1947 Bradford Restoration

[Keith Clements]

I have applied the paint on this van pretty thick - I need to get a decent depth on to it and you may see / view this has a slight peel in some areas prior to flatting - I would rather do it this way and flat back than attempt several thin coats of paint to build the required depth - using thin paint allows for flow out whilst wet and tends to result in the paint gathering to the edges of panels and flowing away from raised profiles leading to a 'Toffee Apple' type of paint effect - to some extent I am attempting to replicate a commercial finish of the period and would rather the van wears a few hallmarks (but you may need to go hunting for them or have them pointed out)

Lots done but not a lot to show for it !

Flatted & polished the offside bonnet side panel



Then fitted it - tricky operation !



Bonnet will fit / sit better once the catches are fitted to retain it



The headlamps are new but have to be altered in order to get them to sit upright to the wing



New harness for the lamps also made up



Still needs to be more over to the outer edge of the wing



I made a small angled collar up in plastic first to ensure that what I had in mind would work



I just now have to source some 16mm internal diameter sleeve / pipe in steel - Keith may have something - I will check when I call to see him on Saturday

Meanwhile I made a start on flatting & polishing the panels at the rear of the van



Spare wheel flap done



Then tackled the fixed rear panels & the rear doors



Some polishing started once the flatting was completed

This is my Mom & Dads Bradford back in the early 1960's same colours as the one you have done.

Pete - That's a rare Bradford Utility DeLux - you can tell because is has a chromed radiator cowl - this was top of the range in the day ! - love the advertising placards & signs on the shop

[Keith Clements]

Mar 16, 2018 at 10:07pm
Got the rear of the van polished up





Then sorted the leather retaining strap for the spare wheel



Which enabled the fitting of the spare wheel flap plus the rear number plate, rear lamps & reflectors



I will need to modify the rear wiring harness for the lamps and add a couple of earths

Why do you have to ‘flatten’ the paint then polish it ? What would happen if you didn’t?

Not a stupid question at all - you can just polish paint if you wish - however, far better results are achieved when you flat the paint first - flatting removes fine dust particles & paint imperfections - flatting can also be used for removing paint runs or even if you have a insect land in the paint whilst it was wet. It's a longer process but better results by far
Mar 18, 2018 at 9:56pm
Plugged on today and sorted more of the glazing out



One of the rear door windows turned out to be a piece of household plate glass which consistently was deposited in the bin



Fortunately we had a factory toughened glass spare which was filthy



But cleaned up well - I managed to machine polish a couple of light scratches out of it



Then fitted both of the windows to the rear doors



Again has like the rest of the glazing on the van the windows are fitted from the inside out



I then sealed both the glass to the new rubber along with the bodyside





Next was the rear offside glass



All the glazing rubbers are badly perished so new ones area being fitted - this is a endless type rubber that just requires cutting to length



Peter - one of my fellow Jowett members / friends is staying with us for the week - hence he was put to work



Meanwhile I flatted & polished the upper section of the offside rear panel prior to fitting the windows







Then fitted the fixed section of the forward rear panel window - this is a part fixed / part sliding window - I need to source the U shaped sliding channel before I can fit the sliding window on each side




Mar 27, 2018 at 10:22pm

Right then - back to it:



Fitted new glass channel to both the front doors



Then sorted the drain tubes for the side sliding windows



Excess water drains via these rebates via a brass sleeve



The old rubber tubes had rotted so these were replaced - they simply drain through the floor of the van

Spent much of the day altering the headlamp brackets to get the headlamps to sit at the correct angle to the wings







Completed the wiring harness for the offside headlamp and got everything connected up - cannot test anything at present has all the switchgear is disconnected on the dashboard



The harness travels through the wing and into the headlamp bowl which is original and pretty standard for the era



The lamp beams will require aligning once I have the switchgear back together but the front end of the van is now starting to look the part - I have made what I hope is a final list of trim bits and ordered them this evening - I had hoped to source much of this at the NEC Restoration Show but it would appear that most of what I was looking for is all slow moving stuff that the exhibitors / stall holders left at home
Mar 28, 2018 at 9:33pm
Started to sort the wiper motor & spindles out



They cleaned up ok



It's a tandem wiper system so the drive is only on the motor spindle



The nearside wiper arm is motioned by a drag link from the motorised offside wiper arm



However the wiper arms supplied by the van's owner are too short to provide a suitable sweep & clearance from the windscreen rubber so this is something I shall have to sort



Next was to fit the main floor to the van which I had previously cut to pattern - I gave it a light coat of finishing oil first



Once dry I cracked on with the fitting of it



The rear two coach bolts being critical has these bolt the body to the chassis at this point



Opened another package to find a whiskey box


However no bottle but a pair of rebuilt 6 volt trafficators



The offside panel is new and required drilling for the trafficator fastenings



Tip for drilling through a painted panel is to always apply masking tape over the area to be drilled - it prevents the drill from slipping across the paint



