My VERY RUSTY VW T25 Camper Van Project

[Robsey]

Well this morning, I stripped the wiper linkage from the pivots, so that I could clean them up,
Rust treat, primer and paint them up ready for reassembly.



Using my outdoor workbench of course.

Then I did the same for the heater controls.



And just for the sake of it,
Here is a VW-esque wiring diagram for the PWM blower motor set up.



Ooh and almost forgot - the radiator fan does indeed run when connected to a battery.
A bit noisy, but I assumed that it was simply either sucking a lot of air through the cowling, or the fact that there are no rubber vibration damper rubbers between the motor and the cowling... and it was sat on my local authority issued plastic workbench.
Either way, there was no excessive vibration through the motor casing.

[btcctroy]

What vehicle are those parts you painted for?
obviously not for the van because the colour is all wrong.

[Robsey]

It is closer to medium blue than patina orange.
Besides an exact colour match would look a bit too pedantic.
And I do not have any black - which would be the obvious choice.
------------------------
And we are not having "Padparadsha Pink" to match your eye shadow.
And that is final!!
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All now reassembled - nice and smooth movement from the wiper assembly and the heater control assembly.

[Envoy CDX]

It'll keep things sharp and bright!

[Robsey]

Week Nineteen.

With the arrival of a new inner sill, it was decreed that I would cut out the old one, which was completely rotten.

Here is what is left of the three sill layers.
(Under the sliding door aperture).



The rear end was buried inside a box type enclosure against the rear jacking point.

I managed to get the sill off, but I have several hours of cutting and grinding to do, to clear the the old inner sill and intermediate floor skin away from the door step.
This will provide clean metal for the new sill to be welded onto.



To improve visibility and access, the rusty sliding door was removed.
---------------------------------

Troy spent about an hour finishing off the bottom B post, and then trial fitted the wheel arch.



There are still some tweaks to get it all to sit right.

[cavalier1990]

A lot of hefty work getting done there my man, can start to see it all taking shape now. LIking that catching blue colour you painted the wiper mount panels. Are you just grinding off the inner sill or any spot weld drilling going on, not that I'm anal about spot weld drilling now, instead of grinding off old metal!

The tweaking part takes me back to when I was fitting the rear quarter on my senator, I had to line it up without any special tools or guides, so I was moving it a wee 1/2 inch that way, the other way, close boot, uh still needs to go that way a bit, oh no back the other way a smidgen (Excuse the dirty inuendos), took about an hour to get it just right before welding!

[btcctroy]

Are you just grinding off the inner sill or any spot weld drilling going on, not that I'm anal about spot weld drilling now, instead of grinding off old metal!

As the spot welds are impossible to find rob's going to have to grind them out. it needs to be perfect clean steel otherwise the spot welder will not work.
It's coming on, Robs worked very hard on it!

[Robsey]

Cheers Troy, thanks for the encouragement.

That underside is so crusty in patches, that the metal has swollen with corrosion.
Some metal will simply flake or chip away,
Other bits simply lets go when I knock a chisel between the layers.
And then some of the spot welds are solid and need grinding down.

I suspect my next two weeks will be spent cleaning up that underbody / sill area.

Which is good, because it means that I am not being a drain on Troy's time that should go on his better paid work.

[btcctroy]

doing something is progress, keep chipping away your get there

[ilovedmymantas]

…."That underside is so crusty in patches, that the metal has swollen with corrosion.
Some metal will simply flake or chip away,
Other bits simply lets go when I knock a chisel between the layers.
And then some of the spot welds are solid and need grinding down.

I suspect my next two weeks will be spent cleaning up that underbody / sill area."

Don't sound so despondent!

You've made a lot of progress and it's worth doing right. It's good to have a focus in the current circumstances

Which is good, because it means that I am not being a drain on Troy's time that should go on his better paid work.

I'm sure he doesn't see it like that, you two seem to have a great rapport.

[cavalier1990]

Are you just grinding off the inner sill or any spot weld drilling going on, not that I'm anal about spot weld drilling now, instead of grinding off old metal!

As the spot welds are impossible to find rob's going to have to grind them out. it needs to be perfect clean steel otherwise the spot welder will not work.
It's coming on, Robs worked very hard on it!

