i have made and fitted new trims to finish the inner a skin around the windows.
The inner skin is being fitted. The original end caps have been polished and refitted. The rest of the skin is teplaced with new aluminium. 1000 rivets later and the job is completed……
With the chassis repaired and painted we fitted cellotex insulation between the sections before laying a new waterproof phelonic plywood floor. The insulation is taped to prevent condensation problems and wooden battens have been set in to help with fixing. After the flooring is cut to size all edges are carefully sealed before securing to the chassis.
On the walls a roof the foil insulation has been carefully bonded to the skin with all edges sealed, again to avoid any condensation problems
The original fridge vent was the source of a nasty leak and is no longer required. A previous repair actually had stuff growing underneath! After removing the vent and cleaning the area a replacement patch has been fitted with plenty of sealant and matching rivets and will be polished with the rest of the skin.
The 60 year old chassis was in remarkably good condition with minimal welding repairs needed. After cleaning 2 coats of rust inhibiting paint are applied. A final sprayed coat of under seal will be applied before the floor goes down.
One of the segments in the rear end panel previously removed is scarred where some electrical fittings were previously located.
The segment is de-riveted and will need to be replaced. The new segment will be made from a piece of aluminium salvaged from another part of the inner skin (like a skin graft!) and will need to be rolled to form the curved profile.
The the floor out and the belly pan removed the old airstream emits an eerie glow….
With the inner skin the original insulation is revealed, mouse ridden and damp. Interestingly a 60 year old shortcut can be seen here. The insulation was missing from all four top corners, presumably because it was fiddly to fit!
After first removing the original interior, we have stripped the paint from the original internal end caps, exposing the high quality 50s aluminium beneath which will polis to a mirror finish.
Whilst the rest of the internal skin will be replaced with new aluminium, the end caps will carefully removed and refitted later.