Poke it yesterday with a blunt instrument...its not good. Obviously needs the screen taking out and new metal welded in,do i get those little corners repair pieces from jk,or is it a case of buying a new front and cutting the top section off of it and using that? What did anyone else do on here,'cos im getting a little concerned...
...There you go.The black is hammerite rust preventer stuff and mastic to keep the rain out.What do you think?,I think a whole new front is a bit extreme...
You need to have a good poke around the whole panel mate. Take off your kick panels and check behind, especially around the vents and light bowls. I thought mine was just going to be a top few inches job. Did the whole pants in the end Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2
Had mine done - used a Klassicfab funky green panel, goes right across and down to the blue edge! Good quality panel
Of you have the money to do it, a new front end is approximately 1000, and this is probably your worst scenario.
Like dog said you need to check the rest of the panel before you buy the smaller repair panels. I was going to repair mine in the screen area until I found holes in the bottom seam of the front clip. So I've bit the bullet and bought a whole front panel. If you buy a braz one they aren't that expensive. Mines sat in the garage at the mo until I can afford to pay the welder
You can/could buy the lower screen and bulge panel from Schofields, they also do little repair panels for the lip/edge of the screen. Be warned though, if you don't already know, Schofield panels will only fit if you completely remove the old panel. Fitting over an old knackered panel will only make heaps more work for yourself.......I know!
If you take it to a non-VW classic car restorer they will probably let in some pieces to do the job, rather than rip out what may be an otherwise good sound panel...if it's mobile, I'd be punting it around a few old school non specialist restorers in the area for some quotes...if your arches and post are good and the door shuts look great (from the pics) it could be a can of worms putting a whole new clip on if it's not absolutely necessary
To be fair,it was a new front panel put on around 7 years ago from what i can make out from the receipts that i got with the van,but i think that the whole 'resto' job back then was a bit rushed so to speak,as i dont think it was sealed properly and water got in.From the top of the door on the roof of my pic i put up,you can also see the paint lifting as though it wasnt prepared properly before respray...I think a few corners were cut to get the job done.Shame really, cos underneath is pretty solid,and i am in the midst of replacing the bits that make it go and stop,but the body work is becoming shabby again where it wasnt done properly.and bernjb56,i will put a bid in for that panel later this eve i think,as the little jk repair panels may not be wide enough.
It would be easier, and a better job to do the full front panel and you can buy a new repro one for around £160. Done mine a few weeks ago, not done one before but 2 of us managed to remove the old front, clean up and paint everything behind it and get the new front on in a fairly short day, even had time to call for a quick pint before tea! One point, the new front panel will only go a couple of inches up the front screen tho
I read this thread and while searching through Ebay I found something that I thought might be of use.
