Seat Neat!

 

I have neglected this blog for a while and that's been because not too much has happened in the past few weeks. Well, more accurately there's been a lot of sanding. I like sanding. I don't like painting. But sanding is like a dusty form of yoga -- you get a good body stretch out of it. I'm sanding with 320 grit right now, and it's amazingly fine. Still, we're going to hit it with 500 before it goes to paint. Still haven't locked on a final paint scheme.

I received a seat from Kelly Ashton and I'm working on that. When I started removing the upholstery from the seat, this stuff that looked like dog shit or tar heroin was underneath. It thin it’s what happens to some types of foam over years. It was weird for a while. It came in a big cardboard package. When I got home from work my 3 year old goes, "It's parts for you car..." Amazing considering nobody told her. She was with the baby sitter, and the sitter doesn't know about the van.

Overall the seat needs some TLC. It’s already been sandblasted. I cannot figure out how the back upholstery works. What are all these holes for? (see arrows) Also, I don’t think that the wood frame that supports the seat bottom is correct. I think the original seat was pleated and didn’t have a taper as it went aft. Anyone? I missed out on some pocket door covers on eBay. That’s the final bit I’m missing.

The side doors fiasco ended up being a problem with the size and dimension of the rear section of the front wheel arches. It shouldn't have happened, but it did. Oh well. It needs some surgery to remedy. I told Aaron that once that’s done and the doors have been fitted we’ll continue (OK, we'll do the seat, fix the other crap, and then continue).

Remember my earlier posts about what “Victoria” (the city) was like? Here’s a 1930s film about it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPpJI_01wjE
Here's another video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPyQJCNUgYM
I spent maybe a 100 hours looking at different video hoping a J van would come into frame. It never happened.

Awesome Vans

I have no idea what they are or where they're from, but I like them. Alas, one project at a time!

Hidden Valley

Last year there were rumours of a van on “Hidden Valley Ranch” commercials, and I remained doubtful. People are always tell me, “I saw a van like yours…” but they’re inevitably an International Harvester or something. Well, tonight I found it, and it’s the real McCoy. It’s got the export package and I think it’s RHD too. So maybe it’s in Australia somewhere.

I still have screwed up doors. I made a paper template (see above) from Steve’s van and drove it out to apply to my van (see photo above). It seems the problem is that the replacement sections from Fairmile were – like so many other parts I received from that source –  the product of imprecise workmanship (Kelly was right!). That’s only parts of the story though. I know if I was installing replacement sections the first thing I would do would be to compare the new section with the old one. This obviously wasn’t done. Worse, see the photo above with the yellow part circled? That’s the last time anyone saw it before it was thrown out (because, you know, it took up so much space). In any event, this whole interruption is the product of consecutive errors. But at least I know what it is and how it happeened. Once it's corrected I can resume forward movement.

Finally, I'm looking for a Nissan Vanette air cleaner (not the filter, the metal parts). If anyone has a source please let me know. Vanettes were never brought to North America. I want to use the air cleaner to add to my weber carb. When combined, the two will look more like the original engine.

The Pieces Don't Fit Anymore

Well I can't explain why it's not enough

Cause I gave it all to you
It's time to surrender
It's been too long pretending
There's no use in trying
When the pieces don't fit anymore
The pieces don't fit anymore

The pieces don't fit anymore

Does anyone know this song? It by a fellow from Warwickshire named James (wait for it) Morrison!

Okay, I went out the van to get some photos this weekend. In the first you can see what I meant from last week’s post. The second has some details.

Last week Australian J van hoarder – Mike -- shared the dimensions of his three vans from wheel arch to wheel arch. Mike’s measures (in inches plus sixteenths) are the lateral distance from side-to-side from the three points highlighted in orange. They’re in the second photo above. Mike figures that J29040 is most accurate (highlighted in yellow), but whichever you use, it seems Victoria is a little outta whack. The bottoms, for instance is 1.6 inches wrong? The green van next to Victoria in the same photo is Steve’s van, Duncan.

If anyone reading this with a J Van nearby could confirm these measures (hard to do if your van isn't disassembled), I would be grateful. The mid-point measure is taken 11.5 inches up arch, from the bottom.

Also, you can view the above photos in detail by right-clicking and opening in a new window.



The Perils of Ambition

Thirteen years ago today I climbed a 18,700 foot volcano. I flew to Mexico City (I had points I needed to use or lose) after leaving work early on Thursday and got back to my desk Monday. That was a challenge, but satisfying, even today. This week I realized I’m engaged in a similar struggle, but the payoff is like a lineup at Disneyland – temptingly close but deceptively so.

