Sills both sides starts Monday 11th

[kevtherev]

I never tire of looking at this work you do Mike.
When the area of work is laid bare and visible, it is truly a shock to us the great unwashed.
I think apart from yours Mike, this is the only other van that made me blanch, suck in air and pull a face.

Safe hands Mr Hulley, it sure is comforting seeing it all come together, after the initial horrific pictures.

[Mocki]

Is this one finished now then?
No updates for ages.....

[Plasticman]

Well things were a bit out of my control..........
anyhows
nsr corner area was

there was nothiong left to use as a guide so mainly done from memory as i couldnt face searching the last one i did,so
this area is seen and also the seal fits here and the wing meets it ,all in all the most difficult to get right, its also seen so got to be presentable,
start from a known correct fixed point and in this case we have to then work backwards to the rear of the C post

then we measure the depth of the seal recess

so we can remake the closure part with the tiny lip (this is how vw made it)

you will note all these part have aslight curve to ythem just to make life interesting
here in place and remarked with spot hole drilled and csk

now we have the depth sorted and the width together with curvature we can add the next part

got my new specs so able to make a neat weld down the inside to give correct radius with no grinding (2.5-3mm weld width )

loosing track of which bit came next but think its

more trial fits

and its nearly there

needs a bit of touching up , but curvatures can be seen, if this was a straight item folded it would be so simple

here you can see it sort of slopes to the right and has at wist, this is further complicates stuff but is meant to be as the upright reinforcing plate of the jp/mounting is made at a corresponding angle

sat in place in what would be as built minus the seal restraining strip

strip in place , note it would be welded in place as in previous picky then this added

this sort of shows the slant, also bear in mind the rear wing/arch has to clear it as well, which is another item i will be making so as to incorporate the correct seam to arch join as built

looked like an optical illusion but steel bar says its true with the original upper part

on this side there is a deliberate gap, this is to allow for the thickness of the new rear wing i will be making, then it will be true and flat

this is ready to weld in tomoz. dont seem like much but it took from lunch till tea to do , speaking of which
smoked bacon quiche with these paprika coated roasties

done
mm

[Plasticman]

well
C post assembly welded in

this is the area behind the stop buffer at the rear of the track , i like to braze these as if the mig gets a bit rough its hard to get in to clean up

building the lower part of the rear wing, its curved both around the arch plus vertically following the wing and slider.then you have to gap it something like

...

return edging needs to match OE

as so

there is no seal fitted and so the door is not set , but im happy with it

ready to weld now

after welding these i tapped the lower bit of skin under the fixing plate to neaten it

forgot, seal had trial fit

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picks seem a bit jumbled again ,maybe cos i uploaded them twice....
anyways 1st treatments

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,,,

noticed this which will compound the door shut and alignment issues so will cut the worn area out and add a piece

mm

[kevtherev]

as so

Could somebody pass me a tissue...
Awesome is the correct word here

[Ian Hulley]

as so

Could somebody pass me a tissue...
Awesome is the correct word here

Steady now .... 'getting excited' over someone else's naked van is poor form

Looking good Mike. I've sent you an email

Cheers, Ian.

[Plasticman]

well, going to chop another small! hole into the rust

about here ish

ahhh

that feels better already

well you have to make light of things.
first make up a new anchor plate, 2mm i think and 7/16 unf nut, pre heat brazed and now very secure

this is the new piece of inner arch in place with the seat anchor held under it for illustration, , note the hole is larger than the thread, this is to allow for the belt anchor spacer to clear the surrounding metal

when that lot is spotted in , the next part you see is the replacement for the removed bit of the arch itself, you will note that it does not scallop out behind the belt anchor as per vw,
this way is stronger and i have no idea at present why they chose to do the way they did , will have a ponder on that

...