The plated machine screws look a bit bright so I will paint these in black



There is a box cover that goes over the internals of the trafficator but I will leave these off until tested



I need to polish the paint on the panel before fitting the nearside trafficator






Dug all the interior coverings out of the loft - this is 'millboard' a cross between a hardboard and a compressed cardboard - one side has a slightly grained finish to it - the original has all been warped by damp at some stage - I kept them for patterns so one of the next tasks is checking the coverings for fit prior to cutting the new ones from the millboard sheet that I collected at the restoration show
Mar 29, 2018 at 10:43pm
Load of stuff turned up pretty early via UPS so that meant I could keep going with the glazing



Needed to get the nearside rear panel polished first before fitting the glass



Cleaned the glass up with the machine polisher and a fine compound after I had scraped the paint and other debris off it



Then fitted the rubber and inserted the string for lipping the rubber over the window aperture



Fitted



Then fitted the fixed pane of the side sliding glass - I had sourced a rubber of a thinner profile that would look ok all the way around the aperture - the original factory fitting utilised two mismatched rubber sections that were joined in the centres - this new rubber section makes for a better appearance



I had sourced a new window channel for the sliding window section



Which was duly cut to length then several drain holes drilled on the bottom channel to allow it to drain rainwater into the rebate and then down the drain tube



With window channels installed - the sliding window could be fitted





Then a check made on the fit of the interior metal trim (yet to be painted)



Then repeated the process for the offside sliding window



The windows are little stiff in the channels at present but will free up with a little use

Next was to cut, shape and fit the window weather strips to the front doors



These were originally held on with bifurcated rivets but these just lead to rust forming around the apertures that the rivets travel through - I took the option to bond the weather strips to the door skin



Don't know where the day goes when fitting things like this back together - turn around and it's 19:00 before I know it



Offside weather strip also completed - I went & collected the cream paint for the interior trims so I should now get all the remaining painted parts completed over the next few days with the exception of the wheels which need to go for sandblasting

[Keith Clements]

I wonder how you keep the windows from falling out while pulling them in, as you need to set them in place from the inside, but pull the cord from the outside... If I understood correctly. Do you tape them in place temporarily? Or is the wife happy to help at such times?

They are tightish fit between the ash frame aperture on the inside so they stay where they are put - I tend to work around the van and always leave the next window adjacent out until the one that you are fitting is completed - that way you can use the adjacent window aperture to reach through and apply pressure to the window being fitted when required - then you can utilise the door aperture on the next window to be fitted

Mar 30, 2018 at 8:56pm
Few odd bits done today - replaced the very defective live feed wiring for the interior roof lamp



Along with running a new earth in



Wired up the wiper motor



Tried to trace the brake & tail lamp wiring but none of it makes much sense so I will wait until the battery & switchgear is back on the van then I can run some voltage tests

Fitted the nearside trafficator once I added a correct ring terminal to the earth rather than rely on the previous twisted wire connection





New door catches of the same pattern are no longer available - these work ok but are just scruffy



I removed the paint and gave the main body of the catch a clean up so it will be reused - its a plated surface so should be ok - I will have to paint the handle - this would have been chrome plated but the chrome has long gone



Retrieved the front door windows from storage - they should clean up ok but the slide handles at the top will require a bit of treatment & some paint along with the regulator guide channel at the bottom of the window





The regulators are just to add spring assistance to the window - the windows are slid up & down manually so no winding handle - these will also require a little de-rusting before being reused

1. How did you glue the rubber to the door ( what product) would it be a strong enough bond to hold the outside rubber "squeegie" side of a wind up window in place? And

2. Coming back to the flatting and polishing - does the same technique apply to clear coat?

Sikaflex 221 is what I used - it's a multi purpose but very strong adhesive - just make sure both surfaces are clean & dry before bonding them (I used panel wipe to ensure that all traces of silicone were removed but you could use methylated spirit) 221 is available widely - e bay / motor factors / DIY stores etc and is circa £8 - £10 a tube - seal the nozzle of the tube off when done and you will get a lot more uses out of it - you can clean up any excess with panel wipe / meths etc

Yes - same process for clearcoat / lacquer polishing has you would any solid / 2 pack solid paints

Mar 31, 2018 at 9:29pm
Few more odds & sods sorted today - removed the surface rust off the window regulator guides / pull catch and coated them with 'Hydrate' rust treatment



Removed the steering wheel to allow for better access to the column which needs the rust knocking off it and a coat of black paint



Column stem for the switches cleaned up on the wire wheel



Steering wheel also responded to a quick clean & de-rust



Cleaned the steering column up and applied a etch primer





Cleaned the offside door catch up



Along with a few bits that locate the column to the dashboard



These were also etch primed along with the handles on the door catches


Apr 2, 2018 at 9:49pm
So I needed too get the final parts into paint - first batch being black






