bmxnz11's Ford Escort MK2 Van

[bmxnz11]

Only time i had this weekend was a few hours on Sunday night so i quickly prepared and sprayed the rear doors with high build primer and a bit of black for guide coating. Sprayed using a top coat gun and it came out a bit lumpy, i'm hoping its just the gun and not hardner because i know i stirred the shit out of it. Most of it will be sanded off so ill find out then.

 

 

 

Next job is to get the rear end in guide coat then start shaping the passenger side again.

[bmxnz11]

Have been going pretty hard the last month. Last panel to line up was the drivers guard. Once we were happy with this we were able to shape the drivers side, along with the passenger side, front valance and rear panel below the doors. A really long week finishing bits and pieces so i could splash some primer on it in the weekend.

 

Started Sunday morning looking like so

 

 

 

3 or so coats of high build epoxy primer later

 

 

 

 

 

Really happy with how it went, no runs or sags etc. Looks pretty straight. Few things to fix up but stoked with how it looks. Nice and glossy.

 

 

Put some guide coat through the gun to finish it.

 

[bmxnz11]

Have been busy sanding the guide coat for the last few weeks. That shit takes for ever, even when its not clogging up the sandpaper. Still have a few areas to finish but 99% of its done. Then its onto final primer.

 

This last week has seen a few late nights in the garage. The idea was to get the inside prepped and primed. Took the window and headlining out, very happy to see NO RUST. The person who last sprayed the van took the window out before painting on a million layers of orange, which probably saved this area.

 

 

Under the headlining was the same story, original color this time but no rust, not even surface.

 

 

Decided to do the inside in sections to make it easier. Started with the roof, only took it to bare metal where it needed it, keyed up everywhere else. Sprayed on nice, few runs but wont be seen when the lining goes back in.

 

 

Next night was prepping the sides and floor..

[bmxnz11]

...Fuck.

 

 

So dug a little deeper and got to this point before finding good steal. This is directly above the rear wheel.

 

 

Effectivetly its 3 layers. The bottom two fold over each other to create a seam over the wheel arch, all spot welded together. The rust was between these two layers. Not sure how it started because it was covered in underseal and doesnt seem like a prone area. Anyway, i made up patches for these two, primed and welded the top piece back on which was rust free. The holes on the right were patched up too. These were for the poorly made back seat bracing which i'll remake later on.

 

 

Decided to check the other side, same story, rust between the 2 bottom layers. Cant work out why. So i gave it the same treatment. This knocked me back a bit.

 

Before the day was done we were able to blow the whole van down, prep it and spray 2k epoxy metal sealer through the seams, chassis, sides, anywhere paint cant be sprayed. Finds its way into every seam and hole throughout, messy job chasing the drips. This stuff is great, similar idea to cavity wax or fish oil but this stuff sets and can be sanded and then painted.

 

 

Busy 3 days.

 

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[bmxnz11]

Another long week spent sanding and prepping the inside. This time round did the remainder of the roof, the rear sides, the front floor pan, firewall and under the dash etc.

 

Before

 

 

 

After

 

 

Under the dash looking clean.

 

 

 

Went on real nice, couple runs but thankfully not in any obvious places, will sand these out later on.

 

Have started bare metalling the floor in the back and will hopefully be able to prime it this weekend.

[bmxnz11]

Was able to wire wheel the rear floor on Wednesday night and sand below the back seat. Panel beated out the 30+ years of abuse the floor and wheel acrhes had from commercial duties. There were a lot of dents alon the floors ridges. No point getting These dead flat with filler because A ) I couldnt be bothered, B ) They'l probably be covered anyway and C ) I couldnt be bothered. Its a million times straighter than before. Also chipped out all the old seam sealer and will replace it this week.

 

 

Prepped and sprayed Thursday night. Put a few more coates on then i normally would because the inside always gets knocked around a bit.

 

 

 

Now its time to make the outside match the inside.

[bmxnz11]

Threw down some seam sealer, glued the floor to the sides (Yes this is how it was done in the factory) and also put some on the under side of the rear flares/lip. Shit job to get under there and do it, especially with the diff still in. If the clear 2k sealer I sprayed throughout the van last week didnt get it, this seam sealer sure will.

 

 

[bmxnz11]

One of the small jobs ive been putting off was fixing the window wiper holes. These were flogged, the hole wiper system was flogged. There were stress cracks and the holes were no longer round.

 

 

Opened up the cracks, drilled a few plug holes and welded underneath a backing plate to give it a bit more strength.

 

 

 

Did the same to the other wiper hole.

 

 

 

All cleaned up.

 

[bmxnz11]

Also purchased this a while ago, an original rubber sport spoiler. Was trying to find where to put the number plate holes so it was time to get the spoiler out and try it. Thoughts?

 

 

Obviously would be colour matched to the body. Also have the other type of grill, and chrome and sport bumpers to play with as well.

