oftensideways 265 Report post Posted November 18, 2015 Discussion thread //oldschool.co.nz/index.php?/topic/50845-oftensideways-83-family-camper-discussion/ Hey guys, So i've been hanging around the forums a fair bit still but have been real slack on any form of contribution. Theres been no lack of projects in the shed to be fair (many of the drifting variety), but I find myself changing between so many that i never felt i could really document them very well or when I thought I should I had already made a decent start and thought it was to late. ANYWAY, now we have two young boys i felt a fitting project was in order. we'd love to spend a bit of time traveling around the place taking family holidays when we can. A new van just wasn't going to cut it and it turned out a guy I know through a customer of mine happened to have the perfect thing parked up on there lawn heading no where fast! He assured me it was running perfect when parked but they had no use for it. I turned up to have a good look over it, covered in tree leaves and grime but the potential was there! Turns out the rego has lapsed so for $400 we loaded it up and hauled it away to store untill now. The camper needs its fair share of work, plenty of rust to fix but very little appears to be structural, get the motor sorted, the brakes and suspension up to scratch. The inside is all there but isn't going to suit our needs so I will have to redo the entire rear section, we need a good sized bed, secure points to strap the kids car seats in and most likely an arrangement in the front seats for a small child to sleep. The stripes WILL stay. The pop top is the sweetest thing i've ever seen. I've also aquired a crashed 3sge altezza so that motor may make its way into the bay, Let me know your thoughts. The most important part of any project, picures 19 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
oftensideways 265 Report post Posted November 25, 2015 Made a good start last weekend. Completely gutted the rear as none of it was really going to work. Saved all the good bits handles, hinges, sink, fittings, tank etc. also removed the front seats and engine covers to start going over all of that. While demoing the rear and removing all the rubbish I came across a couple of sweet photos of the van all set up! nice to see the past owner has a good choice in beverage also. When i first picked it up we got it running and drove it around the paddock, no brakes and a stuck accelerator pump so hopefully it wont take to much to get the old girl up to scratch. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
oftensideways 265 Report post Posted November 25, 2015 Pictured is the Newmans Toyota Hiace camper used by the french bombers of the rainbow warrior. uncanny and only 5 places difference in plate numbers! 16 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
oftensideways 265 Report post Posted December 7, 2015 So i've decided on bit of a plan in the way I should attack this thing. Get the motor, brakes and suspension up to scratch road test rust repairs rear fit out- seats, bed, kitchen etc re-vin I probably should re-vin at an earlier stage but we will probably use it for a few sneaky runs down the valley to camp at the river and i'm willing to risk it. Have had a reasonable look over the van and its all in really good shape save for the rust which i gather has only appeared since being parked up under the tree. Got it up on axel stands, removed the wheels and drums to inspect brakes, all in really good condition, good shoes, no leaks and un worn drums. Repaired the dodgy work on some of the fuel lines and replaced the broken filter. charged the battery and got it going with the help of ether. Cleaned the points, set the idle mixture and speed, set the timing (way advanced! no wonder it struggled to turn over) now it fires up and idles fine just need to get oil, filters, plugs and coolant. Next step is to get some tyres (looking at whitewalls from STA parts) and put the van back together to road test! Realised i've had a few goodies stashed that fit the project perfect! Front centre badge i've had for ages and i'm sure its from a Hiace (and the camper is missing it) A set of 14" hubcaps that fit perfect, pretty sure they came off a Toyota Crown so a good enough match for me 7 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
oftensideways 265 Report post Posted December 5, 2016 Well! the lack of updates as well and truly been the lack of work on this sadly. Customer cars and other projects of my own took up the needed shed space untill right about now really so will be cracking back into this again ASAP! Nobody enjoys a picture less update so heres a couple of shots of my Starlet I ended up with and preceded to modify nearly every aspect and fail to take nearly any photos or document anything! goes pretty well now but the bodywork seriously lets it down, not really any rust but pretty dented and painted very poorly about 4 times, numerous colours. The Advan livery was a quick attempt to polish a turd. enjoy 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
