Strategy for body repair - how much is too much rust?

[lauraclewis]

Hello,

I'm wondering if anyone could be kind enough to give me an opinion on how deep this rust may have set in...

There's seam rash on pretty much all the seams vertical and horizontal

hole back left panel.jpg

There are some holes, this in the sliding door, would a full new door be needed?

bottom left corner sliding door.jpg

I have more pics, but don't want to hog the board or waste anyone's time (also a little unsure of protocol!) There's a lot of flaking/bubbling around bottom windscreen corners, a 15 cm x 4cm hole in the top of the doorframe for the back door, and the guttering is all bubbled and fairly corroded. There's also a spot of filler and lots of bubbling in the place where the panels meet just behind the wheel arch at the bottom of the drivers cab which could be quite extensive,

left cab corner panel.jpg

there's some rust around the seat belt points underneath but it seems to be more surface there. Is this likely to need a replacement of every panel, or is a good sandblasting and rust treatment more likely? Thanks for reading

[Plasticman]

post up all the rot you have and i will telll you with reasonable certainty what needs replacing , wont tell yoou ££££ thats for you to sort
mm

[lauraclewis]

front arch seatbelt.jpg

Thank you, metalmickey!

My sense is that it\s a big job, isn’t it? I thought this was probably deeply structural too, given the extent of it, but didn’t want to just assume the worst without asking someone who deals with this often!

back floor by engine.jpg

don't know.jpg

... more to come...

[lauraclewis]

guttering right.jpg

gutter right.jpg

and more...

[lauraclewis]

more, the window and windscreen bubbling...

[lauraclewis]

paint 2.jpg

winscreen inside.jpg

windscreen.jpg

final one! There are more pics of the seams, but they look pretty much the same as the ones I've already posted - rash from bottom vertical up to about mid panel just below the window. Then rust all around the guttering on all sides. Front bumper has a hole where the angle joins the van and lots of bubbling along there too.

[MattBW]

Is it your van or one you are looking to buy?

On face value it looks worse than mine did, and I spent over £1500 on welding on my restore. Most of my faults were wheel arches and rear valance though. However without seeing it up close its hard to know whats rust and whats surface (except the holes of course).

[Ralf85]

That's a lot of rust and not good. Done properly quality repairs and then a full re-spray will cost £3k - £5k depending upon who does the work and where you live. I hope you have the dosh ready for a major refirb!

[lauraclewis]

Thanks Ralf and Matt,

Your perspective is really helpful! It's a van we could take on but at this stage we'd need to weigh up the time commitment, extent and costs of that work against the costs of instead buying a more pristine van. As it ever is..! Sentiment should have no part in this decision, but I'd love to give it a home

[Ralf85]

That van's body is in a seriously bad state. There are plenty of vans out there with better bodywork. As James76 said on another discussion today, make sure the van you buy has good bodywork. I bought a lhd van imported from Germany. One of the reasons was that they didn't suffer from salt damage. Also around 1985 these vans had much better paint jobs, particularly underneath so post 1985 vans are generally in better condition. Good hunting.

[Plasticman]

how much is that pile of rust for sale at
mm

[BOXY]

[keith]

Id say that was an eberspacher or similar heater exhaust pipe.....looks to be the only bit without rust...

[eiret25]

If I was you I would walk away. I viewed a number of vans before I bought one and I came to the conclusion that you are by far better off buying a vehicle on its condition than handiness or cheap sale price. You will end up paying more in the long run. I ended up going to Germany for mine. Good luck hunting. Plus, is that stone chip sprayed along the lower panels??? God knows what is lurking underneath!

[MattBW]

Thanks Ralf and Matt,

Your perspective is really helpful! It's a van we could take on but at this stage we'd need to weigh up the time commitment, extent and costs of that work against the costs of instead buying a more pristine van. As it ever is..! Sentiment should have no part in this decision, but I'd love to give it a home

Unless its up for a few hundred quid and you can or know someone who can weld, I'd think twice personally. My experience has taught me a valuable lesson. I fell for my van upon seeing it and in reality I should have walked away.

You can get good solid vans still in the 2.5-3k region (sometimes less), don't do what I did and buy the first you took a shine to. My van looked relatively good but was a series of bodge repairs and carefully hidden issues that I've had to slowly undo. An original £900 of welding, almost doubled with hidden horrors found during the process.

At least your van is an honest one in that you can see the problems but imagine if that is what you can see, what can't you see?

I can honestly say I have spent in the region of 4-4.5k on my restore, when you add in the paint job inside and out, new parts, panels, seals, etc. etc. restoring my van which is way more than I paid for it and it looked better than that to start with.

I could probably have just bought a good solid original van for similar money than I've paid (and if I had waited until winter it seems even less). Depends what you want, I have enjoyed the process and project managing, and the van now feels like mine and no-one elses. however it has eaten all my cash albeit slowly over time and not in one big lump.

I love my van and I'm glad I restored it, its 100% mine now, solid, but were a lot of hidden costs in restoring above and beyond the welding and I honestly think the advise above is right. It will cost you far more in the long run to "do up a duffer" than to buy and maintain a good example.

Let the head rule the heart in this situation is my advice.