The Lankavagon

[Plasticman]

Well the B post

if you sort remove yours (but not the slider track assbly) then this is sort of what you will be left with...ish

remnants left for guidance, if they are to be removed then a horizontal template can first be made to aid fit of new part
note strengthener

and the gap i have here, this is to allow for the thinner inner B post AND the thicker part to fit within

first part being made, ,i dont try to make this in 1 as it would be near imposssible to do and still fit spot on

theres a bit more cutting and nipping till we end up adding the next part which forms the base of the seal channel

this area is made to sit over the steel that is part of the outer sill it will become clearer later i hope

like this

if you dont then you end up with a big thick mess of layers

next we make the fwd part of the seal recess and the edge of the B post

and we weld it to this, note the lack of weld visible as this forms the seal reccess i had to keep it clean

and from the other side

i havent welded the seal closure lip on yet as this i will have to do last as i need access to the rear of the seal groove to weld,

here its sat in place to check fit etc

and here with the lip held on with the pencil


and with the full side of the B return, this will have the outer skin added

picks may be a bit in the wrong order but its late........
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[Dazco]

Love your fabrication work , a real master.

[kevtherev]

Awesome skills mate.
Just a thought.. with the ability to fabricate, is it tempting to rethink some of the closures, panels and joinery, that VW did all those years ago?
It seems that VW got a bit complicated in some areas

[Plasticman]

they didnt do a lot wrong really,some joins have to have an overlap and production methods have to be considered, , yes you could remake stuff simpler but you still have to achieve the stated shape and make it so it will fulfill its purpose, flatter parts would be easier to fabricate but they would have l;ess strength, aa lot of the combinations of angles etc are needed else you would need a separate subframe for stuff, also the std floorpan chassis etc is used and varied to suit the model as you know,
i open to suggestions though
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[kevtherev]

That's a great explanation Mike, thanks

[Plasticman]

well sorry , been a bit busy and slack in posting stuff.
here the new part of the osf outrigger is set in and welded, it has a 90' fold to fit under the slider rail/floor closure. the strip you see is to be welded at 90' to the part aboove which also forms the rear of the seat/battery box

here it is inserted, the small bit is just to hold it in the correct position

tacked in place,

you cant really see it but the outer end is curved so it fits to the new part of the inner B post and takes a nice weld

welded and ready for a small run over with a disc

as will be shown, this upper and lower part will be spotted together and then the slider assembly will weld to "it"
this sort of shows the fit and orientation of these items and the inner B post

B post inner clamped in to confirm it fits good enough, i will hold with fasterners and hang the door again and check as you really dont want the lower guide to run up or down but to be parallel with the upper guide

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[Plasticman]

well ,rear seal retaining lip made

fits like so

this is the lower part of the B post reinforcing plate and is fitted prior to the slider guide

it goes in this gap here you can also see the holes ive added to the seal retaining lip prior to fixing

like this

ive choosen to braze these, the secret is to heat from the rear to cherry red then round to the hole side and braze in, this way the back is hot the brass will flow real quick and not pool at the front,you get a simmilar effect when puddle welding with the mig, if your hole is too small it will fill with wire/weld and the rear will not atain enough heat to make a full weld, hgence an 8mm hole is the nice size for mig puudling

earlier i menchioned about the radius on the lip, ,here its shown welded and you can see the cut out, this will be wellded to the inside of the inner B post. its all a case of adding parts and welding bit at a time and in the end you will have a very solid jp

heres the front lip nearly done

coat of product inside

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[Robsey]

I think I must have read all of your "resurrecting rotten van" threads and they have all inspired me to get a wiggle on with fixing the mother in law's 1983 converted tin top.

Simply amazing work -
But - all this multi layered intricate panel work has brought me to the realisation, that it may well be beyond my level of skill.
I've been an engineer for 31 years, and this is the first time that I feel that I could have bitten off more than I can chew.
I can see "our" van being as bad if not worse than this was - so I am under no illusions that it would be an easy ten minute job.

I doff my cap to you in sincere admiration of such sterling work.
Looking forward to the next instalment.

regards,
Rob.

[Plasticman]

Well,loads of minor bits done, remarked the height of the assembly so the door shuts clean and gaps correct,dont be overly fussed with the "size" of the vertical gaps as these are adjustable , just make sure the track is 90' to the B post. and they (gaps) are parallel..
here with another product ready to weld up


front

80 odd 8mm holes made

looking and stuff i think this had a half bulkhead as built



same both sides and when you have a look inside the B posts there are signs of weld removal.....hehe
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[Aidan]

is the white sticker still under the dash Mike to work out what it was built as

[Plasticman]

hmm pee buckets been down, ???
just down again i will try later
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[Plasticman]

ahhhh
well sill fully welded

nice run of spots along here

these spots are onto the inner support part youve seen earlier

front spotted through to the inner supports

here you can see the inner B post spotted through to the various parts of the slider guide

these welds show the tie up with the B post stiffener shown earlier

i do a staggered run of spots as shown, this gives a great deal more support and really adds to the rigidity of the assembly, doing a straight run would not be detrimental but it is better this way if your planning on doing this

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[Plasticman]

well a few holes in the usual spots in the footwells


will clean up add new lips and let a piece in
laying the new arch in , nice to use genuine panels, i will remake the step as i usually do

a little work here and new 14g supports to add, i will extend these a touch so i wont have to unpick the A post skin

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[Plasticman]

well, added the inner part of the A post that supports the fixture of the arch/step , its is in 1.6mm

you dont really want to rely on a butt weld here
ive removed the rot here and repaired the X member from above,i have cut a little extra away shown by the pencil , this allows me to make a full weld of the inner arch lip to its remnant and better support the new flooring

new part made, yes you can buy them , ive seen them and prefer to make my own , also shown is the fr jp support bracket

held in place

welded

from the arch side

the other hole repaired and new part in 16g ready to fit

raw,as welded

quick sand over, will tap it flatter later

jp support in place, these can be longer but not shorter and they really should extend down the sides of the jack hole as shown

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[Plasticman]

Well jp inner support welded in place ,i choose to also run a bead of mig around the semi circle to the inner sill part and then grind flat ,this just adds more support where its needed

addition to the osf floor, usual area to rot

welded

and arch side after a quick touch with a disc

small weld to join new vertical seal lip to upper remnant and lower horizontal , i also ran a buit of braze into the join as it was neater than welding

likewise a very small weld at the front

last repair part going into the front of inner B post

B post outer skin in place

ive already confirmed the alignment in relation to the swage lines, and door gaps ,here i confirm it is correct in relation to the slider, this being so ,it will be a good reference for confirming the front arch is in line, ant straight edge will do , this happens to be an inner floor closure

door side

and a quick weld


so new inner step to make then the arch to fit,
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