LT40: Sheetmetal and new toys update

It's been quite a while since I wrote something for the blog. But I have finally found some time! So enjoy this XXL post!

Lets start of with some nice sheetmetal

The steps on either side of the van turned out to be just some aluminium sheets that were held in place by some glue. Removing them showed the steel base frame.

Some pre-bended galvanised steel sheets with some welding and trimming turn slowly into a new parts. It is a little bit weird to find out that not everything is straight and square...

This the basic shape that I was going for, turned out pretty wel :-)

A rusted section is removed and a replacement piece was made and welded in place

COFFEE!

A piece of box section was rusted away so there was also a replacement made

The LT40 4x4 is based on the standard 2WD version. Almost all the components are interchangeable between the different versions. The standard version has twin tire setup at the rear axle. The 4x4 version uses a single tire configuration. So there is a lot of wasted space at the rear of the van. Halve of he wheel arches were removed (as shown in a previous post) and the holes left were closed with some bended sheet metal. First there were some "spotwelds" made through pre cut holes.

After that it was welded all the way around to prevent water penetrating.

Also the inner side of the wheel arch was welded all the way round

On the right side of the van there was also quite a large amount of damage due to corrosion

The repair panel is a flat piece of sheet metal. But the floor of the van is corrugated. In order to prevent a mismatch between the two a small strip of metal is perpendicular welded in place. This piece will act a connecting element between the two types of sheet metal.

Time to get a new one!

A parcel arrived from the UK!!

Just a quick test fit, but already really pleased with the look!

This snorkel will allow the engine to breath cleaner and cooler air from higher of the (dusty) road surface. Also it will increase the wade depth of the vehicle should crossing a river in the future be necessary.

The 4x4 system works!!

After checking regularly on a popular second hand trading website, this pair of heavy duty workshop jacks popped up. Picked them up for a good price and they turned out to be really as good as new(!)