Happy ending to an accident.

kenmag · Posted: Tue May 12, 2009 5:44 pm Post subject: Happy ending to an accident.

Thought I'd share a happy ending to a mishap past winter. It was a close call deciding whether or not to fix it, but the bus won. Anywho, here are some pictures of the repairs.
Enjoy!

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.

_________________
87GL Westy/suby ej22
87GL tintop/suby ej22
05 Golf TDI
95 jetta GLX

billwilson · Posted: Tue May 12, 2009 5:49 pm Post subject:

very coool buddy!
_________________
'84 Wolfsberg Westy
Shore Power Free since 10 Apr 09
well i was untill 01 Jun 09......
.... but only after 6 days of no sun Smile

16' rims / WBX
Fiamma, 130 watt solar, 198 amp hour batts
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and of course:
the hard mount for my Pith Helmet!

mightyart · Posted: Tue May 12, 2009 5:50 pm Post subject:

Looks good.

pgurnee · Posted: Tue May 12, 2009 6:03 pm Post subject:

Nicely done.
I got hit a couple months ago and the van looked identical to yours but on the passenger side. It was totaled by the ins co. but I was lucky and had a parts van to cut the panels out of. However I had to pay a shop to cut weld and paint mine. Yours came out looking great. I sure wish I had had the skills and time to have fixed it myself.
Paul
_________________
1988, In previous life a Wolfsburg Weekender in present life an excellent work truck.

ftp2leta · Posted: Tue May 12, 2009 6:06 pm Post subject:

Very professional! Nice job, and i mean it! Thanks for the pic

It's nice to see some nice work once in a wile.

Long live you van!

Ben
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Rhinoculips · Posted: Tue May 12, 2009 6:11 pm Post subject:

Absolutely fantastic work. It makes me feel all fuzzy inside when I see a Vanagon brought back from an accident. Applause

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“May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds.” - Edward Abbey

Click to view image

Captain Pike · Posted: Tue May 12, 2009 6:32 pm Post subject:

Cut,chop___rebuild. Nice and clean. Very straight.
Don't forget to seal the air drop vent on the "inside". Any untreated weld there can come back and get you.It's still exposed to the outside.
_________________
LEARN TO SELF RESCUE
59 Panel bus, 1966 Single cab. 73' 181. 73 Westy. 91' H6 Vanagon 3.3L.
....Bad Sneakers....

Vanagon Nut · Posted: Tue May 12, 2009 6:36 pm Post subject:

Hey that is a nice ending.

Good on ya for taking pics. Really cool to see how it's done.

Neil.
_________________
1981 Westy DIY 15º ABA
(VW Gas I4)

1988 Westy DIY 50º ABA

VE7TBN

j8 · Posted: Wed May 13, 2009 5:06 am Post subject:

Nice work! Can't tell there was a mishap, but we all know how much you love the van. Nice!
_________________
Julia
'89 2WD Westy (No end to names...)

carterzest · Posted: Wed May 13, 2009 7:26 am Post subject: Re: Happy ending to an accident.

Spinal Tap · Posted: Wed May 13, 2009 7:43 am Post subject:

Great work! And great pictures!

Question: In the 3rd picture from the bottom, how did you "blend" from the new paint to the old paint, not at a seam? It looks great, and it blows my mind that the whole panel wasn't repainted.
_________________
'85 Westy
'74 MG-B

tangojeff · Samba Member Joined: February 20, 2005 Posts: 209

Your pics are an inspiration. This week I just snagged my same color Westy's right rear wheel well on a truck bumper, while delivering furniture as a favor. D'Oh! The only seam rust on the car is in this area, so I guess it will be "cut and paste", and make lemonade, too out of a kinda sour situation. Looking for the sheet metal from a donor today.
The front corners of these Vanagons seem to be pretty tough @ times. My last Westy Weekender survived the side of a Corolla hitting it. The Toyota got its rear door pushed into the footwell and sent it to P'n'P. Vanagon's dented left front corner was pulled out and I got the whole front resprayed to go with. Another bumper came for free from a friend that was selling her gross polluter dog-Vanagon to the state of Callyfornia. I call it: "Restoration by Default'.

Christopher Schimke · Posted: Wed May 13, 2009 9:49 am Post subject:

Nice!!!
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shenan-agon · Posted: Wed May 13, 2009 9:54 am Post subject:

Looks nice! This gets me fired up to fix the nasty dent on the front corner of my van that's been there (and covered up by a bra) since I bought it. I have a welder...and some big hammers...how hard can it be? Shocked

So can you give some more details on the process? Not sure if I'm interpreting the pics correctly, but it looks like you started by trying to pull out the bashed-in areas, then decided to just cut/weld in new panels?

SteveVanB · Posted: Wed May 13, 2009 7:19 pm Post subject:

Very nice mend! Love conquers all!
_________________
91 CARAT

kenmag · Posted: Thu May 14, 2009 10:06 pm Post subject:

Thank you everyone for the compliments!!

Carterzest:
I did not report the accident to insurance in part because it was technically a single vehicle accident so it was either pay for the repairs now or through increased premiums. I was cut off by a speedy SUV in snowy conditions forcing me to brake and lose control sliding over 4 lanes into a conrete barrier. The driver of the SUV did not stop. I really think its time for me to buy a winter beater and spare the van of any more precarious situations like this.

Bill W:
Thanks for the advice. All the seams were treated with seam sealer and given a good soak of rust-proofing oil.

pgurnee:
Sorry to hear about your mishap! I know now how you feel. A very good friend of mine was a tremendous help in the repairs keeping the costs down.

shenan-agon:
Pulling panels and metal that have been pushed in relieves stress around the area to certain point. Its amazing how the metal pops in to place as you are pulling panels back to its approximate original location. The extent of the damage did not stop at the bashed-in metal, the energy of the impact transferred along the panels, bending it. But the more you work at it, pulling, cutting, pull and cut some more, eventually the straighter areas returns to 'memory', somewhat.

tangojeff:
i'm a firm believer these vans really are super tough! Any other vehicle in my situation would have been much worse off from the impacts. Let us know how your repairs go.

Spinal Tap:
I've excluded lots of other pictures that shows this but the whole rear quarter panel was prepared and sanded right to the vertical seam, then painted. Seams and abrupt bends are good places to hide overlap.
_________________
87GL Westy/suby ej22
87GL tintop/suby ej22
05 Golf TDI
95 jetta GLX


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