11th Armoured Posted January 15, 2017 Share Posted January 15, 2017 Excellent job! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris_Collins Posted January 20, 2017 Author Share Posted January 20, 2017 More News from the Neville Skunkworks... "Two completed rooves for sandblasting completed with timber supports. There is still a couple of side pieces of timber to make up once the cross supports are refitted in to the front section of the rooves. Attached Thumbnails Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris_Collins Posted January 25, 2017 Author Share Posted January 25, 2017 Time to put the rear chassis rails and floor back together. First pick up the body and put it on the work bench. Not many vehicles you can restore on a workbench! First was to cut a small piece of pipe to insert inside the chassis as a crush tube for the damper arm mount as this is in a different position of a car chassis. I folded a channel section and insert inside the chassis where they joined. Smoe holes were drilled so a few extra plug welds could be added. As the outside pice of chassis runs unbroken past this joint I think it will be plenty strong enough. Some other pieces of steel were clamped top and bottom to align the pieces. Attached Thumbnails Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris_Collins Posted January 25, 2017 Author Share Posted January 25, 2017 The holes along the length of chassis rail were plug welded and then the ends of the sill panel were capped off. Attached Thumbnails Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris_Collins Posted January 25, 2017 Author Share Posted January 25, 2017 Original bump stop plates were added. Attached Thumbnails Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris_Collins Posted January 25, 2017 Author Share Posted January 25, 2017 In modifying a Tilly from an original car chassis the B pillar is simply moved back about eight inches or so to accomodate a wider door. When initially examining these vehicles I thought a repair patch had been added to the sill section but all that was done was a filler piece was added in factory to make up for where the original B pillar was intended to be located. So I had to do the same. Attached Thumbnails Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris_Collins Posted January 25, 2017 Author Share Posted January 25, 2017 Then the floor was ready to replace. There is one rotten piece that needs patching and the rear fold was too rusted and bent so I added a new piece. Attached Thumbnails Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris_Collins Posted January 25, 2017 Author Share Posted January 25, 2017 This is the side profile of the rear floor when I initially removed it. The box section was rusted out so I removed it to open this area up for sandblasting. Attached Thumbnails Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris_Collins Posted January 25, 2017 Author Share Posted January 25, 2017 Chris intends to tow a trailer (read custom tear drop Tilly camper yet to be designed and built) so a tow bar is required. There is not a lot to attach a tow bar to on the chassis of a Tilly so in repairing the rear box section of the floor (which welds between the ends of the chassis rails) I decided to reinforce that area. A piece of 3mm sheet was first folded to replace the rusted box section I had cut out. Another 3mm piece was folded to add inside. I will weld nuts inside this section to pick up and support the tow bar. There is two holes with crush tubes about half a metre from the chassis rail ends that can be utilised to fix the front end of the tow bar. This will be adequate support for the tow bar which I can fabricate once all this is in place. Attached Thumbnails Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris_Collins Posted January 25, 2017 Author Share Posted January 25, 2017 When I removed the floor I drilled all the spot welds with a spot weld drill. I left the bottom welds intact after cutting them so I could realign the rear of the chassis rails with exactly where they had originally joined the floor. The rails had crept in a bit with the welds so I needed a porta power to spread them slightly. Attached Thumbnails Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fesm_ndt Posted January 25, 2017 Share Posted January 25, 2017 Amazing stuff like this still pop up in Oz in a somewhat unmolested state. As almost everything gets re-purposed eg the spitfire I located in Kalgoorlie that had been converted into a chook shed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris_Collins Posted January 27, 2017 Author Share Posted January 27, 2017 The rear box section with internal half inch nuts in place to attach the tow bar was welded in and then the ends of that section welded to the ends of the chassis rail. The right side of the floor lined up correctly so I tacked it in a few places to get that side supported. Attached Thumbnails Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris_Collins Posted January 27, 2017 Author Share Posted January 27, 2017 The left side was out of alignment by about three quarters of an inch. Nothing a little persuasion with a 'porta power' couldn't correct. Attached Thumbnails Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris_Collins Posted January 29, 2017 Author Share Posted January 29, 2017 The floor is now welded in, which just left the small patch to do. The patch needed to match the cut off ends of the rotted floor ribs so after welding a flat patch in I heated it up and gently tapped the profile of the ribs in where required. Needs a little more dressing with a hammer and dolly but I can't access it properly in this position so I will finish it off when I can turn the chassis on its side. A few heat