 

This past week I took a few days off of work and went to fit the side doors. The side doors had to be fitted because, nearly three years’ ago, the rusty sills were removed with the tracks attached, and hastily thrown out. Thus it became necessary to make new ones. The forward-and-back contour of the doors needed to be determined in order to make a new floor track. I was previously informed that the doors had been test-fitted when the body work was done. I know that the rails that bolt to the doors were used because they had been scratched up in the process. But when we installed them again this week, guess what? The doors wouldn’t fit. Not even close. The left one is especially bad. The problem seems to be that the aft section of the wheel arch is in too far, thus the leading edge of the door has about a 1.5” gap.

 

I think this would be upsetting in any circumstance, but now – after weeks of bodywork, sanding, and applying high build primer – it’s more than that. Fixing it means cutting and welding and generally moving backwards, and I’m tired of blowing vacation days, neglecting family responsibilities, and of course, blowing after-tax income. It was all avoidable too. When it became obvious the doors weren’t going to fit I just look at the gray hulk of metal I own and wondered if my sister had room for it in her garage. At least in mountaineering head trauma comes swiftly!

Engine Progress

Crisis hit the project last month when Aaron’s shop cat disappeared. After six days she returned, a little thinner, but otherwise okay. Speaking of thinner, this month I paid income taxes, and that’s made me a bit lighter.

Nevertheless, progress continues slowly. After 14 months, the engine is coming together. It’s not the original engine (it was absent when I bought the van), but a 1975 Nissan A-series engine – one of several million made by Nissan right up to the current day. Blasphemy you say? Not really. The Nissan A-series engine is based on the Austin A-series. In fact, Nissan was a licensee of the design until 1967 when they started making their own. They were able to goose the HP too by making it 1400cc.

If you look below (and above) you will see that the engine was completely overhauled. Bored cylinders, new piston rings, new water pump, new gaskets and the header was plained to a mirror finish.  Oh, general  cleaning and painting too – a lot of effort for an engine that had only 67,000KM on it to begin with. Couple bits need to be added yet – water pump most obviously. I even have a "MORRIS" badge for the valve cover.

Rear Doors Milestone

In the past month the roof was put back on (temporarily), and the rear doors were mounted. The latter took a whole day. It required a whole lot of fooling around (and it’s still not done). Overall, the result is pretty satisfying.

 You cannot see it here, but the door latch mechanism is not original. It’s something I found for step van. It looks sufficient for the purpose though. In fact, looking at the rear doors, there’s nothing that’s original. The door handle, door skins, quarters, above the door – all this is new metal. Of the hinges, only the doors ones of the left side (Thanks Roly) are original. The rest were cast from originals (thanks Kelly) and machine for the bushing.

Next the front doors will be put in place. This promises to be a giant pain in the ass. The original tracks for the doors were thrown out by accident, and replacements have to be fabricated without the benefit of any sample. It’s also a high-tolerance part; a couple millimeters one way or another and the doors won’t fit into the pockets. Oh well, I'll see if it works out.

Fabulous Uniformity



Over Christmas the filler work was completed (more or less) and the van was hit with a couple coats of high-build primer. The result is a stunning uniformity that allows one to see the beginning of the end. This finish will be sanded now with fine grit sandpaper and that surface will receive paint. I think it’ll sit like this for a while. There’s still some metalwork to do. The second photo shows how the van was on arrival two-years and four months ago.

The engine will have been with the engine builder for one year beginning next month. Jeez, and I thought I was patient when I told the I needed it for last May. Yes, Mexico was great. I discovered that Happy New Year ("feliz ano nuevo") means "Happy New Asshole" if you don't pronounce it correctly.

Merry Christmas

Christmas again? Not only in the globe warming but time seems to be going faster.

Undertaking a project like this takes a lot of things. Some are obvious, but others things aren’t. One of the things that I have needed, and that I failed to consider originally, was encouragement. This year like past years I am grateful to people all over the world who have communicated their encouragement to me. Some are J van owners, but many aren’t. Some only have a casual interest in vehicles, generally. Those periodic emails from people far away really help on days when you want to park the whole project. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year too all of you. I bought a beer in a pub recently and aimed to photograph me "toasting" you all. But as it turned out, by the time I explained how to use the camera in the phone, most had been consumed. Yes, the sweater is mine.

According to the Mayan calendar the world will end on 2012-12-21. The family and I are heading to Cancun, Mexico to watch the drama unfold. I know there are at least two J Vans down there (somewhere -- in great conndition), and the Reactine van (no in Canada) was originally from down there too. I will endeavour to leave the safety of the swim up, all-you-can-drink-bar to see if there's another one lurking nearby.

