Chassis repair steel

[Howard Wright]

Hi All


Thanks everyone for the suggestions. I think I’m on the right track with the repair but it will depend what I find after shotblasting.

I don’t hang around ….. and over the last three days I’ve got the body off and part stripped the chassis (just the springs to get off….but I know how difficult that can be!)

I hope to get it blasted very soon then I can asses and start welding!

Cheers

Howard


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[Ivor Hawkins]

Crikey! You make feel especially lazy, I pulled the engine and box in mine two weeks ago and then “household maintenance” took over…

[Howard Wright]

Ivor

I should be doing household maintenance but I’m using every excuse in the book! Actually most of yesterday was taken up with dealing with the RAC. On the two mile shopping trip to Tesco first thing in the morning my modern window van decided to stop, post fault messages all over the instrument panel, accompanied by locking the electric handbrake on. It couldn’t be shifted and it took two recovery vehicles and lots of head scratching before it finally arrived at the main dealer at 5pm. I left them to it just after lunch and now await the repair. Luckily it’s under warranty!

Cheers

Howard

[Howard Wright]

Hi All

My RK is very happy to have its van stablemate back on four wheels and running!


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It’s been nearly two months since I discovered the chassis crack. Taking the van apart was easy, repairing the damage difficult but putting it all back together frustrating.

I had the chassis shot blasted and found serious corrosion on both rails behind the front cross member and in the chassis extensions.  This had probably been like this since the van was constructed from a tourer in the late 1960s as the whole chassis and floor pan was covered in a thick sticky underseal.


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I decided to replace the chassis rails behind the front cross member and fabricate new chassis extensions. Surprisingly the rear cross member was in not too bad a condition.  Probably not what the purists would advise but I used 45mm square hollow section for the rails, sleeved to the original chassis over the front cross member.  I welded small angles to the lower flange to mimic Austin’s lip and to carry the chassis extension which doubles as the spring hanger. Remember this isn’t an historically important car more of a special.


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The major frustration with the rebuild came about as I decided to fabricate new flitch plates.  These weren’t the problem but the floor pan to which they bolt must be awry.  The new chassis is dead straight and true.  I’ve tried juggling the cowl, flitch plates and wings but the bonnet gaps are still not to my liking and the off side wing is an 1” height than the nearside.

I finally started her up yesterday but haven’t ventured out in the awful weather we are having!

Cheers

Howard