Budget for bodywork?

[BackForMore]

So how much would you expect to pay to have minor seam rust dealt with and a decent blowover? I've got about £2k to invest, but have no idea what it costs.

And I realise this is a 'piece of string' question, but any pointers gratefully received.

[dbz864]

why don't you put some photos up, you will be able to get some honest advice then, not guesses

[Roydini]

I, along with many other people have asked this same question here many times. It's really hard to get a straight answer as there are so many variables. As an extremely vague, ball park figure I would expect to be paying about 2k for a quality external tidy up and re-spray, and more like 5 if there is any major welding or panel replacing to be done. You can save a bit of cash by doing the prep work yourself ie stripping out the interior/removing the exterior ancillaries etc but it won't be much. I'm sure it's possible to find someone who will spray paint on your van for a lot less but it's got to be a job worth doing right, right? I've been saving up for the last three years!! Good luck

[CovKid]

In my experience, minor seam rust can itself be a major variable and despite the best efforts of the painter, it can still come back. This is backed up by a few who have been less than realistic and unfairly gone on to slate a body shop for rust bubbles. There are few T25s that don't need far more serious work (ie cutting out and replacing sections) so investing money in a respray can be a short-lived result. Seam rust is a weakness on these vehicles due to the construction.

[New Kentish Campers]

^^^^^What Cov kid says is correct. If you really want to cure rust once and for all, cut the affected metal out and replace it. To be honest, I've yet to see a repaired panel seam go the distance,be it vactan, shot blast method, etc. Once in the metal, it's in there. I recently need to cut out a section of rear wheel arch's welded seam on my van as I was replacing the arch panel and although it all looked good externally, I tried drilling some spot-welds out just to examine the joints and was shocked to see a lot of hidden rust which in time would come through.

VW did a good job when these were built, using good sealants for their day but 30 odd years later, flexing of the bodyshell cracks the sealant to,allow water and perhaps salt, to give rusting. And had they used the external bead sealants that are used on today's panel vans, then maybe the T3 would not be so prone but of course, those sealant methods weren't in use then.