I know what you mean, they are hard to find sometimes on rusty bits. Sounds like you've got a grafter working on it there!

[Robsey]

Do I come across as dispondent.?
Troy says that I never look very happy about the job.
I suppose it is my middle-aged transition to grumpy old git - lol

I admit that I am not an excitable chap - not emotional at all really.

I do get quite overwhelmed by the scale of work to do, so I rely heavily on Troy to give me guidance as to where to start, and to coordinate the tasks.

Overall though, I am enjoying the work, which is amazing as I have no patience to do things properly... but I am learning to change my way of thinking.

As for our relationship...
Troy likes good old fashioned banter, heavily tinted with sarcasm.

Me - well I am just very easy going, and can get on with most people.
But I have a huge conscience... hence my ongoing concerns of taking up Troy's time.

[Envoy CDX]

It's all great

[btcctroy]

But I have a huge conscience... hence my ongoing concerns of taking up Troy's time.

easily fixed 60K

[Robsey]

For 60k, I could buy 5 vans in mint condition - lol.

Or were you meaning that you will pay me?
Hmm, I like that idea - lol

[btcctroy]

For 60k, I could buy 5 vans in mint condition - lol.

Or were you meaning that you will pay me?
Hmm, I like that idea - lol

of course i'll pay you, nobody is happy with working for free anymore.

[Robsey]

Week 20...

The grinding and peeling off of the last remnants of the inner sill and floor panel edge strip was finally completed -
A week earlier than I expected.

Nothing worth photographing, so no pictures.

Goes to show that progress can be made if I just focus and get on with it.
--------------------------------
Part way through the evening, I needed a break from the van floor, so I moved my attention to the rollers and locking parts of the sliding door for about an hour.

Main middle roller


Bottom Roller




All very scanky and rusty.
Major clean and overhaul needed.

Rear catch mechanism.


After watching a youtube video, I realised that my main remote lock unit was broken.
A common weak spot on the early doors.

This will need cleaning and welding.




Lots of degreaser / parrafin / white spirit will be needed, before painting and reassembly of all the separate parts - I think.

All bagged up ready for stripping and cleaning this weekend.

[btcctroy]

never noticed you removed all that.

thought you were asleep under the van, didnt see you move all night

[Robsey]

You were so engrossed with the Capri roof, that you did not notice much else.
Thankfully getting very close to completion.

Did you not see the yellow and black clinical waste bag that I left with at the end of the evening.
It was full of those parts, and the dash pod cover.
A bit of homework.

[btcctroy]

You were so engrossed with the Capri roof, that you did not notice much else.
Thankfully getting very close to completion.

Did you not see the yellow and black clinical waste bag that I left with at the end of the evening.
It was full of those parts, and the dash pod cover.
A bit of homework.

i didn't see anything, thought you came for a kip

[Robsey]

Here we go -
Some before and after shots.
Amazingly it was mainly just filth and surface corrosion, so easily stripped and cleaned - sort of.

1 - Bottom arm and rollers.
Before -
Caked in red paint (?) and bathroom sealant (?)



After -
Much cleaner. Not perfect but serviceable.
Will need new rollers and a circlip.



The middle runner and sliding-door hinge.

Before -
The part with all the hooks and roller on was seized solid.
The roller also had a chunk of runner rail rusted into it's grooved profile.



After -
In much better overall fettle, and the roller mount now pivots freely.
That roller still needs replacing... May as well replace the nylon guide block too.



Sliding-door lock remote mechanism.
Before -
Just generally dirty, and that broken plate.



After -
Not much to get access to.
Mainly needs a new lock pin and that metalwork welding.





And finally the locking catch mechanism.
Blimey that spring is fierce.
Before -
As with everything else - mainly just filthy and surface corrosion.



After -
Cleaned and checked over...

[btcctroy]

are they parts you can get or do you want to make on the lathe?

[Robsey]

All the rollers are still available.

What I will need is for the remote bracket to be welded back together.

[btcctroy]

thats not a problem is it lol

[Robsey]

Nope, not a problem.
And there is plenty of time before we will get round to refitting or replacing the cargo door - along with the rollers and locks.
Either repairing the current one, or locating a reasonably priced decent condition door.