Wednesday, 18 September 2013
Monday, 2 September 2013
Out with the old and in with the new.
First things first in getting Molly ready for the wedding is to give her a face lift. She's getting on a bit and everything is starting to slip as it happens to the best of us. We decided to respray her and make any required repairs along the way.
Here she is looking a bit of a sorry state after her rear door had fallen off. This happened earlier in the year but other projects meant the repair was postponed. In the picture you can see I have started the long and arduous task of rubbing her down.
Now, Our Molly doesn't have an awful lot of steel in her compared to other vans of her size but what steel there is is subject to the same fate; rust. We'd done a bit of welding to her before including repairing the bulkhead, a small section of chassis and the NS inner wheel arch. But I also knew there was some lurking behind her front panel so I removed it to make the repairs.
Here is a section I removed and next to it is the new one I made to replace it. At the bottom is another replacement although I've not yet made the square hole in the pic.
The next sequence of photo's show the section being installed. The top of the panels either side of the radiator were also rotton and needed replacing as were the forward part of the front wheel arches. All the metal is good nick was ground back, treated and then primed. I'll paint this all and waxoil what needs waxoiling in the near future.
Here she is looking a bit of a sorry state after her rear door had fallen off. This happened earlier in the year but other projects meant the repair was postponed. In the picture you can see I have started the long and arduous task of rubbing her down.
Now, Our Molly doesn't have an awful lot of steel in her compared to other vans of her size but what steel there is is subject to the same fate; rust. We'd done a bit of welding to her before including repairing the bulkhead, a small section of chassis and the NS inner wheel arch. But I also knew there was some lurking behind her front panel so I removed it to make the repairs.
Here is a section I removed and next to it is the new one I made to replace it. At the bottom is another replacement although I've not yet made the square hole in the pic.
The next sequence of photo's show the section being installed. The top of the panels either side of the radiator were also rotton and needed replacing as were the forward part of the front wheel arches. All the metal is good nick was ground back, treated and then primed. I'll paint this all and waxoil what needs waxoiling in the near future.
Bloody hell, it's been nearly a year since the last post in this blog. Well that shows how savagly neglected poor old Molly has been. Not to fear however, her spirits have been lifted by a most unusual request.
While Molly was gathering mould beneath the Sycamore and spending her hours knitting spiders webs things were happening elsewhere. Just when she thought she'd been heartlessly abandoned for the second time in her life she was asked to take a young lady to her special day.
"What joy!" Said Molly. "I'll be the belle of the ball!"
"Half a second miss." Said the bride to be. "I rather hoped I'd be the belle."
"Ah, yes." Molly replied now rather embarressed by her outburst.
"Anyway" Contined the bride to be. "You can't very well go like that now can you."
Molly limped over to the pond (for her clutch was seized) and gazed down into the misty waters. The bride to be was right, Molly was not looking her finest. She looked back sorrowfully at the bride to be.
"Come along now Molly, lets get you fixed up aye?"
The two walked hand in hand back to the workshop.
While Molly was gathering mould beneath the Sycamore and spending her hours knitting spiders webs things were happening elsewhere. Just when she thought she'd been heartlessly abandoned for the second time in her life she was asked to take a young lady to her special day.
"What joy!" Said Molly. "I'll be the belle of the ball!"
"Half a second miss." Said the bride to be. "I rather hoped I'd be the belle."
"Ah, yes." Molly replied now rather embarressed by her outburst.
"Anyway" Contined the bride to be. "You can't very well go like that now can you."
Molly limped over to the pond (for her clutch was seized) and gazed down into the misty waters. The bride to be was right, Molly was not looking her finest. She looked back sorrowfully at the bride to be.
"Come along now Molly, lets get you fixed up aye?"
The two walked hand in hand back to the workshop.
Monday, 1 October 2012
There were three in the bed...
If anyone is interested in rescuing Dolly then please get in touch. She'll be moved down to Somerset near Taunton before long where she will be taking audiences. Alas, with the new Morris on the scene something has to give and sadly it is Dolly.
Sunday, 5 August 2012
Sunday, 29 July 2012
From worse to worser.
