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Anon
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Two Beddies and a trailer...

I've been meaning to put up a blog post here for a while now, but rare internet access and too much work to do meant it had to wait. I've been restoring two Beddies at once, at different stages of rot, to entirely different specs. One is a 1979 CF 250 Autosleeper, with the pop-top roof, 2.3 Slant Petrol engine and Vauxhall 4-speed. The other one is a 1983 CF 250 Facelift Autosleeper, with high-top, 2.3 Slant Petrol engine and Vauxhall 4-speed with overdrive.

The 1979 one has a lot of bodywork that needs to be sorted, rusty wheels, needs a towbar, needs some engine work, new radiator and a paintjob. The 1983 needs a lot of bodywork, refurb the towbar, engine work, conversion to panel van, and paintjob. Both need the spare wheel moving to the rear door. I am also building a box trailer to be towed by either.



I'll start with removing the bumperettes from the 1979, and filling the holes. One of the mounts has a horribly stuck bolt.



A helper with a drill is always handy...



Job done.



In the meantime I also took apart a spare slant engine I had laying about for storage (in diesel/oil mix) until I need it.



I then moved on to the 1983 which developed some weird carb problems. The first one was a strange fuel and vacuum leak at the carb base..



Removed the carb, cleaned it, removed old gaskets and fuel-soluble sealant (that shouldn't be used on carbs as it will come into contact with gasoline), cleaned the spacer, cleaned the manifold, and replaced with new gaskets.



Still wouldn't idle though, so I thought I should replace the fuel cut-off solenoid. I fitted a new one and had the exact same problem. A lot of head scratching later, and I though I'd try out a chopped solenoid (that no longer stops the fuel when the ignition is switched off) and it worked fine... So, I proceeded to fit yet another new solenoid which worked perfect. Moral of the story: Do not take for granted that a new part will work as it should.



That's plenty of solenoids lately, considering that the one I replaced was about 1 year old, the second one was brand new, the third one was a chopped one from the 1979 which broke in Slovakia, the fourth one (that stayed) was brand new, and there will be a fifth one going into the 1979 to replace the chopped one... Sine I haven't experienced over-run yet, I am wondering if it would be worth just using chopped solenoids instead of paying 5 euros each for new ones.



By the way, when removing/replacing solenoids, don't forget to undo the allen screw that holds them in place, and tighten it back again. Also, it is good practice to secure the wire that goes to the solenoid with a tie-wrap onto the solenoid body, as per the picture, to avoid putting too much strain on the wire and connector (hint: easy to rip off).



Next one up was what I thought would be a routine valve clearance adjustment... To my horror I found out what really happens when you leave engine oil in for 15000 miles "because it's semi synthetic" as the previous owner (and maybe the one before him) did, and you also forget things inside the camshaft housing.......!



The was a black-death-like substance all over the cam housing, baked on anything that doesn't move. Luckily, the detergent in the oil has kept it away from moving parts, and religious adherence to 3000 mile oil changes has kept them in good shape. But...



There's better things for an engine than forgetting a hose clamp inside the camshaft housing!!!! Avoiding to put the blame on someone, I'll just say that it was the first time I opened the camshaft cover, so it couldn't have been done by me.



Luckily, it wedged itself in that corner after being chewed up by the engine, before damaging something serious. You can see some scoring, but again, the moving parts seem to have gotten away. I had spent a few hours with a stethoscope trying to figure out where that rattling came from, and I couldn't point the finger at any bearings... Well, this explains it.. It's gone now.



I then hammered the rocker cover straight, cleaned the old gasket and sealant from it, and put it back on with a new gasket.





Finally (for today), I did my usual mods by replacing the stock airbox with a cone filter, fitting a vacuum gauge, and routing the breather hose to a catch can.



The dizzy has an orange cap, which means that the 1983 has been fitted with Bosch electronic ignition, by the previous owner and Phil Bradshaw. I can't say it seems much better than the points ignition on the 1979, maybe a bit more durable in that you don't need to replace things all the time. But the 1979 has much better MPG and better performance so far, but was also already fitted with a cone filter and catch can way before the 1983, so it's not a fair comparison. I'll post my findings after the mods when I try it out.

The 1983 has also now been converted back to a panel van, but keeping the high top. I am respraying it these days, and I've got a special surprise for you guys on this subject. More when it's done...

Oh, and while building the separator between the cab and load space, I found out why Cheap Drills will be the title of my next album (Frank Zappa rip-off from Cheap Thrills)...




