A Heat Sink

Reason for time between blogs- I am struggling to write anything more of worth on RelentlessSanding which occupies most of my time. This entry is about WheelArches which are much more fruitful.

What is a fad?

Recently, my time for the SuperCamp has been stretched. Work has that rather selfish habit of inflicting itself on me, to the detriment of things that I would much rather be doing. But like a human relationship, the bond between a man and his campervan must be nurtured, cultivated and given constant attention to stop it withering, dying or at best becoming bitter obligation. I don't want to be one of those couples sitting in silence in a restaurant. My hair receding, her headlamps dull and both of us dreaming of what could of been if eBay had not been invented.

But whether it be with people, activities or career I struggle to balance thirst for new experience, with staying power. And,

w  i  d  t  h    is of course no substitute for depth. 

I am capricious by nature. I become obsessed, plunge in with wallet in hand and then abruptly grow tired and discard them for the next thing whether it be Skydiving, LearningToBackflip or CollectingFightingFantasy books (all of which remain uncompleted). It is like my own endless stream of wedding dresses.

But what if the SuperCamp goes the same way!? What if I peter out and lose interest? Well unlike Rollerblading, ReadingSheetMusic or BecomingAnAccomplishedPhotgrapher (all of which remain uncompleted) the SuperCamp cannot just be thrown away or forgotten about. I am constantly reminded in the most vibrant of colours of my obligation towards her. If I don't finish her she will remain where she is, as a

Testament to Failure. 

A Monument to Flippancy. 

The Mother of all Wedding Dresses.

I put this flightiness down to the Sine wave of my internal movements, where the highs are high, the lows are low, and changes frequent. The SuperCamp though - despite my relentless personification - has none of this. It is, as far as I can tell, completely inanimate. In this sense it is like a huge HeatSink on my consciousness. I can arrive elated and excited to work on it but am soon leveled by it's blank indifference. Or I can arrive despondent and pessimistic about the whole project, but am again leveled by it's unsympathetic presence. It is still there, as sturdy as when I left it and completely unchanged by my mood. If I am a PetulantChild, she is my ApatheticParent.

Yes, I am stuck with the big yellow brute.

So, helpless as I am and carried forward on the tide of the project, along the MentalTimeline, I have set upon the WheelArches; the last frontier of the big welding jobs; the six-planed behemoths.

I have finally done it...a SuperCAD drawing...oh god...

Before - the WheelArch hole is averagely 7" wide. On one side of the width it is a right angle, on the other side it is a smooth curve. The length of the hole also covers a step like course.

The top edge of the gap is rippled and needed a bit of bashing and a bit of inventive clamping, to make a straight enough edge in order to get good welding contact.

Two make the curve across the width, I cut and overlapped across the 90˚ bend.

To straight-bend the patch in-situ, I scored it with an angle grinder, put on some mole grips...and folded.

I then kept adding planes down the staircase, welding as I go.

Welded

Painted

Next on the MentalTimeline is patching in the driver side WheelArch, followed closely by attaching the RearDoor, punctuated with relentless sanding of the bodywork.

Glasfaserverstärkter Kunststoff

What is a Three-Knuckle, Fixed-Pin, Portal Mechanism?

I have been tormented the past week by a hinge or, more to the point, the lack of one. In trying to track down the correct hinge with which to attach the back door of TheSuperCamp I have had to learn a lot about hinge terminology which, as subjects go, is pretty high on my ListOfShittestThingsToLearnAbout.

I now know what a ContinuousHinge is, a ButtHinge, a StrapHinge, a SpringHinge. If you were to ask me about a BackFlap hinge I would even have to ask you whether you meant a CrankedBackFlap or UncrankedBackFlap hinge and indeed if you were looking for a Loose or a FixedPin. I know what the Knuckle is and what an ANSI hole pattern looks like...and once again I refer you to my ListOfShittestThingsToLearnAbout.

A Three Knuckled Butt Hinge with 5mm Leaf.

You may be thinking to yourself "But a hinge is just a hinge" and I would have agreed with you this time last week. But since then I have had the odd experience of discovering a world of hinge enthusiasts and experts out there that would scoff at such a naive statement. In fact, such naivety led me to HingePurchaseNumberOne

The hinge to replace... and the replacement

What can I say? It looked much bigger in the eBay picture. Having been burned once I am now a much more savvy player in the hinge world and have tracked down this beast- HingePurchaseNumberTwo

The eBay listing reads-

These 4" Hinges with 6mm Leafs are the strongest available in this size. Don't settle for cheaper, thinner hinges if you have a heavy duty job to do. As the saying goes: "You get what you pay for" & you won't be disappointed with these babies.