Comprising of the rear wings, front door inner plates, dashboard gauge & switch centre, chassis end caps, front number plate mounting plinth & the front bumper - all prepped & hung










3 coats of shiny 2 pack black later - I used a fast hardener in the paint and after 3 hours in the workshop with the panel lamps on which were maintaining a 20C temp - although not fully cured that paint was dry enough for me to move the painted parts and I rehung them up in the workshop loft

Next was to paint the interior window trims (all 9 of them) along with the main dashboard and a few retaining clips for under the bonnet







You have to careful to allow enough walkthrough space when spraying - you loose vison either side of yourself when wearing a air fed mask and it's so easy to clip / catch a part or panel that is wet with paint







3 coats of cream gloss later - again I used a fast hardener in the paint and left the lamps on - all the parts will be able to be handled by the morning so some of them can start to go back on the van - the only items left to paint now are the wheels - I will get these off the van in the week, then I need to get the tyres removed prior to the rims being left with the blaster
Apr 3, 2018 at 9:46pm

First job was to fit the rest of the front end up now that it is all painted



Chassis end caps are fitted in conjunction with the bumper bar irons and retained by the same bolts



Next was the number plate plinth which fastens to the chassis end caps



Followed by the bumper - this needed some tweaking on the irons to get the alignment equally spaced with the front wings - finally the front number plate could now be fitted



Some touching in of the bolt / nut heads will be required once I have the rest of the van assembled



Next was he assembly of the central dashboard switch / gauge plate



Unfortunately the charging light decided to self destruct - looks like some one has previously glued this together but's now beyond use
- I will have source a suitable replacement along with some 6 volt bulbs for the panel illumination as the old ones are long gone



I had previously cleaned the gauges up so it was just a matter of fastening them back to the plate in the correct order - I always photograph everything has it comes apart so with a quick bit of reference on the lap top back together it went



Then fitted the dash panel and fed the wire through for the column stem switch gear - I re-taped the two harness wires has the braiding on them was worn through in places





Column stem going back together with the switch gear



Then installed the centre dash & connected the gauges / switch gear - very fiddly has every connection is a bare wire end retained by a grub screw for the connections



Checked everything again and then fitted / connected the battery - took quite a few turns on the starter but would not start - went and checked for spark at the points & plugs - quick squirt of WD40 into the distributer cap - tried again and into life she sprang



Worked my way around and checked for side lamps first



Then headlamps - one of the wires wants swapping over on the nearside headlamp has I am getting main beam on one side and dipped on the other / vice versa



Checked the horn which just required the nut turning on the front of it which in turn tunes it

Then checked the trafficators



These are rebuilt and were a little sticky but a quick squirt of the WD40 sorted them



Traced the sidelights via a voltage test on the rear of the van have commenced building the harness for the rear lights and added a earth at the same time - this still needs completing and connecting to the lamps



Got power to the wiper motor and this now works - I have slightly trimmed the top of the wiper blades in order to allow a wider sweep arc - just need a stupidly minute allen key in order to connect the drive link to the nearside wiper arm



Got what was left of the old headlining out of the loft



Sharon (SWMBO) will take this to her studio tomorrow and run me a new one up using the original has the pattern - the old material looks to be canvas based but we will make the new one from a wool headlining material that my supplier sourced


Apr 4, 2018 at 10:16pm
Meanwhile much is happening behind the scenes - just not much to show for it - spent a while tracking down the last few bits required this morning - door mirrors that Tim has supplied might just work - but need to spend a little more time checking that they will fit properly before the point of no return when the door is drilled to mount them


Refitted the clutch & brake pedals now that the toe board & floors are fitted



The tabs for sliding the front door glass up & down were badly pitted with rust - I had previously removed the rust and treated them now needed to fill the deep pits and sand them back



Primed then flatted back & sprayed with a satin black



Sharon took the old headlining apart on the factory seams



Then used the panels to draft and make up a new pattern in calico which shall be retained for future use & making headlinings for the vans available through the clubs parts scheme 'Jowett Car Spares'



New headlining material



Panels cut to pattern



Panels being stitched together



Fortunately SWMBO has a studio with all the right kit at her disposal (along with all the right skills too)



End result - one new headlining ready for fitting

Apr 5, 2018 at 12:07am

Found this body. You’ll have to reuse your centre terminal as this one has sheared off. PM me your address and I’ll get it in the post.

If this isn’t any good, I’ve got a complete unit somewhere, I’ll look properly tomorrow.

