Welding new panels

O

Ohhhh

0
Took the van to the welder yestaday and he asked us to get the lower side panels first before taking it back.
I have a mig welder and a soupsong of experience (many years ago though)- is it just a question of cutting off the old and butt welding the new ones in ?
I have to do both sides and need to save some money on the garage quote so would rather farm out the complex stuff and try my hand if it's straightforward.

Has any non-welders tried it and how did they get on ?

Happy for any advice

Thanks

O
 
The fluted side panels are a bit tricky [V] The upper side, floor and lower side are all spot welded together. If you just attack the seam with a grinder, the top falls off your van [xx(]
If there is enough of the fluted panel, below the seam, you can leave about an inch on. Then joggle the new panel to fit behind and either plug weld or mig and grind the seam.
Otherwise, take most of the fluted panel off, then carefully cut away the remainder, vertically from underneath, making sure you don't cut into the upper side.


IMG-2.jpg


Try to keep the heat away from the upper side, as the slightest heat causes distortion [xx(]

Good luck ;)
 
Just gone through the twenty pages of Detector Van saga - reads like a Haynes manual ( with additional commentary ).
The welder we found was worried about distortion as well.
I think looking at the Dect. van I may put my efforts into rubbing down the brush painted paintwork, fix the mechanics and get him to do the welding - as I want it to be our daily driver I don't want to get into having it out of action for long periods of time and if I cut off the fluted panel to be met with swiss cheese he would be better placed to fix it.

In the words of Eastwood - Man's got to know his limitations
 
take martins good advice these vans are not the easiest of vans to work on, because like he said there are three or four panels which are all spot welded together and support each other in some way or another, one faulse move and you could end up in a mess. but there is some good news i an help you out with the panels situation, if you dont feel very confident i have a mate who is going into buisness with me and hes a sh-t hot welder, im sure we would love to take it on for you.:p;)
 
Thanks Woolfy - It's a tough call because on the one hand the thought of just handing it over and getting it back finished has a big appeal and coming up to winter we would not be using it fully anyway.
Are you able to give any indication of likely price ( difficult I know but ball park would be helpful )
From the look of it the bottom 2-3 inches needs replacing all the way round.
An alternative is to get the local guy to do it panel by panel hoping that what he learns on one side he can apply to the other.
 
i would really need to have a look at the condition of the van first to see what panels you deffinatly needed, because some may only need repairing in places,if you needed all of the lower panels all the way around the van, and i do mean all of them ,inner cills and outter panels then it can soon mount up just for the panels alone. your best bet would be to take some good photos of the van of all the panels and email them to me @ [email protected]. and i can have a look at them for you. and get back to you with a price for the work. i hope this is of help.:p;)
 
Thanks - will do probally by the weekend at this rate

Are you going to the New Forest meet as the family and van will be there ?

O
 
quote:
Originally posted by Ohhhh

In the words of Eastwood - Man's got to know his limitations




[:X][:X][:X]
woman on the other hand is daft enough to try it herself:I:D (luckily with simpler panels to replace;))

that is a great drawing Martin, really helpful when there's not a lot left to go on, it is a tangled web they wove under there - rust trap city[:0]

Good luck Owen - looking forward to finding out how it goes, hope not too swiss cheesy underneath:)

Bessie - four star commerdation
 
yes i will be there for one or two nights just not in a camper as mines off the road. so it looks like i will be sleeping in( pankys )[:0]:ptent, or in the front of me works van.
 
lol not in the same tent as last time surely?

if you're sleeping in the van remember to leave enough room in the back.. that or something soft to stuff in the gap between the seats :D
 
The very same, I'll have you know that tent has been tested in the extreme environment of Martins camping field, Church Bay(twice)and, of course, Hatton[^]. Just been waxing me guy ropes for the New Forrest:I. Woolfy - mate - stick to your van, only enough room for me and me I-pod.

'Harvey the RV'
 
'have my commer washed & brought to my tent'[:X]

Could be Martins' tent - just need a few scatter cushions dotted about the place;)

Bessie - four star commerdation
 
Going back to this picture -

IMG-2.jpg


It looks as though Commer went out of there way to make this a swine to repair!

Those of you who have tackled these repairs, would you say that it is also usual for the floor to also have rotted away where it meets the fluted section and inner sill? AND if you do have to end up having to replace sections of upper side, floor, flute and inner sill, do you have to brace the van temporarily in some kind of way first?

I guess that if you're just replacing the fluted section from where it meets the upper panel, you'd spot weld from above?? (No room to from below?) Sorry for all the Q's, but I'm sure you'll all welcome another Commer on to the scene!
 
In very severe cases, the floor has rotted as well [xx(] You would have to brace the van, to retain the shape.
If the floor and side panel are still good, you can cut off the old fluted cill without opening the seam. Then stitch weld the new one along the seam. That way, you don't disturb the integrity of the floor/side panel seam. It is very difficult not to distort the side panel, during this operation.
The last time I did the full monty, I spot welded the side panel and cill together first, then plug welded them to the floor. This way, I was able to align the visable seam, before welding to the van ;)
 
I get yah, thanks for your help, much appreciated! Bar the bracing it almost sounds easier to do the 'fully monty' as you'll only be plug/spot welding the panels, reducing the risk of distortion. With rust in this area, I think it's probably wise to assume that it's worse than it looks; horrible job regardless! [}:)]
 
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