This "baby" isn't for the faint hearted. It's not for the hinge tourist, this is 567kg of double-pressed pure portal-mechanism power.


What is Glasfaserverstärkter Kunststoff?

LeftRearCorner exterior

RightRearCorner Interior

The rear corners of TheSuperCamp, where the body meets the fibreglass roof, are rotten through. I don't even know quite how they could have gotten to this state. Whoever owned her before JennyPreviousOwner must have had a pretty serious leakage problem for a very long time. I can only imagine some kind of BuryYourHeadInGaffaSolution where CoveringUp is hand in hand with Hope.

My options to fix these gaping, vehicular travesties where-


1. Weld in patches...and hope

Welding would be a horrendous experience given the state and thickness of the existing metal and the fact the area bends across three planes. I can't take another WeldingDentInMyPride just yet.

2. Take out the whole corner and try to replace with one from a different vehicle...and hope

This would still need welding in and there would be no room for adjustment to fit into the roof

3. Fibreglass...and hope

This involves learning a new skill and doing a neat job in the process

4. Gaffa tape...and really hope.
After a morning of option 3, I was very close to going with this one


And so I began my fibreglass adventure

Research, Do, Make Mistakes, Research More, Redo 

Research

Fibreglass is made by the combination of polyester resin, hardener and glass fibre matting (ChoppedStrandMatting) The resin is about the same consistency and colour as hot syrup, though not nearly as delicious. Once combined with the hardener- the same hardener I have been using with the filler (also polyester based)- it starts to go off and you have a small timeframe to coat the matting and apply it. For the correct mix of resin to hardener, the manufacturer's instructions do away with conventional measuring terminology and instead opt for talk of peas and golf balls. As someone who has never been into gardening or golf, this is just one more hurdle. 

Do

The instructions on the packet are arrogantly brief and nowhere on the sterile diagrams do I see any swearing, sticky fingers or desperate weeping. I have provided an alternative

1. Make sure all surfaces are clean, dry and free from dirt and grease.

Try as best you can to get an angle grinder into all impossible corners, whilst not panicking at the amount of metal that is crumbling before your eyes.

2. Cut the correct sized piece of matting to cover the desired area

We're not going to tell you that it's much easier to work in small strips, so go ahead, cut one massive piece. Hey, maybe you will be the first ever person to do it.

3. Mix a pea sized amount of hardener to a golf ball sized amount of resin

Add a Smidgen of hardener to a Bit of resin..I think.

4. Brush the mixture onto the matting, making sure you work it right through.

Dip that brush in liquid plastic that's going to go off any minute now. You have got more brushes?

5. Place the coated matting on the area you wish to cover and wait to dry.

Put it in place and let it fall off onto your unsuspecting head. Now try again but this time holding it in place with your fingers. Don't worry, you've got all evening to pick plastic shards from underneath your fingernails....and out of your hair.

6. Drying time is 20mins

Drying time will be what ever is most inconvenient to you.

Make Mistakes

My plan was to fix aluminium mesh across the hole to give some strength and a surface to adhere to. I would then add the strips on the inside and use filler on the exterior.

I very nearly gave up after my first attempt. It was a miserable experience during which I learned three things

1. A paintbrush- despite being expressly recommended in the instructions -is the worst tool you can use as it is rendered useless as soon as the resin dries.

2. When on the underside of a roof, gravity and the push of aluminium mesh is a far greater force than that of the resin's stickiness

3. I will be covered in resin for the rest of my life

Research More

1. Use a flexible plastic spatula

2. Use small strips and hold in place until the resin hardens enough to hold itself

3. Wear gloves

Redo

LeftRearCorner exterior

RightRearCorner Interior

The fibreglass is essentially a rigid plastic when dry. It can then be sanded and filled. A downpour will be the true test, but aesthetically I am very pleased with the outcome.

First layer of filler

Mongrel Post

Very-nearly-filled-in passenger side

1. Today, I perfected the art of filling large areas. You apply a first layer and sand down any peaks that would be above finished height. The next layer, you do the same, again sanding down the peaks. Keep on so that with every layer you add, the average height of the surface increases. The last layer is a true 'filler' in that you are filling in small pinholes in the surface. So far, this is contrary to every piece of advice I have heard, but in an infinite universe there is still a possibility that I could be right and the rest of the world is wrong..

2. Last week, I found this video on Youtube showing a beautifully restored Hanomag. Can you spot any difference in the two?

