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Sat Jul 19, 2014 5:36 am

What a great souvenir from our trip to California!:

Fixing this might not be a problem if we lived in California, but here in Atlanta I'm having trouble finding anyone that will take it on. I've discovered that auto body shops replace body panels; if the panel is not available, they won't even give a quote.

I found one place that said they'd try to pull it out, but were not at all enthusiastic about it. Someone else said they wouldn't try to pull it out because they'd be afraid it would cause more damage. The rear hatch closes fine now and pulling on it might misalign the rear.

I don't see how anyone could put a new panel in if I could find one. The seam welds must have been done from the inside but there's no way to get behind there.

Surely others have had this type of damage. How did you get it repaired?

Sat Jul 19, 2014 6:02 am

The panel is available, in Europe and would need to be imported.

Or the entire section needs to be cut from a donor parts van.

It can be fixed.

Wish I was closer.

Sat Jul 19, 2014 7:40 am

That can be pulled---

However, there's a point of diminishing returns in labor hours.

For the hours put into pulling & straighting that panel, you might be better off replacing it.

Who told you that the panel is non-accessable from the back side?

It is, and can be done.

Find out what a new panel replacement is going to be, and then how much to straighten it--plus refinishing & materials.

I think it may be less expensive to remove & replace it.

The biggest issue here might be replacing / duplicating the funky decals--

Sat Jul 19, 2014 8:22 am

No one has been able to find a replacement panel. Of course, they are just looking at their sources for aftermarket parts.

I took the cabinet out and there is a steel panel inside the van. How can you get to the outer panel with this in the way? Also, I was told by one body shop that their diagrams show another metal piece between the two panels. They were concerned that this piece may need replacement and could complicate any repair.

Sat Jul 19, 2014 11:40 am

Maybe ask someone here to cut that lower section off one of their parts vans and send it to you. Where do you have your van serviced, maybe they have a corner section and can recommend a body shop that could fix it.

Sat Jul 19, 2014 5:22 pm

Totally fixable. $3500-$4500.

Sat Jul 19, 2014 6:09 pm

Nuthin2It wrote:

Bummer :( my daughter did almost the same damage to my 2wd..just when I listed it "forsale"
As a reference for you..that can be pulled out..just takes time.
I have a parts van, so I cut a panel took it to a shop, weld in match paint .
even rust proof and Waxoly the cavity.
done $700USD :D...your option may be different :|
good luck..be persistent

Sat Jul 19, 2014 7:15 pm

Nuthin2It wrote: No one has been able to find a replacement panel. Of course, they are just looking at their sources for aftermarket parts.

I took the cabinet out and there is a steel panel inside the van. How can you get to the outer panel with this in the way? Also, I was told by one body shop that their diagrams show another metal piece between the two panels. They were concerned that this piece may need replacement and could complicate any repair.

Yes, there is an inner panel and outer panel.
Both are available from European vendors and VW in Germany.

Sun Jul 20, 2014 12:46 pm

well, I did almost the same thing in crested butte about 6 years ago, I slammed up against a tree on a slick off camber camping spot.
to me it looks like all the seam and body indent lines are intact, just like mine were.
I ordered up a metal bumping kit online, read, watched on youtube, read some more and went to work. I cut open the interior panel behind the closet so I could get at the back side.
after a lot of work(but a lot of learning too) I was able to get it to a body shop guy and he finished the upper part for minimal cost, I was ok with the lower section, until I just decided to make it all good on my latest body redo/paint.

In the third pic down you can see where it was at before my final finish, and after the body guy finished the upper section on the first go around...further down you can see the complete project.

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=594286&start=0

Fri Aug 01, 2014 6:25 am

I found a corner panel at VWHeritage in the UK:

http://www.vwheritage.com/vw_spares_Corner-Left-Re...172520.htm

The shipping is more than the cost of the panel, but it's very tempting for me to get it. The only problem is that it says "VW South Africa spec, vent & rear window surround different to UK & Europe." Will this even work on a US vanagon?

