Holiday Buggy vintage resurrection

[KEV THE REV]

I fancied another HB , maybe an army themed buggy . I had a few parts here and some parts traded from Grumpy Pants  - cheers GP . I got hold of a 'basket case ' body and tub and set about seeing if I could rebuild a bad HB shell & tub - it would be easier to get a re-re shell and fill the front damper holes in - but where's the fun in that !! . The tub is good apart from the achilles heel of the front damper tops , more on that to come as I get stuck into that . I got hold of the rear end assembly and gears , so I have most of the parts , just need a 540 motor mount and a front body mount if anyone has them , let me know

Pics of what I had to start with . I have some wheels and bumpers too - not all bad then !!

more pics to come as progress happens

[Superluminal]

Great project and nice to see something that someone somewhere will have had some serious enjoyment with even if it looks a bit sorry for itself now.

Good luck with it - looking forward to seeing it progress (I wouldnt know where to begin)

[KEV THE REV]

1 hour ago, Superluminal said:

serious enjoyment with

Demolition Derby me thinks

[Willy iine]

Nice project, @KEV THE REV!   

I read that the body uses a different plastic material than standard styrene/ABS.. .something that resembles recycle bins or something.   Are you able to use Tamiya putty and plastic cement, etc if you need do any body repairs?    

 

GL with the project.   

[KEV THE REV]

Yes it is different to abs  etc . I have bonded / repaired  one of these before . I'm using JB cold weld 2 part mix onto scored body plastic for small repairs on this one . Some repairs on the body have taken place and things are moving foreward . More pics to come .

[Kol__]

Ah nice one mate, this looks like it will be a fun build!

42 minutes ago, KEV THE REV said:

JB cold weld 2 part mix onto scored body plastic

Is that stuff any good? I used some EMA plastic weld for the first time recently. It seems to perform well. A 2 part mix sounds like it might do an even better job. Is it necessary to score the plastic, as doesn't the weld melt the top layer to create the bond?

[KEV THE REV]

The HB plastic is PET and not like any usual plastic , it is difficult to work with and nothing really sticks to it in its stock self , painting is a problem without careful prep and in time it usually chips off with any impact . I have tried some JB on the shell but I have sanded and scored the areas to be bonded to give it a key , the plastic won't melt like styrene does so it has to be keyed up / scored . Time will tell how the JB holds up . It is high strength but workable and I'll only be using it where I have to , the rest will be 'mechanical' repairs like on the roof & supports etc . I'll be keying up the body surface inside and out and coating it in an etch primer then base primer then a matt Olive green finish

[KEV THE REV]

Some progress .

The roof supports were detached as shown in the first pics , so I drilled into the bottom of the supports and theaded in 2 Tamiya 2mm steering rods from an FAV or similar , then set them to bolt onto the front of the driver platform where it bolts to the body . I used 4mm bolts and spread washer to lock it all together . I will bond the rods to the body with JB weld , then once cured I'll drill through from the top and insert 2.5mm CSK bolts to bolt the bond material to the body to mechanically help back-up the bond . The driver patform with them be removable for painting and the missing part of the windscreen area can be made up . The rear of the roof is bolt to a fabbed up styrene panel to connect the rear of the roof to the body to lock the whole roof together . All nice and strong here now , well pleased

 

[KEV THE REV]

I didn't have front body mount so I made one from alu and tapped in 4mm threads , works fine . I also made some light inserts mount H4 from alu with 4mm tapped threads as I didn't have them either , pic of old insert now made in Ali but no pic but you get the idea  . I've scuffed up the body ready for etch primer . I need to scuff the shell inside more to accept paint and JB , and I've got a bit more filling and fabbing to do but it is very sound now .

[KEV THE REV]

The tub came with a good / intact roll bar / rear mount , and I had one here already but it was missing the hook lugs on one side so wouldn't lock in . I had 2 'broken at the top' Sand Rover mounts with the lower hooks intact , so I chopped of the damaged part from the roll bar and the SR mount , ground both circle platform cuts down to just under half the original thickness' and bonded them together with JB the coloured in the grey / black joint and achieved the original thickness , worked a treat and good opportunity to try another vintage parts save . The other one that came with the project can be used if anything happens to this one . If the bond fails I can drill though the circle paltforms and insert 2mm bolts .

[KEV THE REV]

Done some JB weld on the roof pillar rods and bolted through to back up the bond  . Started on the chassis tub front damper mounts. Took off the previous repairs (see first pics) and JB bonded washers under the turrets and built up the surrounding areas to make a strong repair and look somewhat like the original shape . Once sanded should look good and strong .

[KEV THE REV]

A bit more body prep and repair . Made up the missing bulkhead / bonnet missing piece and built up the bolt hole aperture .Will be sanded in once fully cured . The driver figure base area has large pieces missing from the L & R edges at the dash board  - don't know why - , so I'm filling those in to give a full width dash .

[KEV THE REV]

More work done on the chassis front turrets - pics to come

Still in need of a 540 motor mount to complete the pieces I need to get it up and running if anyone can help ?

[KEV THE REV]

Slow progress this week with work and that . Got some SRB grommets to use on the front turrets for the damper rod , will use these on the rear GRP torsion spring screws too . Sanded down the JB weld spot fills . I bought some flexi filler on eBay , but that was oversold so I didn't receive it - blow out !! . Need to get some flexi filler to finish the fills on the outside to prep for etch primer paint . Will go to Halfords to get supplies and Olive drab - YAY !! . I will also get some Halfords matt clear coat to dull out the glossy Tamiya WW2 stars and serial numbers from the sticker sheet that I'm going to use

 Still need a 540 motor mount !! --- please !!

[Ziddan]

Looking good there!

I saw this post over in the design forum and responded to it with a 3d printable file.

Not sure if it would interest you as it wouldnt be vintage and it might not actually fit but it could be worth a shot to get driving until you have the chance to pick up an original, if you know someone with a 3d printer it would cost just cents in filament and take less than an hour to print.

[KEV THE REV]

That is excellent.  Thanks for the input.  I would be interested in one as it is a runner car , or will be once I get a motor in there . Thanks again 

[KEV THE REV]

Stressful week , so I thought I'd have go at the alu motor mount 

Pleased with the result 

[Grumpy pants]

Amazing skills Kev!

A really impressive save on this battered and bruised HB 💥

[KEV THE REV]

Thanks GP . Yes , it is a really solid body and tub now.  Not long now til I can get some etch primer on the shell to start shaping things up . Not sure I'll be using the Firebolt though

[KEV THE REV]

First coat of etch primer , and first flattening off, came out well , a bit of spot fill , next is to re-prime spot fills  then on to primer filler coat then Matt green

[KEV THE REV]

Primer filler coat done . A light rub down , then Matt green

[Kol__]

Looking great Kev!

Would you mind sharing what paints you're using? That etch primer and filler coat don't look Tamiya and I haven't really been impressed with the durability of the Tamiya paints so far tbh, so looking for alternatives.

[Willy iine]

Awesome work, @KEV THE REV!!

[KEV THE REV]

8 hours ago, Kol__ said:

Looking great Kev!

Would you mind sharing what paints you're using? That etch primer and filler coat don't look Tamiya and I haven't really been impressed with the durability of the Tamiya paints so far tbh, so looking for alternatives.

I use Halfords paints generally.  Good quality paint and the cans spray well , no spatter etc . I often use their top coats too . 

[Grumpy pants]

4 hours ago, KEV THE REV said:

I use Halfords paints generally.  Good quality paint and the cans spray well , no spatter etc . I often use their top coats too . 

I’m guessing much better value than Tamiya paint cans as well?