HZ panelvan resto

[DuncanM]

Thanks guys. Yeah as I said I've been lucky - very lucky - even the nose cone was pretty OK, just dented a bit...

So, onto another job - the inner guards. Decided to strip them. Found a few extra holes so welded them up while I was at it...

20200608_172315 (2).jpg

20200608_172305 (2).jpg

A little bit of minor panel beating but not too much to do to be honest. Both in primer...

20200619_120156 (2).jpg

20200621_113024 (2).jpg

And then in black... I'm unsure on satin or gloss, so at this stage went with the original black satin but may change my mind...

20200628_153719 (2).jpg

20200628_153732 (2).jpg

20200628_194902 (2).jpg

20200628_194906 (2).jpg

So another job down and back into the body this week. Want the roof stripped and in etch primer before the end of this week.... well that's the goal

[DuncanM]

So onto the roof. Decided I'd strip it and paint it in two parts... learned a few things along the way that will serve me well when it comes time for hi fill and colour...

So stripped the rear half. Paid attention to getting into the gutter rails and checking them out, and making sure I got any surface rust in there out. No real surprises. The gutter rails were in very good nick, so stripped them with the wire wheel on an angle grinder and also used the wire wheel on a drill to get into parts the larger wheel couldn't get to. Stripped the roof with 60grit on an orbital sander. If you focus in on the right side you can see the surface rust and original paint in the gutter rail - took the pic before I hit it with the wire wheels...

20221212_175538 (2).jpg

In contrast in this pic you can see in the rear gutter how I've stripped it out.

20221213_142408 (2).jpg

And rear half in etch primer.

20221213_145137 (2).jpg

So onto the front half. This one was more problematic. Once I stripped it I realised there was an old bog repair over rust in the roof just above where it meets the gutter rails, interestingly at the same point on both sides of the car...(about halfway along the door openings). At first glance it looked like the standard rust you expect in these vans - bubbling from the inside out. Not much, but enough to make me swear a lot. Having a closer look however, it looked like the pits were not from the inside, but were going from the outside in... So careful use of a flap disc, I was able (luckily) to actually get it all out without going through the metal. Happy with that!

20221214_135155 (2).jpg

It was the same on the other side - which makes me think it came from roof racks that were on it, probably with padding that held moisture in, for years. I'm not certain but I'd put money on it... There is also a slight bend in the gutter rail at both those points too, which I think is also probably from roof racks...

Anyway, roof all stripped and ready to paint.

20221215_102954 (2).jpg

20221215_113055 (2).jpg

And etch on the front part of the roof (still just finishing drying off). I'll redo the dripcheck in a couple of days time.

20221215_121820 (2).jpg

So, the things I learned:

1 - Use a strip disc VERY carefully on a roof - I had no choice but to use it to get a few little spider veins of rust out, but it did result in a couple of very imperceptible high spots I'll have to address now due to heat.
2 - My primer gun is rooted and I need a new one....
3 - I've never painted such a tall car before... I was using outdoor chairs to get a better angle to paint from, but Ill need to sort out a better option before hi-fill and colour in particular as I'm really not happy with how my painting turned out, but being just the etch I'm ok with it. I'll hunt around for a bench seat that is a bit higher I think... Any suggestions appreciated!

[Dawso]

I'm enjoying the read and the pics, it's bringing back a few memories. Above and below the drip channel is important because they are at eye level and yes you need to be well set up to run the paint along the long/high panels. Just a heads up to take care with the eyebrow line above the wheel arches, they are easy to miss and often get smoothed out. The other thing is to consider painting the inside panel above the dash (inside the window) and the B-Pillar panel below where the headliner finishes before you do outside colour. They are easier to mask than painting them after you do colour.

[Innuendo]

Just a heads up to take care with the eyebrow line above the wheel arches, they are easy to miss and often get smoothed out.

That is good advice. More-so with the WB as the stamping line had almost vanished as the moulds were so worn by this stage.

[DuncanM]

I'm enjoying the read and the pics, it's bringing back a few memories. Above and below the drip channel is important because they are at eye level and yes you need to be well set up to run the paint along the long/high panels. Just a heads up to take care with the eyebrow line above the wheel arches, they are easy to miss and often get smoothed out. The other thing is to consider painting the inside panel above the dash (inside the window) and the B-Pillar panel below where the headliner finishes before you do outside colour. They are easier to mask than painting them after you do colour.