rear part made, im joining along the spot line of the battery box area and have swaged the whole lot to be flush on the wheel side,

which leaves locating the exp tank , now i know a few others have dispensed with these but they were put there for a reason be that derv or petrol so im staying with them till proven otherwise,
now ,yes i could remake the original stamping to hold the tab, the only reason they did it this way was is that it was an easy thing to press the shape and no further processes were required as in welding etc.to that end im doing it this way

tank in place and mount ring assembly fitted to tank then clamped to side structures and tank removed, we now have the ring in the exact position needed

now its a simple matter of placing the the new arch part in place and marking it, then remove the lot as so and place together to show

note i brazed it so easier to remove guide plate than if it was migged

so nex will weld this together and slightly splay the edge then pop it all together which will be easy enough now its all made, then treat seal and such and we go to the easier other siude for a simple middle lower side and sill
mm

[Plasticman]

well started by welding the exp tank ring to the plate then the whole to the van

next the inner sill together with the belt anchor plate affixed under

next the new piece of the arch is clamped in place,

but prior to doing the spots it has to be tacked to the main arch to hold it in correct position ,once this is done then we clamp the arch and inner arch together and do the spots, this will in turn help hold the arch part from warping too much as the weld is run along

like so

a quick wipe over with a flap disc and its good enough

ive run some braze round the two skins here to further reinforce it and it will also prevent/slow future corrosion here

dummy bolt in hole.,this shows clearance for spacer to bottom out to allow belt bracket to clear carpet etc, also use a dummy bolt to stop the risk of mig choddies etc fouling the hole threads

now you know how one thing leads to another ,well just couldnt leave this lot alone so

you can just see the remnant on the floor. anyhows it was an odd one to make as its also curved in two planes but its not the first ive done nor will it be the last,

but

soon good enough

forgot there was the seal retainer at the front, so cut a bit of good stuff out the way to gain access, made the small lip again its also curved both ways so by hand as opposed to the vice..its welded at the back as pointed by the welding rod and also down the inside root

it all needs a clean up with a disc and squaring to be neat
hear you note the 2 brazed plugs, this is the part i removed and added a bit to, had to take it off as i couldnt have made and fitted the lip with it in the way,

braze rod points to the item im on about, its seen so another reason to get it right, then new outer B post skin cut back to fit,the screwdriver is just to add some twist to it before tacking . this will help prevent warping

which seems to have worked

and the repaired arch bottom is good enough to fit so all is happy with it

ref my modifying the arch top round the belt anchor, well i havd a look at this today and the reason vw did it is that due to the shape of the pressing and the metalk avaiable i think it would have been difficult to press correctly without creasing like some of the klocker c**p

mm

[Plasticman]

Well ns done bar the sealants etc
cut this off, i could have buuilt it up with a small bead of weld, which i n ormally do if its just the end bit but here it was easier to chop it out

new bit added, just needs a straight edge and making flush again

B post outer, seam welded in the corner out of the way

next the repaired arch bottom

whilst its weled to the B post inside i also like to braze the lower inch or so as these do have a habit of flapping a bit....

slider back on to check

main part of inner sills first coated here from rear to front

...
im reasonably happy with the look of the joins etc

they will get some seam sealant as well

just general pickies of stuff first coated

,,

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i will seal the seams later

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mm

[Smiffo]

There is some serious craftsmanship in these threads.
I can't imagine the experience and skill required to produce some of the work seen over these restorations.

If I were a King....
I would make a national tradition out of it - whether people like T25's or not - Sunday evening after a roast dinner would be VW restoration hour on the BBC..!!

[Plasticman]

Thanks
Well this failed the "pull test"

so no point messing with it

..

to be expected

but not as bad really as some

but this !

is another matter

..

now i think ive decided on the way im going to sort this, it is dependant on not finding it any worse here than ive seen so far,
the way its built is we have the main transverse crossmember in i think 3mm steel, next the rear cargo floor spots to this on the inside (cab side) and then the main cab floor is spotted to the whole. see

here ive removed a bit of the floor (the last item to be spotted)
next was the vertical part of the rear bulkhead floor, leaving the x member, hopefully i can expose this along the whole length and clean up to retain
mm

[Plasticman]

