Replacement Panel Quality and Fit?

[madjak]

I'm pretty new to T3's just a year now but have had Bays for years and as such done pelnly of welding and panel fitting. I've recently started to pull the rear arch and corner off my camper to sort the arch and more serious rot behind, all coming together well but what about the quality of the replacement panels that are available for these vans?

Spent quite a while yesterday tuning the rear corner panel and both that and the arch will need more work to get it in nice clean.

In the Aircooled world the general wisdom is that OE, Autocraft, Alan Schofield are the best panels, the rest can be a bit variable to say the least.

What panels are still available as original parts?

Which suppliers make the panels that just fit?

Would anyone find it useful to be worth starting a sticky for panels, trim, rubber etc like the one for mechanical bits?

[Plasticman]

hi
post a load of picks up of what you have and what your looking at doing
mm

[madjak]

The plan is a part resto and tidy up, its a tatty old bus (AKA The Time Vampire) with plenty of rust to sort, but I have pretty limited resources working on the driveway. Work is not a patch on what your going but that's the quality I'm aiming for at some point.....

Got stuck in working on the rear arch;
































Had to cut this out as there is no inner ledge to join the top of the inner arch to, all rotted away so put in a L section.













Replacing Rear Corner;






Patch in the rear valance;






Did quite a bit of tweaking to get it to sit right at the top and rear edges, not quite square at the front, I/m thnkinh cut a thin slice out and weld back nice and square?



May do thread if anyone is interested.

[Plasticman]

Good pi is keep them coming, when you do the lower rear 1/4,s .you really want the arch in place loose and then clamp the three together as the lower panels never line up, hope mig trigger is good as that's some spotting you been doing,lol
mm

[fairwynds]

When I see threads like this I'm inspired to get myself on a welding course at the local engineering college! Can't take the place of an experienced professional I know, but nonetheless it might make owning my van long term a little less daunting at times?! Hmmmmmm, goes off to google courses.....

[madjak]

Yes would have been better really to do that really. Will keep posting the pics up.

If I burn the welder for more than a second or so it'll be through some of those panels! Will pickup a nice MIG set one day

[madjak]

When I see threads like this I'm inspired to get myself on a welding course at the local engineering college! Can't take the place of an experienced professional I know, but nonetheless it might make owning my van long term a little less daunting at times?! Hmmmmmm, goes off to google courses.....

Tried to get on a welding course but it kept getting cancelled, in the end I had a quick chat with a local VW Restorer who gave me some tips and pointed out its quite different trying to weld 40+ year old steel/rust to new. So I bought a welder and some steel and started to practice some different joints before starting on the van. Also welding is one thing but knowing how everything goes (should go!) together and making it all fit strongly and securely is a bigger challenge

At the bottom of it for me is that I love fixing these old busses so its a pleasure to be learning how to do it.

This place is great for weldinginfo: http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/

Also check some of Metalmickeys build threads for some inspiration!

My advice is get stuck in but not just before your due to go on holiday

[max and caddy]

Best way to learn is by doing it...however your van may not be the best place to learn! I learnt out of necessity when I was younger every car I bought fell apart, chevettes, fiestas, capris, escorts, Astras..non are renowned for there rust resistance! , my dad ran transits too...and then so did I so welding was a hobby, a job, and a millstone round my neck as well!

The comment about 40 year old metal not welding well to new is intresting...if he means because its rusty it shouldn't be! and if its clean 40 year old metal chances are its better than the new stuff!

Anyway...the welding is only part of it...making the repair peice is where the time goes along with removing the old stuff without damaging good metal round it...your welds are reasonably good strenght wise if a bit lumpy but some of the pics show repairs attached to rather bad steel but at least some progress is being made

[madjak]

Cheers Max doing my best under the circumstances, those welds will be flatted back before the jobs done

Yes agreed with the fabrication, actually getting the welder on it is quite a small proportion of the job.