Many thanks for this but don't worry - these are Lucas W3 apparently - readily available in 12 volt format but quite rare in 6 volt - the 6 volt ones have a winding around them for some reason - when found in stock suppliers want upwards of £35 for them - has no one had stock I dug a little deeper and found a supplier with a period copy, in stock & £15 has I needed other odds like 6 volt bulbs etc I put the warning lamp on the order but thanks again for digging through your odds & sods to find it - Chris

[Keith Clements]

Apr 5, 2018 at 9:44pm

Needed to clean up a little bit in the workshop so with the van now running and with the help of a milk crate for a seat I ventured outside with the van to a bit of spring sun - some pics but the van is covered in dust at present






Workshop back in order - ran the van back in and up onto axle stands and dropped the wheels of it



Ran the wheels over to the tyre centre and they removed the tyres & tubes there & then for me - I shall run the rims over to the blasters in the morning



Then turned my hand to get the rear lamps wired up



New harness made up for the spare wheel flap and the supply taken directly from the original harness but with addition of an earth



Side lamps working - not overly bright but this is only a 6 volt system - I doubt that Tim would ever use the van in the dark



Then sorted the brake lights - spent a load of time cleaning up & adjusting the brake light switch which is actuated on the rear brake rod (no hydraulics - rod brakes all round) - I could get them to come on but the switch would then not release when the brake pedal was released - eventually got it sorted



Next - looked at the door mirrors



Which need to fit here on the front doors



There is plenty of the ash frame to fasten to at this point but the stud on the mirror is an insufficient length - I am going to have source mirrors that externally fix by screws rather than a stud



Polished the front door glasses up - fastened the window regulator to the inner door panel - greased the window regulator channels and fitted everything has one unit



Door catches & keeps could also now be fitted



Nearside door now has locking ability - I need to flat & polish the paint on the door prior to fitting the external door handle



Then onto the offside front door with a repeat of the process



The glass is pretty stiff to move in the new glass felt channels - tip here is to add a little white grease (aerosol type) down the channels which reduces the friction - don't overdo it has the grease can also attract / trap dust & debris which then makes the situation worse



Catch & keep also fitted to the offside door

Starter button is a bit hit & miss and was also getting a tad warm this morning when I went to start the van



I had left the centre dash loose until I had checked & commissioned all of the electrics - so it was just a matter of easing it back off the main dashboard



Removed the starter button - copper contacts slightly dirty but also the connection ring is slightly deformed from the years of use



I flatted this square again and cleaned the contacts up on the opposite face



I will clean the cable terminals up and reassemble it all in the morning - with just the charge warning lamp to fit which should also be here tomorrow the dash centre panel can fitted permanently


Apr 6, 2018 at 9:44pm
First job was to run the rims over to the blasters and has all the schools were on holiday it made for a nice drive out.

Put the starter button back together and fastened the centre plate up to the main dash



Although a slight improvement the starter was still somewhat sluggish for my liking - I removed both the cables from the starter - terminals were badly oxidized cleaned them up and fastened them back and achieved the improvement that I was looking for - then fitted the windscreen trim surround



Followed by the felt trim between the screen rubber & the screen trim



Tim had supplied some good used handles for the doors the old ones either being in a very poor condition or simply missing - I needed to polish the upper frame of the door first before fitting the handle





Once fitted I then flatted & polished the lower section of the door and rear panel on the nearside





Whilst on the polishing front - I flatted / polished the nearside rear wing



Then marked the wing piping up for trimming and hole aperture punching



Then duly fitted




Cleaned the brass petrol filler cap up - the neck to the tank requires touching in - in black and there is a rubber grommet that fits on the neck to the rear panel



Then a repeat of the process on the offside








So its well on its way but I now have a deadline - Tim would like to collect on / around the 18th April - he is organising a Jowett Bradford rally over the first May bank holiday - 4th - 7th May at which he would like to debut the van and I have no doubt that he wants to trial / test & put a few running miles on it before then - I estimate that I have about a weeks work left on it and currently run with a list in my head - most of the work is now on the interior but it's pretty straight forward enough - pretty enjoyable too - onwards then

can anything be done about my twitching ocd gland? (the oil pressure gauge slightly off level in relation to others...and the silver bezel on the speedo?

Oil pressure gauge was straightened up yesterday when I did my end of the day checks - as for the chrome bezel - it's either dechrome it but there's no guarantee that's its brass to match others - paint it black which is probably the better option or leave as it is - I will see what Tim the owner of the van wants but it's nice to note that others suffer from OCD too

[Keith Clements]

When fitting the rear arch trim will you be applying any form of protection to rubber to stop water ingress from the rear of the panel joint or are you just relying on the paint finish?