I have contacted the FellowOwner and hopefully we are going to arrange a meeting. It will be very helpful to get some advice from someone who has already done this journey. 

This is the great thing about the internet. I can find out everything I need to know about working on TheSuperCamp, I can tell the world about it and also find other people doing the same.

3.The internet has also shown me this. It is exactly the same model as TheSuperCamp but fully finished and going for £1000... with no bids. This is incredibly cheap and either means that

a. there is something wrong that I am missing; 
b. that it is badly listed; 
c. that me and FellowOwner are really the only people who want to own one.

4. North America has now overtaken the UK as the largest audience of this blog, 

Go USA!

I am Jack's Motivation

Now is the time of year where we traditionally get snow, cold, ice, sleet, snow, cold and snow. This does not so much put a dampener on my work on TheSuperCamp, as an icepack down it's trousers. I am impotent in my wish to stroke (grind) tickle (sand) and caress (weld) TheSuperCamp. 

The current climate has a two fold effect. One is a physical impact on my work- filler, sealant and other substances freeze in cold or at least don't enjoy being 'worked' at that temperature.        Much like me        The other is an impact on my enthusiasm to go and work on her. 

One of the reasons I have embarked on this adventure is that I have only ever owned a motorbike as transport and after years of barely surviving winters, I am ready for a bit of comfort. But, until she is launched, I am still very much on my bike, enduring the 20 minute ride to TheSuperCamp in snow and zero temperatures, which does not often seem very appealing from my warm, girlfriended bed. Especially when it looks like this-

But, us Englishmen are a hardy bunch and a little snow and piles won't stop me from my mission. So I peel myself from my bed and get to TheSuperCamp -

The motorcycle journey is valuable time to make a ToDoList. This is easy on a bike as, more so than in a car, you can zone out. In a car you daydream but you are always aware that you are sitting in a car operating controls. There is no physical sensations, you are just you, sitting in a metal box. On a bike, you are fixed in a position and the world is restricted to the view through a visor. You cannot see yourself and you cannot feel yourself but for the vibrations of the bike running through you. On a bike you are sort of CancelledOut. And just as we normally think of 'me' in 'my body' looking out through the eyes, the bike is your body and the visor the eyes of this strange symbiotic creature. In this way you can think effortlessly and it may be a grand explanation of how to formulate a ToDoList, but it works.

You need to add the next layer of filler to the passenger side bottom sill

Slight lean right

You need to red oxide the passenger footwell

Look left, decelerate

You need to measure up for a new rear door hinge

clutch, gear, accelerate

You need to seam seal the interior sill weld

lean, straighten up, gear,

You need to weld the corner of the wheel arch

So you make the ToDoList, zoom right in to TheMentalTimeline and you see them, already there, in the order that makes most sense. This is all very elegant in theory, until you actually touch down in the frozen tundra where TheSuperCamp is the closest thing there is to a sun. Once 'on the ground' it's a race between action and inaction. Inaction seeps in and fogs up TheMentalTimeline, you can't put anything in any order and so you see everything at once,

the task seems too big. 

A classic trigger for this is when you are short of materials or tools. "I need to do this, but the welder has run out of gas" and "I can't do this bit, before I weld that bit" and "I need this part, before I can do that bit, before I can weld that part" It is disheartening sometimes to see my tendency towards this spiral.

The trick is to have the first task of the day set in stone and get straight on it. As soon as you are working, TheMentalTimeline takes care of itself. Here is an example. On Thursday I touched down with the straight intention of sanding off and refilling a particular part of TheSuperCamp. As soon as I arrived I got straight to it and then before you know it I had repaired the corner of the passenger side FrontWheelArch and it was the end of the day. Whilst filling and sanding, my mind wandered along the Timeline, found it's next task and I mechanically drifted along to it. It got done without me interfering with my highly disruptive, SpiralingMildPanic.

Front n/s wheel arch where upright -should- meet baseframe

New Upright

Patch the wheel arch, and it's done!

New sill

So as we stand, TheSuperCamp now has 

1. A complete line of sills across the three sections of the passenger side at different stages of filling.

2. A repaired FrontWheelArchCorner

3. A completely finished, oxided PassengerFootwell. And what a lovely picture to finish on.

It bubbles up

(It has been a few days since my last entry so this one is rather long. To hopefully grab your attention straight away. Listen to my attempt to get TheSuperCamp onto BBC Radio 2) 

 

Where am I?

