes the form of a 1967 Holden HX Panel Van. Bought from a friend of a friend for the lowly price of $700 dollars, this classic piece of Australian motoring history has clocked up over 600 thousand kilometers in its time. During this period, Mother Nature has done its best to convert the once proud and mighty form of steel into nothing more than pure oxide rust.

    It is with great fondness that I recall one of our last outings. It was a return trip from the Falls Festival in Lorne, during which we encountered a prolonged spell of rain. I can still vividly recall the sound emanating from the water filled doors, surges of water rushing back and forth every time the brakes were applied.
    The doors were literally half full of water. This may have been practical had I been stuck in the Simpson Desert, however this was not the case.

    The fist-full clump of silicon that had been pumped into the windshield cowl by one of the previous owners had long given up on any hope of retaining water, and to keep the drive interesting, a water feature had formed on the passenger side of the car. A pictures water stream was stemming from the kick panel and amalgamating in a lagoon which had at one time been the floor panel of my vehicle.

    Shortly thereafter, the van was parked under the house, placed in the ‘too hard’ basket and largely forgotten.

    That is until late April of this year, when I had decided to wash the years of dust from the Vehicle.

    Well, I’ve started now…, what next?

    Over the past three months, with the aid of my father, the time invested in this vehicle has snowballed from that point on and we find ourselves in the midst of a full restoration project.

    The vision is to restore the body to a full metal skin and ditch the old 202 motor and tri-matic transmission for a more modern V6 and manual gearbox setup.
    The front brakes and suspension will get an upgrade and the banjo differential will be swapped out for a Salisbury.

    The exterior will be finished in a gloss black with chrome trim, with the intention of giving this shadow of a once proud van a new tuff and mean (evil) look.

    To ensure maximum evilness, the van will be blasted with copious amounts of Heavy Metal music during its construction.

    I would like to share the long, hard, arduous (and hopefully rewarding) journey with the My Sandman community.

    So, without further ado, project Evil HX, here we go……

    [IMG] small screenshot utility[/IMG]

  2. #2
    Cruiser Gunna Do's Avatar
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    Welcome Eddo ,that van looks in pretty good nick a nice scoop and side pipes it would look evil enough.

  3. #3
    Learner Driver EDDO 77's Avatar
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    After removing the windscreen, the first signs of rust became apparent. A portion of the top recess has rusted away completely.
    [IMG] windows screenshot program[/IMG]

    After a quick cleanup the extent of the damage is exposed.
    [IMG] print screen windows[/IMG]

    The rusted metal has been cut out and removed with the aid of the trusty angle grinder and cutting disk. This is the closest I will ever get to being a surgeon.
    [IMG] upload[/IMG]

    The corrosion has affected both the outer and inner skin. Metal patch pieces will need to be formed to replace the missing sections.
    [IMG] image hosting without registration[/IMG]

    The inner patch piece has been formed from 1.2mm sheet steel and is ready to be fusion welded into the existing fabric.
    [IMG] how to make screen shot[/IMG]

    Time for senior to step in. As a plumber my father has many years of experience with oxy acetylene welding. He makes it look easy, I think he was probably born with a torch in his hand.
    [IMG] windows screen capture[/IMG]

    The inner patch piece welded, trimmed and ground back. Good as new.
    [IMG] windows print screen[/IMG]

    Outer patch piece welded and ground back. That’s the first metal repair completed, ready for a light coat of body filler and shaping.
    [IMG] jpg images[/IMG]

    Body filler flushed and ready for sealing.
    [IMG] click image upload[/IMG]

    The repair and lower apron have been sprayed with KBS rust seal. On to the next repair.
    [IMG] screen shot windows[/IMG]
    Last edited by EDDO 77; 29-07-2013 at 09:49 PM.

  4. #4
    Learner Driver EDDO 77's Avatar
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    Thanks for the welcome Gunna Do. Looks can be deceiving, seems every time something is removed I find rust where there should be metal.

  5. #5
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    Is that one of those Henrob torches?

  6. #6
    Night Rider Valencia's Avatar
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    Wow im impressed with your work keep up the good work bud

  7. #7
    Cruiser Gunna Do's Avatar
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    No worries Eddo ,its handy to have someone who can oxy weld in the family ,will be waiting for the next photos.

  8. #8
    Night Rider Vombil's Avatar
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    i reckon id rather fix rust than try and get a real wobbler straight dude. yours looks like it got some nice lines through the quarters. awesome pics. great work! welcome
    BQZ

  9. #9
    Learner Driver EDDO 77's Avatar
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    Yes, using a Henrob for the welding. The fine tip keeps the distortion in the metal down as long as your patient, which is harder than I thought.

  10. #10
    Learner Driver EDDO 77's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Vombil View Post
    i reckon id rather fix rust than try and get a real wobbler straight dude. yours looks like it got some nice lines through the quarters. awesome pics. great work! welcome
    Thanks for the welcome Vombil. Luckily the chassis is straight and rust free, the rest of the body is superficial really.

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