Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

[bentfinger]

Hi Everyone, As I'm retired I have been through quite a few motors in my time, including just a few abandoned projects. So I am determined to see this one through.
I have a Ford Transit camper. And as it is 4x4 is a bit unusual but a capable vehicle that gets me around. I would like to cut out as much of the proverbial rust worm as possible. I do not want to just weld patches on to cover the rust.
Having opened up the top of the chassis rails am quite surprised how much debris is there, even on a good section. I cannot open up some of the chassis as it has things like the shower room above.
Has anyone else had this problem? It would be good to get some sort of wire brush on a stick in the end of each rail, like a flue brush approach to the problem, but there are a lot of obstructions such as strengtheners in the way.
The Waxoyl would be much more effective
This is a working vehicle and I have already driven it around Iceland for 10 weeks, and last winter drove up to Tromso in Norway to see the northern lights so am keen to make a good job before travelling any more.

[pigtin]

Welcome bentfinger. I once owned a 1980 Transit Advantura and the rot was very difficult to keep at bay. Sounds like large applications of waxoil may be your only option. It might encapusulate the flaked rust and debris preventing any further corrosion. Perhaps you can blow out the worst of the debris with an airline.
There is probably someone knows more about the properties of Waxoyl, or any alternatived, than I do.
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[Bitumen Boy]

Wax is going to be the way to go, but I'd thin the first lot down a bit with white spirit or paraffin (a little boiled linseed oil might not be a bad idea either), then go back a while later and give it another blast with the stuff unthinned. Not Waxoyl from Halfrauds though, it's a bugger in cold weather and the last lot I had needed thinning so much to get it to flow it was pretty much useless - there's better stuff that's easier to use on the market now, though it be dearer. Bilt Hamber's brew, think it's called Dynax something, would be my choice, it doesn't need a ridiculous amount of warmth (I just leave it on a shelf above a convector heater for a while) and isn't inclined to go lumpy and block the gun. You can also mix it with some bitumen and thinners to give a tough black underbody coating (similar to the one Dinitrol do) with good results.

I do kind of wonder, though, how much worse your chassis rails are than all the others that we don't see into... probably little if any.

I'd be interested if you had more info about these 4X4 Transits, I met a guy at work - several years back now - who had one, never seen another from that day to this. How many were made (I thought it was a home conversion), where, by who, etc etc...

[Penman]

Hi bb
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Transit see section 8.1
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[Bitumen Boy]

[welshrover]

welcome .
a transit camper was the first car my uncle had in the 70's. it was a mk 1 in dark blue with a white lift up roof and the cloth was a white and orange stripe. i think its still on the road, it was up until about to years ago.

[bentfinger]

thanks for the replies guys. My van is the independant front suspension and with ultra modern technology has a switch to engage 4x4-- the mk2's needed to be engaged manually at each front hub-- so shock, horror, the driver had to get out of the cab, but not me.
It's a fixed plastic hi-top and a bespoke conversion.
I did waxoyl including inside the chassis about 3 years ago and it is partly that that has dried and partly flakey paint and a good bit of rust that forms the debris in the chassis rails.
P'raps I should plug up all the drain holes and thin the waxoyl a lot and just flood the box sections.
After p'raps a week it should be soaked enough to remove the plugs.
I'm working on the offside and have replaced the front wing and sill,step, rear arch, parts of the chassis. So would be good to finish this side before tackling nearside this winter.