Chapter 2 - The shits hit the van

Overalls? ......Check, Cleaning materials? .........Check, Industrial power washer?........ Check,

Today's mission, was to get all the muck and grime off the body, and see what lies underneath.

We, (my trusted little bro in law, Lee and I) decided we'd start on the nose of the van, and see what kind of paint lies underneath...........

Early tests showed there was indeed some original paint, in fairly good condition (at least on some of the van)
If you ever in this position to be cleaning a car that's been laid up under trees etc. for a long period of time, i'd like to recommend a high quality industrial strength TFR (traffic film remover) to make your life a bit easier!

While i was applying the TFR, Lee had taken upon himself to operate the lance on the power washer

 It was then i notice the ammout of crap on the roof, so we got the ladder out and had a good look,

The whole roof was covered in the most bird shit ive ever had the misfortune to lay eyes on, must have been ten pound of bird shit on the roof alone, so i spent 4 + hours removing all the crap and shit from the panels.

Came up pretty good, I think, and I'm totally amazed to find no rust or rot on the roof!

Shame i cant say that about the lower sections, like the arches etc,

The good news is its not near the seat belt anchors, and seems to only be the lips of the arches, which i'll cut away in the next few days in preparation for the new panels
Overall the van is in worse condition then i thought originally, however, some of it, has been in a time warp, with the interior still having everything it left the factory with still intact (except a knob off the radio) which for being over 30 years old is amazing.

This is the floor, which has had a expensive piece of carpet underlay protecting it, with a marine grade ply floor, of the top. I'd say that's one of the reasons there's no real rot or rust, besides two tiny spots, which I'm going to grind out! I'll be starting on the brakes soon, as they are seized, and makes it difficult to push around Lee's driveway.

More to follow.......