I had a disastrous trip down to the garage to book Molly's MOT the other day and returned with this!
It's a 1968 Morris 1000 four-door. One lady owner from new. It's be sat in the back of the garage pictured for the last six years but had been used as an everyday vehicle as recent as 2002 I beleive.
It's a 1968 Morris 1000 four-door. One lady owner from new. It's be sat in the back of the garage pictured for the last six years but had been used as an everyday vehicle as recent as 2002 I beleive.
Tick tock goes the MOT clock...
Well, I'd made some progress with Molly and got her driverside door back on. Rather than using wood this time, as per Martin Walter coach builders, I went for what I hope to be a more lasting solution and made some plates up of of 3mm mild steel. These were drilled for the hinges and had their nuts welded int position so I can really do up the mounting screws tight without fiddling around with spanners in small sapces.
I then welded large bracing sections that I cut serrated sections into to grab the glassfibre when it was laid.
I then glassed in some more wood between the plates replacing the original door frame. The plates were bolted to these and the whole lot was glassed over with thick matting and Polyester resin.
All fixings are stainless and of larger size than original.
That door won't be going anywhere for a while!
One down, two to go.
The glass issue was sorted very easily by a local company in Taunton called Roman Glass. They were incredibly helpful and in the time I'd gone to get money from the cash machine they had made a prefect replica of the original out of 6.4mm laminated glass inc hole and cut outs. The chap charged me £10.
The aluminum strip at the back edge of the sliding window didn't fit with it's original gauge gasket so I have refitted it with a smear of silicone.
The fixing screws for the bottom section of window frame were long passed serviceable and had to be drilled out. I found a 4mm nut held itself captive between the aluminum channel so I used these with CS stainless screws to reassemble.
The second MOT is tomorrow!
I then welded large bracing sections that I cut serrated sections into to grab the glassfibre when it was laid.
I then glassed in some more wood between the plates replacing the original door frame. The plates were bolted to these and the whole lot was glassed over with thick matting and Polyester resin.
All fixings are stainless and of larger size than original.
That door won't be going anywhere for a while!
One down, two to go.
The glass issue was sorted very easily by a local company in Taunton called Roman Glass. They were incredibly helpful and in the time I'd gone to get money from the cash machine they had made a prefect replica of the original out of 6.4mm laminated glass inc hole and cut outs. The chap charged me £10.
The aluminum strip at the back edge of the sliding window didn't fit with it's original gauge gasket so I have refitted it with a smear of silicone.
The fixing screws for the bottom section of window frame were long passed serviceable and had to be drilled out. I found a 4mm nut held itself captive between the aluminum channel so I used these with CS stainless screws to reassemble.
The second MOT is tomorrow!
Friday, 13 July 2012
From bad to worse
Both Rach and I have been away for the majority of the year so sadly Molly has been somewhat neglected. I got back last week to find her with a seized clutch and cover in crap from the tree overhead.
She is booked in to make an appearance at a retro festival this August so once again I find myself rushing to get her ship shape for her MOT on the 24th of July.
Here's the link to the festival;
http://www.retrofestival.co.uk/ - Come and say hello if you spot us!
Nothing much has changed since last year other than we had another problem with the driver's door (falling off!) after someone tried to swing on it. The last repair was seemingly not up to the rigors of modern life so I'll have to have a rethink.
I didn't get off to the best start however, after tripping over my dog and dropping the door;
Sunday, 29 January 2012
Smart girls go Debonair!!
Molly and her contemporaries (Series 1 Debonairs) proudly drove out of the Bedford factory 48 years ago... and counting! Long live the Debonairs!
Wednesday, 19 October 2011
300 Miles and counting
We haven't had a great deal of time spare to take Molly out for as many jaunts as she deserves to clear away the cobwebs, but she has already racked up over three hundred miles and (touch wood) hasn't missed a beat.
We know from the previous owners that she used to holiday a lot in Devon and so we decided to take her back to see a few of her old hang outs and show her what has chaned, if anything. So, with this in mind, we went to Beer Bay, Watchet, Sidmouth, the Donkey Sanctuary and the Bakerlite museum (which was her particular favorite).