I agree it may not be best but to learn on your van, in my case nessesity was the driver, I didn't have 400 here 300 for welding repairs and my old Clarke Weld was cheaper when started on my first Bay

With welding rust...You've got an old bus where the steel can be .9mm (or less) and backed with rust, early bays and splits and some T3's now. Unless your going to dip it and strip all the panels off and replace with new, a bare metal resto - you'll have to get used to welding older thinner steel. It was a throw away comment but the option is taking off the sides/floors/gutters or cutting into your historic vehicle or generally untertaking a full on restore which is not always appropriate in reality. I think his point was the need to strike a balance between a strong durable job and maintaining the originality of the vehicle with an amount of compromise. I try to keep as much VW original metal as possible.

Based on the repair panels I have got so far for the T3 which are about half as good as the repro ones I have bought for my Bay I'd take that option most of the time.

So where do you guys get your panels from?

[Plasticman]

with repro panels there is not much in it, rather than try to list the pros and cons of every panel i have fitted it will be easier as you progress for me or others to comment on whats good/bad/indifferent,
again you are migging which will always be an uphill struggle, i use gas for most of the work so zero problems with thin tin to 16g., older metal is fine, its as others have pointed out the rust and such on old metal is hated by the migs as you cant strike up on rust,and then when you get it going you meet the stuff that passes for metal nowadays, (not all parts but many)
again i fabricate many of the usual parts i fit and have some specific items manufactured as the cost is worth it for the time saved and quality of repair.
1.2mm is a minimum and 1.5 more the norm and 2mm_ for other areas.
bays and splits are quite easy,especially on the seams whereas these vans need a lot of effort to achieve the desired line and look
mm

[max and caddy]

Sorry, sounds like I'm criticising when I read my post..I'm not..well maybe but trying to be constructive anyway.

I try to get panels off vw when I can (classic) but if they are obsolete then an unpicked used panel is normally preferred over a pattern part...schofeilds s your best bet for pattern parts and repair sections but not everthing he sells is great ( I'm sure even he would admit this) and some bits are quite pricey.

[madjak]

Thanks guys,

Max, I appreciate what you're saying. In the prefect world I'd have gone about this wheel arch in a different way but I am making sure all that I have done is strong, sealed and done in such a way that future repairs will not be any more difficult. I have to work within my contraints and this van needs to be on the road next week and I still have to get the head on and timed up!

MM, Since working on this I have come to appreciate just how much more complex the construction on these things is. Does require a lot more effort. And regarding welding, I think I'm going to invest in a better welder, currently using a Clarke Weld 151, certainly the best of the budget welders but I was looking at a Portamig from Weldequip which goes down to 15 amps, though learning to gas weld is going to be the long term aim. Just not practical with cylinder hire etc at the moment.

Thanks for you advice and comments, will keep posting updates.

[ianboydsnr]

Thanks guys,

Max, I appreciate what you're saying. In the prefect world I'd have gone about this wheel arch in a different way but I am making sure all that I have done is strong, sealed and done in such a way that future repairs will not be any more difficult. I have to work within my contraints and this van needs to be on the road next week and I still have to get the head on and timed up!

MM, Since working on this I have come to appreciate just how much more complex the construction on these things is. Does require a lot more effort. And regarding welding, I think I'm going to invest in a better welder, currently using a Clarke Weld 151, certainly the best of the budget welders but I was looking at a Portamig from Weldequip which goes down to 15 amps, though learning to gas weld is going to be the long term aim. Just not practical with cylinder hire etc at the moment.

Thanks for you advice and comments, will keep posting updates.

You can't weld down to 15 amps, I never use the lowest setting on my portamig 210, but it welds great on the second lowest setting, using .6 wire, the third from lowest is similar to the lowest on the Clarke, don't buy cheap wire though, it's far better than a Clarke though, top tip, order it with a 4m hose, not much more cash and much easier to get to places without moving the welder, and you probably know how annoying the short hose on the Clarke is!

[madjak]

Good to know thanks, yes the shorter hose on the Clarke does mean a bit of shuffling about.

Dont suppose you have seen the spot weld (plugging timer) on the portamigs? Was wandering if its worth specing or just do what we always do, count 1..2!

[Plasticman]

count... never used mine
as for the hose length, well i prefer 3 mtr as its a bit more responsive and less susceptible to feed problems especially with .6 wire,
also buy the good quality wire , coated spooled etc not the random cheap type.
mm