Bodywork restoration on my van gets underway..

[New Kentish Campers]

I will mig spot-weld it on its seam as the lip on the new panel isnt that big to do otherwise. The old panel was too rusty to leave me a better edge

Doug.

[New Kentish Campers]

I managed to get weaving on the lower front panel and am well pleased with how it turned out. To be fair, a lot of pattern parts get critised, and rightly so in some cases, but this particular one fitted like the proverbial glove



I've stitch-welded the lip on the new panel to the old one and then sanded the heads of the welds with a P60 grit disk. The sanding marks below are slight and look worse than what they seem. No matter how careful you try to be, it happens The important thing though is that the swage-line hasn't been marked at all so once its all primed and painted, will look ok.



I had a couple of rust scabs grinning through, underneath the windscreen rubber. So I whipped the 'screen out and found this:



It's not too sad though; I had the feeling that it would be something like this which is why I left the dashboard out so I could get in there easily. It only too half an hour or so to fabricate a new lip from some sheet metal and weld in. The other scab was, fortunately, sound as a pound so I've just sanded that back and treated it with some Vactan fluid and then I'll etch prime it all, etc.

Next job is to start on the O/S/F wheel arch and B post repair panel but I'll drop the fuel tank out first 'cos I dont like welding next to fuel tanks. I only did it once, caught the car alight, burnt the garage down and somehow still managed to stay alive Besides, its a good reason to replace the fuel lines if they need it. I'll do that on Wednesday if I can...

Doug.

[taffster]

Hi Doug, fantastic thread & you've certainly been busy.
Have you managed to get the interior out yet? If not & you still need a lift with it give us a call & i'll pop round.

[New Kentish Campers]

Hi Andy,

Yes, it's coming on nicely now, I'm well pleased with how its turning out.

I've still got the main kitchen unit inside the van and have been just working around it but I'll take you up on the offer if it's got to come out, thank you!

Hope the bike rack is doing its job mate

[New Kentish Campers]

As promised, albeit a day late are the images of the new seat coverings & door cards. Nothing fancy, just practical - we have two dogs... and although I fancied having cream piping, the trimmer reckoned that it wouldn't be a good idea with dogs as he said from his experience their claws tended to rip piping, so I took his advice. The door cards reproduce the original VW stiching, which I like, and I'm pleased with how the trimmer has put a little support on the rear squab. He said that the orignal one was there, but had collapsed over time. I didn't even know it was there Still, It will make the seat more comfy I guess.
He used 4" foam throughout and also put a bit more padding into the front seats as their foam too was a bit tired. So, that's another job off the list









The two tone lower colour will be VW Bahama Blue; I had it mixed and took a sneak preview of it and I reckon it will look the part once its on

And I also finished the lower front panel this afternoon too, so I can get started on the o/s/f wheel arch and step tomorrow..

[foggygolf]

Loving the upholstery Doug, all coming along nicely now!! Wish mine was progressing as quickly

Keep the updates coming!

Good work!!

[Cyrus]

Only just found your progress, doing a great job
Like the new blue interior.
Keep us posted on progress, I will have to do the lower panel and windscreen at some point, you have made it look soooo easy. What did you use to cut out the old panel and grind wells down? 9" angle grinder or belt sanders.......

[New Kentish Campers]

Thanks for your comments guys The seats are actually a bit darker than the images,as they were taken in bright sunlight.
Cyrus: I used an air chisel fitted with a spot weld cutter for the outline stuff where the panel joined the x member, and a sheet metal cutter for where it joined the rest of the original front panel. Bloody noisy,[use ear muffs and decent gloves!] but took the panel off in no time as it was rusty at its base.

I also use an air saw which is great for less demanding work, like wheel arches, etc.

Believe me, its easy enough to pick up once you master using welding gear and hand tools, etc. Just take your time and dont rush and thats it

[jimpainter]

Looking good. The blue seems very um......blue.

[jamesandtheopenroad]

Hey

Your upholstery looks the business. Do you mind me asking which company did it, how much it cost and how long it took please?

[New Kentish Campers]

PM on its way...

[New Kentish Campers]

I managed to get some more done over the weekend before it began to rain

First was the new o/s/f wheelarch and footwell. Note there are some poor plug welds on the step. It really does help to turn the gas on first... I thought it was the sealer behind that was coming into the weld-pool, despite my wire brushing it off as I went along, Doh! So I've had to add a few stitch welds along the stop - I didn't want to do it that way - to make sure it wont ever fall off:



Then the arch itself went in with no problems, once I'd turned the shield gas on..:



Then I started on the rocker panel [sill] and found a little rust on the seam that was underneath all the sealer:



And then onto the o/s/r qtr panel & arch: Note where the inlet hole for the factory-wax injection is. Its a pity they didn't put a little wax around the rubber bung afterward, otherwise it wouldn't have rusted. I'll fabricate and weld-in a new piece for that, and the other little rusty bits I've found.



Followed by another rust hole in the inner floor area, caused by, I reckon, a leak via the 240 hook-up socket; there was no sealant on that part at all





And here's one of the old o/s/r arch: Note where the factory sealer has pulled away from the edge and allowed water to get underneath to rust.



More to come once the rain stops...

Doug.

[mm289]

Great thread Doug, mostly the same as I will be doing on the autosleeper later this summer (hopefully!)

Might need to come and buy you a few beers so you can talk me through some of the panel work though - not done much bodywork before, engines is my thing?

Would also be interested in who you used for the trimming as we will need to recover all the seats on Gunther.

Cheers,

MM

[New Kentish Campers]

You'd be very welcome

PM me for info and when you have a day in mind

[New Kentish Campers]

Well, it stopped bloody well raining so I managed to get some more work done.

First of all was a small repair to the sill which was nice and easy, and then onto the o/s/r quarter panel which wasn't..

Ist trial fit [ I've cleaned and put Vactan on all the seams]



It took a fair bit of jiggling and swearing to get the swage lines to line up:



I removed window to give better access - no rust on the opening, thankfully..



But it did eventually line up so that I could begin to weld it in place:



A close-up of the top seam welds, all drilled and puddle welded for strength:



A close up of the inner arch welds:



All welded in place. Just a little grinding here and there and thats it .



I've still got that little hole to sort out where the air-box lives, so that will be done shortly..

DOug.