Late 1980 yellow load lugger resto

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 ..

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..

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..

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

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 .

Once the engine bay was finally prepped and tidy I gave it a coat of 2pk sealer

Once the sealer/etch had dried I have it a dry sanding and hit it with 2pk primer filler

I spent a good afternoon beating the 7 bells out of this guard and it finally came good, on some small areas where the panel has stretched causing a easy pop in/out I tried a method of drilling a small hole of about 5mm and mig welding it up hoping the heat will pull the wobble tight again , it helped but not a cure .
I didn't worry about the crease that's noticable in the pic cause I'm fitting mk1 twincam flares, once the old factory arch is removed it'll make the panel more pliable

I've fitted twink arches to plenty of cars over the years including Dat1600s and Toyota Celica TA22 . Fitting them to the van will look standard but unless up against another you prolly won't know.. the patches of filler are only light layers. Arch is on for test fit before the full installation

I made up the inner sills using my folder to get the creases correct and match the original. While doing floors I decided to open out the tunnel a little bit wider but not too much using CAD Cardboard Aided Design !

Then transfer to metal and weld in

Next was drivers floor and part of the wheel well needing attention

Thanks Paul 😀
That's the floors all sorted out and primed

First coat of primer went on mainly to cover any bare metal

Speaker holes in doors is not a Good thing so making replacement pieces was required, a little finishing filler and good as new!


Underbody deadner was applied to the whole undercarriage once any loose old stuff was removed.... This is why I rotisserie my projects, make the whole repair process so much easier