starting conversion

[stu 709d]

hi all,

just bought a 709d and starting conversion, the van itself has a few issues, of which i have discovered more and more as ive stripped out previously fitted interior, although hats off to mercedes, all of the rust is in areas caused by previous owners messing about with it, take all the owner related issues away and its in amazing condition for a 15 yr old snap on van.

currently working on the roof as it has three opening vents, and whoever fitted them cut the holes too big and filled the gaps with sealant!! these are 500mm square vents so going bigger isnt really an option so i have to fabricate some mounting plates that actually fit, which will then be bonded to the roof over the existing holes after dealing with the rust. if the weather is kind i hope to get all three done over weekend, and then onto the sides, removing current badly fitted poor quality windows, repanelling the sides and fitting double glazing.

i am taking photos as i go but dont seem to be able to upload them at the minute, once i work out why i will upload some of the progress so far and update along the way.

ive built a landrover from scratch, this is my second van conversion and i work in the caravan industry, ive also been a mechanic and vehicle body worker for 20 some years so if i can be of assistance to anyone please feel free to ask, if i can help i will.

 

[ellisboy]

Sounds an interesting project Chap! Good luck with the build.

 

[Byronic]

Hi Stu,
I note your "hats off to MB" comment re.rust issues, hopefully you have the one in a hundred of the MB Type 2 vans that doesn't have rust issues directly attributable to poor rust proofing.
Unless the 1st owner took preventive measures as soon as he took delivery of the van, then you can be almost certain the scuttle/windscreen and the body sills (double skin) will have rotted. Also peek at the rear door sill panel and the roof overlap seams.
Not trying to be too negative, but since you are starting to convert from scratch you may be better able to do something about these problems now rather than later.
To be fair to MB their commercial vehicles are only designed for 5 or 6 years use and say 400,000km then the van owners accountants write the book value as zilch and maintenance costs high ie not worth keeping, so why would MB make the body last minimum of 20 years? I don't think they consider the self build M/H converter 15 years down the line

 

[stu 709d]

thanks for the replies, looking forward to getting stuck in over weekend.

i was aware of and have checked the usual spots, some work has been done on sills and wheelarches by previous owners, there is some surface rust on cab floor and the roof seams have just started to get some rusting on edges of overlaps, bulkheads, windscreen area etc are all pretty much rust free. i will need to do some welding at rear of front wheelarch where it meets the sill and the rear valence under back doors is junk due to unrepaired damage which has let the rust get a hold,but all in all a really good van for its age, the chassis is really good, still got most of its factory paint on. its only showing 80 thousand and i have no trouble believing its right. all of the rust will be removed, new metal put in as required, windows/vents etc all cut out then the full van will be resprayed, i havnt decided on colours yet, once the bodywork is finished i will insulate and panel the inside, first fix the wiring etc, make and install the interior, wire and plumb up, test everything and mot in time for a highland trip at christmas. the biggest jobs going to be fabricating and fitting all the window frames, i want to use double glazed panels so its all going to have to be fixed to the van frame, not just the outer skin, because of the weight.

of course, as with all grand plans, theres plenty can go wrong, but thats the aim and ive got twice as long as i should really need to get it all done, just need the weather to sort itself out, what happened to global warming!!