Club 80-90 Forums

Well managed to get some more non hse red lead so painted the new tank ,will dynax it as per normal as well

so while were at it these will get a coat as well prior to seam sealing


shows decent penetration from the floor above
now painted

and the rear

welded the inner trim panal bracket to the floor , I dont usually refit these but on this AS it happens to be used.
now dosed as well

rear end


got loads in and its penetrated all the seams

got a nice front arch to unpick

instead of joining it where the pattern stuff does,im going to unpick it and fit it to the inner arch as per vw, will also remake the belt mount as this will be due,marks here show the extent of it

fitted up the rear arm and used the original washer marks for the inner and the outer i did the same by comparing to the cut off bit . the thread file is one of the best tools you can buy,
i have just used it to dress the shaft end and now the new nut goes on by hand
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Beautiful as per always M

It is stunning

Well.front arch area, a simple job but it developes as these things do.
now somethings not quite right here

so away with the rubber mat

its pulled away and i just cut the tinware to expose it

as im going to fit the arch complete then away with the old

which reveals the hole.., this is always going to happen, when vw made these vans they did a very good job sealing them and then they subsequently fitted the seat belts and the mounting bolt protrudes through the sealant over this mount and starts the rust process.

the spots arrowed were not visible as they had been ground at vw, but they are always here

sealant had done a good job

so it looks like this now

this is the extent of the rust under

which is n ot as bad as some ,anyhow easy to cut it out, the way im going to repair it is an easy fix even if you are not a good welder as it relies on plug welding.
these are the bits required, the base nut I have reused but if you want to replace then its 7/16NF
I have spotted it to the underside of the plate, all will become apparant .

heres how they fit, the larger plate goes under the existing remnant of arch and you drill the arch and spot through, this alone is equal to what was done as new,

then in the gap you lay the other part, the hole is bigger to allow the anchorage spacer to sit in and also give clearance to the matting

this is the base part now welded

and now the insert is spotted through ,at this point you can leave it as it is or run a weld round the join , yes I choose the latter and gassed it as i really prefere it to migging

now ground off

and a coat of weldthru

when i do the arch i will spot that through in a better way that original but thats tomoz.
further round the arch we have this abortion to deal with

shoulds be fun as always
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Bloody ell mike it's going to be better than mine. That van did a massive scotland tour and didn't fall apart, can't believe it needed so much work. Looks can be deceiving. Would photo evidence of this restoration be useful for an insurance valuation? I have a feeling it could be. Or would they be barstewards and think it is a rusty old van that has been 'done up'? Your workmanship is excellent but just wondering if some spotty faced clerk would be appreciative.

hah, photo log with accompanying txt is all that is needed providing you dont try to value off the scale, when doing bthe agreed valuation remember its not the insurance companty that tell you its worth . its you telling them the figure you want them to cover it for and be able to substantiate this figure., and then you pay the insurance a figure that reflects this value, as in you pay more ££££ lol
what else could i do with/toi the van , caouldnt leave it and no point doing half a job as it will still want doing in time to come and be a dam sight worse job plus all the paint to mess up when its cut open to do
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Wasn't criticising you Mike. I'd never criticise another mans work. We do what we do and how we do it for a reason. Pride/ cost etc etc

Er K , you werent critisising and i certainly wasnt defending , I dont......
i meant that there is little else to do but do it all right, its a condition of my work ,and nothing will prevent that from happening, well running out of gas may be a stumbling block but I got loads of acetylene
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I have postponed our agreed valuation until this is done but will use it as supporting evidence. Luckily we did not have an emergency stop that depended on those seat belts

I did expect that bit under the rubber to be worse though

I did not think my van was in such a shocking state either

Well.onwards, unpicking dont half take time,


this is a sample of the arch - b post seam, apart from the yeppow cack its an original seam

no rust ,,,but

the arrow points to the start of a tiny bit of rust , well hidden but its a start
inner lip is very good with no lifting of the sealant

also here is the first sign of rust around the filler shroud,its a common place it starts and we all know what follows

here are the two bits,the arch and the adge of the b post, and of course the hidden rust that has started, it may have held back a few years but...

and a bit just at the bottom, easy enough to blast off at this stage though

first trial fit

this is starting to align it with the bit of old step/arch im keeping
bit missing here and i cut a rusty bit off but easy enough to add a piece

starting to get there

top has a bit missing as the guy that removed it was errr economical with acuracy

this crudly bored hole is I think from a security type bolt that was dropped through from behind the vent in the door bottom . not a bad idea but there are much better ways of doing this though

anyway when i get the arch to fit as i want , then i will start to remove this crap

and remake the step as per original,

door stripped,makes it lihter to remove and refit whilst aligning the arch and step also you cant paint a van with suff still fitted as there is all this crap to get of and you want paint under/behind everything

at least its not rotten! alkso it a door with the cut outs and such to allow for factory lectrics to be fitted at a later date

and talking of screens etc I reckon this hole will develope a touch too

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How that aerial stayed in place is beyond me and with such good reception too! How will the new aerial look? Same place?

near enough same place, when the screen comes out we shall see the extent of the pain.. and any way a new bit of steel will be let in and leaded up so will fit a simmilar twig back.
your up late. oh yes no school tomoz is there
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Now come on Helen. You said you sometimes get Tyne Tees news and sometimes Yorkshire on your tv at home. So what reception do you want in the van? Radio Scotland?
To pinch this thread again, thanks for tonight. Chris is so pleased. And you have a lovely home, are there any for sale in your village? Hope the pub was OK. See you both soon.

Yep - late last night of freedom Mike Am sure they'll be more fun when those windows come out, see how I now call it fun?!


Glad you liked our place Keith, welcome anytime I really hope Chris is happy with the car, and am glad it is going to be looked after as I am a sentimental bugger really

good,cos it is fun, nothing that is found or happens cant be sorted so youve nowt to worry about and i enjoy working round stuff just as well,particularly looking forward to the old aerial hole
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