The van formerly known as "Tootle"

Plenty of bodges done underneath over the years

Repair section being made up


Tacked in, I managed to save the original lip for the floor mats to hook under

All welded up and smoothed off

Repair under bulge welded in

From inside

Lick of paint

 

Cooker behind the front seat.

 

Of course! I did know that but had completely forgotten about it, the cooker was removed from mine before I got it.

 

Top work, looks really good.
I've started using zinktec or whatever it's called, excellent stuff and you don't need to grind the coating off before you weld it

 

Yeah it's good stuff

I like the fact you can buy a decent size sheet without the worry of it starting to rust before you've even used it!

 

Whats zinktec? Is it like galvanised steel?

 

Zintec is exactly that, however the coating is super thin unlike normal galvanised steel so it can be safely welded without grinding the coating away

It can sit around the workshop for months without a spec of rust forming, unlike normal mild steel sheet which wants to rust faster than a vw!

 

So your still going to be breathing in burning zinc

 

Probably, but in amounts that are so small that the other fumes that are given off whilst welding are just as bad

Plus I have a 5m articulating weld extraction arm and I wear a mask at all times........so no fumes at all for me

 

I wonder if thats what the new klockerKrap panels are then

 

Next up I started repairing this area

Made the small flat straight piece at the bottom inner first

Then the outer piece

 

I dont know if your aware but originally that panel curved down at the end and joined to the b pillar
I didnt find that out untill after i fitted my arches

 

Next I thought it was a good time to replace this little hole in the cargo floor!

It was removed to give access whilst replacing the front top hat and crossmember



Each piece of the repair was painted on the underside and weld through primed around the holes

Tacked in

Tacked in x4

Fully welded and cleaned up ready for paint

 

Nicely done

 

No I didn't, both sides were rotten and just filled up to meet the arch so I had no point of reference, I did however offer up the new arch and it seems to be ok. Maybe just a little modding required once I do the final fit of the arches.

 

Indeed its very hard to suss out when they rot out so badly there
I thought id let you know before you fit the arches as i was gutted when i found out later on

 

Started on the other rear arch next, the outer had been replaced very well at some point however they didn't bother fixing the rear corner edge or do a decent job of repairing the inner tub




As usual cut the rot and bodge out

Rear corner edge repair being made



Repair welded in (still need to cut a strip out around where the battery tray sits)

 

Floor extension piece wasn't salvageable so out it came

Repair piece made up

Welded in

Rear tub was repaired next, I temporarily clamped the new outer arch in place and made the repairs to match

More floor repairs to the wheel tub and middle section, also replaced the forward and rear closing panels of the tub but didn't take any pics
Surrounding floor stripped to original paint and surface rust wire wheeled then treated with jenolite

Rust treatment dry and area degreased


Painted

 

Foam seal fitted to arch tub

Arch welded on

Cleaned up and painted, not the best pic but also welded on sill under the slider

Next up I wanted to start on the A pillars, front deformation panel and a few repairs to the inner valance. Not sure if it was necessary but I welded some bracing across the door openings to keep the A pillars in the correct position. It seems that there's not much to hold them once the arch steps, part of the floor, the deformation panel and the rotten remains of the low A pillar is removed! I have seen a few nightmare panel gaps whilst browsing some repairs so hopefully this will keep them in check.

Bottom of pillar seen better days, luckily the other side is in original condition, it's rotten and needs replacing but everything is where it should be to make some nice templates from.

Marked up ready for surgery

Not to bad behind but the rust was creeping along the seam and pushing it apart, I needed access to repair behind here anyway so it was coming out regardless.