So the long sill strengtheners are in along with the B post. That side is now ready for the long sill but not yet. It was time to switch to the other side and sort the cargo door side first....................so I've welded the inner strengthener to the outer panel (is this called the rocker??) I've then clamped that into place while I cut and trial clamp the short sill into place to see how she goes together.

This is the part that may cause controversy - you will I have used automobile strength adhesive to attach a lip to the panel that will be used to secure the small sill. The metal was cleaned on the inside and the piece of metal is cut from part of the short sill that was not required. I'd say the lip is about 2cm. This lip will bond about 2/3 of the panel at the top. The remaining 1/3 will be welded. Same strength - no distortion - cleaner job. Your view may differ! I will then spot weld along the bottom and along the adjoining part inside the strengthener.

Once the outer sill is offered up to the existing panel above it will look like below. You can just about see how much of the sill uses the adhesive and how much will be welded. The lip will of course not be seen on the inside as it's hidden by the panel. The join will then be skimmed before paint blended etc.

Once I'd clamped in place the sill and rocker I then spent a good couple of hours opening and closing the cargo doors with my eyes down level with the bottom. It seems my right door is fractionally lower than the left so a little bit of work required to make sure they align nicely and shut well with good lines. I wouldn't say it's perfect, should I expect it to be??, but it's pretty good so far considering it's mixing 50 year old metal with new stuff.

So it's all in place.....I just need to stare at it some more and make sure it's ok before the welder busts out. The sill seems to protrude out a little more than the rocker - I had the same problem down the other end - so I need to ensure the rocker runs smoothly into the sill so when you're down level it all sits flush.

I reckon the welder will be out tomorrow.

Let me know if you can spot any massive errors before I weld her up.

"I reckon the welder will be out tomorrow"

Got something more important on tonight ?

Looking good Crooky


Andy

Cheers Andy, good point. These kids can be so selfish with their after school clubs and homework. And they want feeding!

That's the cargo door side short sill and rocker welded into place. You can see with the short sill the parts that I welded and the fractional gap where the adhesive was used. I'm well pleased with the fit and I haven't done any skimming yet and finishing. Doing it this way I reckon I only lost an inch of the original paint where she was welded and even less along the adhesive part. It's as solid as a rock too.

The only issue I have, and I'l try and get a photo, is where the right side of the rocker meets the B post. I'd clearly taken a few mm off where she was rotten. The issue now is a few mm gap where the rocker ends and the B post starts again. Think I'll have to fabricate a slither of metal to make the gap sweet. Small price to pay overall for the fit.

I've put both panels into primer for now. I'll leave the final making good for when I'm ready to do both sides. It's good enough for now and nicely protected. I'm pleased with how the doors fit too as badly shutting doors pi**es me right off. The doors in the long term will need some attention to the bottom but they are all good for now.

Spent a couple of hours finishing with protecting the bottom cargo section before I get the stone chip on her. As soon as that's done I'll be ready to crack on with the long sill which I reckon I can get done in a long morning. I reckon by the end of next week I'll be ready to start placing the cargo floor to stare at it for a few days before I start cutting around heater tubes etc.

So far so good..................one eye on late summer at this rate

A frustrating day today!

Started well with the fitting of the long sill. It went pretty well. I haven't done any finishing on it yet but the welds are done, she just needs a little skim here and there. No warping and a nice overall fit.

Then for the cargo floor.....................

Holes all punched and ready to go I started welding. Pretty much 70% of the welds kept popping!! (See my post on technical help)

I persevered and tried lots of different approaches with the welding settings but to no avail. In the end I walked away from it and came home to do the gardening (she was happy) to take my mind of it...................my worse day so far but to be honest I shouldn't be despondent as it's gone well so far.

Any help appreciated to stop welds popping. Wanted to end the day with an installed cargo floor but that hasn't happened

Hi Crooky,

just my two penneth and I am in no way an expert.

1) Make sure your plug holes are a good size to begin with, say 8mm or so. The I beams that you are welding to are quite a heavy gauge metal so you will need to turn your welder up really hot. Make sure you then make the arc by hitting the I beam and thus melting it rather than catching the side of the hole in the cargo floor and just filling up the hole. I used self tappers either side of where I was welding to hold the floor down and ensure a tight fit.

2) Ask an expert

HTH a bit

thanks mate appreciate that and that makes sense. It was all a bit annoying today, definitely a frustrating low point to date. That said it's nice to know where I've gone wrong. Just got to go about getting the floor out again

Does it need to come out? Can you not drill out the failed welds and redo? It won't hurt if you drill into the I beams a bit and will help clean the area. Even if you go right through, it won't hurt - and will give a very solid weld. You could put a bit of copper underneath on a magnet. The self tappers are definitely worth using.

Good luck with whatever you decide

So drill out the existing welds that have held and thus cleaning the metal underneath by going slightly into the beam? Then I assume drill through the non welded holes (currently 6mm) to 8mm and cleaning the metal again underneath in the process?

Yes I guess that could work and seems like an easier suggestion to taking her up again.

I'm not sure what you mean by self tappers? Is that something in addition to welding?

As rusty 1962 says. Don't take the floor back up. Grind down the failed welds flush then get 8mm drill drill through floor and partly into the I beam, then crank the welder heat up. The I beams will take a hot weld as they are thick gauge. The bigger holes you have now drilled ensure that the mig wire hits the I beam first, not the cargo floor. The cargo floor becomes attached as the pool of weld off the I beam gets bigger and catches the edge of the holes in the floor. Then as a final check , look under the the i beam, you should be able to see a good burn through mark or better still a slight dimple where the weld has penetrated the I beam, no mark then not a good weld.

I think your problem was mainly not a big enough hole in the floor to weld through.


Good luck!

Jon

Good man Jon and thanks Rusty. I reckon you're right and it was a combination of not enough of a hole and the fact that the beams and top hats had a really good coat of red oxide and primer. I see how grinding the welds flush first swill make the drilling so much easier.

I know what I'm doing tomorrow afternoon now! Cheers.

Self tappers

Screw two self tapping screws, those with a good size pan head into the I beam, passing though the holes in your cab floor, either side of the hole that you are about to weld. This will "clamp" the cargo floor down tightly onto the I beam and then weld the hole up between them. Repeat etc. This will put a small hole right through the I beam of 4mm or so ( the tap size of your screws) and will give you a good solid plug when you weld them up. There are some photos on my thread…. somewhere!

Steve

Back of the net

Drilled out the welds which cleaned the beams at the same time. Welded direct to the beam and then joined the weld pool to the cargo floor. Once I got the hang of it I was motoring through....................then I ran out of gas

Still I got one half done and primed in time for taking the next week off. Photos to follow after Easter once the whole floors in.

Thanks for your help.

So after a lovely week in Scotland where I bashed the back of my T5, my son put my iPhone in a pint of water and my vintage thermos flask arrived with the inside glass smashed courtesy of Hermes I was hoping for a good run at the bus...............................

The cargo floor is finally in. All the spot welds are done along the beams. Do most people get under the bus and weld the rear lip from underneath? Also, do most weld around where the floor meets the strengtheners or is that done by just seam sealant?

I'd had enough of welding and fancied doing something non taxing on the brain so I started cleaning up the area above the engine. I used a heat gun and the black strips came off a treat. Followed that up some thinners and a wipe over with white spirit and she's looking fairly clean.

I then finished up by putting zinc primer over the cargo floor but that stuff doesn't go far and I ran out but you can see it's almost there. Lots of making god to do now and finishing touches on both floors.

Still a way to go but she's starting to take shape