Gutter corners and roof corner rust

[YellowVan]

Hi all,

Just checking on some advice which may help me restoring the following. I have just recently replaced a larger section of the gutter since it was crusty rusty.... Now, how to deal with the corners? I can't find any replacement parts and they seem to rust as well. So, 3 questions:

1. How to restore (or replace) the gutter corners)?
2. How to touch up the roof corner, some claim that I shouldn't cut it out but use lead loading instead, but that won't work on a rusty surface I assume, and will come back.
3. Any ideas on the secret number I discovered when sanding the original gutter (see red circle)?

Here's to illustrate the burden:


Gutter replaced


Rooftop rust


Da Vinci Code

Best,

Erik

[multisi]

Cut it out and make your own pieces from 1 mm thick steel , looks like an early 80,s date stamp.

[YellowVan]

I’ve never moulded such a complex structure myself. What tools will I need to recreate this? Any specific dolly required?

There must be other people with the same issue. How have they replaced this. Any examples?

[RogerT]

http://forum.retro-rides.org/thread/70135/panels" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Good advice here for making panels...

[YellowVan]

http://forum.retro-rides.org/thread/70135/panels
Good advice here for making panels...

Fantastic link, thanks!!

Anyone who's ever created one of these gutter edges themselves?

Besides, some claim that it's best not to cut the roof bit out but to prime it well and leave this as such. It's just that I want to prevent the rust from coming back in just a few months.

[YellowVan]

Just a quick question on that roof corner rust issue:

Would a good solution be sandblasting and then smoothening everything with the Classic lead loading approach? An alternative for lead might be the application of ALsi primer.

Trying to find out as I want to get this done.

Best,

Erik

[mm289]

Too far gone for lead loading, even with media blasting it is unlikely you will get the metal clean enough for the lead to stick (you "tin" the metal first). Lead loading is used to smooth out bodywork but it isn't a fix for filling holes/badly rusted sections.

Your proper solution is to replace the rusted metal. It has gone so thin with corrosion that you won't be able to weld it up iether, as soon as you hit it with MIG it will dissolve.

You can prime and fill with products of your choice but rust will be back in a couple of years and poke through your top coat.

Cheers,

MM

[YellowVan]

Last Friday, I made my first attempt to recreate the roof corner with the help of my newly bought shrinker/stretcher. Ehm…. easier said than done to be honest:

Creating the template



Measured the right size. Besides, in the photo you can see a donor roof corner from an old bus which I initially wanted to weld in place, but this one appeared to be rusty on the inside and now only serves as a template.


First corner created using a bending machine. The corner is a little too sharp, but we'll solve that later.


Now, here's the catch. Creating the larger bend doesn't work as I had thought of, it just doesn't.


Any tips? Would I require an English wheel to redo this properly? It's a specifice bend as you can witness from the front. The sheet metal is 1mm zincor.

Best,

Erik

[YellowVan]

Right, here's a new attempt at recreating the curve:

Managed a lot better this time.


The actual corner appears to be there, but not just if you look at its back


Hard to see on a PC screen, but it doesn't fit (any stretching perhaps?)


It's really very hard to recreate the specific curve. No match here.


If there's anyone with the skills to recreate this better than me, please contact me .


Best,

Erik

[multisi]

Do you need to bend the front face down, the area on your van looks ok, could you just cut out the rust up to the sharp front bend then concentrate on making the one bend and once that's good weld the new repair piece on. Or if you do have to cut out some of the front then make your repair in 2 parts and weld together on the inside before fitting to the van.

[RogerT]

Aye, from from reading the panel thread I posted earlier I’d suggest making it in two (or more) pieces welded together. No point spending too much time bashing away, it’s the end result that matters, not the route.
Measure twice, cut once, tack and measure again, then weld. Clean up with flap disk and sanding if need be.

Got a link for your shrinker?

[adie89]

Aye, from from reading the panel thread I posted earlier I’d suggest making it in two (or more) pieces welded together. No point spending too much time bashing away, it’s the end result that matters, not the route.
Measure twice, cut once, tack and measure again, then weld. Clean up with flap disk and sanding if need be.

Got a link for your shrinker?

Agreed

As I was looking through your efforts and the difficulty you were having, I would go two pieces welded together too, if you bui
D the weld up nice and thick in several passes from the back,as you round over the profile you don’t risk grinding through your new joint.
Similar idea to this, weld from the back in a couple of passes

You can see how hot it gets by the outside profile but it’s now very thick

Profile over with flap wheel, and DA

[YellowVan]

Got a link for your shrinker?

It's this one (bought in the Netherlands though: https://www.hbm-machines.com/producten/ ... ik-machine" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; (the same as this one, all made in China I'm afraid: https://www.frost.co.uk/shrinker-stretc ... -jaws.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;)

Thanks for all the replies with helpful advice. Yes, I will indeed create this from two pieces of metal. The idea of welding from the inside sounds refreshing. I'll give that a try as soon as I've managed to duplicate the bend.

The problem is that the edge is not 90 degrees but more 60 or so. Also, the bend itself is no straight curve, but has a slightly tighter curve in the corner. My first image in my previous post shows that difference. My own bend is different than the dummy.

A tip: mark the width of your shrinker on your project as that will give you equal shrinks or stretches.

[YellowVan]

If there's anyone who is able to recreate the shape as in the first post (also, see my attempts), I'm willing to place an order . I have found these roof corners particularly hard to recreate, both left and right.

[Troopy]

Sorry to take the thread a bit off topic, but my gutters are going a bit too and I was wondering whether, although they are part of the van as standard and therefore original, do they really serve any purpose or could I just grind them off with no ill effect to stop rust spreading?

My current car doesn't have them so were they just a thing back in the day as I know many vehicles had them?