Popular Post ThePog Posted June 4, 2016 Popular Post Share Posted June 4, 2016 Here is Ian, my very recently acquired 1980 Nissan Civilian bus. This is going to be our family camper, somehow we will fit four of us in.... There are a few minor issues; some rust, the charging circuit doesn't really work, the gearchange mech is kind of sloppy, there is a short in one of the rear lights, but the major issue is that the standing height inside is a maximum 1.5m. This is unfortunate as I am 1.92m tall. Even my youngest who is 10 cannot stand up in it. Some fairly major surgery will be required to rectify this unfortunate circumstance. There are a few other niggling things to sort out, but nothing important. He is pretty sound though, he drove from Mataura near Gore up to Nelson with no issues apart from the batteries dying from lack of charge. It got a pretty good going over today and i am happy overall. Carjam shows the odo to be dodgy as fuck, but even allowing for that it has probably only done 100,000k. It is indicating 60k... The drive along the south island was achieved pretty much 50/50 by the previous owner and then by Sidewaysickness, who had way more battery issue than the previous owner did during the first leg, but finally got it here late last night. Discuss Anyway, pics; 13 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThePog Posted June 5, 2016 Author Share Posted June 5, 2016 The extent of the problem; 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThePog Posted June 10, 2016 Author Share Posted June 10, 2016 I bought some seats from the wreckers, some fixed ones out of an Escudo, some swivelly ones out of a Previa, plus some swivelly mechanisms out of another previa to graft into the Escudo seats. This is because I need to use all the space we have, and have 4x seats that don't swivel and become the lounge is not an option. I got shit bored doing quotes today so decided to give the seats some loving instead. Some Escudo Seats; Some swivelly things with extra lumps; Swivelly things without extra lumps; I trimmed the long seat legs and rewelded the tab mounts back at the same level as the short ones, the intention was to mount the swivels to these points but i discovered an easier way; Which was to weld bits of metal directly onto the frame; And not forget to reinstate the lever springs for the lever that locks the swivel in the ahead position and the 180 deg position; Then weld the swivel things on, plus a lever to release the catch; The result; I shall mount these on rails now and put them in the bus.... 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThePog Posted June 18, 2016 Author Share Posted June 18, 2016 So here is todays effort. The existing seat mounts were shit beyond belief, it was a selection of scrap steel and what looked like filing cabinet rails cobbled together with a vast variety of fasteners. This is the passenger seat mounting on one side; Note the filing cabinet bracketry. And this was the rail and fixing method on the other side of that seat; The stack of nuts was to clear the bit of box section, fuck knows what they were thinking. Anyway, I thought I had better start with the drivers seat as it is by far the most difficult seat to arrange all the required functions. I took very few pics as I was fully missioning this, but i did get pics of the results. Basically I need the seat low enough so my legs clear the steering wheel, I need plenty of forward/backward adjustment so her indoors can still drive it but it can slide far back enough the it will clear the steering wheel when swivelling. I had a few false starts, the worst of which was realising that although everything was sweet seating wise, I could no longer open the engine hatch without removing the entire seat itself. This was because all the seat tilt gubbins poked out a bit too far over the hatch. You can see the difference on the last pic of the previous post. This was after some pretty serious mods to the seat to get more low in there.... So I decided to use the other seat which had all that tilt crap on the other side, so i had to do all the same mods to the second seat... Then I had to do even more drastic surgery to the underside to clear the rail release mechanism while swivelling.... etc etc. And I had to mod the extra side engine hatch to clear all the rail mech and allow the seat to slide backwards enough. Holy shit what an effort. Naturally this one seat became an all day job. It is all sorted now though and this is the result; Shit slides forward And slides back And then swivels And then goes right around There is a locking detent for straight ahead and straight back, this is good. The passenger seat I think I will not put rails on, as all it really needs to do is swivel. This should be pretty easy to set up then. Should be able to sort this tomorrow... 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThePog Posted June 19, 2016 Author Share Posted June 19, 2016 Minimal effort to achieve this today, I spent longer sitting in the bus planning out the next phase than mounting the seat.. There are a couple of minor things to tidy up here, mostly the passenger seatbelt stalk mount as this is as equally shit as the mounting rails were. I will also reposition the seatbelt reels, but this will be part of the reinforcing to mount the second row seats anyway. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThePog Posted June 25, 2016 Author Share Posted June 25, 2016 Today I made the rails that will mount the seatbelts reels and ends front and back. These will also be the outer attachment points for the back seat support brackets. I tacked the mount nuts in to make it easier to put this shit in. The angle is 60x60x6, which is as big as I can fit in the space available. Not welded yet, I will do this when the alternator has been checked out/disconnected/removed. I have notched the ribs and will weld as much as I can to tie it back. The original bus seats were mounted to the bit of 40x3 sitting just below it, so I will weld these two together as well to tie it in. There will also be a couple of bits of flat running vertically to the floor. This is pretty much the same on the other side but the pic was too blurry to use. Proper overkill, cert man is happy... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThePog Posted June 28, 2016 Author Share Posted June 28, 2016 I have been getting carried away with the second row seat mount design... Also I found a little man who does auto electrical stuff and now the charging issues are fixed, it was just a bung connector in the charging wire between the alternator and the battery. Stoked with that. There was an issue with the rear lights and the RH indicator, which turned out just to be blown bulbs - this was slightly embarrassing. Still, I am not an electricians arsehole and have never pretended to be... 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post ThePog Posted June 30, 2016 Author Popular Post Share Posted June 30, 2016 I had many things laser cut and picked them up today; Shoulder mounts for the seatbelts, 8mm plate, should be enough. Being the geek I am (and having the 20k version of Solidworks with all the bells and whistles) I did some FEA to make sure they were ok, they are. I removed some windows so i could get a bit more weld on there, this was piss easy, about 6 screws each... There is a bit of surface scab in there, this will get rust killed before replacing the window. Bits like this I have expected to be way worse than they actually are. Then there is the 2x sets of these; That got made into these; Still the other one to do, but a bit of weldy weldy and I had this situation, which pleased me. Good. 13 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThePog Posted July 2, 2016 Author Share Posted July 2, 2016 Heaps of progress today; Weldy weldy Some 75x6 flat bar to tie in the horizontal and provide mounts for the seat frames, this size was chosen specifically because I had some in the steel rack... The passenger seatbelt stalk needed a mount that wasn't just a hole through 1.6mm steel. This is the bolted on engine cover.. the same thing was done factory on the drivers side engine cover so should be gold. Pretty much sorted interior wise. Next on the list is the bracing underneath to mount the other side of those chair brackets. This should be a nice wee lounge, I will set up some tables to go between the front and back seats on each side; 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThePog Posted July 6, 2016 Author Share Posted July 6, 2016 Thought i had better do a lol MS paint jobbie of my vision Maybe a sweet rack at the front of the roof too? 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post ThePog Posted July 9, 2016 Author Popular Post Share Posted July 9, 2016 Bright and early this morning, time to piss off the neighbors (one set of which truly deserves it). I went around and cleaned up where i was going to cut, easier to do it now with a flattish surface.. Some extra tasty swiss cheese. Then I got to cutting using a bit of 50x25 sitting on the gutter as a guide; Then I propped up one side and got the forklift hard up against the bus, and lifted it off.... At this point I cackled quite a lot. I can stand up in it now. The lip left below my cut held quite a bit of that cheesy goodness, so I cut it off where applicable - this got rid of 95% of the grot; Then I took most of the windows out as I reckoned it would be less chance of getting damaged. I had to drill out some screws, the last screw popped through, knocked the window which fell out onto the concrete Rather fortunately nothing broke, altho the frame is a bit bent, but whatevs, stoked. Then I bought it inside the workshop and rust converted everything I could see. I cannot help but wish that I was turning this into a sweet ute.... Also the edge of that bit of roof left had been repaired in the time honored fashion; 2014 was a good year for soggy newspaper and bog filling materials :) I thought I had better leave the rust converter to do it's thing so that's it for the day. 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThePog Posted July 13, 2016 Author Share Posted July 13, 2016 I happen to own a set of rollers so I rolled some shit; And I attached yet more laser cut things to some SHS to get this; Then after much measuring, tacking and dicking around I have this; It was surprisingly difficult to get all the angles and spaces just right. It is within a few mm now though. It looks a bit Boris without the sloping front and back, that will be rectified shortly. And thanks to GC Threeonthetree I have this item; I am almost certainly going to mod the existing wheel to take a quick release and this.... 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThePog Posted July 24, 2016 Author Share Posted July 24, 2016 No update from last weekend as I was having a holiday in ChCh/Tekapo, I tried to convince my wife to leave me at home to crank through a bit more bus, but no There was almost no progress this weekend either as I had to install Windows 10 on my work laptop, holy fucking shit that is a day of my life I will never get back. Then to top it off I decided to do a bit of bus on that Sat afternoon and hilariously got some steel in my eye (I was wearing all the right kit, just bad luck I guess). I ended up at the emergency room around 6pm and the doctor took a look and said she couldn't see anything. On the way home the anesthetic wore off and it started to get worse. My eyelid was all puffed up as well by then. At midnight we loaded up the brats and drove back to the emergency room where another doctor actually found the steel embedded inside my upper eyelid. Unfortunately he poked a hole in my inner eyelid with the needle as well, so when I woke up this morning my entire eye socket was encrusted with gunk and blood - nice. I cannot recommend spending 7 hours with something sharp scraping your cornea, 0/10 would not trade again. It is coming right though and was good enough to get some shit done today. Anyway, I made an executive decision to make the roof lift a bit longer, this is so a shower or something could be installed in place of a second row seat in the future if our kids ever leave home or we sell it. This is a bit shit cos it will make the front rack a harder/pointless, plus I don't think it will look quite as shmick, however practicality will always win the day in PogLand. I have also mostly sorted the steering wheel boss, I naturally got some shit laser cut for this :tongue: First I cut and turned down the steering boss; Then some 8mm plate gets bolted to that. There are 3x M6 screws with about 30mm of thread engagement, should be enough; Then the quick release boss gets mounted along with another 8mm adaptor plate; Then the dirty ol trumpet wheel gets bolted on; Boom! As a bonus the height is now perfect for the seat, I will be able to change gears with ease.... The seat will have heaps more room too, nothing but win right there. I need to sort the horn but oi have a plan for this. