I brought a JK outer sill panel (the higher version), and the length extends beyond the joint lines of the bus. Does anyone have any good advice regarding welding this, i.e. should I cut the new panel down so it sits inside the lines? I will offer the panel up and upload a picture to explain when I get home this evening.
cut the panel to suit the van , NOT THE VAN TO SUIT the panel , use all of it if it needs it ,, its a good panel i had to use the whole panel on mine as mine was as rough as a badgers arse lol hope this helps owen nw
Thanks Owen, it'll be my first attempt at welding the bus, if I can get it looking anywhere near as good as yours I'll be over the moon.
If you mean each end of the panel, this is where it falls short. It's a cowboy, slap over the top, patch panel, but as it's all that's available you have to make something suitable out of it.
Photos of the extent of the rust and the panel crudely held in place. It's probably easiest to cut down the seam and try to hide my attempt at welding!!
The vertical seam at the front of the panel above the sill looks like it might be saveable? It it is, I'd save it and at least 20-30mm of the panel and cut your repair piece to suit. If the other end is the same, you're laughing. Original seams make a lot of difference to how pukka your bus looks when it's done. You need to do some paint removing around the margins of the rust to see the real extent before deciding exactly how to tackle it.
Cheers guys, I'll do a bit of sanding and keep my fingers crossed. I brought a joddler tool to create an overlap.
It'll be interesting to see what the actual sill looks like, I try and keep as much good metal at possible and not replace full panels cos that's what I have got. Things will fit together a lot easier.
These are fantastic for tickling the paint and surface rust off without hurting anything. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Strip-and..._Body_Shop_Supplies_Paint&hash=item3a7e8f528f Not this particular make - just an example.
When the geezer was letting in panels into our bus he would carefully position the complete repair panel over the old rusty panel, make sure the seams are lined up and looking lovely and then tack weld the panel along the top edge and clamp the panel along the bottom of the sill. You'll need to trim the panel if there are returns on it or it won't sit flush. Then with a 1mm disc on the grinder cut through the new panel and old above any rustyness - this means you get the new piece exactly the right shape in relation to the old, remove the old rusty panel and you can just use intergrips to hold the new panel and existing together ready for your welding. Think that makes sense?
