Okey..okey....... maybe not that far back...
What I have done before the AstroSafariVans is. I have replaced the very rusty rockerpanels with "home made" ones.
Then I replaced all door skins, also "home made", mostly to get rid of the handles. Replaced the front window frame, it was alot of rust there too.
Now I got an idea to make the rear doors to one door that opens upwards with hidden hinges.
That is what this first building post will show.
Here are a few pices of steel, to fabricate the hinges.
The loops are welded on.
And tested in the van.
Pieces that will enhance the door frame and the portion of the hinge that will be sitting there.
Hole to make room for the nuts.
Welding and grinding.
Welded hinge parts together and some reinforcements. Better safe than sorry.
To fix the doors, I welded two plates on the inside and two on the outside.
The ugly hinges are gone, cut them a bit rough just to make it possible to open the door. I remove the rest later.
First test opening.
The hinge in action.
Good clearance between the door and the roof.
After much measuring and testing (seven different locations), the gassprings are in place. They have a pressure of 630N each.
And with the door closed.
Function test, I open the door about 6-8 ", then it slowly goes up by itself.
That's what I've done so far. The next step is to replace the door skin to a large one, without windows.
To be continued..................