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Sun 22 May 2011 @ 23:08 Edit this messageQuote this messagePMQuote this message
Anon
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DAMMIT JIMBEAM I HATE SURPRISES.

What is it. WHAT IS ITTT????

You're painting it with watercolours. Am I right?

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Sun 22 May 2011 @ 23:13 Edit this messageQuote this messagePMQuote this message
Anon
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So the spraying of the 1983 is under way.. Windows, lights and other fittings are masked, tires are covered, panel van conversion is complete (side windows removed and replaced by panels, panels also fitted on the inside of rear door windows to protect them, while still keeping them in place in case I change my mind in the future) and as the bodywork is mostly sorted (too lazy to properly restore the rear quarter panels, maybe when they fall off in 10 years I'll stop being lazy), the spraying has begun!



The whole van is being sprayed with some weird stuff produced by a local company.. It is something between black paint, underbody sealant, and bedliner, marketed as "anti-chip underbody protection". In fact, it is a polyurethane based substance with rubber solids in it. It dries much harder than what I'm used to seeing sold as underbody sealant, while still retaining some flexibility to not chip off when the body flexes. It is pretty much the same as good old American bedliner, the thing they use over there to paint the inside of their pickup truck beds and then proceed to throw tree trunks in them and brag about how the finish is still intact!

I had been looking for bedliner for ages all over Europe, and while there are a couple of companies in the UK that stock it, and some in Germany, it is ridiculously expensive. Same applies to having it shipped from the states. By the time you add in customs charges and shipping costs, you'd rather have the van rot and buy another one. This one is not that cheap either, at about 9 euros per liter. It took 12 liters to cover the whole van 3 coats. Total thickness is about 3mm. This works out at 108 euros. The finish is very rough, entirely different to what is normally expected from a vehicle paintjob. But it gives it a rather "wild" look, and it's good to know it can take all the nasty salt spray in the winter without rusting like a boat anchor.



It is sprayed on using a Schultz gun, or in plain English, an underbody sealant spray gun. You need an air compressor, a humidity filter, a regulator to set the pressure at 3.5 to 4 bar, the spray gun, and the bedliner cartridge, which screws to the bottom of the spray gun.



Here's the works, in a home-made shed. This thing is quite nasty to spray because of the fumes, and having a beard doesn't really let the respirator do what it's supposed to, which means I can only spray for 2 hours per day, outdoors, and then go for a walk by the river to detox. Although it works out well, cause it takes about two hours to spray the whole van one coat, and then you should let it sit for at least 6-8 hours to cure before the next coat. Best thing about this product is that it can be painted over, after about 24 hours of the final coat, with any kind of paint that would work on plastic or rubber. It also comes in several colors! Black, white, grey and yellow for sure, maybe a few more. I'm planning on leaving it black, with a white roof, and my company logo on the side of the van. More on that when it's done.. I'm done spraying now, but need to wait for 24 hours before I paint the logo.



In the meantime, back to the 1979. I'm slowly stripping it down and working on anything I don't like the look of, until I am satisfied enough to start painting it. Here I've removed all the badges from the bonnet and filled the holes, then primed it.



Moving down, one of the front bumper brackets is really rusty. Could use some sandblasting, but I hate the process, so I'll try wirebrushing first..



Finally for today's blog, I've restored that old home-made bumper, and primed it. It is also going to receive a few coats of the bedliner, and will probably end up black. More soon!
Tue 24 May 2011 @ 23:07 Edit this messageQuote this messagePMQuote this message
Anon
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Well, the 1983 is ready and back to work by now (no camera for photos today, but in the next few days), but unfortunately, on its first day out, some bimbo scratched my side and there goes my brand new paintjob..... Not too bad, at least the bedliner is tougher than normal paint, so it's still mostly there.

Next up the 1979 is up on jack stands. Wheels off for sandblasting and powder coating, rust repairs all around, radiator out for new one to go in, and waiting for a paintjob.

Unfortunately my health is not at its best, so I booked myself in for an MOT at a local garage, where the doctor has seen me before and knows my service history. My heart seems to have developed a steady misfire, but I can't seem to find the damn ignition system anywhere! So the resto will have to go slow for the next few weeks.
Tue 28 Jun 2011 @ 19:30 Edit this messageQuote this messagePMQuote this message
Anon
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Hey keep well - look after yourself

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Wed 29 Jun 2011 @ 07:12 Edit this messageQuote this messagePMQuote this message
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