Club 80-90 Forums

Yeh, I was thinking weld, (alternative for me was to glass) all interior lining has already stripped but there is a good bit of contact adhesive residue so may try to clean that off first (cellulose thinners?).
Have to say using the dremel with a metal disc has made things easy - well worth £50 including a flexi drive extension. The angles made using a vrinder a bit awkward (for my inexperienced hands anyway). Tidied up with a sanding wheel.
Off to my mates with few beer vouchers to blag his mig now then.

OK, so month or so on and the dry weekend days that have permitted now means i have a van which (currently at least) does'nt leak!
So after repairing hole on nearside, I opened up the offside and very pleased to find no hole and virtually no corrosion, however, a small amount of water was still getting in. Traced to a very small hole just above the centre line of the tailgate. Cut out a small section of GRP , cleaned up and the very small holes were filled with the mig I borrowed off my freind. Pigs ear of a job but ground down and painted, the repairs do the job cos no more leaks. Parked van both ways round on the slope and left out during a couple of really good down pours and still no leaks. GRP sections have been sealed back to the body and joints filled - just need sanding down.
I'm sticking to my previous theory about capillary action. The bond between the sealer and the metal roof had broken down slightly, no doubt through a combinatiuon of age and mechanical action from body flex and heat/cold expansion/shrinkage and the water was literally being sucked out of the gutters.
Anyway, all repairs at the rear complete and just need painting. I am going to rake out all the remaining old sealer I can get to and renew as best i can and hope that does the trick for this year. Maybe look for a freindly barn owner for next winter and get the roof off and do it properly if I can. Thanks again for everyones help.

Useful thread thanks all.
I've just dug the sealant out of my westie high top today. Treated it, hammerite on top and was going to leave it clear but now i'm going to pop the sealer in it.

Are there any threads about removing a hard top? Did a search but nothing came up and wondering how it is done without damaging the Hi Top.

Removing the hightop - strip out all the hightop lining, and hightop flooring. Then you can get a knife of your chosen variety down under the edge of the hightop from inside. I used a shortish serrated kitchen knife (4”long blade) and a very meaty folding pocketknife. I also used a few prybars to open the gap as I worked. Don’t worry about the hightop, mine was pretty forgiving. Don’t worry about the van roof, just hope it’s not as bad as mine!


Also used a length of bicycle brake cable inner wire as a wire saw, one person inside, one outside. It is really a two year person job, if only to have someone to swear at. I had my oldest son, perfect for this purpose, and big and strong enough as well. Sliding the roof off the van - we went off the back. One person in the van to lift up, the other to collect at the rear of the van. Surprisingly heavy...