1972 safari 17/4 restoration

[b16jle]

Went to see my safari at Garys workshop. He is doing a great job. He is very good and interested in his work.. Thanks James

[henry]

Ive spent all week rubbing this down sometimes im a bit too optimistic but im now happy with the finish the back side bottom panel next to the door was real bad it had been damaged in the past and covered with a bit of spare aluminium over the stripe I decided the cover piece wad almost as bad and only went up to the awning rail so I removed it and went with the original

Not much exiting to say about sanding down an enormous caravan here's some photos

[Deleted]

Fantastic job, really can't wait for mine to go to you next week.

[henry]

Today I need to finish screwing all the trims back on that are to be painted I am using 3.5mm by 25mm pozidrive marine grade stainless wood screws and the sealant is called seamseal cv I will use around 1200 screws and 10 tubes of sealant for the whole caravan

After I am done with the seals I will clean up the sealant with paper towels soaked with white spirit

After that I will make a start on re boarding out the front end kitchen and bathroom but the seals are the priority as its going to visit the painter tomorrow



I had the cushions in the other safari so they didn't get dirty while sanding I will put them in the spare office while its getting painted the photo has just reminded me

[Deleted]

My 17s went on holiday to Gary's workshop today, I look forward to seeing the progress on the board over the next coming months!!!

[henry]

The 17/4 went off to the painter on wednesday morning here are some photos of before it went

[bensonsnuts]

Gary , I'm full of admiration for the work you are doing . Can I ask how many sections of panel you took off the side ? Am I right in thinking it split into four sections ..top , bottom and divided above the door ?
Cheers
Geoff

[henry]

Hi Geoff

These are in 6 sections each side if you look in the photo above the grey vertical lines are seals either side of the wheel well that say where the panels divide also they split on the top trim line of the stripe there quite manageable sections on your own to get them off getting them on is a 2 man job

if yours is a 79 14/4 each side will be in only 2 sections top and bottom the split will be on the top trim section of the stripe that runs the length of your safari To get these on and off will be a 2 or 3 person job not because they are heavy just to stop them kinking under there own weight because a 15ft by 4 foot piece of ally sheet is pretty hard to handle on you own

You need to make sure once the trims are off that you get all the panel pins out before you start moving the panel easy way to find them is clean off the old sealant with a wire brush wheel on a drill but don't stray in to the paint when you do this you can see them

Gary

[bensonsnuts]

Yeah , I'm perversely looking forward to tackling the rot at the front and the back but removing a 15ft long side panel would be well outside my comfort zone .I'm sure I'll have a better idea what I'm dealing with when I open the back up . The sides actually feel pretty solid with not much give apart from above the door where the damp is visible from the inside .The van is still entirely usable at the moment so I won't be tackling it anytime soon.

Geoff

[Deleted]

You could always take out the wallboards inside then you can see the battons and decide whether you should take off the ally or not? But i would take garys advise as he is the pro!

[henry]

When you do tackle it you don't actually need to take the side panels off to inspect the woodwork they are like big curtains you can simply lift them slightly with the trims off take a torch and have a peek underneath for discolored wood the front and back are easy enough to handle they are in maybe 5 or 6 small pieces

Dont remove internal wallboard's unless there damaged as they will need to be replaced once there off and thats just a waste of money

[henry]

This will aparently be finisdhed painted by friday there was a reaction between the original etch primer and the new on the edges of the body where the trims go the new primer has pickled so has been taken off and a barrier coat has been applied in these places

[henry]

I took these first thing this morning im not sure if its painted yet but the camouflage effect is cool

[henry]

The paint is finished this the pic of the car is the reflection in the paint its stunning the painter has out done himself
I should of taken more photos

the rebuild has begun

[bensonsnuts]

Wow !

[Deleted]

Not my prefered colour but looks very nice! Would look great white having this shine!

[henry]

I have just got in from the workshop I brought it back from the painters today its almost finished I have to put the trims back on the outside and do lots of little jobs the interior plywood walls are done and looking smart my phone died this afternoon some time so no pics until tomorrow

[henry]

[henry]

Its so close to being finished

[Deleted]

Is the stripe going to be painted? looks awesome!

[Deleted]

Did you manage to find the correct beading?

[henry]

This came back as the roof trims were pretty beat up and were letting water in

So I ordered some new 5/8ths inch half round bar from woolies trim and set to it with the blow torch




I to bend it it needs to be fairly hot and clamped to a metal bench or something that's heavy and not going to set fire
I used mole grips to pull and push the tight curve at the very end but the bit you grip with these has to be chopped off as they mark the ally for the more gentle curves I used a mixture of pulling in the end and pushing with a scrap of wood that had been soaked in water

its not a quick job at all it needs to be left to cool to offer it up to the caravan to check the curve then heated up to make corrections but quite satisfying




Its now painted and back on