Hi all! I've done a search for this and not turned up very much,and trawling through 80 page resto threads hasn't turned up very much either so I thought I would ask for a point in the right direction....... I've got to tackle rear corners and some of the side channel sections due to rot. There is substantial blistering and splitting on both sides, and the near side flexes considerably when pressed with a finger to the point where I'm sure I could poke through it without too much effort :s I'm guessing there's fibreglass under the paint so it's probably been previously bodged up. Replacing the roof isn't an option for two reasons.... 1 being cost and 2 being my level of welding talent.... I can weld, but I'm not a welder by any stretch of the imagination, so I'm gonna have to try and work with what I already have. I've been on a few of the well known panel supplier websites and seen the gutter repair panels etc but nobody seems to do a replacement corner skin panel? Has anyone tackled similar issues successfully? And any tips or tricks or threads etc for repairs? Ta in advance Luis
Pop up some pictures, I don't think roof repairs are to difficult it the substructure that makes it complex, how bad is the inner ?
I haven't got as far as delving into it yet... My Jetta is off the road for some work and the bay is my daily for a few weeks until it's done. I just want to know what I'm in for in advance so I can gather everything I need and get started once I can. I'll take some pics of the problem areas and upload them shortly
depends on the extent of the damage but it appears most folk fit sections from dead vans or patch in sections.. I had a a wee think about these areas a while back, my van isnt to bad but It needs a bit of help so I made up these bits... I never realy got around to developing them further than a quick and dirty stage to see if they were possible and how much of it was practicle to do in one piece... I decided they didnt need to go all the way up to the swaged part to the top of the roof, so ended up trimming it down... I never bother taking these any further ... The time they take to make, and what they would cost, I didnt think they would be worth pursuing.. I couldnt see people paying the money when you could probably patch up to a decent standard .
It would seem there are a few of us on here in the same boat. mine I re-filled and put off until the van is layed up over winter...but I bougt a roof cut and thats only a bit better now the paint is off. I think it woould be worth someones time to make them, especially if they could create a 'cheater' panel including the gutters too.....
No worries I think Womball did some too, I dont think they would have posed a big problem to him looking at the other stuff he did on his van Thanks for the compliments as well, Im kinda having a wee lul with the tinbashing just now ... cant get enough of my mountain bike ..lol..
@redoxide mad skills man! i'd like to try metal shaping but I wouldnt know where to begin lol i'm hopeful that its just the outer skin thats fubar but theres water coming into the van via the internal channels so it might go deeper if im unlucky....guess I wont know til I get the grinder out. Been practising with the welder and that side of things is improving so thats something I guess. i've got to repair the arches on the jetta and smooth the engine bay ready for the 20v transplant so that'll give me some real world practice
Hi @redoxide remember you sent me 2 and my roof looks great now and solid, will put up some pics soon to show as I said before they would be worth making as they fitted perfect first time with some bending and welding in place. I think you should offer them for sale ? good price for a good bit of kit.
I must have sent you the one in the picture ?. I might revisit the idea if it was something folk thought they could use.. would have to make a better pattern for a more accurate fit though... that was the first one I made.. I think the problem would be consistency since they would be hand made individually and probably would need some tweeks to fit, much the same as some of the available panels.. will have a think about it . It might speed up a roof corner repair ... ?
That's the worst side, but the other rear corner isn't far behind. Seems to be mainly in the strip just above the gutter and extends about a 3rd of the way down the length of the bus to a lesser degree. I fear using the old girl year round as a more or less daily drive is taking it's toll as it's breaking out all over the place lol
looks like surface rust to me, the only way to found out how to repair it is to sand it back and see if its a hole or just surface rust
