ardea pickup.........THING!

[DavidLaver]

Of course I tried them on!!   Its a BIG step forward.

See http://www.lancia.myzen.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=1033.30

David

[chugga boom]

not much to show yet but work is in progress, owen has now finished his gcse's and is working full time for me now , he is hopefully starting an in house nvq as no colleges seem to teach the art of restoring rusty lancia's  , seriously he is starting an nvq with us but this is now giving us (the team) more time to spend on my projects .......RESULT!!!!, anyway he's still keen as mustard and has hammered into the filler work on the wings again, the whole of the truck will need skimming as its in a pretty sorry shape as you would expect with 60 yr old comercial, its a little more than a few weeks work and ready for paint, this is probably the most ambitious body work i have ever done and i'm sure it will try my patience, however i cant wait to get stuck back in and get it finished, my next aim is to finish the back of the cab off but there are rpairs to do to the A posts 1st, i'm trying to keep owen going on the filler work while i weld and create whats NOT THERE, when the wings are finished i want owen to start at the front and catch me up as such, by the time he's done the bonnet and front qtr's i should have finished the cab, so then he can do roof and doors allowing me to finish the rear, i do have to finish the filler work myself as owen is still learning, the ardea is a very complex shape and nothing is flat on it which makes is very hard to get to look right, will keep you all posted, i was hoping to trailer it to the AGM  in paint unfinished but as you probably no jumped back onto the augusta therefore shelving the ardea until now, gutted in one sence as i cant wait to get the ardea finished but really chuffed to have the augusta more presentable than before, anyway will keep you posted on progress as it happens and pictures when worth while 

[chugga boom]

 a few more pics of progress.............

[DavidLaver]

The metal round the cab and load area looks like its always been there...  Its a work of art and I keep going back to that "cut and shut" sequence.

At the front is that body file the key to getting the contours right?

David

[chugga boom]

thanks!! the body file isnt actually a body file its a rubbing down block for filler work, its got velcro backing on it and the sand paper and is ideal for HUGE REPAIRS!! , getting the curves right was more luck, i never imagined it would look so right as such, my aim is when in paint the untrained eye would think "factory" we will see, thanks for the good comments gives you a little more confidence when others think it looks good , hoping to get more done this week but disaster has struck, owen has been working for me full time for just over a week and this morning he is in A&E  having his hand X-RAYED after a camping accident over the weekend, if he's off no progress, so fingers crossed

[DavidLaver]

Don't let them look at his head too closely, or let on he enjoys patching up Lancias, or they'll have him in for a transplant.

With the rubbing down block do you adjust it to contours?  What's the most efficient sucession of grits?

David

[Sliding Pillar]

What are you going to do about the tailgate/rear doors??  Ade.

[chugga boom]

yipeee he's ok  , did alittle more today n/s door bottom is repaired and into 2nd skim of filler, i use 80 grt to ruff out , 120 grt to finish on filler, then the hole truck will be painted in 2k polyester spray filler, this will be blocked by hand again with 240 grit, then it will be painted in 2k high build prima, this will be flatted dry with 400 grt, and finished with 800 grit dry again, then paint  , the block is flat and not adjustable for curve , its not briliant on the wings as they are so curved but brilliant on doors and the sides bonnet etc big areas if you gatch my drift, ade the tail gate is still in the thinking process, definatly getting rid of back doors as it looks odd , think it will look far better with a drop down tailgate, i think we will make a small tailgate for the spare wheel and a larger tailgate for the load area, also thinking of putting slightly wider rims on it as the tyres have in the past rubbed on the rear inner arches and also increadibly close to the sliding pillars on the front, the rims are 4.5j at the mo was thinking about 5.5>6j 16 , same offset just stretch the tyres more towards the outside anyone got any spare aprilia wheels?? condition unimportant

[fay66]

I was trawling back through my old Viva Lancia's yesterday looking for something else, when I came across the article that Chugga mentioned about Ade & Ed Rudler bringing his pickup back from Italy about 10 years ago; in fact it was 14 years ago and is in the August 1995 issue No 327 if anyone wishes to look it up, or alternatively I can scan and post on here.

Brian
8227

[DavidLaver]

Another idea for the wheels is to seperate the rims from the centres then reweld with a larger offset.   When I saw Jason and Louise Kennedy with my old car at Silverstone they'd had to adjust one of the sets of 15in wheels inwards as they'd been picked up for having too wide a track.  More than likely it was Tim Burret who did that work.

If the rims aren't too clever would 2cv tyres suit?   With Aurelias going down to 15in rims clearance to the drums is a big issue - I doubt that's a problem with an Ardea.  If you were looking for a track day tyre for it ( ) Firestone F560s always used to be the choice for 2cv racers and also for Austin 7s on 15in wheels, however I expect the big tall Michelins would be more the ticket.  You're the last person to be telling about tyres, but isn't there a mud and snow in that size as well?

David

[chugga boom]

I was trawling back through my old Viva Lancia's yesterday looking for something else, when I came across the article that Chugga mentioned about Ade & Ed Rudler bringing his pickup back from Italy about 10 years ago; in fact it was 14 years ago and is in the August 1995 issue No 327 if anyone wishes to look it up, or alternatively I can scan and post on here.

Brian
8227

please post as i havent seen it 

[chugga boom]

well progress report: not much done! filler is going on and its slowely taking shape, both front doors, front qtrs and bonnet are near finished, i'm hoping to carry on welding the cab and finish to load area floor off this week (possibly tomorrow if allowed) then crack on with filler on the cab, i need to buy a new tool to help fabricate the next panels for the rear end , its on ebay so fingers crossed i'll get it, its called a shrinker stretcher for curving metal, hopefully i will have some more pics for those interested this week oh yeah i stripped the dash too! memory isn't what it was 

[fay66]

I was trawling back through my old Viva Lancia's yesterday looking for something else, when I came across the article that Chugga mentioned about Ade & Ed Rudler bringing his pickup back from Italy about 10 years ago; in fact it was 14 years ago and is in the August 1995 issue No 327 if anyone wishes to look it up, or alternatively I can scan and post on here.

Brian
8227

please post as i havent seen it  

Your wish is my command
Sorry about the quality, it didn't seem to want to clean up easily.

Brian
8227

[chugga boom]

BRILLIANT!!!! thanks was very interesting,

[DavidLaver]

Interesting article.

Back to tyres - Is the hope that Aprilia wheels bolt straight on - look like Ardea - and take Ardea tyres?   Would spacers give you the extra clearance?   Is it bolts or studs?

David