Front n/s wheel arch repair panel

Discussion in 'Mech Tech' started by Ermintrude, Nov 4, 2018.

  1. Should be a slit couple of inches long! Is it parked with the rear leaning downhill??
     
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  2. mikedjames

    mikedjames Supporter

    Even if the drain hole is working the gutter collects crud so you need to keep cleaning it out. Otherwise... rot.
     
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  3. they do tend to suffer now they (bug and bus) live at the foot of a moor. nice view but not great for the vw's.

    both are long overdue some beautifying :oops:
     
  4. I would take time to cost the parts paint and labour which may add up to a tidy sum if you are not going to do it yourself. If the rusty bits in your pics are only cosmetic, you could consider doing a cheap fibre glass and resin repair and paint with rattle can aerosol paint.

    Lots of how to do it on youtube. The total cost would be less than £100 and you would have fun doing it and do it when you want.

    Its your van and your money of course but maybe throwing a lot of your hard earned cash at the van may not make economic sense.
     
  5. it is now, but wasn't for most of the time. also it's against a stone wall and that seems to eat away at the side of the bus.
     
  6. mikedjames

    mikedjames Supporter

    The rusty wheel arch probably extends its rust to the panel at the back of the wheel arch and all the way up to the seat belt mounting...

    I experimentally pulled up on my passenger side seat belt reel a while back and was horrified when it came off in me 'and.


    20170618_105309.jpg
    Seems like somebody in the past just welded a patch over the rot without cutting it out. Then the carpet soaked up the water and kept it damp.

    Tread carefully, that could end up off-the-road -too-expensive... once you open up a hole you may end up going until you reach the hole in the rear gutter ...
     
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  7. i've been throwing my hard earned at old vw's for as long as i can remember :D old habits die hard and these are habits i'm not willing to give up on yet. maybe never. :)

    they make me smile, bring me joy and hold some of my favourite ever memories :cool:. i'll get it sorted but probably as a quick fix any way. :)
     
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  8. ouch. i'm pretty sure (i may regret these words) the seatbelt mounts and around there are solid. I don't have carpet so they're exposed and i can see them all the time. but yes, the old tinworm tends to burrow quite deep. I guess having only had old vw's, i'm no stranger to the extent of tinworm burrowing. it will be what it'll be and i'll just deal with it (probably with the addition of swearing, chuntering and tears too) :oops:
     
  9. I doubt that gutter has too much to hide doesn't look too bad, why is there a hole in the roof though :thinking: seems a strange place to rust
     
  10. Yeah the gutter looks eminently save-able.

    This might sound like I'm trying to teach granny 'ow to suck eggs, but tha' needs to find some shelter for your pride and joy.
     
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  11. One guess would it's collected 'on the roof and sat cos the drain hole has been blocked, make any sense?
     
  12. i do but none available here... last time i had it in storage my leisure battery went missing and there was a scrape/dent down the side of it... that was old vw only storage too :(

    i have a cover which i rarely use as i'm not sure it won't trap in even worse, but may try it this winter. while i do love them both, at the end of the day they are only 'things' and i'm not too precious about them. just a little bit. ;)
     
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  13. Maybe
     
  14. no idea, i didn't really see the hole before it got poked and taped up. closer inspection when it's with the welder will hopefully reveal. it'll all be do-able and if not... i'll deal with that if/when it happens :(
     
  15. A nicked battery and a scrape is probably a fair trade for a getting those two gems out of the Yorkshire winter.
     
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  16. the bug is my daily... that and my bike. there's just no storage round here, i did look at buying a rare garage that came up years ago but wasn't sure... it went for six times the original asking price! :eek:

    maybe i'll move soon and get a house with a garage, or just sell everything and go exploring :thinking: not sure yet.
     
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  17. Driving the bug will help, get the air around it.

    Granny and eggs bit again...get it Dynax'ed and take the bus or the bike when there's salt on the roads.
     
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  18. dynax?

    i used to be very precious with the bug, never using it in winter etc but i just enjoy them now-when they work. had a brilliant time in the bus this summer, lots of miles and lots of smiles and barely even noticed the rusty bits. :cool:

    I knew i'd look to getting it sorted over winter and while it's been done, it'll be inside- double bonus!:thumbsup:
     
  19. Baysearcher

    Baysearcher [secret moderator]

    I spent literally seconds doing that!!
     
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  20. ha! you're tall enough to see it. it's still there so no seconds wasted :thumbsup:
     
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