Both sides of the panels are painted then there is the leather cloth wing piping between them - I will apply a seam sealer to the currently open seam between the rear wing & the rear panel to prevent water ingress - the whole underside of the wheel arch including the wing then get sprayed & treated with Dinitrol 4941 underbody wax - same treatment also applies to the front wings / front panels / lower bulkhead / rear fixed panels etc
Apr 7, 2018 at 10:58pm
Machined two pieces of seasoned hardwood down for the side steps - these are only fitted to the utility van and not the standard vans - the originals were thinish sheet steel but they just form rust traps



Drilled and rebated bolts to retain the hardwood then bonded a fine ribbed rubber sheet to the upper face has per the original step and then formed a J section alloy trim around the edge of the step again has per the factory original



Tip for driving screws into hardwood with pre drilled holes is to scrape the thread of the screw with a hard wax - like a candle etc - the screw will drive home much easier



Fitted to the original mounting brackets - with the old step plates on the floor which I had retained for pattern



Nearside done



Then the offside



Also on todays list was to make a start on the millboard lining for the interior - this is a compressed cardboard / hardboard type product - normally comes in black with a lightly grained surface on the outer face - can be painted though with the correct products - millboard was found commonplace in vehicles of all types from the 1930's through into the 1980's



Comes in full size sheets or half sheets and is relatively inexpensive - circa £16 for a full sheet - normally available from automotive trim suppliers



Can be cut easily, quickly & neatly with a sharp pair of industrial shears of in my case a well adjusted & sharp pair of tinsnips



Edges can be sanded back carefully if required with a block & 240's production paper

Before closing off any of the door cavities I needed to cavity wax the inner skins - especially in the repaired areas - my product of choice which is a clear cavity wax



Shows up has slightly milky white product on the inside of the door - lots applied - especially between the ash frames and the steel door skin





Also did the front doors whilst I was at it



With the Millboard cut to pattern I then commenced fitting it - it just screws to the frame with countersunk screws and cup washers - the painted window trim surround was also fitted at the same time



This in turn then allowed for the fitting of the catch & locking rods to the offside door



Along with the rear door external handle



Then repeated the process of templating the millboard, cutting & fitting on the nearside rear door



So the rear doors are now coming to completion with exception of the weather seals





I need to make some minor adjustments to the upper door keep for the locking rod tomorrow

Quite shocking how suddenly this looks like a complete vehicle in these recent updates. It's impossible to imagine it from the first pages

This can only happen if you are both methodical & organised with the restoration process - trying / trial fitting all trims & fittings long before the paint gets applied / labelling items / photographing everything as it comes apart etc - needless to say I have seen many a restoration held up by the lack of planning / forward thinking and the application of a little effort - it just makes the process so much easier when it comes to putting things back together but for some reason there is a blind vision - by some owners / restorers where they get to a point where the paint has to go on the vehicle regardless and it's normally 2 or 3 days too early which then creates about another 3 weeks additional work - fresh paint gets damaged by ill fitting trim & parts and the project becomes compromised or the owner looses interest at this point and it becomes a unfinished project - end of lecture (well not a lecture if you know what I mean - just a insight of a trend that I have witnessed more times than enough) - apologies if this sounds a little smug but experience can only come with time

[Keith Clements]

Apr 8, 2018 at 10:56pm
Caught up with some minor paint items - grab handles for the front doors in cream and the bonnet catch knobs in black



Then on with the making up & fitting of the front interior trim - NS door card first - loosely fitted the original one to check if it would surfice has a pattern



Patten transferred to the millboard & cut to size



Some of the original panels are not worth bothering with for patterns though - note the bound & stitched edge - not something that we will be replicating in this restoration



Door card fitted and the upper section around the window frame patterned, cut & fitted



Window trim fitted - the diamond shaped piece towards the top centre of the door is the window lock to prevent the window being slid down from the outside when the van is left unattended - still waiting on the paint drying on the grab handle so I shall fit that later



Next was the NS footwell board that fits to the side of the bulkhead - again adjusted the old panel and utilised that for the pattern



Cut & ready for fitting



Before its fitted I need to fit the draught excluder to the door frame - originally it was fitted with rexene / vinyl covered rubber tube that was tacked to the internal face of the frame



Fits like this



Times have moved on and a better product became available - called furflex - a plush type material again formed over a tube



Two types of fitting are available - 'push on' which is fitted to later style vehicles with a steel upstand to the door apertures where both panels are spot welded or in the case of ash framed vehicles like the Bradford 'tack on' - it comes in a wide range of colours and is available from most classic / vintage vehicle trimming supplier and fits like this



Can be stapled or tacked in





Sound proofing / insulation fitted to the bulkhead side prior to the fitting of the footwell panel



Old check straps for the doors were rotten & split so new ones were sourced



Door completed by the fitment of the grab handle & check strap



Footwell panel fitted and the furflex fitted up to the B post



Repeat of the process for the offside



But need to renew these perished connectors first



Replaced and the bulkhead panel treated with the cavity wax - lots of it



Then just a matter of fitting the soundproofing, cutting & fitting the millboard panels then fitting the furflex & internal door furniture



One last job for the day - managed to dechrome the bezel on the speedo so that it matches the rest of the gauges

How did you dechrome the bezel?

Removed the bezel from it's mounting - careful rub back with some P180 thro to 320 onto 600 and left has a brushed brass finish to match the other bezels - you need to check what the base metal is though - it could have been steel

do you anticipate having to reapply the cavity wax at any regular interval? (or is it a one time and worry free product?)

