Unfortunately, while I was sealing up underneath the front arch the other company fitted, after removing the water trap bit you don't need on an original bay, that they'd fitted in error, a hole was exposed in the bulkhead and there is carpet the other side. While looking at that I lifted the wood floor and there's a ruddy great hole in the cargo floor above where there should be a top hat above the front outrigger. From underneath you'd never know, but our restorers did and left it.
You may wonder why I didn't spot that earlier but the bulkhead was capeted and the floor down. You can see the floor looks good before the hole. The other side has been plated over to hide everything. Not an unusual repair, but you're supposed to rebuild all the Marmite behind it first.
Ouch! As hard as it is, that's gonna cost the owners more unexpected coin to rectify. I genuinely don't like people that much!!
Inner arch under the seat belt point there's an extra web that won't even fit in if you wanted without extreme buggery because we have the bulgy bit and Brazi bays don't. plus is collects mud and water, you can't treat behind it properly etc etc. OUr buses never had this part, it's held by half a dozen spot welds so easy enough to remove.
Good work steve Something else I realised with those Brazilian arches a few years ago is that they didn't dip them once assembled like the original vans, so there's no protection on the metal between the seam or inside, just transit primer on the outside. they rust even quicker. Thank god for dinitrol
Do you mean the black ones or the grey ones? Or both? No matter I'd cavity wax them anyway. They don't rust quicker IMO I've seen Dean Butlers 4 years after I fitted them and they look the same as the day they left, not a single rust stain seeping out anywhere. And another bus I saw after 4-5 years and was the same - god as the day it was done. It's reassuring to see them after a few years and quite rare for me.
I have a bay in at the mo for sills etc, I fitted genuine Brazil arches 12 years or so ago and they still look perfect, I'm very pleased and impressed
Ah, well sometimes you can do your best and stuff still goes rusty, but these arches are beautiful sturdy things and a pleasure to fit too. Sometimes customers have to be told they must have them so it's pleasing to see that's not misplaced "advice".
The Brasil bumpers and overriders I fitted a year ago were 'painted' with actual paint. Within three winter months most of it had flaked off and they were hanging with rust lol
If in doubt about the coating on your parts, have a little sand and see what happens. Or get the thinners out - transit paint washes off like dirt.
Yeah it was dubious quality at best. Was gloss white though, not the usual matt black transit coat but it came off in great big flakes and didnt seem to have any primer under it
I had some bumpers from heritage recently which were Europa style made by a company called wolf I think, they said 'comes primed' in the description, so I stupidly assumed it meant ready for paint, after all, why bother to say that, they don't for other panels. Got them painted and noticed that when I bolted them on the paint lifted off, turns out it was just transit primer, had to get them shot blasted, etched and then primed and painted again I checked last week and they've changed the wording in the description on the website so it wasn't just me.
They shouldn't rust quicker, but that thin layer of factory zinc must provide a bit of extra protection. Saw a van last week I did three and a half years ago, one arch is fine, the other had started to bubble I've always rustproofed, but wondered if I'd forgot to do that one. Plus I used to use waxoyl which is good for box sections but less good for seams, even if you heat it right up it solidifies before it seeps. The new arches in two parts are great because you can paint them inside before assembly, then pump some dinitrol in to cover the exposed bits of metal in the seams.