Well as usual the more you dig the more you find,

sort of a bit crusty in here and a pig to get at later when all closed up so

thats cured that
always nice to get back to clean steel

first bit added, and as there is no slider track in the way i can weld to the front of outrigger from the inside, (saves marking up to drill as well)this is further supported as will be seen, but it forms the base from which the rest attaches

belt anchor nut, also pre heat brazed first then a bead run around it so its there for keeps

rear of seat box

top done same as other side

as a whole

just the exp tank mount to add and then a simple weld up, the work here is in the parts
B post inner, this again in 16g its shaped differently babove and below the closure plate, above and it is convex,
these are a bit tricky to make but will show it step by step

this shows how it interacts with the inner sill (that ive just added) it will all become clear ,,i hope, i have yet to scallop it out to weld to the vertical reinforcing strip i will remake

this is just to point to the gap as OE and just filled with sealant

mm

[Plasticman]

Well got the bones of the B post sorted
started by adding a repair to the outrigger as this gives the parameters for the B post lips etc and also ties in the new addition to the inner sill

you can just make out the 3 burns from the welds, i always try to get these repairs in line with the original and the fold should taper seamlessly , if for no other reason than neatness
main part of inner B post now made and welded, i have puddled it through to the inner sill and also the tab on the outrigger repair so this is now fixed for good,

I have to make a new inner support brace like so

without these the assembly would not carry the weight of the van ,at least not for long... as almost all the loading is carried verticaly if that makes sense,
lower inner B now made up, the folds and such are in the same place as OE, so should be good when the floor closures are added
you can also see the weld at the join of the inner sill to outrigger repair and i have added a couple of long tacks to the base of B post inner/innersill for good measure

here spotted the repair to the inner wing complete with belt anchorage, the area pointed to is to be gassed, note i have removed an extra bit of the actual front arch , this iwas to give access to this weld

and will be covered by the new addition to the actual arch as shown here

simples
be nicer after a disc over it as this is in the raw....

as is this

exp tank receptacle welds visible
think that concludes things for today,i have trial fitted the lower B post outer so will sort that tommorow, plus another repair to the bottom of the arch, then a few tweaks to the outer sill and that can go on i think,
need info on a tool so have posted up on general with pickies
mm

[Plasticman]

Well,spotted a little more rot sort of knew it was there so cut this away

jp and arm mount is good, in fact its very clean in here as is the C post lower, copious amounts of rust proofer scraped of so it did some good

note the spots are very low on the lip , this is why i cut this area of when its iffy and add a new lip as i have done on the other side,
VW contructed in a way that if they had left a decent lip they couldnt have migged it to the arm mount , i will post up a picky of a genuine inner sill to show better what i mean,hence if you feel under your own you will find a solid run of weld and little actual lip to get hold of

whoever fitted the rear arch also did it the bodgy way and also migged it in the seam itself instead of separating the join, any hows i managed to open it up enough

belt anchor now welded up

your very own golden hole.....which leads down into a money pit

..

all new metal, you dont have to follow the OE inner B post exactly but make sure it terminates vertically where this does

sill and post lower in rough place to check alignments, note i have repaired the area on post where the 3 brass plugs are

and another reason for doing the lower rear wing , as it fits before the sill

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fuel tank vactanned and now undercoated

mm

[Plasticman]

Well,most of it i had fitted ready to weld but needed to finish this bit

they are a fairly simple part but the lower lip is not quite as simple as a fold added
here you can see the twist

anyhows done, it fits and spot holes added

clamped up and all gaps set and swages lined up the migged the bottoms on, i have run a line of braze along the vertical seams as they are a bit on the tight side and this way once a disc has been over them all that will remain is a thin line in the seam and i shall cut a line in this to define the join

front join prior to brazing

brazed

keep an eye on stuff as you go as its very easy to curve these which is then more work to realign

rear

next making these closures up ,i have the swages to add but first make them so they fit. the rearmost part is short as i had some made up to post and doing them in 3 bits was easier to pack

these get added after the outer skin is fitted but its easier to do it this way

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outer skin tomoz
mm