The cavity wax is an apply and forget however the underside treatment of the wings Dinitrol 4941 underbody wax is recommended to be reapplied every 2 - 3 years - although this little van will get used it wont be doing big mileages so personally I recommend that it gets redone in 5 years time

[Keith Clements]

Apr 9, 2018 at 10:48pm
More progress - firstly I fitted the trafficator boxes which are internal and hidden by the millboard panels once they are fitted



Then to sort the toolbox lid and rear brace out of which the originals were beyond use





Rear brace made up and managed to salvage the batten which is utilised for retaining the millboard panel to



Tool box base made up



Along with the new lid - all in 9mm marine grade ply



The lid, base & rear brace will get covered in the ribbed section rubber that I covered the steps in - top tip when gluing trim for a vehicle always use a automotive grade high temperature glue - most other glues will just let go when the vehicle gets hot in summer





Then left weighted for a couple of hours



Has was the new floor for the toolbox



Then tried the original rear millboard panels for fitting / suitable templates - the masking tape is where I need to allow additional on the new panel







Furflex fitted to both front B posts prior to the fitment of the rear millboard panels



Both rear millboard panels now cut & fitted



Then trial fitted the remaining original millboard panels






Along with the front headboard that abuts to the headlining


The headlining needs to be fitted before all these millboard panels can be fitted - however I wanted to get the bulk of the work done in making up a new headboard panel before I fitted the headlining to avoid damaging it in the process

Its of a double compound curvature



Fortunately the millboard is quite workable



I will cover this in headlining material at a later stage

Marked the centres up on the roof frame rails - the headlining tacks to these rails (unlike later production vehicles of a unitary construction that have steel hoops that you thread the headlining through)



Sharon my lovely other half (grovel words just in case she reads the thread) who had made the headlining up for me had already marked the centres on the cloth



Then it's get tacking time - work from the centre of rail pulling slightly on the material - this is a wool fabric and is very forgiving



Just doing a rail at a time working from back to front





Then tack the sides up



Trim any excess carefully - the millboard panels will cover the staples / headlining edges - further to this wool headlining's can be brought taught by steaming them - great for taking any fine wrinkles out of them - just stick an electric kettle in the van close the doors & windows - then leave the kettle boiling with the switch held down for 15 mins does the job (does not work on modern hard or vinyl headlining's)



Furflex - fitted to the rear door apertures





Toolbox cover now fitted - I will fit a equal angle alloy edge to the outer faces of this to smarten it up and the rear brace still requires a slither of the ribbed rubber mat fitting to it



Mirrors have arrived



I just need to decide where to fit them - A post



Or door - looking at the pics of other Bradfords it appear that most owners favour the A post and it looks like that is where the were when new from the factory too



Finally I transferred the list in my head to paper



I now just to need to stop adding more jobs to the said list and start to get more crossed off and then there's the deadline 'DEADLINE' who's idea is that!

[Keith Clements]

Where do you get the ribbed rubber mat? I want to line the floor of my Saab 95 van (in the making) with something similar.

I have a couple of suppliers - links below - hope they are of use - Chris

http://www.martrim.co.uk/car-trimming-s ... atting.php

http://www.woolies-trim.co.uk/category/ ... er-matting
Apr 11, 2018 at 12:14am
Long day in getting the remaining mill board panels cut & fitted - I had reserved the 2 most difficult ones for some of the last to do



These being the rear pillar covers - multi compound curvature - I took them apart so that I could pattern them more effectively



The rear pillars were sprayed liberally with cavity wax before being covered

Cut the remaining millboard trims for the nearside



All fitted along with the window trims





Then onto the offside





Again all fitted in conjunction with the window trims



Just need the final trim to go between the headlining and the millboard



This is called 'Hidem Banding' - its been in the market since the 30's - available in a range of colours and a couple of widths



It's largely used for trim transition or termination points - the centre opens up to allow you to tack or staple through it then it's closed to hide the fixing



Fitted



Headlining done, front headboard fitted (decided to leave it has black millboard) & rear view mirror fitted



Then came point of virtual disaster with the headlining - Tim had supplied a interior light for the van - a used one - I fitted the baseplate and wired it in but the lamp switch is broken due a crack in the plastic base plate and will not switch off - further to this the lens will not stay retained on its clips - had a go at fixing it (I like to get most things to work) but this was having none of it and there comes a point after wasting over an hour on what should be a 5 minute fix - problem now is that I have the wires through the headlining and two screw holes in it at 100mm centres - I had to find another lamp that would cover this - found something suitable this evening and got it on order - it's more period and circular (as were the originals) - hopefully that will appear in the next few days



Meanwhile the new charge / ignition lamp turned up along with the 6 volt bulbs for the dash lamps



Some suitable grovelling under the dash later along with a new earth run in for the dash lamps and we have illumination

i'm coming to the conclusion, via observation, that the aerosol versions of high temp proper automotive super de facto ultimate trim glue, are also a load of junk (so far tried trim-fix via woolies, and livedale trimbond via ebay)

