welding in new panels - dumb question?

[sean collins]

Hello all,
I have read through the "replacing rust body panel" stuff on the wiki and it helps but i still have questions. I need to replace the panels above the rear wheels on both sides of the van. How do I get access to the rear of the panel (for my mate) to weld the new one in? Is it from the outside / under the van or do I need to remove Beds and cupboards to do it from inside? Similarly i need to replace the front panel under the windscreen, does this need the dash taking out or can it be accesses with the front grill removed?

[R0B]

to do the rear arches you have to remove the inner panels/cupboards

[sean collins]

any top tips or further info available out there?

[sean collins]

Not having done this before is there anyone who can pass on some tips for replacing the rear wings?

[famous phil]

i'd say eaven if you remove the units and the bed i think it would not make the job any easy'r ,,,, but it would be best to see whats behind there ,,, a lot have fibreglass insulation ,, but i've seen some with polystyrene ,,,,what you could do is remove the side panel next to the bed for a better look ,,,,, as for the front panel there's another panel behind it ,,, so if you just unscrew the dash and pull out the way a bit

[R0B]

you cant replace the rear arches without removing the inner panels.as they need to be welded from the inside...

i'd say eaven if you remove the units and the bed i think it would not make the job any easy'r

[sean collins]

Cheers guys. I was in denial I think, hoping it would be a bit more straight forward than having to gut the inside of me van. I can get away with just replacing the very bottom arch panel on the nearside (which it seems you can do from the outside as you can access the welds from inside the wheel arch. The off side defenately needs more than that. I better get my thinking cap on. I might have to go down the route of cutting out the bad bits of the panel and just welding in some new, then fill. I don't have the space to start a long term project at the moment so it might have to get a quick fix for now.

[CovKid]

You, you can access them from outside, but I've seen many a camper go up in flames by leaving the interior in. That area is extraordinarily close to stuff that can catch fire.

[Kermit]

Remove the interior if you can.. you will proberly find more rust there anyway which you can cut out or treat.. removing the interior will also reduce the risk of it catching fire and is easier to waxoyl if you want to keep it from rusting again in the near future

Kerr

[sean collins]

Cheers peeps,
ER yes, fire does sound like a bad thing.
So I won't be sorting the body work out this summer then. Just had a quick look and it would seem i will need to remove:
the bed, all of the cupboards, fridge, cooker, the lining (from below the near side rear window), possibly the rear seat box and the hot water boiler.
Not exactly an afternoons work on the drive. Ithink I am going to need to find a workshop, barn or starage unit to rent for a month later in the year and gut the entire van. I think I will post a "does anyone have a spare workshop" question at the end of the summer.

["WEAZLECHIN"]

yeas.... its a nightmare, but recently i welded in a new lower panel (fridge side) which was a real "Barsteward", its a westy and it was all packed with insulation n shiit. the waxoil started to burn etc if i hadnt had fire protection close at hand the van, house and next doors house would have been carbon

[TOMMY THE CAT]

You will be surprised at how quickly you can gut the van....just get the digital cam out and take loads of photo's for re assembly. Yes you will need a fair bit of room to store it all but the jobs not too bad.
I think that with a bit of patience and making sure you have got nice shiny metal the job aint bad... got two arches front and one to do on the back of mine at the mo........meant to do it over the winter but never got round to it!
Good luck D