Serious rust on the roof advice

[juanbrein]

Hi guys,

we own a Westfalia high top that has developed a really bad rust on the roof. I think is now time to think about fixing it. You can see the pictures here:

https://plus.google.com/photos/10438617 ... 4214151297

So budget is an issue and I'm happy to take the van anywhere in England to have a good job done at a descent price. I've been quoted already 2k to fix it. I'm hoping It can be fixed for less than that.

The rest of the van is nice and tidy with no other serious rust spots... just minor small things... What do you guys suggest?

Thanks for your time

Juan

[juanbrein]

bump! Nobody?

[Ralf85]

There's a lot of dismantling to do and then metal replacing and welding and then re-spraying. £2K may well be right.

[clift_d]

There are plenty of threads on here about this issue, for example:

https://club8090.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=38&t=140928" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Looking at your pictures however, you'll almost definitely need to remove the roof to fix that rust, which in itself is a pretty big task, and then there'll be plenty of work to do to reconstruct everything. My gut instinct is that anyone who has a good understanding of the work involved is going to give you a price of at least £2K.

[Jim San]

2K does sound a lot at first but as above there is a lot of work involved.

Ask the person who quoted if you could get the proce down by doing some prep (stripping out the interior etc) - see how it effects the quote.

Also, there may be more rust to uncover yet!!

What is your budget?

[boatbuilder]

2k for the roof and what's the rest of the body like? Chances are the rest isn't great either! Could have a full resto project on your hands! It's all fun!

[juanbrein]

Thank you guys...

Would you be able to recommend a good garage for this type of work. I guess I'll have to spend some serious money this time :s

[juanbrein]

2k for the roof and what's the rest of the body like? Chances are the rest isn't great either! Could have a full resto project on your hands! It's all fun!

Well actually the rest is quite ok. No any other serious rust around the body. I would love to have the space to work on it. I've installed the propex heater, replaced the blower motor and did some other things and had great fun. But removing the roof I need space to store it... and I don't think the parking permit at Finsbury park is valid for high top "ONLY"!!!!

[Plasticman]

oh I dont know , there were some religious practices thereabouts recently that blocked the road and a blind eye was turned
mm

[AdrianC]

we own a Westfalia high top that has developed a really bad rust on the roof. I think is now time to think about fixing it.

So budget is an issue and I'm happy to take the van anywhere in England to have a good job done at a descent price. I've been quoted already 2k to fix it. I'm hoping It can be fixed for less than that.

The rest of the van is nice and tidy with no other serious rust spots... just minor small things...

I don't want to be the one to break the bad news, Juan, but that van looks VERY rotten - and to have been bodged before. That home-made gutter that's held on with rivets...? <shudder>



Water has been getting into the roof space for a long while, and has rotted through the roof skin, then taken the inside of all the box sections out - badly. It's also going to have gone further down the van, and be doing or have done similar at the bottom, and just about everywhere else.

You are definitely going to find a lot of nastiness when you go looking, probably hidden under previous "repairs" of varying standards. Good luck, but I suspect you may be pouring good money after bad on that van.

[CovKid]

I think that might be classed as uneconomic to put right although the sum of the parts (as a breaker vehicle) would probably pay for a more solid tin top to which you could fix that roof and start with something solid. Just thinking out loud here and trying to salvage something positive from what looks like a bad situation.

With so much rot up there I think its probable that the fibreglass roof is the only thing holding everything together at the top and possibly stopping the sides twisting out of shape over uneven ground and a window falling out.

A cursory look suggests that moving forward with putting it right would cost as much (if not more) than breaking it and finding a better base vehicle into which you can transplant your interior. Any losses may be around the same but you would at least end up with a really great camper at the end of it. Wish I lived a bit closer as thats the kind of scenario I'm happy to roll up my sleeves and at least try to help. Its a tough one on your own. Either way you'll still need a solid donor in order to fix it - effectively cutting all of that away and grafting the donor stuff to it. Not easy.

[silverbullet]

Second that. Desperately rotten roof frame and inner panels. Yuu would need a complete roof with pillars, assuming the sills etc are in a fit state to keep the van together while the work is done.
Its not a 2k job even for someone working fast at 20 quid an hour with low overheads.

[restoman]

Personally I'd say take it to somebody who really knows these vans
It looks as if it does need a roof transplant as Ian said
At the very least take some good pics of the rest of it just in case,as it would indeed to be unusual to find no more rust in a bus with
that much rot in the roof tbh
That water has been travelling somewhere
You need to be totally sure of condition of rest of it before doing that roof

[jamesc76]

thats loads worse than i think you think it is, that needs a whole roof swap, cut pillars etc i would quote you more than 2k to do it!

[boatbuilder]

I've personally never seen photos of a van before where the bottom of the roof hollow section is rusted through as well as the roof itself. Some serious rust going on there and would find it hard to believe that the wheel arches etc aren't shot as well.