Hi folks, , I was lucky enough to find a 2003 Commercial in Derby with surface rust only on the chassis and almost no rot anywhere else but it had cracked windows and bodywork damage so I got it for a really good price. However, given the winters here in the Highlands, surface rust only wouldn't be the case for long so I decided give it a fighting chance so--
The interior was stripped completely and the floor, pillars, panels and roof treated with phosphoric acid, rinsed clean, treated with Aquasure rust convertor then primed and painted with tractor enamel. I removed the cracked rear quarter, rear door and alpine roof windows and fitted replacements from the 3 donor vehicles I had acquired previously. The windscreen needs replacing but I feel that's best left to the pro's so will be done later.
The roof lining was in poor shape so I considered replacing it but as I intend to use Blue for around the croft as well as overnight fishing etc, I stripped the sagging cloth and foam then painted it with PU floor paint!! I insulated the roof then stuck a second roof liner to the inside of the painted one before fitting to keep out the cold. (The extra strength will also be useful when I get round to fitting new internal lighting)
Given the amount of "leaking" D2's around I then began to seal all of the usual leak points listed in relevant Posts including stripping out and replacing all the gutter sealant, body panel sealant joints, door surrounds and window seals. The carpets were washed and replaced after sealing the floor and all potential bulkhead leak points, along with new gear lever/handbrake gaiters and newly washed and painted heated Alcantara front seats. The door panels were removed and cleaned and the door interiors rust treated, painted then waxoyled before replacing the plastic lining and refitting the panels
Under the bonnet was next with the bulkhead lining stripped and binned, then all fixtures and fittings removed or moved aside to allow rust treatment and painting of the entire engine bay, including cutting out and welding in new panels where they looked likely to be a problem in future (under the fusebox and cables and under the airbox) and removing and replacing the sealant on the windscreen wiper, brake servo, heater inlet panel and cable bulkhead entry
points. Whilst I was in there I removed the front bumper and headlights and the whole front bulkhead got the same treatment!!
The front bumper was missing the internal mounting/finishing panel so I treated and painted one of the pre-facelift bumpers and fitted it complete with fog-lights then stripped the headlights and polished the reflectors, then Tiger-sealed them and polished the acrylic lenses, made a new inlet grille from a tractor part and remounted the bumper. I also serviced the engine, changed all the filters and replaced the engine covers after painting the turbo heat shield before
the whole underside and chassis was treated with phosphoric acid/aquasteel and then sealed with a 50/50 mix of Waxoyl and Tetraseal.
Next to do are the suspension, brakes, replace all bushes with Poly's and replace the droplinks and steering rod ends which will hopefully be funded by the sale of parts from the 3 donors!!
Pics on Flickr https://www.flickr.com/photos/192212822 ... /ps/3VRpKP
The interior was stripped completely and the floor, pillars, panels and roof treated with phosphoric acid, rinsed clean, treated with Aquasure rust convertor then primed and painted with tractor enamel. I removed the cracked rear quarter, rear door and alpine roof windows and fitted replacements from the 3 donor vehicles I had acquired previously. The windscreen needs replacing but I feel that's best left to the pro's so will be done later.
The roof lining was in poor shape so I considered replacing it but as I intend to use Blue for around the croft as well as overnight fishing etc, I stripped the sagging cloth and foam then painted it with PU floor paint!! I insulated the roof then stuck a second roof liner to the inside of the painted one before fitting to keep out the cold. (The extra strength will also be useful when I get round to fitting new internal lighting)
Given the amount of "leaking" D2's around I then began to seal all of the usual leak points listed in relevant Posts including stripping out and replacing all the gutter sealant, body panel sealant joints, door surrounds and window seals. The carpets were washed and replaced after sealing the floor and all potential bulkhead leak points, along with new gear lever/handbrake gaiters and newly washed and painted heated Alcantara front seats. The door panels were removed and cleaned and the door interiors rust treated, painted then waxoyled before replacing the plastic lining and refitting the panels
Under the bonnet was next with the bulkhead lining stripped and binned, then all fixtures and fittings removed or moved aside to allow rust treatment and painting of the entire engine bay, including cutting out and welding in new panels where they looked likely to be a problem in future (under the fusebox and cables and under the airbox) and removing and replacing the sealant on the windscreen wiper, brake servo, heater inlet panel and cable bulkhead entry
points. Whilst I was in there I removed the front bumper and headlights and the whole front bulkhead got the same treatment!!
The front bumper was missing the internal mounting/finishing panel so I treated and painted one of the pre-facelift bumpers and fitted it complete with fog-lights then stripped the headlights and polished the reflectors, then Tiger-sealed them and polished the acrylic lenses, made a new inlet grille from a tractor part and remounted the bumper. I also serviced the engine, changed all the filters and replaced the engine covers after painting the turbo heat shield before
the whole underside and chassis was treated with phosphoric acid/aquasteel and then sealed with a 50/50 mix of Waxoyl and Tetraseal.
Next to do are the suspension, brakes, replace all bushes with Poly's and replace the droplinks and steering rod ends which will hopefully be funded by the sale of parts from the 3 donors!!
Pics on Flickr https://www.flickr.com/photos/192212822 ... /ps/3VRpKP
