Bedford Astravan MK2

[3cav3]

Thank you for the links.
Today I started tackling another job that I've been putting off for ages, the floor pans.
I don't mind admitting that I've made a bit of a cock up, as I wasnt familiar with the construction, I accidentally started cutting through the front chassis rails. Not the end of the earth, just means a bit more welding. Talking of which, I couldn't do any this morning as due to an old neck injury flaring up( a bone in my neck sometimes pops out and pushes on a nerve) I couldn't support the weight of the welding mask on my head.
I took the opportunity to rust treat everything and coat the inside with yet more red oxide.
If you look closely at the support bracket, about half of it needs replacing.







For the repair I've got a pattern complete floor pan. Originally I was going to just splice in a small bit, but if it was yours would you just put the whole panel in, any thoughts?

[Robsey]

Ordinarily, I would try to retain as much of the original metal as possible,

But

Looking at where you have cut out the existing floor pan, close to where the new piece would stop, I think it would be quicker and easier to fit the whole pattern panel.

The decider would be panel quality.
If the repair panel looks good, fits well and seems to be the same thickness as the original floor, then yes go for it.

If it is thinner, or "fits where it touches", then I would use only the part of the repair panel that I need.

These car manufacturers love to make it difficult to cut out panels and fit new restoration panels.

It is far too easy to slice a panel or support member that is ordinarily hidden out of view.
I have done it twice on the van already.


But like you say. Just another seem weld before you tack in the repair section.

With regards to your neck - Sheeesh!!
Not nice at all.

It is bad enough bending and contorting, or rolling round on the floor, without an under-lying condition.

I feel like I have been to the gym, full of aches and pains, the morning after a night on the van.

[3cav3]

With my neck it's now usually caused by sleeping funny on it, has happened on and off since my teens, I used to see a woman specialist who popped the bone back in for me but have had it done that many times now that I can usually get it to go back my self but it stays inflamed for a couple of days.
With the floor pan, the pattern one feels about the same thickness, I was suprised how flimsy the original part actually was when I cut it out.
You basically confirmed my thoughts, I reckon it will be a lot neater to weld the whole piece in. Just got to trim it down to fit as there's quite a bit of excess material probably to allow for extensive rot that Astra's seem very susceptible to.

[cavalier1990]

I've never seen floor repair panels for my cavy, interesting, is that from klokkerholm?

I once cut right through my front to rear brake pipes when cutting a chunk out the front floor, so just watch where you are cutting!

[cavalier1990]

This is like the one that I had in my 1986 mk2 Cavalier

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/154020223148

I've got a pile of them old late 80s/early 90 radios kicking about , including quite a few from the original one they fitted to the cavys! Sure i'll find a user for them one day My senator even has a blapunkt with CD autochanger in the boot!

[3cav3]

I've never seen floor repair panels for my cavy, interesting, is that from klokkerholm?

I once cut right through my front to rear brake pipes when cutting a chunk out the front floor, so just watch where you are cutting!

I already cut through my brake pipe when repairing the sill, not the end of the earth as I was planning on renewing the whole braking system anyway. I picked up a new master cylinder the other day for a fiver.
The floor panels are indeed klokerholm, I'm just hoping that they are made of better metal than the nearside inner arch. It was a nightmare to weld due to crappy steel. That's the problem with older vehicles, you have to make use of what you can find rather than just popping down the Vauxhall dealer.
Fingers crossed my latest find is a genuine German spec rear bumper brand new. So long as it arrives I will just have to cut out the fog light holes.

[Robsey]

Klokkerholm can be very hit and miss.

My Cavalier chassis rails were absolutely top notch.
Lovely thick steel and heavily painted / coated for corrosion protection.

Recently ordered front corner panels for the camper van were of a much lesser quality.
Very thin, barely 1.2mm (18swg) steel with no protective coating and minor rippling in some of the curved contours.

Maybe I was just very spoilt-rotten by the chassis rail quality.

[3cav3]

Klokkerholm can be very hit and miss.

My Cavalier chassis rails were absolutely top notch.
Lovely thick steel and heavily painted / coated for corrosion protection.

Recently ordered front corner panels for the camper van were of a much lesser quality.
Very thin, barely 1.2mm (18swg) steel with no protective coating and minor rippling in some of the curved contours.

Maybe I was just very spoilt-rotten by the chassis rail quality.

Totally agree with you. I've had some rear quarter repair panels ( that I ended up not using) from them that were nicely finished. The best ever is the suspension cups. I was going to fit the genuine Vauxhall ones that I found and ordered whilst giving up waiting on these, however when they arrived they are finished so well plus are a lot more complete than the Vauxhall's, they should save me a lot of fabricating in the long run so will be used. The floor pans though don't look as nice but should still be better than loads of patches.

[3cav3]

My new rear bumper turned up today. I love unpacking new old stock genuine parts, but as I mentioned before I also feel guilty at the same time, as this has sat on a shelf somewhere since the date stamp 1986. But I guess it's the ultimate environmentally friendly vehicle, using up parts that have already been made years ago rather than building a brand-new car from scratch, or letting these parts go into land fill.

The only down side is that it is German spec so will need the fog light holes cutting out. Will be a bit of a tense moment cutting into the new and very expensive plastic.

