Fairway taxi.Welding inner wheel arches and floor.

My taxi had badly rusted inner wheel arches. Really only visible with the rear wheels off and the interior trim and seats removed from the back. I've already welded up much of the bodywork,links to more photographs etc are on this page.

 

 This was the hole in the drivers side inner wheel arch,the area just in front of the wheel where the seat bottom rests was also rotten. These holes were made just by pressing the rust bubbles with a finger.

Using a thin cutting disc in an angle grinder the rot was cut out and cuts made to get back to sound metal.Using a depressed centre disc in the angle grinder the hole edges were cleaned up. A piece of card was pressed down onto the hole to make a pattern for a plate,cut approx 1/4 inch larger all round to sit under the hole.

The metal plate was curved and some cuts made to get the sharper bends,these cuts were then welded back together when the shape was finalised when the repair plate fitted accurately in place.The raised section or flange replaces the original which had started to rust badly and enabled the plate to fit accurately and strengthen the section it is welded to. 

The plate was welded in place and the welds partially ground down.The area is concealed so it seemed pointless to spend time making an invisible repair. Some seam sealer was used to stop any water access between the new section and the original panels.The plate is thicker than the original metal it replaces would have been and the arches are now considerably stronger than they were and probably stronger than when new.Supposedly the MOT (test for fitness) on these vehicles is very strict. I have seen enough of these vehicles (even ones in service) with extensive corrosion that I believe this is a myth.

Using an old ex london black cab as a daily driver.

For a long time I've been using an old London taxi as a daily driver. The old Nissan 2.7 engine has proved ultra reliable but the bodywork has needed welding constantly.

I started a taxi owners forum  for other owners of these old vehicles and found there are examples of these cars all over the world.Few are now used as fare carrying vehicles and many were scrapped when the British government and the idiot of a London mayor (Boris Johnson) decided they polluted too much yet replaced them with taxis using the same nissan diesel engine.

Spares are slowly becoming a problem. Most body parts are now unobtainable although most are relatively simple and can be patched with welding. The servicing items are still easy to source as are tyres as these were carried over to the later models.

As with any diesel engined vehicle starting in cold weather requires a strong battery and these are fitted with a seriously large one under the bonnet.Taxis have a weird electric lock system that locks the doors automatically when the foot brake is applied,this prevent passengers in the back (there is no front seat and the back is partitioned off seperately from the front) from hopping out as the taxi stops and thus avoid paying the driver. The rear doors are the 'suicide' type with the added bonus that the driver can put his hnd out of his window and open the rear door without leaving his seat. You can see this on many old films based in london or some of the larger UK cities.

Keeping the patina on an old classic car.

I've started a facebook group for the owners of classic cars who would rather use them than keep them locked away or take them to shows on a trailer. If you have a car you've restored on a budget,where you've adapted parts,sprayed and welded outside don't be shy,be proud of what you have achieved.

If you have a car that you've restored without spraying and chroming to within an inch of its life,join the Oily Rag restoration group. The link to it is here.

Welding the floor on the transit.

I took the rubber mat out of the old transit motorhome and found some holes in the cab floor. After taking the plug out of the back of the alternator and disconnecting the battery I started to weld the holes.

The holes in the floor pan were localised where water coming through the heater vents collects under the rubber mat. These were cut out and the edges squared off.A plate was then made to accurately fit in the holes,supported in place and but welded to the floor

The patches were then painted with red lead paint. For a neater job the welds could have been ground down flush but the floor is covered anyway and the patches hardly show underneath when painted over.

.The passengers side wing never fitted well.It stood very much proud of the leading edge of the door.New wings are unobtainable so I cut a thin section from the mounting flange (left pic) and then pushed the wing in and welded the edges back together. The door and wing now are much closer and the welding strengthened the door hinge area.

Welding front spring shackles on Mk1 transit.

With an MOT looming I thought I'd have a crawl underneath the transit. The front shackles had been welded some time ago (in fact a fair few years ago,time flies) I thought I'd attack them with a hammer. The original repairs still seem OK although a bit 'messy' so I ground down the welds and found one had not really taken right at the front so did it again. Under the old underseal the rust had started to get a hold so I took it all off and redid with old fashioned red lead.

The shackles looked a bit improved afterwards but while underneath I noticed a weak point on the floor,it probably doesn't matter for an MOT but still doesn't look too good.

Welding up the fairway doors part two.

The rot cut out left a bigger hole over half the door skin to bottom

is missing
After welding in some plates the seams were skimmed over with filler.

Welding up the back doors on the fairway taxi taxi

The door skin on the old fairway taxi was starting to come adrift. I took the door off and turning it upside down found the bottom of the door had all but vanished.
Even the thick metal that holds the door seal had broken up into pieces. I made a couple of sections to weld in,the repair wont last for ever but I did find even on ebay doors for these are hard to find and/or expensive. The doors like the rest of the vehicle rot badly,water comes in through the very poorly designed seals.

Transit what to do with it?.

I really dont know what to do with my old transit motorhome. I hardly ever use the poor old thing,it just stands outside looking forlorn. I spent a lot of time welding it and rebuilding the engine but just dont get the time to use it.

I guess if I sell it I will regret it but in the meanwhile what use is an old motorhome other than for motorhoming?.

Welding up the wings on a fairway taxi.

The wings on my old fairway taxi bounced up and down on every bump in the road. It seems a fairly common complaint,the inner and outer wings are held together and to the rest of the bodywork with coarse threaded screws and plastic spacers. They rust badly and quickly
I welded the inner and outer wings together with a steel strip replacing the plastic.

After welding the join was ground down and covered with a skim of filler. The wings are much stronger after being welded together. Temporarily the repairs were covered with some black gloss. At a later date the taxi will be resprayed.

Rusty doors

Looks to me like there's the odd spot of rust in this door bottom off the transit.

Typically the rust you can see on this Mk1 transit door is just the tip of an iceberg,the hole will get much bigger with a bit of prodding and poking.The vehicle spent the past few years parked up on Lowestofts dockside where it was wetted by sea spray every time the wind blew.

Car boots and rusty pillars

Tried another car boot today at burgh castle.To be honest it was pretty much a waste of time,people just walking round but not spending much at all.With people saying that the closest one at kessingland wildlife park charging 50p just to look round I thought it might have been busier.I did get rid or a few bulky items but didn't take a lot of money.
I thought when I got home I'd have a poke at a rust hole in the taxi that had been annoying me,the hole soon grew.

Taxi hole at base of windscreen pillar.

I cut a patch out of some scrap galvanised sheet and welded it in,it should last a few years at any rate.

A couple of plates curved to shape and mig welded in.