There is some rubbish out there - link below to my preferred supplier - they supply the majority of the UK classic car trimming trade - there stuff is pretty good and if it wasn't I would not be using it ! - Chris

http://www.martrim.co.uk/car-trimming-s ... esives.php

Apr 11, 2018 at 10:59pm
Last section of millboard work was to clad the bulkhead battery box which had fallen apart through water ingress - it could have been left has it's not really visible however this area has a sound deadening / insulation applied to it and its the millboard that retains the insulation in place



Boxed in and insulation installed



Glove box is just of a millboard formed construction



The front edge had degraded where it fastened to the dashboard - so I trimmed the first 25mm off the box - redrilled the holes and added new spire clips - then gave a clean up before applying a matt black finish to it



Before fitting the glove box and having completed any under the dash work I applied the cavity wax to the underside of the bulkhead



Glove box fitted and loose piece of the ribbed rubber mat placed into the base - it's a open glove box - no lid to it



Getting to the end of the larger jobs so I can now start to get some of the smaller odds sorted - check straps fitted to the rear doors



Then assembled this pile of bits



Into bonnet catches





Which in turn ensures that the bonnet fits a little more snugly



Maintenance issues are also addressed has the van goes together - the piano hinges on the bonnet can quickly seize and create issues so all of these are sprayed with a white grease



Made a start on the seat mountings - the offside front is adjustable whilst the rest are fixed but with fold down backs and the two rear seats are hinged so they tip forward to make the most of the load area at the rear of the van



Seats are the originals and are being left has is for now



They are not in the best of conditions being 70 years old but not the worst set that I ever come across either

[Keith Clements]

Apr 12, 2018 at 9:51pm
Lots done - next to nothing to show for it though - mainly running around collecting odds & bits that I need to complete the van - however, managed to get the wiper arm link fitted



Went & collected the wheels from the shot blasters



One of which had few areas in the outer rim thinning out





These were cleaned back and fresh metal let in to them prior to being dressed back - the wheels will be fitted with crossply tyres which in turn are inflated via tubes

Spent a little time moving the van across the workshop to allow access to the ceiling hooks for hanging the rims from



Then applied 3 coats of polyester primer to them





Early start in the morning will enable me to get them sanded back and into colour using a fast hardener and raising the temperature in the workshop will see them dry by tomorrow afternoon so that I can get them over to the tyre fitters on Saturday morning


I checked the original wiper arms & blades - 7 1/4" arms with 8" blades - exactly the same size has the new ones that Tim has supplied

I then checked the swept area of the screen has I sat in the seat of the van in the driving position and the wiper swept the upper section of the screen which is where you eyesight is aimed / focused - thing is put longer arms & larger blades on it and you would have all on the for tiny 6 volt wiper motor to power both arms - lastly I checked other images of the model to ensure that this was the norm



Note that this is a poverty model with only one wiper arm / blade fitted on the offside - hence you could run a slightly longer wiper blade
Apr 13, 2018 at 9:32pm
Wheels were the main aim of today - I got the primer sanded back



Then 3 coats of paint on to the rims



Left under the lamps to cure



I will run them to the tyre fitter in the morning

Then checked that the drivers seat ran in the slides ok and that the seat locking mechanism operated ok on the slides



Fitted the two timber seat supports for the passenger seat



Then cut & laid a paper pattern for the front carpet mat



Patten transferred to 13mm sound deadening material



Then fitted


Apr 14, 2018 at 9:42pm
Got the tyres put back onto the rims which meant that I could put the wheels back on the van move it back across the workshop





Then continued with the carpet - I left it in the sun for while has it kept trying to coil it's self back up into the roll that's its been stored in



Transferred the pattern to it



No matter how good your pattern is I would always recommend going 15mm oversize with the actual carpet - you can trim back but cant add very successfully





Toe board insulation patterned, cut & fitted



Likewise with the toe board carpet





Furflex draught proofer fitted in conjunction with a alloy keep for the carpet edge - fitted to both of the front door apertures



Insulation for the rear floor cut & fitted



Rear carpet being trimmed in which I shall finish in the morning


Apr 15, 2018 at 11:29pm
Carpets & keeps completed



Its a very hard wearing carpet hence quite stiff - it still sits a little proud in a few places but should settle over the next few days



Last piece of insulation cut



Which fits to the underside of the bulkhead behind the dashboard



New interior light turned up so that was fitted



It's switched on the base of the lamp but I have wired it to the vans ignition to prevent it from being accidently left switched on



The seats are covered in rexine - a early form of vinyl material - I thought I would try a bit of an industrial plastics gel to see how they might clean up



So far so good











The original MPV ?



Steering wheel refitted



So with the exception of a few minor finishing touches that's the interior complete

Fitted a rubber mat to the battery tray along with making a new retaining bracket for the battery



Many things crossed off the list but sill a few to address

[Keith Clements]

Stupid question time: what are the vents in the bottom of the front seat for?