oftensideways 265 Report post Posted February 21, 2017 Progress! Finally got a bunch of customer projects and my own other cars out of the way and got this back into the shed. Time to attack this rust! So lets be honest here, there is a lot of rust! From what i can see mostly due to poor previous repairs and the years under the tree i pulled it from, some really typical places are non existent while other places (windscreen frame) don't have a spec of rust. I'm actually a bit late updating this so i'll do A picture dump and it should bring us up to date with current state of the repairs 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
oftensideways 265 Report post Posted February 21, 2017 I was well aware of most of the rust present but both A pillars being rotten was a heck of a suprise! both looked fine at a quick glance but it turns our previous repairs have now meant they are both rotten to the point the door hinge mounts are stuffed 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
oftensideways 265 Report post Posted February 21, 2017 The old chop chop 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
oftensideways 265 Report post Posted February 21, 2017 Getting through the number of patch panels. Most of the pictured repairs are now finished but just realised i didn't take photos of the finished patch. I decided to TIG all the repairs where the panel is a butt joint and im getting far better results then the previous MIG repairs i've done 11 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
oftensideways 265 Report post Posted February 21, 2017 17 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
oftensideways 265 Report post Posted November 19, 2017 RUST! Jesus this thing was riddled with it. Probably not the wisest starting point for a project but i've thoroughly enjoyed the process so far, it's been a big learning curve and it's satisfying to know that at the end I will have saved something that was destined to rot into the ground. The end of the rust repair tunnel is near. the list is something like this, new rear lower quarters both sides, upper rear pillar repairs both sides, new tail light surround both sides, sill repairs drivers side, window sill repairs both sides, A pillar and hinge area repairs both sides, new lower door passenger side, repairs on drivers door, roof skin repairs all around pop top attachment, floor repairs in rear of van, top of rear wheel arches and various other spots that rust made home! My original idea for paint was to replicate what was already there but ive since changed my mind and at this stage will be going an undecided shade of brown with the original stripes but, in most likely, red, orange and yellow. We now have a deadline that it has to painted and drivable which is our wedding middle of Feb so still plenty of work to go! 28 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
oftensideways 265 Report post Posted December 29, 2017 Nearly a year to the day I started the rust repairs and today the van found its way into the temporary spray booth! Laid on some Brunox and epoxy primer this evening so once we are back from our little NY camp mission i'll be able to get stuck into getting some filler on in prep for some top coat. Can't wait! 20 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
oftensideways 265 Report post Posted January 4 All etch primed and ready to body fill! It really was a struggle to stretch the weld shrinkage back out due do it being to hard to get to the back of the panels, but its solid steel so i'm happy. I think a real quality metal finished job would have the entire panels un picked and beaten into shape before being stitched back on, far beyond the scope of this build I feel. 20 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
oftensideways 265 Report post Posted January 9 I've been cranking along on the bog work, getting in a few hours every night after work, kids, dinner, partner etc and most of the weekend. deadline to have it back together is looming. I guess people are usually a bit worried about showing how much bog has gone onto a car but if I want this to be even reasonably straight it just is what it is. two big tins down at this stage. Another night or two filling some of the lows and pinholes then i'll high fill prime all the repaired areas and give it a good block back and see how it's sitting. Decided on a colour. I was leaning towards more of a chocolate brown but found a few pictures of Hiaces dark browns and I wasn't a fan, the Brown i've chosen is a factory KE30 colour and was actually the colour of my KE30 when I first bought it as a 17 year old, which I then proceeded to ruin it by painting it satin black. 14 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
oftensideways 265 Report post Posted January 9 A bit of inspiration! 16 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
oftensideways 265 Report post Posted January 14 Final prime is done, I have the week to block it back then will Paint next weekend! It's definitely not factory straight but it'll do. Also made a start on the bolt on panels, which don't need to much work, so hopefully get those in primer ASAP. 10 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
oftensideways 265 Report post Posted yesterday at 09:34 Finally spraying some colour around! Real happy with the colour. Will have all bar two doors done by the end of the weekend 16 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
oftensideways 265 Report post Posted 15 hours ago Pretty bloody happy right now! 14 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