Thanks mate. Good advice. Yeah I'll strip the rear interior back and prime it once the windows are welded in. So that's the task once I strip the rest of the car and get it all in etch primer. I was planning on painting the rear in the original Vynacote Grey (ive got the code for it from this site ) , although I am intending to deck the rear, but that's a year or more away, or more, so I want it to look half reasonable before that - and it cleans it up and removes rust anyway. So that will be done prior to the colour going on the outside.

In regards to the eyebrow lines, again, I'm lucky - both the rear quarters and front guards are pretty clean and the original lines are still nice and strong there, so it shouldn't be tough for me to keep them (unlike some other poor sods who have to deal with a bunch of bog from past repairs and dodgy panel beating when they are doing their restos :( )

[DuncanM]

After the roof I couldn't be stuffed working on the car today, so I just did a few 30's to keep it ticking over. Rear tailgate cover stripped and primed..

20221216_144121 (2).jpg

And decided to strip two of the door hinges and replace the bushes and pins as they were wobbling and flopping around more than people in an Aquarobics class.

Before:

20211005_193146 (2).jpg

During

20211005_195916 (2).jpg

And after...

20221216_144038 (2).jpg

While I was at it I stripped down the rear upper and lower tailgate hinges as well and got them in etch primer

20211003_144246 (2).jpg

20211003_144329 (2).jpg

Finally I went down to Rare Spares and picked up and ordered a fair bit, dropped the rear tailgate mechanisms off to get zinc plated, as well as have ordered a few other bits and pieces from different suppliers so I'm just keeping it ticking along if I need a break for a day or so...

[DuncanM]

HI guys

Merry Christmas Or Seasons Greetings or whatever you prefer! Personally I don't give a damn as long as people are happy

OK, so Christmas has slowed things down a bit, but I have got a few things done over the past week. Firstly, I stripped (wire wheel again) and primed the gutter rail trims for above the doors...

20211108_195805 (2).jpg

Next I got into the GTS steering wheel I got with the car. It was OK, but the rim was slightly bent (not too bad), and the paint was chipped and stuffed as they all are, but the rubber was in very good nick...original 5mm wheel FWIW... personally I don't particularly care...

So, got the rim straightened, and stripped the wheel centre and spokes back to bare metal...

20211104_201554 (2).jpg

Then primed it and got it in the original satin black used for holden interiors (Black 30 from memory I think it's called??) (30% flattener...)

20211105_091328 (2).jpg

20211106_123750 (2).jpg

Was happy with how it turned out...

20211112_181054 (2).jpg

Finally as I was stripping the interior I decided to strip the interior inspection panels and etch prime them. Again, stripped with the wire wheel and etch primed...

20210912_114441 (3).jpg

20221226_163504 (2).jpg

So, a few other things will be coming soon, including retrimmed seats and other interior parts... still, I have my own thoughts about the back of the van and I'll be getting your guys feedback on that as well!

[maxsandman]

Merry Christmas & happy holidays to you.
Thanks for posting, very good viewing

[DuncanM]

Hi guys

Happy New Year to you all Apart from the usual celebrations, my puppy and I spent some nice quality time at the parks, the beach and the pool... so enjoyed a bit of a break...

However, I did get a few things done and I'm getting close to having the whole car stripped now - as well as addressed the issue of the side windows. I'll put some updates up over the next few days.

Firstly, I stripped the rear tailgate. It was an aftermarket one so I needed to cut the little sections at the top of the tailgate out for a panelvan. Easy enough job and then just zap it up with the welder. Being aftermarket once I had notched the corners I wanted to strip the black paint from it...

20230107_132209.jpg

20230107_132232.jpg

Always nice and easy on a brand new panel when you're dealing with a known quantity... Both sides stripped.

20230102_113131.jpg

20230102_144727 (2).jpg

And in etch primer...

20230102_155659 (2).jpg

20230102_165529 (2).jpg


Next I moved onto the passenger side door jamb... Not a tough job but lots of little nooks and bits that take a while to strip properly... A COUPLE of nasty surprises here, but not too bad. A couple of previous repairs have been done, and whilst they have been done pretty well, they are not as well finished off as I'd like, so a bit of welding ahead of me here. Just where the sill has been replaced previously. Anyway, all stripped and in etch. Getting repetitive now....

20230104_143413 (2).jpg

20230104_143422 (2).jpg

Next job is the rear tailgate opening, then the front area around the cowl and windscreen, then the last door jamb... then the fun starts with the rear quarters.... An interesting update is coming in the next few days...

[Robbo]

Great work you’re doing there, well done.