Club 80-90 Forums

Hi mike

Who's your reccomended supplier for the front lower panel , got to do mine this year at some point . Or Ill drop me van off with you on my my way past

James

best drop it off then and pick up a spare lower grill i have for you
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Oooi what you saying , following like a hawk how your gonna re-attach the lower panel saves the stupid questions in a few months time. Im passing you next week didnt go to newcastle this week , head gasket went on golf, sat in Peterbourough services sunday night . All fixed trying again this weekend. Ill PM you

James

ok
no idea but i will work it out
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Well finally got all the panals sorted and of a good quality , been spending time removing old crap and getting ready for adding new,
the osr wing fridge panal seam was about the last realy unpleasnt bit as it was if you recall sikaflexed on .so resullted in this

it was a right pain as the bit i need to help remove was missing,ground away and nothing to grab so back to the hard way

and on the inside i have as usual drilled them right through , reason and method when the new goes on,

the repair bit for the inner sill is made and all ready for welding to start, reckon i will do a weekender

well started to add stuff,been a right hassle chopping out sikaflex from places, dropped the new rear wing into place to see the extent of the missing bit that the shonker cut off

made a small piece and gassed it in, no option here as you cant leave it and fill the hole with pod or anything,case of look twice,cut once

wing now fits snug down and will be seam welded so no ridge and no hole, or filler, just a simple dab of seam sealer the same as the rest gets prior to paint

drums had some stick

small bit of lip made out of decent steel and added

but welded/seamed so no bits of lip to catch crud

usual front edge of the innerwing shot so a part made and added

again but together and seam weld,this is an item/area that sepparates the internal space from the outer so needs fully welding as tacks will only last for so long.

lower sill fits nice, I will chop off the bottom of the B post as its a touch frail,but doesnt warrant removal at this stage.
will attend the filler area at the same time. if not happy then this will be romoved for attention
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Mike

Showed the H&S guy at site picture of your cut hand.

BP CATS Terminal at Seal Sands has now been shut down while investigation takes place to ensure something like this cannot happen again?

We will just forget we process 20% of the UK gas supply. Sun has been out the last few days anyway so we sholud stay warm.

OUTCOME - Route cause after investigation:-
BAN sikoflex
Personnal realignment required
Operational procedures to be reviewed
Ban restoration and welding activities.
Scrap all T25s

Problem solved - Turn the gas back on.

well sounds about right for the jobsworths to me,last time i had a run in with a client rep, i told him to remove himself from my presence and the deck.
so onwards
prior to fitting the lower sill i investigated the b post and associated area, well why not.
when you see a van and the seams (especially the lower ones) are wider than they should or put it this way they should be very much like those on the upper front panal,than trust me it didnt leave vw like this, so the cause of the swelling is down to one thing ,

here i have removed a bit more paint and exposed the start of the rust

so the only thing is to get to the bottom/back of it

and after this well might as well have the lot of,the rust on the floor is what came out of the seam on just the lower part.

the upper is not as bad but will still benefit from a blast


on closer inspection the inner front part of the sill closure was found lacking so out with it

not worth leaving it as its getting a bespoke interior and this is not going to be accessible for some time
nice after a light sand over

Weldore these next few picks may help you with your inner jpo area so i have tsaken a bit of detial ones
if you look here, the inner part of the b post can be welded to the sill inside,if you nhave access

from the otherside, with the rot cut out

and a bit closer

what im doing is to remove the part of the inner b post that extends down over the outside of the inner sill
and instead weld it to the inside as i have the benefit of access,.
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Bottom of the b post and original strengthener look ok but not as substantial as your substitute units! Was discussing B post repairs on the Sunday meet at Epping with the man who fabricates your rollers for making those lower rear corner areas, what a gent. Turns out our B posts are both strengthened by MM steel. Roll the film now pls......

ah ,he is indeed.
the thing is ,the added strength of those aftermarket items helps to give support and sort of allows for less than 100% in the surrounding metal
back to doing the daily run to the hosp.,mil needs must
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Well made a new part for the lower b post

used a Q max to make a 3/4 hole (got plenty grommets that size ) saves having to grind the backs of as they cut clean. the slight raised part is to allow it to fit clean over the thicker steel of the internal jp support piece
welded on, the lip to the inner sill i drilled and spotted through , the part over the jp hole is migged continuose,
checking for a good seam width

seems ok so out with the blaster

quick coat of weld thru

I had spent a fair bit of time prepping the rear wing,adding an internal lip to weld it to the arch, drilling for spots and also prepping it to fit on the c post and also adhere the fridge panal to it , so all happy as i need this on to line the whole side up prior to welding.
so blasted it

and then found the shonker has come at me for another bite

the guy has been so rough to get the old wing away and grind of the remnants that its now as thick as bacofoil, totaly ruined a usable 1/4 panal.
i see this so often, a bit of seam rust and folk attack it with a disc and trying to get to the bottom of the rust (you wont) and remove loads of good metal, , now ive got this headache to sort, i dont mind doing them but its so unnecessary and avoidable, well in this case it was,
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Very nice- so it should have a hole in the bottom- or nearly? If that is a hole why is it raised or is that the level that water would / could sit at?

Very informative mike
Grinders and amateurs...

yes they should reallyhave the hole down there with a bung in it.
why ? well i dont so much think as a drain as its not on the lowest point but to be on the lowest point then you would not get a grommet in there ? and if you have that much water in there I would look at other problems cos you'll have some...
maybe access to wax treating? cant think it has anything to do with manufacture and access,I give up.

yes the grinding, taking a disc to a van will remove metal and they only have so much, on flat areas its not so much of a problem, but on corners youcan go through very quickly, when i do a repair that involves a corner i try to add metal to this part and then sand back down as it then gives a fighting chance.
there isnt really any need to grind this. if its seams then dig out with whatever tools you make / use for the purpose, then open the seam a touch and repeat then dremmel and repeat then blast it, etc
hitting the area with a grinder will not do as yhou wish.
same with panal removal , there is virtually no need for a grinder to be used on these seam corners.
so i shall decide this morning on how to remedy this.
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Well this is in two bits as the camera is flat so
decided on closer inspection to make a bit for the rear 1/4.
it was as suspected grinder damage mainly and on the area shown, suppose i should be thankfull for small merc ies.
the 1/4 is what 1-1.2mm thick so i have gone for a bit of 1.5mm, main reason is its still tinsnippable it is but joking , idea is to place it as per the original lip/join and push up to the inside of the 1/4 panal, this way probably 0.5 mm will protrude and give me a nice edge to weld and flow into the rear 1/4

seems to have worked

needs a sand over gently but at least i know there is solid metal to beyond the corner itself now.

this is it for now if i perevere i will put my boot through the screen, peebucket with adds that wont go , vids over the quit button , fat arsed tarts trying to flog them selves . im away
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