The Lankavagon

[Plasticman]

Well,front edge set in and welded. i did check the wing fit and its fine

ive lightly run a disc over it, note i have made the fit and weld in such a way so that the weld itself is just below the surface of the Post, this will enable it to be finished easily as it's seen

little fillet part made and in place

welded

now the inner part of the step

welded

i have added a stepped swage so the outer wing/arch will then sit flush with it as OE


first clean off

just for good measure the undersides are done as well

fits ok

so a little more detail work here then on it goes

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[Aidan]

is that genuine arch or one of the new half price better quality non genuine ones ?

[Plasticman]

genuine
mm
though if you give gary a shout he has some that you speak of

[restoman]

Fitted a rear one last week to a doka & went well,doing other side too
So looking forward to see if fronts here are as good
Hope so, just ordered a pair of fronts for another one already!

[Plasticman]

i may have to get some whilst i have some oe here and can compare, whos the cheapest source at the mo
mm

[bluebus1987]

Are these them.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/161596420621? ... EBIDX%3AIT" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
if so I'll buy one.

[Plasticman]

Well, oh the part above looks like one so short of holding it i can be no more certain
got the little blaster out to finish the B post

and second coat of 'product'

happy with this

new arch is drilled and prepped, i'm pointing here to the holes for spotting through, note they are near to the outer side of the wing , reason is ,if you just take the lazy option and merely tack the arch at the edge of the lip then the seam will always move, short of either bonding or tacking on the outside of the seam as is often done, you wont get it secured any better,

this is just for gap checking ,as you can see the arch needs to go up a touch

better idea here

welded through here and then brazed as per OE

not the best of picks , I will take another tomoz

quick check of the door gap and alignment prior to welding up

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[Plasticman]

Well, the slight sooting you can see around the welds is from the 'product' burning

this area is welded as per OE and i shall after sanding of then braze it as OE,

i have used a few more spots and see no issue with this and it gives a bit more strength as well and once a disc has been over them it will be fine,

same with the front step here, the very front part will be brazed and if needed leaded as well as i do not want filler in this area for obvious reasons

gappage will be fine once cleaned up and we know there is no rust lurking in there which is one of the reasons i usually remove the rear part of arches to rectify this before re-welding them as often this is the only poor area on an otherwise good OE arch

so will clean it up and after a few brazes etc will treat it all

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[Plasticman]

Well took most of the afternoon to finish of detailing this lot, started with brazing a few areas as required
ignore the odd colored areas as this is flux glaze residue and will be removed

important rear area

quick sand over

the new lower part of the inner sill is shown here as a flat piece

which i now fold over to replicate the OE, it just finishes it and looks better

added the jp bracket

under side of the usual inner arch rot

frlom another angle

underside of the step


topside




inner sill front edge, you can just make out the added part to the outrigger, importantly the chassis number is undisturbed

rest of the inner like new again

so this will protect things whilst i do the other areas, i will repair the spats and then drill the mounting holes prior to paint,happy that so far zero filler will be required
the visible seams etc will of course be covered with a strip of seam sealer
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[Plasticman]

Well, most of the arch has been cut away and i open up the seam a little to aid removing a small amount

this is then cut of just shy of the inner face of the new arch

spots located prior to drilling out

removed

if you wanted to be slack you could just grind this a bit flat and tack the new arch to the remnant of the old one an d live with a big seam or use the gap to weld it up as often seen, but honest this way is neater and nicer
arch now resting between the remainder of the old inner and the wing itself

a few issues at the rear

so out with the blaster



i have done the whole area whilst at it but the rotten bit will be cut out

here

treated


so thats stabilized for now.
this will need whipping off

here item 'A' is the inside view of the rear jp/arm reinforcing plate and 'B' is the inner wing skin that mount to it and is spotted,

there is a small area of rot in the corner to cut out and a little in the rear bulkhead which will show when i have removed the sound deadening, here's a pick of the other side to put it in context

not much writing as the picks are a self explanatory i think
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[Robsey]

In my naivity, I hadn't thought about brazing around the front steps and arch seams.
But it does make perfectly good sense.

Obviously you have many years of experience with bodywork etc,
So for us less experienced (read as total novice but with enthusiasm and some previous fabrication / bench fitting / welding / brazing experience),
Is there a Thatcham methods manual for the T25?

I have seen many for ordinary vw cars, but none for commercial vehicles.
I have one for my Cavalier mk3, which is invaluable for identifying how to join / repair various panels to an approved standard..
After all - if it is worth doing, it is worth doing properly.

[Plasticman]

well cant help in that respect but as you say having done this for enough years you find where to cut etc, any hows i where i can always cut and join as per OE whichever marque. braze was used by vw in many places as mig cannot achieve the join or should i say it would be near impossible to then finish the lump of migging there are other reasons as well .
ive probably covered most of the repairs and 'let ins',that you are likely to come across so just do a search
this was the tell tale

rot out


from the arch side,this will be made in two parts and then spotted together

first part let in

this better shows the order of build,and the next part will then sit flush with the adjacent area

like so

a quick run over with a disc to tidy the welds etc

underside

so just the spot to do tomoz
wheel off and somethings not right


i have a box full of these that i tigged up last year so

Hmmm

no good doing the pretty stuff if all the under body bits are sick...............
mm

[Mark Foss]

Mike just out of curiosity what kind of blaster do you use to prep/clean metal with and does it use/need a powerful compressor to get good results?

Cheers Mark.

[Plasticman]

for little bits as i go along then one of the cheapo ones like a spray gun is fine,and a small compressor will be ok as your not going at it for minutes on end, just use fresh new unused blast medium not reswept muck
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[Mark Foss]

Thanks Mike