Replacing inner sills

[Plasticman]

update of blood blister would be awesome
otherwise good work, dont be fearfull of cutting iffy metal out as you wont want to do it later
mike

[fidget]

Especially for metalmickey, not me thumb but still a blood blister , freshly done



James

[Plasticman]

Them looks soft as like virgins hands get some more grinder scars and burns and cuts and holes
remeber when your fitting up your panals take loads of time , cut little and often and measure twice, , the better you get them to mechanicaly join the easier,neater and better the finnished job
mike

[fidget]

Its the coolant we use at work keeps them baby soft , as for cuts and what not , Im older and wiser now gloves all the way, had enough of A&E.

I ve a good idea what needs to be done, just it would be easier if it was more rotten as I could cut more out to get better access to the spot welds and such.

work continues tomorrow, tree climbing with the kids today

James

[DavidPallister]

Just thinking, looking at your earlier pix of sill repair on sill repair, there is something making them rot out. Are your windows leaking? I had that problem with mine, leaking side windows letting water into the van, so it all runs down into the sill area and rots them from the inside out. You go to all this effort to replace the inner sill, but if they are still leaking, it will simply rot out again. Worth checking out

Dave

[fidget]

I think the nature of the repairs and the shonky way they where done is the main problem. My van stood for 2 years on a dirt drive with grass growing up the sides if what the previous owner said is true.

Considering this the condition of the underside is very good , The rust is uniform along the length of the sill , noticable worse at the front where the most repairs are and again at the rear of the sill again where the sill has been bodged. There is virtually no seam rash at all , Im convinced this has either been treated well in the past or its just been lucky and not suffered. So far Ive had to replace the lower rear corners and all the internal flat sections/battery tray areas in the engine bay, the complete rear panel and the lower parts of the rear arches.

Water is getting in around the rear window on the passenger side I know this cause theres a hole

drivers side seems ok but just cant be sure.

Ill try to get some more pics this weekend when work resumes. Lost heart at the moment as progress on sunday was slow and demoralising

James

[fidget]

Hi all

I have some more pics from this weekend. I didnt get much done as I had to take the petrol tank off this weekend to make life easier supporting the van and to make sure it wasnt rotten on the top.

Heres the results of the little I did get done.







Ive come to the conclusion trying to save the top of the outer sill/in side van part is pointless as its going to make life harder when it comes to putting it all back together. Also the floor seam that the inner sill was joined to is rotted and in some places paper thin.

As you can see the base of the b-post is non existent, this was an area the previous owner had repaired badly by the looks of it . So a repair panel is going to be needed for that to . Im unsure what to do about the cross member, vw classis has the part but it seems a lot of work to get the new one in.

Im considering cutting my losses and breaking the van as Im running out of enthusiasm for the work involved and as yet havent spent to much money on it . Going to take a couple of weekends off from working on it


James

[dugcati]

Don't give up James!

Your at the hardest part just now but in terms of progress it's also half way through...

Do you have a replacement inner sill? if so just keep chopping and cleaning until it nearly fits (leaves you with a final tweak!) I removed part of the jacking point and then re-welded it after the inner sill was fitted - see below pic and you can spot I that point I hadnt re-fitted part of the jacking point arm




Your doing OK and more importantly your doing the right things such as checking fuel tanks for leaks and considering how things will go onthe rebuild

Stick at it for a while longer - you will reap the reward and the van will love you in the end when you get to use it

[Plasticman]

Come on james, youve done a lot of the crap bit,dont be fearfull of chopping out the rot and get back to good steel, it may seem scary but no point saving iffy bits, then you buy what you can and offer this up and you will have a void/gap call it what you like of parts that you cant get so all you then have to do is make up the bits that join it up so to speak, I have as others a load of detail pickies of what should be there if you want them.
mike

[fidget]

Cheers for the encouragement guys

Latest update, new cross member from vw classic is on its way from Germany as we speak (cant reccomend dealing with these guys enough , easiest thing Ive brought online in years). This is the part in my first picture that looks like a seive and the part in dugcatis picture where the jacking point locates between. B-post repair panel, front arch, front step and seat belt repair panel being delivered tomorrow courtesy of schofields .

So you could say Im committed to it now. being realistic this is the only van I can afford for the foreseeable future so its all or nothing.

Once I get all the old sill off Im going to Cleco the new one in place and repair the base of the b & c pillers then make good the floor that the inner sill will attach to.Am I right in cutting all the outer sill that attaches to the floor inside the van out, as trying to leave it in place is going to making all other repairs harder. . Also does the origional jacking point attach to the base of the b piller in anyway?.

This weekend will be spent scraping soundproofing off the inner front arch (which bizarrely I find quite calming ) and finishing off the rear panel , refitting the lights , bumper and tow bar. Staying away from the sill

Injury update for mike, blood blisters gone but have got a C shaped cut/scab from sharp bit of old sill pics supplied if needed

cheers

James

[Plasticman]

Picks not needed ta..did you look through that thread of mine as there are loads of detail picks of that area which for me are quite clear, (idiot proof camera)
mike

[fidget]

Yes mike

Ive had a good look at all yours and dugcatis pics ,thats how I made the decision to lose the sill inside the van to make life easier. my biggest problem is the order in which things need to be done. but Im getting there. Trying to save the B post was causing me problems, but now its getting the chop again it makes a lot of other work easier to do

cheers

James

[Plasticman]

Your doing ok,Ive been doing it for years and still am sometimes in a quandry as to how much to cut and where,sometimes its better to keep as much of the original metal as I can and other times like in your case its not good enough and keeping it makes subsequent work much harder.
Just carry on as you are and dont rush it, when in serious doubt post it up so we can have a look see
mike

[dugcati]

....being realistic this is the only van I can afford for the foreseeable future so its all or nothing.

I know that feeling!.. it is a great feeling though driving it round knowing how much work you've put into getting to the point whererby you can drive it round!

[fidget]

On A lighter note Dugcati

have you anymore pictures of the lego van in your sig. My boys will love it if I can make one for them . Ive tried googling but drew a blank

cheers

James