I was meant to start this a couple of years ago, it was given to me as payment for making a fibreglass bonnet for his other project. This is the day I received it




As you can see it's in usual worn condition with some bonuses like a full length hoodliner but has some surprises to expose as I go along ..

Loving what youve done with it last time i seen it at your place marty! Makes me want to put it in my garage.

Thanks Robbie,. It's pretty close to turning the key, if I can find the key..
A few more pics from early on
Full hood lining with rips, usual..

STD rot in the floors and bulkhead ..



So now I've assessed the rust/damage, I took to it with grinder and drill to remove the front panel which was bashed to bad to repair, also removed the drivers front guard


A quick email to Motorsport Tools for new front panel and both front floors, just waiting for it to arrive in a few days..

The floors were very brittle as with most vans neglected
The bash on the front driver side caused some light folding of the inner wing, nothing that can't be unbent later on.
Rotisserie time..

Now I can get serious at getting stuck in to the panel work..
When I seen this I was sceptical of what condition the centre is in... This diff must've been just bolted in for rolling about..

One of the best parts of this van is the rear deck.... It had lived under a mattress and plywood since near new , when I removed it all , this is how good it was ..
It was just a small shame the plywood base was screwed down so it'll be the holes welding and sanding..

cool project Marty.
Either it must have been a pretty sweet bonnet you made, or else you just got a nice bargain :)
 
A   2lt van would be quite handy.
Most of the ones I've seen online recently are just about rusted out.
Future plans? Staying yellow and original?

Haha, I think I got a bargain .. The bonnet was about $450 so he thought it was fair.
The van is staying yellow, I think originality is the key these days plus it can run on seasonal rego .. I'm working on this van as well as removing the zetec which I sold from my mk1 to be installed in another mk1 destined for Sydney

After speaking to a guy from Sydney who came down to Adel to look at my mates car and while here also look at my mk1 Mex zetec, he decided to buy my mates mk1 with pinto but came back to me to buy the zetec from my car and swap it into his car before it ships out to his place in Sydney

Back to the van , and having a serious look at this crumple I was going to chop it out and weld new metal in but thort to just bash it out and worked rather well..

Had to notch the front frame to accept the front panel lol
New panels arrived

Front panel is a Magnum pressed panel, not sure if the van guard was out or the new panel was out but was a minor problem to be bothered about .

New front panel in and welded the slam panel back in place

Started in the heater area, this was quite easy to repair, since I've done with a lot of them now

Bit of time spare and recreated the notch that sits just below the heater bubble, it's not exact but still it's better than a flat plate ..