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThePog Posted July 29, 2016 Author Share Posted July 29, 2016 Did a bit over the week; Cut out some grot Had a genius idea for the roof corners a wee while ago, so I implemented this. I did this cos it is really hard to get flat steel to become spherical... The radius I used for my little brackets to roll the sheetmetal around is 40mm, one of my suppliers has hollow spheres, one of which is 80mm diameter, so I cut one up and used it thus; This worked out really well (for now at least, we will see what fuckery happens when it comes to laying down the sheetmetal) Finished laying out the roof frame tonight, It just needs a couple of hours tomorrow to get it all fully welded, then some between the sheet action will ensue. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThePog Posted July 30, 2016 Author Share Posted July 30, 2016 Today I cut yet more of the roof off, it is nearly all gone now Then I added some window frame top and bottoms. Then I spent 4 hours welding it all together. then cleaning it all up ready for sheetmetal. I stupidly left all the insulation from the cut off roof inside it, I set it on fire a number of times, this was lol. This shot was before the welding but it looks the same same as after the welding, you can see my extra windowy bits. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post ThePog Posted August 6, 2016 Author Popular Post Share Posted August 6, 2016 So I have been doing a couple of hours every day after work, this makes for a long day but still better than sitting in front of a computer.. Started laying on the roof, the rear corner wrapping went better than expected; Wrapping the tops over was tiresome, I tried sitting on it and stropping it down but could not get a tight enough radius over the frame. Eventually I resorted to making a tool that I welded to the sheet and levered/pulled it tight enough to tack it. Added the back chunk after making a cardboard template, this was trivial in comparison; Then I had to fill in the compound radius at the top corner. I had some 100 x 1.6mm tube sitting in the steel rack so I trimmed up a bit of this as a start; Then I split it at 200mm separation so I could get the curve happening; Full welded then cleaned up..... Then I chucked in the fill panel between the two after adding some extra ribs to hold it them in place. I fully welded all that, so those panels pulled like a motherfucker. This means I may need to make some little bracy things so the panels pop out rather than in. Shouldn't leak tho The welding where I set the sheets down in the gutter was sketchy as fuck, there was so much spitting and popping that I ended up just tacking that every 100mm or so and will seam seal it. Might get a bit more done tomorrow..... Also I have bought a gas hob and a 24 - 12v dc convertor for various activities. 13 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post ThePog Posted August 7, 2016 Author Popular Post Share Posted August 7, 2016 14 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThePog Posted August 13, 2016 Author Share Posted August 13, 2016 The last stretch of roofage today, I had managed a wee bit over the week; So I used a sheet of steel to make the template directly, unfortunately I bolloxed this up and had to use my last sheet to re do it. Just as well I had a spare.. Then I slammed on the triangular bits and made sure they covered all the holes I had cut to get rid of the rust; Knackered now, that was a difficult bit to sort and it took 8 hours solid. In other news I have invested in a spray gun, some fuck off etch primer and some plasticoat for the roof. I also have a new BT stereo coming. I have a cunning plan for the interior insulation and painting, more of this at a later date. I have the horn to sort out and some rust to remove, then some windows to make and install, then I will take it for a COF and see what ugliness ensues. 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThePog Posted August 14, 2016 Author Share Posted August 14, 2016 Gave it a serious clean out today and tidied a few things; Made a functional horn button. This will need more loving as you need to remove a spade terminal to remove the wheel, but it works at least. The quick release turned out a bit shit, it is cheaply made and so the wheel wriggled when locked. I fixed this by sticking M5 grub screws into the alternate wheel mounting holes and jacking them out until the fuckers got nice and firm. Made a latch for the door so it actually close and locks... Made a battery cover and a mount for the isolator that I had installed when it was not charging properly; Then I sat and contemplated the goodness for a while, then went home. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThePog Posted August 16, 2016 Author Share Posted August 16, 2016 I did a bit of stuff inside tonight, added a few ribs and such; Then I decided to tackle the grot in the rear quarters and boot, so started cutting it all out. Then I struck gold in the form of a set of pliers used to pack out the hole. I then accidentally lost a key that had fallen out to the shop vac, so I decided to go the full forensic for the sake of science. This is the final haul; - Some sandpaper - A crunchie wrapper - A pen lid - A set of pliers - A lollipop stick - A bottle lid - A 1 yen coin - A NZ 5c coin - A button - A piece of wood - A piece of filing cabinet - A bolt - The lost key Naturally there was heaps of paper and shitloads of bog as well, but this must be some form of record. It is for me at least... 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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