The Middle Way - Rolling Resto

Discussion in 'Restorations' started by Max Davies, Jun 2, 2021.

  1. So I was here back in October 2018 https://thelatebay.com/index.php?threads/rust-on-my-mind.79095/page-2

    That winter I did put the van up on axle stands in the garage and begin to wire brush the underside but I didn't get that far.

    Earlier this year my cousin started a classic car company with an engineer friend and I now have access to a ramp and, more importantly, knowledge and experience of welding and restoring classic cars.

    So I'm going to start to do what the latter suggestions in that thread above made which was to wire brush it, treat then paint it and do the welding piece by piece.

    I'll post some photos as I go. It's not going to be super exciting for anyone other than me I suspect.
     
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  3. Grim work [​IMG]


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  4. Rear wheel arches [​IMG]
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  5. Thinking vatcan rust treatment then hammerite waxoyl under seal


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  6. mikedjames

    mikedjames Supporter

    The holes in the sills, and the presence of belly pans .. hmm.

    The surface rust elsewhere - at least you can see it, and wire wheel it and then treat the pitted bits. A lot of it is quite good, as in there is metal there and just needs the surface cleaned up.

    Although it was done to my bus, I might forget the underseal, and go for stone chip or similar with paint on top - then you can see the rust coming back ...
     
    Last edited: Jun 3, 2021
  7. Thanks Mike. I know what you mean about the sills and belly pans. I did post some photos taken through the holes into the belly pans in the post I referred to in my original post above. I haven't looked through them again actually but I think they looked pretty good back in 2018.

    Once I have treated and painted everything I can access I will be back on here looking for some good intel as to how to best waxoyl all the cavities. I seem to remember there is a diagram that I have seen in the past.

    I actually had a can of black rustoleum that I planned to use. They had the hammerite underseal at the unit and I just thought I'd just go ahead and use it. I've put it on reasonably thin and will now have a reasonably good grip on the areas I need to keep an eye on. I'm going to go and try and find that tin of rustoleum in the garage now and use it on the rear wheel arches so I can keep an eye on all that surface rust in the roaring 20s.
     
  8. Zed

    Zed Gradually getting grumpier

    On a typical UK bus those sill holes would have started inside and the whole sill held together b paint. Those look like they started life as paint chips to me, started outside. That's a good thing.

    The belly pan photos are of the parts that survive well above the pans. What you need to see is everywhere it joins to the chassis/sill/outriggers. You can see some of that if you remove the bolt on centre pan and point you phone camera over the top of the main chassis. Trial and error.
     
  9. I’ll have a go and post any evidence


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  10. Zed

    Zed Gradually getting grumpier

    I suspect you'll find that like the rest of the underside it's in great condition for it's age.
     
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  11. Feels a little agricultural but I hope it will do the job
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    Rust a little worse than hoped behind off side sill. Will need repair to inner sill and belly pan.

    Decent wheel arch put on about 6-8 years ago not properly sealed and welded with gaps of about 1cm along the top. Spent all afternoon trying to get it off but it’s been welded on soooo firmly.

    Hope to get this side finished this week.

    I won’t be quick to complain about rust repairs costing time and money in future..


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  14. Can you get a repair panel for the top of the inside of the b post below the door mechanism catch? I can’t seem to find one.


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  15. JamesLey

    JamesLey Sponsor

    Not that I’m aware of. You can buy the whole inner but that’s probably overkill. Any pics? Your best bet is to make some neat repairs.


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  16. Thanks James. I’m on about that area with the holes in the door post best shown in the first photo above.

    Corrosion around the area where the pillar/seat belt anchor/wheel arch will be and wondering if they do the pillar? Is that inner b-pillar?


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  17. Zed

    Zed Gradually getting grumpier

    Are you actually thinking about how you'll replace the parts you're cutting out? You're going to struggle. I see you have made it so that if you were building like VW it would be neat, but you will not be able to do that because of the order.
    How are you going to attach the outer sill to the panel above? Inside, that's under the floor.
    How are going to weld the b outer to that same panel?
    Why have you removed so much good stuff? Case in point is that b post.
    You appear to be grinder happy, chopping out large chunks that could have been easily repaired.
    Good luck with it.
     
  18. JamesLey

    JamesLey Sponsor

    Oh I see which bit you're talking about now, I'd say that's part of the outer B pillar (the inner is the section you see from inside the van).

    To my knowledge that's not available. On mine I managed to repair the driver's side with a cut that came off a wheel tub donor section:
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    I had to make up some repairs from scratch for the passenger side (which I don't seem to have any pictures of!).
     
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  19. I admit that I did something similar years ago repairing my b-post; cutting out too much metal because I didn’t realize how it was constructed. It can be quite a Baclava of sheet metal. I made a snarl of it years ago and although solid, I recently redid it along with some other old repairs I wanted to tidy up.

    I ended up welding it up in small sections. I only attempted to retain visible factory features. I got rid of the seam that lets in water. Got to find the pics.

    One of the biggest mistakes I made as a beginner was cutting out too much metal, but it still is a hard decision sometimes...spot repair or whole assembly. There’s no substitute for experience.
     
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  20. The other thing to consider is making a plan on which panels you are going to repair.

    For example, your inner sills look as though they need some work so I would take the side belly pan off to determine the scale of work, repair or replace to produce a solid foundation and then tackle the B and C posts because they locate onto the sill.

    Also consider getting 'Volkswagen Bay Transporter Restoration Manual' published by Haynes- it is so useful.

    Finally, don't cut out more than you need at a time because you want the bus to retain as much rigidity as possible
     
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