After having her fill of fish and chips in Beer, she made a somewhat unhurried ascent out of the village and on over the hills toward Sidmouth. Her temperature guage barely flinched as she trundled along mile after mile. She wasn't even as thirsty as we had predicted. 55mph is quite an experience when one is perched upon her finely upholstered bench.
In Sidmouth her old fashioned tastes came to the fore when we could barely drag her away from a shop selling bespoke hand made Royal wedding memorabillia.
Sadly the chap who owns the Bakerlite museum was not present as Molly was impatient to complement him on such a fine establishment. We agreed, truly it is a wonderland. All in all, a rather tired Molly concluded, "Not much really changes."
And with that she lit another Marlboro, recoiled on her velour poof and closed her eyes.
We know from the previous owners that she used to holiday a lot in Devon and so we decided to take her back to see a few of her old hang outs and show her what has chaned, if anything. So, with this in mind, we went to Beer Bay, Watchet, Sidmouth, the Donkey Sanctuary and the Bakerlite museum (which was her particular favorite).
After having her fill of fish and chips in Beer, she made a somewhat unhurried ascent out of the village and on over the hills toward Sidmouth. Her temperature guage barely flinched as she trundled along mile after mile. She wasn't even as thirsty as we had predicted. 55mph is quite an experience when one is perched upon her finely upholstered bench.
In Sidmouth her old fashioned tastes came to the fore when we could barely drag her away from a shop selling bespoke hand made Royal wedding memorabillia.
Sadly the chap who owns the Bakerlite museum was not present as Molly was impatient to complement him on such a fine establishment. We agreed, truly it is a wonderland. All in all, a rather tired Molly concluded, "Not much really changes."
And with that she lit another Marlboro, recoiled on her velour poof and closed her eyes.
More Rot
It took two session to release the water container housing from the van, It was jammed good and proper. Anyway, it has had a few reapirs of the years but really it's fairly shot. I'll be making a new one of the winter during my luch hours as well as a few other body parts and trims etc.
Wednesday, 5 October 2011
Good Golly Cream Teas Postcards
We've been pretty slack with the blogging lately and had a few complaints! After the MOT we breathed a sigh of relief, had a little holiday and finally had a couple of weekends off!!
We still have plenty of work to do, not least the inside and exterior paint work, so the bloggings definitely not over!
I'm getting things started for Molly's foray into business next year, here's her new promotional postcards...and we even have our first booking for next August already!
We've had a couple of practice runs with 'Cream Teas for Charity'... Molly was admired almost as much as my cakes!
Molly's scone selling has raised a massive £280 for Charlotte Miller Art Project (UK reg charity no 1064645) and will help fund a new programme of Participatory Photography with street children in Ecuador (designed and run by yours truly starting Nov 2011 until May 2012... I'll be back in time to make the most of the cream tea season I promise! )
Friday, 29 July 2011
Good Golly Miss Molly!
GOOD GOLLY!
CREAM TEAS FOR CHARITY
Now she's on the road I'm wasting no time to capitalise on Molly's good looks! Molly is being put to work in selling scones and posing for photo's to raise money for The Charlotte Miller Art Project in Ecuador. The money raised from Molly's 'Cream Teas For Charity' will help fund a new series of Photography and Arts workshops for street children in Guayaquil, Ecuador that I will be running from November 2011.
Available for private wedding and party hire, and appearing at events around the South West this September (after we've given her a little respray in August!).
Tuesday, 19 July 2011
Molly's first MOT in twelve years
Sorry for the delay in updating the blog but we've been rather preoccupied with having a road legal vehicle.
Don't let Molly's decidedly original patina fool you because she passed her MOT with no advisories at all. While she was at the garage she also noticed a rather fetching Morris 1000 that she decided might be a splendid stable mate. But we can cool any talk of that until next year, so, until then, please raise a glass!
