did i buy a lemon?

[Grifter]

whilst fixing my brakes i noticed when i looked up there was quite a lot of rust under the removable side caps that run just under the rear windows, The rust is running the full lenth of the cap but doesn't seem to have gone through yet. on one side the long clip that the cap hangs on is coming away from away from the body, the rust in turn is started to move up around the rear panel window and is bubbling and lifting the window rubber! My question is this: are repairs easy to this area and are repair panels available if needed?, Can anyone recommend a member or a garage that can make these repairs in the surrey area. please!

Regards,

Rick

[fullsunian]

Mine is/was the same under the slider covers....Take the covers off and sort it out before you have rotten holes under there..like mine It is never going to be an MOT failure, only cosmetic...
IAN

[Grifter]

whats the best way to sort it out, the rust is quite rough, i have painted it with a bit of rust treatment until i know what the best course of action is! with mechanics i'm ok but hopeless with bodywork?

[peteabbott]

Sorry to hear about your rust mate but it is one of the joys of ownership. I too was OK with the mechanics but poor with bodywork. My budget would not allow for high labour costs so I bought myself a secondhand mig welder off fleabay £80 and practiced welding pea tins together rim to rim and then any metallic object got welded. Mine was rusty in the same place and the right way to go is to hack it out but as the previous comment says it is cosmetic, but it does hold the door runner on. Dont get downhearted, when I started welding I fealt she was fighting me all the way, cheap mig and a angle grinder and away ya go. Good luck.

[Grifter]

Thanks for the comments guys, They have helped to restore my faith lol. i'm not sure i would be confident with a welder, I may get brave one day but right now i think it may be beyond my capabilitys plus i have enough to worry about with the running gear at the moment. Any volenteers for a spot of body repairs would be great. The van is static at the moment so driving it anywhere is out of the question for the moment!

[weldore]

funnily enough...i put new discs on yesterday and found a hole too

[HarryMann]

Yes, its canker, so eventually needs cutting right back to clean metal (1mm thin disc on 115mm grinder easiest way) clean up with file or linisher (B&D power-file). Fabricate clean new section and weld it on in sections, but...

forum a bit short of metal bashers and painters. Bodywork biggest prob if not DIY capable... keep asking locally, maybe strike lucky, but don´t go for soemone too rough and ready

[weldore]

its well worth learning to weld with a mig..that way you can get the finish you expect and not half a dustbin lid welded in there

[Grifter]

Yes, its canker, so eventually needs cutting right back to clean metal (1mm thin disc on 115mm grinder easiest way)

Well that was the answer i really didn't want to hear lol Side panel went on ebay tonight too, that would have been well handy!

[Rozzo]

if you bought a lemon m8 so did i and many many others
it's just par for the course with these bliddy things but the pleasure outweighs the pain in the end. under those covers anything will do really but round the windows is a tough one,, really it needs the windows out but mine are currently treated and filled just to keep me rolling and camping

[shanco73]

we have all bought fairly old vans some of which both of mine included are hiding some sins of the previous owners.

Good job they were bought by T25 lovers like ourselves to show them a bit of love and tlc.

No I dont think you have bought a lemon either these vans do need a bit of love.

I too bought a MIG welder its not that hard to learn, you need a bit of time and some patience.

Good Luck.. cut cut weld weld grind grind paint paint lurvely

[toomanytoys]

Mmm.. its 26 years old..

some are better than others... unfortunately they ALL need work of some kind at some point I am afraid..

[CovKid]

Agree on getting a mig. Its quite a fun hobby actually and you soon get to grips with it.

[Grifter]

Is their any perticuler mig i should be looking at, ampage wise i mean, whats a decent one for welding panels? sorry if it's a stoopid question?

[oldiguana]

a lil'clarke 100 should do the trick owduck....the settings go very low for the thin stuff but powerful enough to weld chassis if necessary....also dont get those cheap crappy bottles of gas for £10...theyre crap....talk to your landlord in your local n get some gas off him....much cheaper option...then weld enythin in sight till you get the hang of it