[Robsey]

Hopefully the inside of the outer skin should be marked out for the fog lights.

So hopefully not too scary if you take your time.

[3cav3]

Hopefully the inside of the outer skin should be marked out for the fog lights.

So hopefully not too scary if you take your time.

I only wish it was that simple. No marks are visible. It's going to take a lot of double measuring, a steady hand and lot of clenching, lol.

[btcctroy]

The floor panels are indeed klokerholm, I'm just hoping that they are made of better metal than the nearside inner arch. It was a nightmare to weld due to crappy steel. That's the problem with older vehicles, you have to make use of what you can find rather than just popping down the Vauxhall dealer.

these galv panels are made of the worst weldable material ever! do make sure you try and clean most of it of where ever your welding it.

the steel doesnt like heat either and quickly distorts, the only good thing is that its very soft so shapes nicely.

are you butt welding it in place?

Troy

[3cav3]

The floor panels are indeed klokerholm, I'm just hoping that they are made of better metal than the nearside inner arch. It was a nightmare to weld due to crappy steel. That's the problem with older vehicles, you have to make use of what you can find rather than just popping down the Vauxhall dealer.

these galv panels are made of the worst weldable material ever! do make sure you try and clean most of it of where ever your welding it.

the steel doesnt like heat either and quickly distorts, the only good thing is that its very soft so shapes nicely.

are you butt welding it in place?

Troy

I probably will try and butt weld it, due to my neck injury, then last weekend was my wife's birthday, I haven't made any further progress yet. Looking at the forecast for this weekend, I'm not sure I'll be able to make much more either. I really need a building to put the van in but due to funds this isn't an option at present.

[3cav3]

Finally got a few hours without much rain this morning so started to put the floor pan in. After a lot of thought I decided to only put in about a 3rd of it as to fit it all would of meant removing the seat mounting cross member.
I only got 2/3s welded before I had to go home but at least it's some progress.
free picture uploading site

[3cav3]

Another small job that I've made some progress with is the rear bumper lights. Now the rear bumper is being replaced with new, I thought I'd better give them a clean up so the don't stand out to much
On good old eBay I managed to track down some new grey plastic covers, and the light lenses responded well to some glass cleaner.
The bumper wiring loom was also repaired and retaped up.
Before



After

[Robsey]

I like these little jobs.
They make a huge rewarding change to the final job.



And that welding is coming on grand.

[3cav3]

There will be plenty more little jobs by the time this van is finished. Got to admit im looking really forward to hanging up my welding helmet for a long time once I've finished this shell. Beginning to think it would be quicker to patch up the Titanic and get it floating back on the surface again.

[3cav3]

Managed to grab a couple of hours on the van this morning and let a bit more of the floor section in.

[Robsey]

Probably a bit late, but I presume that you have one of these.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/233559998812

[3cav3]

Probably a bit late, but I presume that you have one of these.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/233559998812

Yes thankyou, you kindly sent me a link to one about a year ago, but always pleased for links as I may of missed a listing, at that price I have ordered it as a spare in case my other gets damaged.
Very useful book, have used it a lot in places.

[3cav3]

Just noticed its 2 years today that this Van first arrived back in my yard, and its still not finished! A bit depressing really, when its first turned up I thought it would be 6 months to a year tops and i'd have it back on the road. Hopefully it'll be some where near by the 3 year mark.

[Robsey]

Do not beat yourself up over taking two years....

I have been "working" on the van for 8 years..
But I only really got started this summer.
7 1/2 years before I even made a proper start. Now that is embarrassing.

[cavalier1990]

Just noticed its 2 years today that this Van first arrived back in my yard, and its still not finished! A bit depressing really, when its first turned up I thought it would be 6 months to a year tops and i'd have it back on the road. Hopefully it'll be some where near by the 3 year mark.

These projects take way longer than you ever anticipate, the dippy is still in my garage waiting it's final rebuild, and that has been nearly 5 Years I've had it. Initially it was just a freshen up I had in mind!

Senator off the road since 2016 and still a mountain of stuff to do on it. It's lying outside and at my folks so only get a chance to work on it here and there. I find that various things seem to get in the way of getting any work done. I am a lazy bugger sometimes, but I've had serious issues with my garage roof where the diplomat is, so I've now finally got the roof totally replaced, I couldn't work under a seive of water coming in everytime it rained. I had an intricate bucket system to collect the rainwater, including wooden blocks and using the back light plastic panel to hold a bucket over the front of the screen, with blocks of wood under it to hold it up lol.

So now all of that is sorted I need to clear out the garage, fix all the cracks in the walls and brick seperators for the new beams. Mind you it is totally bone dry now which was the thing was really concerning me, mainly due to the much higher possibliity of panels and repairs rusting, thankfully none of that has happened.

[3cav3]

This is what I hate about Britain, I finally have got the motivation up to go and start working on this van again, yet yesterday I was trapped in the village by flood waters so thought I'd go today instead, but despite the forecast saying different I looked out this morning and it was bloody snowing! Maybe tomorrow...
For Christmas I got a Makita electric DA, should help with the body prep as I can't stand the noise made by the air one.

[3cav3]

Despite it being below freezing this morning I've managed to make a start back on the van. Not a lot of progress but at least it's one less job left on the list.

After a couple of hours;

[url=https://