Wednesday, 13 July 2011
The Big Day
It was three days before the MOT and the list of jobs seemed to be increasing. The brakes hardly work, there were no out riggers behind the rear wheels, the rear nearside lamp doesn't work, the wipers park in the middle of the screen, there were no split pins in the front hubs, there is a large hole in the floor were we removed a carrier box (presumed to be for water tank), the welds needed to be ground back and filled on the upper nearside wheel arch...etc.
We took time off work to complete the jobs on Monday and Tuesday before the MOT on Wednesday (today!), it was to be a stressful few days. We started by reversing the van up on to ramps so as to get at the out riggers. As we did this we noticed some liquid leaking from beneath the van and discovered that the fuel line had fractured. A good start. With the back down off the ramps and the front in the air we cut out the offending pipe and jointed it with some rubber piping and a few clips.
Although (predictably) taking longer than we anticipated most jobs were completed by eleven on Tuesday night. The brakes worked much better having been bled through a few more times and some adjustment on the cylinders. Rachel patched the hole in the floor with a wooden panel and treated and waxoyled the rest of the chassis. The engine cowling was back on and all the tools and crap had been removed from the van. we also picked up a set of new tyres for £192. The only problem being the rear lamp that I simply couldn't work out in all the madness of the last few days.
And so, after ten long months of Bedford-enforced poverty, frustration and anticipation... we have just arrived home from dropping Molly off at the garage, her first shot on the open road in over twelve years. The drive down was nerve-racking yet surprisingly trouble free so we await the verdict from Gore Square Garage, and hope the nice mechanic man is a Debonair fan!
Good luck Molly!
The new outriggers.
What is left of the old outriggers.
Petrol leak.
The rest of the old outriggers.
The new ones in place but not fixed.
On the way to the garage.
The box that is sunk into the floor of the Debonair to house the water tank/ leisure battery and used to mount the rear bench. Unfortunately ours has seen better days so it's coming back to the workshop with me to be repaired.
Friday, 24 June 2011
Monday, 20 June 2011
Wax Oil and Wipers
Over a glass of borrowed whiskey, in front of an open fire in a borrowed house, we are formulating a detailed and complex plan of the final stages of Molly's ressurection. THE FINAL STAGES.
Everything on the van, theoretically, seemed straight forward. But as is the way with Molly, nothing transpires as so. For example, after everything we have seen and done, the windscreen wiper motor should be easy to change out. But Bedford had decided to mount the motor in a rather awkward place, with rather awkward bolts. After several hours and several knuckles split, Olly placed the final piece of Molly's electrical jigsaw. Windscreen wipers work. But they do insist on parking in the middle of the windscreen.
Whilst Olly chapped his knuckles beneath the bonnet, I finally got to paint something - sort of. I have been counting down the days to MOT, and with it not being booked and 'easy jobs' taking two days, I am quite consistently disappointed. I can't wait to paint a fresh coat of white inside and out. But for now I had to make do with black. Wax Oil black, smeared onto the chassis with a paintbrush. I was pretty proud of myself for putting in a proper bit of hard work, but I had apparently wasted much of the wax on myself. I have just found out it's a bugger to get off. I may have black elbows all summer.
Everything on the van, theoretically, seemed straight forward. But as is the way with Molly, nothing transpires as so. For example, after everything we have seen and done, the windscreen wiper motor should be easy to change out. But Bedford had decided to mount the motor in a rather awkward place, with rather awkward bolts. After several hours and several knuckles split, Olly placed the final piece of Molly's electrical jigsaw. Windscreen wipers work. But they do insist on parking in the middle of the windscreen.
Emerging ill tempered after three hours spent with this spanner
Whilst Olly chapped his knuckles beneath the bonnet, I finally got to paint something - sort of. I have been counting down the days to MOT, and with it not being booked and 'easy jobs' taking two days, I am quite consistently disappointed. I can't wait to paint a fresh coat of white inside and out. But for now I had to make do with black. Wax Oil black, smeared onto the chassis with a paintbrush. I was pretty proud of myself for putting in a proper bit of hard work, but I had apparently wasted much of the wax on myself. I have just found out it's a bugger to get off. I may have black elbows all summer.
Freshly wax oiled and rust free (?!)
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