Suzuki Club UK

Hi all.

Thought i would start a build thread on my two 410's i've got as i thought you might be interested.

Tin top van 410 1987?
Soft top 410 1984

I'll start with the soft top.
I got this free in January with my brothers discovery which is still stuck in the woods we got it from . The sj was used in some woods as a game keeping vehicle for in the winter along side the my brothers discovery and was filled with squirrel sh** and acorns, also didn't run.

Towed it home, fixed the positive battery terminal and it fired up after not running in 18 months. Gave it a clean, drove it around and just used it to move stuff around my parents property for a bit. until last week i hadn't done much except attempt a virtual lift on one wheel arch but ran out of welding gas (stupid hobby bottles only last like 20 minuted). Then the other day i took it to bit as i'm going to paint the chassis and do the body work, i'm also going to get a big gas bottle.

So then i picked up my sj van body last Saturday from Dorset and also a soft top 410 to swap all the running gear over. Took about nearly all day to pick them both up but eventually got them home. I haven't done much so far except fit a new door and wind screen, but plan on getting most of the work done over the summer.

It has rot in the usual places and some added rot on the spring mounts, plus the last owner seemed to like using the angle grinder a little too much and cut the one of the front spring mounts, steering box arm and a nice hole in the rear floor. Front wings are a bit worst for wear so i think they will need replacing

Should be a fun project

Here are some pics as i know you all love pics







And the new 410 soft top



And the current state of my first 410, still can't understand why i took it apart

Gets its own little shelter though!




So there they are!
I think i'm going to modify the soft top moderately but keep the van as standard as i can.
I've got 7 weeks of to crack with it though , just need to get a small bit of money and work can start next week!!

Pete

...

Looks good!

So the White one is being used for parts, whilst the red and yellow one will be seeing the road?

Okay so i haven't up dated this in a while as i hadn't got as much done as i had hoped last summer due to lack of everything, however here is what ive done so far.
I'm going to do the yellow one first and keep it stockish and then ill sell it and pour all the money in to the red van and modify it more with Ruf suspension, 1.6 vit engine, rear disc conversion and power steering and some other stuff.

Anyway hope you enjoy.

So i painted the chassis and ran new brake and fuel pipes plus painted all the props but ive only got one pic of this but ill get more next time the body is off.


Then today as i had some spare time and it wasn't raining, plus i had gas,wire and the welder was working i decided to try and do a bit of the welding in the rear . I finished the virtual lift and patched in some holes i cut, But then i ran out of wire . Not to happy with my welds but i did manage to do continuous beads without blowing holes.





I also painted the rear bed to stop it rusting again, but i'll go back later and grind all the welds down for aesthetics when i come to final paint.



I probably won't update in a while as ill be busy with final exams but hopefully it'll all kick off again around the end of june as then ill be free .

Pete

Looks good!

Welds might not be pretty but look solid. I bet its a lot stronger than what was ever there before!

Great to see old cars like this getting a new lease of life also!

Phew, you're a bloke not put off by a challenge then

Great looking job so far. I'll be watching this thread.

Ref the welds, what are you using? I'd suggest Gas Cooled MIG is the best for amateur car body repair. Don't be tempted to do long runs as you'll get a lot of heat build up and warping. Better to 'spot' weld the patch in place then stitch an inch or so at a time on opposite sides. Eventually join up the stitches.
That's been how I've repaired stuff in the past. Not saying it's the correct way or a criticism of your work.

SZ5

Thanks guys,

SZ5 i'm currently using a wolf 140 gas mig with a hobbyweld 5 gas, its not the best but it was cheap and produces nice welds on thicker material. I think the problem is i'm using 0.8 wire instead of 0.6 so the welds are quite proud. I tend to just do spot welds and just fill in between.

Pete

Considering your welder, I'd say those were pretty good welds. When doing bodywork, I just blow holes through stuff waaaaaay too often...

Blowing holes is the easy bit. I've got a Clarke 151 that's about 20 years old and use hobby gas. I have been using 0.6 wire as I found I got better results. Gas flow seems important - I get better welds in garage than outside - but you have to take care of the fumes if you weld indoors.