I have found it interesting how, with a project of this size, your mind breaks it down into sizable chunks and orders them in some kind of MentalTimeline. At first I stood at the beginning of the MentalTimeline looking forward into miles of rust and rot. At this point it is hard to discern anything of the line ahead. It is too wide, long and hard even to tell where to place your first step. But slowly the first move sort of presents itself to you if you hang around for long enough.  

You should probably get the engine going reliably

This starts as a wide statement, but you have to break it down further, zoom in.

You should probably diagnose why it isn't starting reliably

 Done, it was a flat battery

You should probably charge the battery and try again

Done, but now it won't start again

You should probably spend some time on the internet to work out why

Done, by the looks of it, it might be the alternator

You should probably research ways to test it then

Done, it is charging, but at a very low rate

and so on.....you already know this part of the story. 

From here, as long as you have started at a vaguely logical point, all you have to do is answer each question that arises. Suddenly, before you know it, you have embarked on the MentalTimeline. Once you are a few steps in you are granted the privilege of not only looking forward into the Timeline, but also from the side where you see your current point in context with what has come before and what is coming next. From here it is then much easier to see future phases that although are too far away to have any detail, you at least see their order in relation to each other.

GET THE ENGINE GOING      GET IT WATERTIGHT        GET IT SECURE   

So, whilst working on the engine, the next phase presented itself-

You should probably get it watertight

(zooooom in)

You should probably remove all exterior fittings to assess how bad it is

Done...oh god.

You should probably grind away the loose rust to find good metal

Done...oh god

You should probably decide what needs patch welding and what just needs filling

and so on.....

So this is where I am. Tackling the mammoth that is TheSuperCamp bodywork. With the usual cycle of

DecideWhatINeedToKnow     ResearchWhatINeedToKnow

DoWhatI'veLearntUntilIComeUpAgainstTheNextThingIDon'tKnowHowToDo

I have assembled a crack team of vital materials-

Seamsealer- flexible, waterproof sealer for 'pinholes' in welds. Mine are more 'spearholes'
Angle Grinder with WireBrush Attachment- for violent war on rust
Body Filler- I estimate TheSuperCamp will eventually be at least 40% filler.
Low Grit Sandpaper- for sanding back and shaping the filler
Red Oxide- anti-oxidant paint (rust proofing)

Welded on a new sill, added first layer of filler

All that it requires is starting at one end and slowly removing rust, filling it, sanding it, filling it again, sanding it again, applying red oxide.

Suddenly all that matters again is your next small step on the MentalTimeline and they are easy steps to make. In the evenings I can zoom out and let the next phase bubble up and do the appropriate research.




What about the WeldingDentInMyPride?

After a miserable attempt at welding (see previous blog), I set down to practice for about an hour in good conditions and actually improved. This spurred me on to attempt one of the bigger welding jobs- the PassengerFootwell. Like many things, the WeldingDentInMyPride was much ado about nothing.

Missing

Templating

Cutting

Welding

So now as I work away slowly on bodywork and its constituent parts of welding and filling, I can let my mind drift to the next phase of the MentalTimeline...Getting it Secure. This means reattaching the back door, which has it's own box of troubles.....

You Can't Always Get What You Want.

Why is Welding so Hard?

In one of my previous entries, I wrote about the pattern of waking, working and researching. This has worked well for some aspects of TheSuperCamp. Notably my understanding and subsequent diagnosis of a duff regulator which, I am pleased to say, has now been replaced for £10 and has solved my battery charging issues. 


Confident in my faith in the internet and it's ability to teach me almost anything, I applied this to welding. A quick browse through some tutorials, a bit of theory, some forum tips and I thought I was ready to wield the welder. This quickly proved to be at best naive and at worst slightly dangerous.

Ideal setting for FirstWeld vs My setting for FirstWeld

Today I embark on my first weld. I enrolled in college a few weeks ago and after a week of introduction to welding fundamentals which include health and safety, explanation of equipment, demonstrations and understanding the right materials to use, I am now ready- under the tutelage of my highly experienced tutor- to weld my first piece.  

How lucky I am to be in this ideal setting. A lovely, warm, clean workshop; a high quality MIG welder in my gloved hands; a quality welding mask over my face; my brand new piece of thick mild steel in the vice in front of me and the encouraging eye of my tutor to guide me through these first steps. I feel a hand on my shoulder and he whispers "it's time". 

I lean in towards the steel, confident on the preparation of the material and the welder, excited at the prospect of putting into practice all I had learnt up to now. I hold the welder tip the correct 10mm away from the steel, bring the mask down over my eyes and 'CZZzzzzz!!!' the trigger sends the arc of electricity to the metal and melts it before my eyes. I remember my training and slowly move the tip along in a slight weaving motion so as not to 'blow holes' in the metal. Before I can catch my breath it's over and I have done it. I remove the mask and see a 20cm long, hardening weld along the sheet of metal. I here a slight sob and see my tutor wiping his eyes, "this is what's it all about son...." he manages....