 

//oldschool.co.nz/index.php?/topic/43995-bmxnz11s-mk2-escort-van/

[bmxnz11]

Finally got around to taking off the passenger door. Not as easy as undoing 4 bolts, hinges are welded on. Had to use a special tool to punch out the 2 pins and separate the hinges. Stripped and sanded back the door frame area, the side of guard where it attaches to the guard and inside of the door.

 

 

 

The passenger guard was a replacement and put on when the van was painted orange so absolutely rust free around this area (Bonus).

 

 

Primed the door outside because it was a hot day. Dried up really quick, easy to spray. But then when i sprayed the van door jam area i forgot to tell myself this wasn't going to dry as quick and ended up with a sag on top. Shit happens

 

 

 

[bmxnz11]

Final coat of primer was applied this morning to the outside. Very hot day, dried up pretty quick and made it difficult to keep glossy but i got the hang of it.

 

Before

 

 

 

After

 

 

 

The front and back were also sprayed but the pictures were a bit shit. Looks exactly like the pictures futher back in this thread anyway.

 

Next time these areas get sprayed, it'l be with color (Finally!). Should really pick one then. Hmm...

[bmxnz11]

After the holidays and getting the blue van up and running, I got back into this one. Started with the long job of bare metalling the roof. For a little van it has a big roof!!

 

Got it down to bare metal and scratched up the areas needing nuetec.

 

 

Brush painted on the 2k primer.

 

 

Bit of nuetec, skim of bog and then it was all long boarded down. Pretty simple doing a mainly flat roof.

 

 

Tonight it was prepared and had 5 coats of high build primer applied. Came out really nice, too bad it'll be sanded back.

 

 

 

 

[bmxnz11]

The roof was long boarded down and any imperfections were sorted out. Also seam sealed the two edges where the roof panel meets the sides.

 

This is the rear corner looking over the roof.

 

 

Sprayed on the final primer, dried very quickly but was able to keep it wet and glossy.

 

 

Looking very straight now.

 

[bmxnz11]

Have been working in this. Just seems to take for ever. Lined up the  drivers door, guard and bonnet. The guard was poking out too much by the door. The inner vertical section of the guard that holds to the pillar was too wide. I ended up chopping this piece out and redoing it. This time it hugs the pillar and holds the guard correctly in line with the door.

I also found a few imperfections and spots of rust bleeding through on the drivers guard. I had to rub most of down to metal and reprime and fill. The guard and bonnet were then primed in final primer.

[bmxnz11]

Next job is getting the underside ready for underseal. Whilst I was with wheeling I found a spot of rust. It's an area I have repaired of my blue van and the passenger side of this van, but for what ever reason left the drivers alone. It's behind the rear wheel arch. 2 layers of metal which trap the dirt and moisture in. Cut the layers out and replaced with new steel.

So much fucken otago dirt. Will etch prime the bare areas once it's clean and then onto underseal!

[bmxnz11]

Where has the time gone. I finished cleaning the underside, primed it and redid one of the sill areas as I wasn't happy with my initial repair. Have still to underseal the van.

Another of the jobs that needed doing before paint was to lower the brake booster for the side drafts clearance. I read and talked to a few people and everyone said to bend the rod and lower 50mm, redrill the holes. I couldn't work out how to lower the bracket without fouling on the inner fender or the area around the fan where the brake line is.

I decided I wanted to keep the original holes and mounting points in case it all turns to shit. So instead I modified the booster bracket and made a new bottom section which is 50mm lower but uses the same holes. The other issue was the mounting tabs to the firewall. When the booster is lowered, the top pulls away from the firewall. I fixed this by slicing, bending and welding flat against the firewall.

The next step is to push out the inner fender so the booster sits in nicely. Hopefully everything will look factory once it's done.

 

[bmxnz11]

I scrubbed the underside, etched the bare metal and 2k primed the keyed areas a couple months ago. Managed to underseal 90% of it last night. Once I have finished making the appropriate alterations to the inner guard, I'll spray those and the front chassis. Not much fun with only axle stands for height. Mentally it's a good step towards getting finished. I'll fix up any bare areas later on though.

[bmxnz11]

Finished the brake booster mod in the engine bay. Plenty of room for the side drafts. Will clean up fine with some underseal and another coat of primer in the engine bay.

 

[bmxnz11]

I wasn't too happy on the finish on the first underseal. It came out a bit smooth. Admittedly I thinned the product down to put through the gun. The product was normally used to brush on. I tried a different product and left it a bit thicker to give it that true rough underseal look. Chassis rails and inner gaurds got a thick coating, then I gave the previous areas a quick flick. Came out heaps better this time. Was probably laying it on a bit heavy because I went through 6L's. Ha.

I learned my lesson of not wearing a face mask the first time round. That shit sprayed everywhere. Last night I was looking around for something to cover my face. Glasses? not enough coverage. Full saftey shield? Bit tricker in small areas. Stockings and masking tape? Bingo.

[bmxnz11]

Finished all the mods to the engine bay for the brake booster and the bolt in battery tray. Seam sealed and reprimed. Have done a few more small jobs such as sand blasting and painting the pedal box and battery tray. Just need to get some paint samples now.