Fri Aug 01, 2014 6:55 am

Take a body man to the boneyard and have him/her cut the piece out of a donor van imo
Seen this done firsthand and it was remarkable

Fri Aug 01, 2014 7:19 am

Most panels / parts I import have equal or higher shipping charges than the part itself.
I just think of the combined total as the "cost" of the brand new part.

Fri Aug 01, 2014 7:36 am

I would check with Orange Bus Bob. He has one that he is parting out. http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=1659810

This member is selling 3 in Melbourne Fla. http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=1656852

A real body man could fix that. Unfortunately they are a dying breed. Plus for most body shops, there is no profit in fixing that damage using the old panel.

It appears you are located in Ga. I would think you'd have good chance of finding someone that can fix that for you. Plenty of talented people there. It might just take time to find them.

Fri Aug 01, 2014 8:08 am

A good bodyman could pulll, hammer & dolly that boo-boo right outa there.
And there would be plenty of profit for the right guy--place.

However, the panel replacement would be the lesser of an operation, depending on what kind of panel you come up with.
New or used.

You have to consider that a used panel is going to be pre-aged, it is as only as good as where it was geographically at--

Florida parts can be pre-corroded--half worn out -pre rusted.

Wed Nov 05, 2014 10:22 am

I found someone that would do the job and had it repaired. I took the advice to get a replacement panel from a junkyard and found one at Jim's VW. Really weird place; almost a Texas Chainsaw Massacre vibe. It's at the end of a rutted gravel road to the top of a steep hill near Leeds, Alabama; nothing around the repair shed but forest filled with junk VW's. You can see photos at his web site.

Here's the panel I bought:

The body shop cut an access opening inside behind the cabinet and said they had to do quite a bit of work straightening the body panel braces.

And the finished job:

Terry Kay may be happy to note that I took off the "funky" decals. They were put on the the dealership when I bought the van new; I didn't know they were going to do it but was ambivalent about it then. I think I like it better without the decals now, though. I used an eraser disk as Terry strongly recommended in another thread. It wasn't easy, but it worked surprisingly well. The hardest section was at the rear where the decal was larger. It gummed up into balls of goo that I ended up removing with acetone. I did cut through to primer a little where I removed the guard around the rear wheel well (BTW, does anyone know a source for replacement guards for the rear wheel wells?). I buffed the van after removing the decals and waxed it.

The corner panel and the panel next to it had to be repainted. The body shop also pushed out a ding in the center panel below the windshield and smoothed out and repainted a dent in the front passenger's side corner.

What with the repainted parts, later model outside mirrors, faint white stripes down the side, white top, etc., if I was a person that names his vehicle I would call this one "50 Shades of White." I think it gives it character, though.

I paid Jim's VW $200 for the body panel. The body shop charged $1,431.50 for their work. I don't know if that's a good deal or not. I didn't have much choice; it's the only place I found that would do actual body work.

Thanks for all your help. It got pretty discouraging for a while but we just got back from a 3 week camping trip and the van rewarded me by performing flawlessly.

Wed Nov 05, 2014 10:50 am

And ya know what?
The Van looks really nice minus the Sam & Dave stripes on it--looks clean.

And it sure appears like the shop did a decent job on the panel replacement--only time will tell --

Wed Nov 05, 2014 10:56 am

is this what you are looking for rear wheel well guards?

http://www.gowesty.com/ec_view_details.php?id=3966&category_id=267&category_parent_id=

Wed Nov 05, 2014 10:58 am

That came out great and I'm actually surprised it didn't cost you more. It gives me hope for body work I have in my future (mainly the rusted seam on the panel under the kitchen).

Wed Nov 05, 2014 11:06 am

NEW VANAGON... awesome :D

Wed Nov 05, 2014 11:19 am

Thank you for the update. Any more pictures from the repair?