Jesus, I can't believe it's raining. What a shitty day. Why am I even doing this? I could be at home right now instead of here- cold, dirty and increasingly wet. Well, I suppose now's a good time as any to give it a go. How hard can it be? the guy in the video made it look easy enough.

I think I've chosen the right place to start welding. It's hidden so if it goes wrong it won't be too bad. But then again, it's hidden because it's right in the back corner which actually looks quite difficult to get to now, what with the wheel arch in the way...ah well, if I lie down on my side on the frame and...sort of hang my legs out the back as a counter balance... it kind of works....

I wish I could have found the gloves and it's a bit annoying that this helmet doesn't have a a headstrap- I could really do with having both hands free. Jesus, my legs are getting wet. I've grinded away as much of the rust and dirt as I could, but some of it's still there. And to be honest I'm a bit worried that this patching piece is not much thicker than tin foil. Oh well, here goes.

What?! I can't see anything through this mask! where the hell is anything? I hope the welder is alright out in the rain. Oh well, just squeeze the trigger....'Czzzz!! SPlutTer CCzz!' Fuck!, i've blown a hole right through the panel! I wasn't even aiming for that panel. Calm... try again.....'Czz!! sPluttEr, CCzz! SHIT!!

And so on....It seems I have found something that the internet can't teach you. So plan B is some good old fashioned practice. Perhaps it was hasty of me to jump straight on to TheSuperCamp and a few hours of doing straight welds on a clean, flat piece would be a better strategy.

Whilst I recover from the WeldingDentInMyPride, I have been working on the rear panels. I have ground away all rust, applied a few layers of red oxide and have filled in the scarily big holes.

I hate this tool

Untouched

Rust removed, red-oxide added

1st layer of Filler!

A Diversion

So, six days in and I've had my first bad day. The spectre of having to weld TheSuperCamp, nay, learn to weld TheSuperCamp has hung over me from the first instance. Today it arrived.

When you go to view a vehicle there is a certain amount of bravado and shrewd performance. You and the seller have to size each other up. From the walk up the drive, to the handshake and polite small talk, you set about working out how much the other knows about vehicle valuation. As the buyer, you are also wary of someone knowingly trying to offload a banger.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, the "Shall we have a look then" is the signal for the vehicle walkaround to begin. Under the watchful gaze of the seller, it is now your time to shine.  

Rule number 1- Never give away the fact you have fallen desperately in love with the vehicle from the moment you saw it on eBay.

You must appear cool, unimpressed, casual. Each gesture is designed to deflate the seller's confidence in his asking price. You must tap the chassis with a wince, squeeze a rubber pipe with a look of disappointment, you must go out of your way to find a patch of rust and scratch it. At this point you may take the liberty of glancing at the seller, not for too long! careful, don't ham it up too much. Just long enough for him to know that you know he knows. (of course neither of you know what there is to know, but you start to suspect that the other knows something you don't ah..the battle has begun)

Buyer: Alright mate Oh god, oily overalls...this is a bad sign

Seller: How you doing? I think the overalls have worked. Hope I haven't overdone the oil

Buyer: Not bad, not bad. Took me a while to find it, but....  where the hell am I?

Seller: You got a TomTom?  It's quite hard to find

Buyer: Nah, just checked the map.   How did I still get lost with TomTom??

....and so on.....

Seller: Shall we have a look then? Here we go. I am a powerful, confident man, repeat...

Buyer: Yeah, let's see it. I am a powerful, confident man, repeat...

Seller: She's a great runner  Nice work on the 'she', I sound like a ship's captain

Buyer: Mmm (non-commital) My god, how could man create such a thing of beauty!

Seller: Low mileage I've really got no idea what that would constitute

Buyer: Mmm (unconviced) Sweet metal Adonis, where for have thou been!?

Seller: No rust Please don't see the rust

Buyer: Oh no, here's a bit YES! here we go, scratch it and....LOOK! got him!

So where does TheSuperCamp come in? Luckily JennyFromHatfield was lovely and I'm still in contact with her. The point is I saw how much welding had to be done when I first went to see it. Today I tried my first weld and now the amount of work ahead of me has grown substantially in my mind.

Before

After

 P.S TheRegulator arrived in the post today, we shall see on Sunday if it works.