Seats scrubbed up really well, all things considered. Seems strange they didn't use a slightly narrower seat in the back so they could sit level. A cost saving measure, perhaps, since they look the same as the front seats?

They are sprung seats so I would assume the holes allow for air to escape has the springs are compressed within what is a cavity - the seats are identical in construction with just the drivers seat having a sliding rail type arrangement to allow for pedal reach - so I would guess that they just used what they had rather tool up again for slightly smaller seat - vehicle manufactures were just getting back on their feet after several years government enforced military production of armaments - at the end of the war it was essential that they quickly got back into vehicle production - hence they used whatever tooling they had to hand - The Bradford was new to the market and caught a lot of other vehicle manufactures out in the respect that other vehicle manufactures just returned to the models that they were producing pre war.

The van in utility format was largely targeted at the small businessman - green grocer / butcher / general store / plumber / builder etc - it gave them the flexibility of a work vehicle in the week and a family vehicle on a weekend - the staggered rear seat arrangement coming into it's own if you had children - the older child with the longer legs got the seat which was further back in the van and the younger one the rear seat closer to the front !

These seats surprise me a bit. I would have thought that they should be taller and that they would be mounted on a sort of frame, not sit directly on the floor. The seat cushin seems to be close to the floor, like in a modern car, not an old van. How would these seats act in a collision? Would the fold up or are they attached to the floor in the rear? I guess that in't an interesting question as there are no seat belts and everyone in the car would be thrown around anyway.
Sort of sad to see the end of the project, but I guess you have several new ones in the pipeline.
It really have been interesting to follow this rebuild!

Firstly the seats are a awful lot more comfortable than they look - both the seat bases and backs are sprung, I hate to say but has for safety - it was not really thought about in those days - not just Jowett either but all vehicle manufactures - I am always fairly happy to see the end of project and don't worry there are no end of projects in the pipeline - thanks for the comments - Chris

Apr 16, 2018 at 10:39pm

The exhaust front pipe was blowing by the silencer and Tim had supplied me with a good used one that had seen little use



Old one is on the left



Fortunately the four bolts that retain the exhaust to the heads were of the large brass recipe and came straight off



Pea shooter silencer had come off in order to get the front pipe back on



Trimmed the old bracket off that was on the underside of the tail pipe - it served no purpose and was just asking to get caught up on something



Painted the stems up on the brake & clutch pedals that had been out for the carpet fitting



Refitted



Sealed the seams on the underside of the wings / wheel arches as required



Van up in the air, wheels off and masked up ready for underbody rust proofing



Main underside / drive train is sprayed with a transparent underbody wax (Dinitrol)







Underside of the wings & wheel arches are coated in a heavy duty underbody wax in black (Dinitrol 4941)



Locking catches fitted to the side sliding windows





The mirrors were fitted to the doors in the end everywhere else restricted the drivers vision into them





Original supplying dealers plaque fitted to the dashboard
Apr 17, 2018 at 10:40pm
Wheels back on and the van back on the floor I applied the clear cavity wax to the lower bulkhead and the inner wings within the engine bay



Stowed the spare wheel and also applied the clear wax to the rear of the spare wheel flap



Third stage polished all external paintwork



Fitted the grommet that goes between the panel work and the fuel filler neck



Hubcaps fitted - on the basic van they were painted black however on the utility & deluxe models they were chrome



Starting to look the part







Two minor areas of paintwork required sorting - might not trouble most people but it troubles me so the van is not leaving the workshop until they are sorted - one on the offside windscreen pillar and the small panel under the rear doors





These will get polished up in the morning - more tomorrow

So spent the morning polishing & final finishes then ran it down the lane for a few pics









Then another set of images taken after a 6 mile road test but out of direct sunlight











A wash off in the morning then once dry I will apply a wax protection to it - Tim should be with me at about 1400 hours with his trailer to collect it - another one done !

[PJGD]

A great job and very impressive. I learned a lot about how bodywork should be done!

Philip

[ajackson]

Thank you Chris,
This has been extremely educational, and the end product does you proud.
It is a great resource to have all this information here.

AJ

[BarryCambs]

Thanks for a fantastic detailed story. As said, a really valuable resource for anyone attempting any bodywork, made all the better for stating the recommended materials. The whole thing looks stunning!

Barry

[Alastair Gregg]

Chris,

...... and it's a double thumbs up from Buxton. I have been asked to be official photographer for the Bradford Extravaganza. So I shall be taking lots of pictures of the Newest Bradford of them all over the bank holiday.

I am however extending the Chris Spencer exclusion zone, when mine finally gets back on the road, to about a mile

Good work Chris.

[Keith Clements]

Those wishing to see the 1513 pictures used may like to go to this Jowett Gallery album where there are some higher resolution images.

There is a good comparison of before and after.