Another inner sill replacement

[fidget]

Dont forget the before and after pics mate.

Dont be afraid to get stuck in, but dont by any means rush it. Its a job you wnat to get right first time .

James

[silver surfer]

Just a bit of an update. Not been able to get on with the van for a while due to weather and time so I have been practicing a bit of welding

Some runs on 1mm sheet



Fillet and some runs on some thinker stuff



Anyway finally got a chance to get some more done today.

Got the van up on two lots of supports to get a better look at the rear arch



I was going to do what Fidget did and cut the new sill but where the sill meets the rear crossmember was very badly corroded so i need to put the whole sill in complete. The good news is that the rear jacking point and the inner rear arch are sound.



I started to cut out the old sill at the rear and have a think about how i'm going to get the new one in. I have to say finding the spot rivets is quite a task . I also managed to remind myself just how sharp sheet metal can be



I have also managed to get the front inner wheel arch rust treated and undersealed ready to rebuild the from drivers side suspension. I won't be able to do this untill the inner sill is done but it makes me happy to keep getting on with things. I think i am going to replace the drivers side front outer arch whilst I'm doing the sill as the fuel filler is rusty and I think I will need to cut part of it out to get the sill in.



post more soon

[silver surfer]

Well almost 9 months has passed and I have finally got back to doing something on the van. Had good day today. Got the rest of the inner sill out. What a f**ker of a job. Lost all manner of skin in the process and much, much swearing

Anyway I've done it now and have fitted the new inner sill



Now I just have to fit the new lower panel, new B-post, and rear quarter panel. Should be fun as I have never fitted any new panels before. I have searched for as many posts as possible to see if I can see how to weld the new panels in but have had no luck so if anyone can help it would most appreciated. Basically what I am trying to understand is this:

with the B-post do I just cut it to fit the gap then weld it in on the seam (outside)? or is there some better way.
with the lower pane do I just cut the old one off at the line (fold) just below the line of the filler cap then butt weld the new one in?

Any help really appreciated

[silver surfer]

As I have now started another thread for the repair of the nearside rear arch I thought I should finish this one off.

Here is what the final repair looked like





Happy with that

[fidget]

Looks good mate I hadnt heard from you for a while and thought you had given up . Stick with it

James

[silver surfer]

Too much time and money invested now to give up. Realistically knowing then what i know now i would have broken the van. Saying that it would have been hard as it has a bit of a tug on the old heart strings which overides pure economics I'm sure we have all been there

Have two small children and a job which takes up too much time so it really is a question of stealing time when i can.

Thanks for the encoragement. Is yours all sorted now?

[fidget]

Not finished but just been using it , finaly got round to getting some paint on the primered bits, found a close vw colour match to mine so just been rattle can spraying till I decide what colour to paint when it is finished. Still got to do the fromt end

Trial fit of me new wheels



As you know mine should of been scrapped too, but its worth keeping at it. There is always light at the end of the tunnel just sometimes is a bliddy long way off

James

[silver surfer]

Looking good. Those wheels really set it off.

I'm not having too much luck with wheels and tires at the mo. Got four new tires on my Merc alloys and have now realised they are too small diameter as I thought, for some unknown reason, that the stock ones were 185/70/14 not 185/80/14 Ah well never mine. Maybe some 235/40/17s going cheap soon

I have started another post for the repair of the nearside rear arch etc, take a look.

Really do appreciate the encoragement btw. As I'm sure you know all to well there really are times when you just think "That's It!!! Your going down that scap yard!!!". Funny tho as a day will pass and I will see all the posts on here and think, naaaa it's a good van really and keep going. I hope Club 80-90 realise the value of this site to owners mental states more than anything. Having a forum to get help and encoragement really is so valuable.

[fidget]

Got a set of Porsche boxsters 16" alloys and tyres up for sale very soon

Keep at it , at the very worst it gets you out the house and away from the telly

James