Patina Loco - lowlight facelift a'go go :)

ns rear arch done yesterday. Decided to use the whole panel as when I ground out all the filler the old arch was a mixture of repair panels. Cut it out and found that someone had removed the lower part of the inner arch completely. Bit of brainstorming and then had a rare flash of brilliance....i used the section of old outer arch to make a new inner since the profile is the same. Saved me hours of fabrication and went in beautifully welded the outer arch in and save a couple of minor waves in the panel from heat, its not too bad....just needs skimming now front wheelarch today.....should be interesting!

 

Excelent job with the inner arch, tricky shapes at the ends.

 

It would be kind to the next restorer in 10 years time if you didn't quite use the whole panel, then next time there'll still be something to weld to instead of a gap.

 

wish I'd thought of it when I was doing the other side lol would've saved me hours of work fabricating stuff

 

ladies and gentlemen.....i give you.....Zero Budget Whitewall tyres! Lol









buffed the lettering etc off then some careful masking and applied satin acrylic paint with a roller....grand total of zero pounds since I already had all the stuff and it looks pretty decent all things considered lol

 

Way cool. do that three more times and you're away. I'm liking the renos' as well.

 

I've done the front two.....was getting a bit late in the day for the back ones so that's a thing for another day lol
semi finished the filler flap recess today too....made a wood plug copy of the filler flap, sat it in the recess and then filled around it....quick rub down and its a perfect profile for the flap lol

 

Looking great!! Love the engine lid too!!

 

It was pointed out to me today that you've missed a trick - as your inners were gone you could have left them butchered and fitted early outer arches.

 

dammit! I didn't think early arches were available!?

 

Of course they are - Klokker just like your late ones, but with the early small flare.

 

I read somewhere they were NLA so I didn't think to look lol probably no bad thing....i only have about ten mm clearance between the tyre and the late arch lip so it would've been pretty tight with a small flare. Started cutting out the front arch skin this morning.....looks like the tub is gonna need rebuilding in the wheelarch from the angled pressing out to the skin coz its rotted out.....more work lol

 

I know you're on a budget, but I'd give serious consideration to replacing the whole tub, they're not so expensive as you might think, they come complete with the seat belt anchor.

 

finished. Just needs the gap between the quarter panel skin and the recess sealing in with tiger seal, and a fixing plug for the bottom fuel flap screw coz somehow I've managed to lose one....arse! @Alex VW Heritage mk1 caddy filler, don't suppose you stock the little square plastic screw plugs for the flap hinge mountings? *EDIT* Don't worry...it turned up when I was sweeping the back of the van out

 

yeah it would probably make life easier, but its only gone on the outer ridge so its repairable with a bit of time, and i've already spent way too much on it recently.....if the mrs knew how over budget i am she'd have a fit!

 

So the big pile of repair panels is pretty much gone, the barrow for scrap is pretty much full and I only have the front arch, roof, load floor repairs and early front bumper to sort out now and that's the welding portion of this mini resto done.......cant quite believe how much I've got through in such a short space of time!
I've decided to skim the whole bus below the waist line and try and get it as straight as poss, as while my welding has become pretty decent now, there's some distortion in the sides....not terrible but enough, so I think if I skim the whole side, both sides it'll ultimately be less work than trying to blend it out locally. Gonna take a lot of filler and time, but a mate has volunteered his help so that'll halve it, although I'm super fussy where shaping is concerned so I dunno if that's gonna be a help or hindrance lol

 

Hello there, just wondering how much and where you order the brothernumberone resto book please? Many thanks, john

 

I got it from the Wordery website.....was about fifteen quid as I recall, and worth every penny