Damn Straight

 

Okay, this is the second to last post before the end of the year. Filler continues to be applied and sanded away on the van. It’s a ridiculously tedious process, but it’s also an art form. I would say I don’t have a good eye for it, but eyes have nothing to do with it. It’s tactile. In the photos above, the surface looks like wood grain – little contour lines.

Honestly, looking at the original surface it looked good enough to me with the exception of a few places, but Aaron insisted there was a need for this effort. The result is appreciable. Everything is perfectly straight now, literally microns. The black and white "front-on photo" above was taken with my phone. I used it to compare what exists today with what existed almost exactly 4 years ago (in the colour photo). Pretty amazing change.

Carving a Car (or Van)

 

Last month my blood pressure was reaching the danger zone, so I scheduled a week away from work, and decided to do some work on the van with Aaron. Thus I spent the last few days sanding.  In addition to avoiding all the stress of my office, it allowed me to get some much needed exercise. Missions accomplished! When you sand for 6 hours a day you sure sleep better!

Right now the van is having filler applied, and then it’s mostly being sanded off. You cannot tell from the photos, but it’s perfectly smooth – baby’s ass smooth (which according to ISO2001, is the highest condition of smoothness). It’s on very thin – maybe width of a credit card at its thickest in places, and zero elsewhere. Once it’s been all applied and sanded, it’ll be hit with high-built primer. That will be sanded back, and then wet-sanded, making it ready for paint.

The filler actually consists of three kinds, which are applied in succession – the first is high-density, and it is used in places where its structure could be tested, also on welds. The next is what we commonly think of as filler (it’s the green stuff you see being added in the last photo above). The final variant is called “putty", and it’s a two-part filler that’s really watery – see the grille shot above. The doors need to be done yet, and when they are, we should be ready for the high-build.That will be a major milestone.

"The Doors" with J. Morris-on

 

I have written several times that my pocket doors are thrashed, but I have never posted a photo. Well, here’s two of them. I’m in the midst of seeing if I can get a pair made. You won’t have the same embossing, but I might get something that looks okay. I received a new pair of grille chrome pieces from Harvey in the mail. They were delivered to the nearby 7-11 (which is a J van first). Just missing the centre piece now. Finally, I found a photos I took a number of years ago of a bunch of double-decker buses in Parksville BC, near where I discovered Duncan four years ago. They were used as part of the public transit system in the provincial capital, Victoria, when I was a kid. Sadly, they were bought by some moron with too much money, and not much sense. When he died, they were all destroyed.

Arrested Development

 

All progress on the van has stopped until I can locate the remaining needed parts. That’s why there hasn’t been any progress reported. In addition to the pocket door covers, I need the left rear fender and the center chrome strip (the chrome bit isn’t holding me back. I have a seat (thanks Kelly), but waiting for the rest to materialize.

In the meantime I’ve been watching Aaron progress his project, a former GMC bookmobile. When it’s done it’ll be a giant. I could fit the J Van inside it. On an unrelated matter, has anyone entered “Victoria Van” in Google and then accidentally clicked on the Wikipedia article for Victoria Van Dyke? I think I dated her in the 1990s.

Absolute Beginners

Okay, watched the movie Absolute Beginners (1986) tonight. It's a hard video to get.

It's kind of like West Side Story, but set in East London in the 1960s. Here’s the plot: There’s an evil property developer that uses the BNP (or something like it) to clear out the resident of a harmonious inter-racial neighborhood. The closest you get to seeing Patsy Kensit’s bodacious tata’s is at minute 107, and about 90 seconds later, the movie ends. During the movie at least 4 different J-Types make an appearance. One gets torched in the end. Here’s the screen captures. I think the ice cream van is still around.

Engine Update

Yesterday I was having a nervous breakdown at work, so I did what anyone in the same circumstance would do: I jumped in the car and drove away. Then I wound up at the AMS shop to see how my engine was progressing. Not much progress, but I was able to see there the head gasket had blown (under the previous owner). It wasn’t too bad. In the first and third photo above you can see it. It’s that area of darkness. I bought a new gasket kit months ago. The engine block will be the same colour as the valve colour above. It’s the same colour of machine equipment. I call it Machine Green. I have a “MORRIS” badge that will lay on top of the Nissan embossing (that’s why there are holes in the valve cover). It’ll look awesome. Finally, speaking of awesome, I have a set. Well, I have one ear-marked for me, but it’s in Australia. That’s it above. It’ll need some work to look like Kim’s above (the nice one), but it’ll be just the same when done. I’m just short a couple pieces now, and then I’ll be on my way.