Club 80-90 Forums

Its only a terror if you try to fit the step. cut the nasty stuff out and wled a solid plate in there, dont bother with the holes and the stupid mat. and dont burn your throttle cable outer as it passes there
mike

Todays work involved finishing of the b-post, great weather with no wind so got cracking









Clamped the outer sill in place and trimmed the front arch to fit





As you can see Ive dropped a round hairy one with the lining up of the outer sill . Going to have to use some creative licence to get that looking right

still never going to be a show winner so Im not that fussed

James

Schutz

I wouldn't worry, at least you know theres no rust. I did a similar thing with the lower rear corner on mine and I don't really care! No one is gonna be down on their hands and knees examining it.
A guy who restores old campers for a living told me once that he pays most attention to the bits that are at eye level because they will be much more noticeable.

Bless you mike , cold or hayfever?

Shouldnt be to much work (hang on sure ive said that before somewhere in this thread). Remove the end flange , bit of a straighten , bit of a bend .

needs doing as the flanges dont meet, but not going to go overboard as its not going to be seen really

James

Well youve got alignment on the swages. it ngoes breasticles up after that,the front wing 1/4 whilst poor forming anbd thin metal are about right with regard tothe swaging so use thet as a guide, the b post , maybe you welded it a bit short/high, allways align and tack..
as for the sill section on side panal, who knows, but either way, swages are good so alter the long fridge panal = loads of work, Id go for b pots and fr 1/4
, sorry night out in leeds, cobra, bottle cava, chardony and strega with an eye - tie thrown in
nite m

I think it went wrong cause I had to tuck the flange on the b-post repair back to meet up with the inner sill .

The inner sill didnt sit right in the new crossmember so the problems started there and have worked there way to the front . Should have payed more attention .
Chalk this one down to in-experiance , whats done is done it will look ok once its done, as mike said underseal will hide the worst .

Just glad the b-post repairs didnt end in disaster

James

Fidget,
I have read this post from start to finish and have to say you have done a superb job I read this as I have started to restore my 89 panel van and knew that I had an outer driver's side sill to replace. I thought ' wow thats a lot of work i'm glad mine is only the outer sill' just goes to show you shouldn't even think these things cut a long story short I had a poke around and it looks like i need to relace the inner sill.

I will keep refering back to your post I'm sure and thanks for the inspiration as i think if I hadn't read this I probably would have scrapped the van. I will start a tread of the repair in it's own right as I hope i can get some of the feedback you have had (I'm going to need it I think). I have a reasonable amount of experience with spanners but not much with bodywork so it seams (excuse the pun ) a bit daunting

Thanks again for the motivation. When its done another van will have been saved from the scrappy as a result of you taking on your repair.

lastly I have to say the 'As you can see Ive dropped a round hairy one' made me laugh my 'round hairy one's' off, keep up the great work you are nearly there

Cheers silversurfer

Best advice I can give is get stuck in and to remember what ever goes wrong can be un-done. You will get all the help you need on here and pictures always make explaining things easier. Plus where a nosy lot .

I try to get at-least one job done a weekend that way I can count down the weeks till its at a point where its mot time , I only get 5-6 hours on a saturday to work on the van , so over the year it hasnt taken to long to get this far.

Never done any bodywork either and that shows on some of me welding , but learning all the time, I no longer look at rust as a problem now just a inconvenience

If Ive motivated one person then I guess me toil has been worthwhile

James

PS. If you think this is bad you aint seen me cab floor and step yet

Had a couple of hours spare yesterday so had a crack at getting a better fit on the outer sill.

chopped off the flange on the end and got bending

before



after

.

Im not 100% happy with it but its the best of a bad situation and the best it will get with the limited bending tools Ive got (2 flat bars and a vice).

Weld on a new flange at the end, get it welded in and thats nearly the lot for my sill welding trauma,s.

James

Sorry for my dribbling on sat night, should keep off keyboard when not fit..
Well you know what you did wrong I suppose. you were so carried away with the way you rep'd the b post then got it to fit nice and you couldnt stop yourself gcould you, the sill is pretty unmovable but the b post and fronnt 1/4 are , you will know to tack it all next time as there was nowt stopping you moving the b post outer down a shade and likewise with the 1/4 panal, but heyt at the end of the day its a real good job and a neat line of panalguard and when its overpainted and on the floor you will never notice,
Now then, lets have a pick of the missing floor.or the area where it was...
mike

Hi mike

Ill get some pics tomorrow, off to work now . Kev/Letshaveabus has got a floor section I can have , just got to go and cut it from the van when I get a chance. So that job shouldnt be to much bother to do . Need to start poking the side step too .

James

fidget wrote:Im not 100% happy with it but its the best of a bad situation and the best it will get with the limited bending tools Ive got (2 flat bars and a vice).

Dont beat yourself up over it - you have photo'd it as you went so any future buyer will see its a mechanically sound repair and also 'should' the worst happen you can use it as a unique point about your bus the the old bill!

Yes well said,
I would have a good poke at it before cutting a new bit out as the new bit might need to be a tad bigger you know what your doing and are in control
mike

Ive got me outer sill at work with me . Going to drill the holes ready for welding on saturday. Is there any accepeted/requirements for spot/plug welding on a long seam like a sill?. Mike im taking no chances , im getting the whole floor. James