shrinks were required also to pull the front area of the floor into better shape and there are just a few welds to grind up. Attached Thumbnails Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guy66 Posted January 30, 2017 Share Posted January 30, 2017 Like to follow this thread on here , not to match bla bla bla but match action and interesting pictures. Looking forward to the next steps in the restoration . Guy;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy1960 Posted January 30, 2017 Share Posted January 30, 2017 The floor is now welded in, which just left the small patch to do. The patch needed to match the cut off ends of the rotted floor ribs so after welding a flat patch in I heated it up and gently tapped the profile of the ribs in where required. Needs a little more dressing with a hammer and dolly but I can't access it properly in this position so I will finish it off when I can turn the chassis on its side. A few heat shrinks were required also to pull the front area of the floor into better shape and there are just a few welds to grind up. Attached Thumbnails Excuse my lack of knowledge...just wondered how the "few heat shrinks" thing works ? I thought heat expanded and distorted metal ??? would love to learn the skills you have....amazing !!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris_Collins Posted January 30, 2017 Author Share Posted January 30, 2017 John Neville is the wizard of the Sheetmetal, i'm just his minion, he might chime in but he's more active on MLU,we have the same thread running there which i'm basically duplicating as soon as he posts something new. Here is more UK centric and we figured we would potentially get more interest and useful information here than on MLU, John Isn't very active here though. Thanks for your interest, folks I'm amazed that after going to Operation Market Garden 70th anniversary and declaring "I must have a Tilly", how quickly things have progressed (escalated? :nut:) andrew, I shall email you shortly in regards to the measurements you want, we have an alternative proposition for you. Cheers Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jack neville Posted February 2, 2017 Share Posted February 2, 2017 Excuse my lack of knowledge...just wondered how the "few heat shrinks" thing works ? I thought heat expanded and distorted metal ??? would love to learn the skills you have....amazing !!! If you have an area of sheet metal that is stretched or bulged as I found when putting this floor back in, you can shrink the metal. Apply heat to a spot where the bulge is obvious. This will cause as you say the metal in that spot to expand and bulge up in the area that is red hot. Whilst it is red hot, hammer and dolly that bulge down flat. You need to act quickly and it is easier to have an assistant use the torch. As you get it hammered flat quickly quench that area with a wet rag and this will cause the metal to contract and shrink. You might need to do a few shrinks to get the area tight as evidenced by the hot spots seen on the floor. You can also get stainless steel discs for use in an angle grinder to achieve a similar effect whereby you use friction from the disc and a water spray bottle rather than a hammer and dolly and torch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris_Collins Posted February 3, 2017 Author Share Posted February 3, 2017 (edited) Rooves have been blasted and the original just needs a small patch where it had been previously rusted through and filled. The folds inside above the sills are a bit untidy but will be convered with masonite trim eventually so we can live with that. Chris has started working on the body side panels marking and drilling holes. Attached Thumbnails Edited February 3, 2017 by Chris_Collins Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris_Collins Posted February 3, 2017 Author Share Posted February 3, 2017 Whilst Mr Collins concentrated on marking holes I spent some time grinding up the welds on the additions to the chassis. Measured up requirements for the tow bar which I will make up once I get the required steel. Rear section is now ready to seal and paint. I think. Attached Thumbnails Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris_Collins Posted February 4, 2017 Author Share Posted February 4, 2017 Pictures of the rooves as earlier mentioned. First was to add the rib on the car roof to match the original Tilly. There is a piece of rope which fits between to rib and roof to stop vibration I suppose. Some grinding of the rib to allow access to the bolts securing the supporting timber strut. Also reattached the small gutter pieces to the car roof. Attached Thumbnails Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris_Collins Posted February 4, 2017 Author Share Posted February 4, 2017 Also filled the couple of small rusted out areas on the original roof after welding in patches. Attached Thumbnails Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris_Collins Posted February 4, 2017 Author Share Posted February 4, 2017 Some filler and sanding. Attached Thumbnails Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris_Collins Posted February 10, 2017 Author Share Posted February 10, 2017 Two rooves patched and given a coat of fishoil and once that has dried they will be primed and painted. Attached Thumbnails Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris_Collins Posted February 10, 2017 Author Share Posted February 10, 2017 Pictured is once of the several rear bumpers Chris had to choose from. A somewhat failed attempt at providing a tow bar. Hopefully my design will provide a little more resistance. Attached Thumbnails Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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