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Body Panel Replacement - A First Timer's Journey...
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orwell84
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PostPosted: Sat May 01, 2021 8:35 pm    Post subject: Re: Body Panel Replacement - A First Timer's Journey... Reply with quote

I would clear all the rust off the seam to make sure it’s sound. If it is, I would cut and weld behind it and leave the seamed part alone. With the original, the front of the hockey stick goes under that little close out panel.

If the seam is crusty, you could cut out the overlapping panel and weld a patch over it following the seam.
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Goach2
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PostPosted: Sun May 02, 2021 1:35 pm    Post subject: Re: Body Panel Replacement - A First Timer's Journey... Reply with quote

Made first cut for inner panel, separated the spots too:

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


Wondering if I should just separate the outer skin on the seam step? Or just treat rust and keep as much as possible. Not thin, but has corrosion up where the rubber mat holes are:

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Goach2
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PostPosted: Sun May 02, 2021 3:32 pm    Post subject: Re: Body Panel Replacement - A First Timer's Journey... Reply with quote

Cut out a little more skin to reveal some corrosion in the back panel:

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Still some skin to cut, but I feel like this is enough in the back to build on.

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Will treat the inside before welding. Anything I can spray up into the dogleg cavity to preserve?
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PostPosted: Sun May 02, 2021 4:22 pm    Post subject: Re: Body Panel Replacement - A First Timer's Journey... Reply with quote

Wow, I'd just replace the entire dogleg and be done, so many little potential holes and bubbles later the way you are doing it.

As for preserving the rest go to Canadian tire and buy some Rust check inner panel protectant, don't put any on until after you finish painting since it creeps out of the seams. You'll also need a shutz gun and a metre of 1/2" OD PEX tubing as well as a short bit of rubber line to connect it to the tip of the gun. Shove the tubing up into the dogleg as far as you can and pull the trigger on the gun as you withdraw slowly, prime it first since it takes a minute for the goo to make it to the business end of the tubing so it can spatter out. Park on cardboard or gravel for the next month since it'll drool out all over your fancy driveway and make a mess.

I like to use a 50/50 mix of the inner panel and undercarriage stuff (red and green labels respectively), the red label stuff is too thin by itself IMO.
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Goach2
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PostPosted: Mon May 03, 2021 6:14 pm    Post subject: Re: Body Panel Replacement - A First Timer's Journey... Reply with quote

Well, after lots of pondering I made my cuts. So far I'm happy with them, keeping as much of the original metal and bends as possible. Backside has been wire-wheeled and first treatment of rust converter to get the unreachable. Will do a few of these before paint:

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Goach2
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PostPosted: Tue May 04, 2021 5:58 pm    Post subject: Re: Body Panel Replacement - A First Timer's Journey... Reply with quote

Cut got a little wide, but happy with the fit so far:

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Last edited by Goach2 on Wed May 05, 2021 12:05 pm; edited 1 time in total
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orwell84
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PostPosted: Wed May 05, 2021 10:54 am    Post subject: Re: Body Panel Replacement - A First Timer's Journey... Reply with quote

That looks really good.
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Goach2
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PostPosted: Fri May 07, 2021 9:32 am    Post subject: Re: Body Panel Replacement - A First Timer's Journey... Reply with quote

Thanks Orwell, still learning as I go. Not sure what everyone uses to smooth out the final welds, I always seem to have the texture left. At this point I start to thin the metal, so have to be real careful:

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A little more fitting to do on the outside skin. Will clean, paint and lube inside before I close it all in.

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PostPosted: Fri May 07, 2021 10:23 am    Post subject: Re: Body Panel Replacement - A First Timer's Journey... Reply with quote

That looks good. That kind of texture is normal and in a place like that I don’t worry too much about making it beautiful, I just make sure that there are no pinholes or voids in the weld. I would rather have the weld a little proud than thin the metal around it.

I knock down the weld with the side of a cutting disc on a die grinder until it’s almost flush, then blend it in with a mini belt sander or flap wheel...something that removes material slowly. I often use a dremel in tight spaces. I often knock down the tacks as I go. Do a round of tacks, grind them down, repeat.

Even in places that are visible, I don’t really make it look perfect because I end up using at least some filler after getting it as close as I can. I still can’t do metal finishing well enough to not require filler

I think you have the right idea with that repair. You have kept all the body lines and reference points.
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PostPosted: Sat May 08, 2021 10:05 am    Post subject: Re: Body Panel Replacement - A First Timer's Journey... Reply with quote

So glad I opted for the flange/punch tool:

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Good old Rustoleum oil over the rust converter:


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PostPosted: Mon May 10, 2021 9:18 am    Post subject: Re: Body Panel Replacement - A First Timer's Journey... Reply with quote

Before I mess it up with weld-through primer...

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PostPosted: Tue May 11, 2021 4:28 pm    Post subject: Re: Body Panel Replacement - A First Timer's Journey... Reply with quote

Putting things together. I wonder how much of this crappy spotted seam I can grind off. Will have some filling to do for sure.

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PostPosted: Tue May 11, 2021 5:29 pm    Post subject: Re: Body Panel Replacement - A First Timer's Journey... Reply with quote

Forgot how nice a fresh flap disk is...

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PostPosted: Sat May 15, 2021 9:46 am    Post subject: Re: Body Panel Replacement - A First Timer's Journey... Reply with quote

Still working away at it. Got the piece I cut out back in and just some spots left to do and cleanup.

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PostPosted: Sun May 16, 2021 3:17 pm    Post subject: Re: Body Panel Replacement - A First Timer's Journey... Reply with quote

Got all my spots filled and ground, think I'm done for now on this. Next going to strip the whole dogleg and try and remember how to shoot the epoxy primer again.
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PostPosted: Sun May 16, 2021 3:18 pm    Post subject: Re: Body Panel Replacement - A First Timer's Journey... Reply with quote

Nice job!
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 04, 2024 7:58 am    Post subject: Re: Body Panel Replacement - A First Timer's Journey... Reply with quote

Small hiatus there that involved some work on a few other projects. One of those was a '67 Baja, but that's for a future thread. I'm turning attention back to the bus, as it's the ugliest vehicle in my driveway and I'd like to remedy that.

I started poking away at the driver's side rocker and found this:

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Normally this would be a bad sign, except that I added this feature about 5 years ago to pass inspection. Now it's time for the permanent solution.

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So I have to do the fender and a bit of the inner wheel well, the bottom of the 'C' pillar, the inner rocker and upper/lower outer rockers. While part surfing I came across this one piece outer rocker:

https://www.busdepot.com/9555001

Clearly my previous work won't qualify for a Barrett-Jaskson record breaker, so originality is not likely going to make a difference and this panel eliminates the nooks in the seams where rot happens. My question is, has anyone used this panel before and if so, how did the faux seams line up?
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Goach2
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 12, 2024 12:50 pm    Post subject: Re: Body Panel Replacement - A First Timer's Journey... Reply with quote

So, inner rocker removal sucks, really hard to see where all the spots are and it's typically more than just a little welded circle. Pretty much had to cut it up and grind the bits left in the weld.

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Had also patched this in the wheel well as a temp fix:

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Gone now

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This is sad, the bottom of the B pillar looks really good from the outside
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But the backside of it is rotted through
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I think I'll be able to reattached it and the good thing is, I can weld it to the lower/upper rocker as well, which is impossible to weld the two pieces together when it's on the vehicle.

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Goach2
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PostPosted: Thu Mar 14, 2024 12:50 pm    Post subject: Re: Body Panel Replacement - A First Timer's Journey... Reply with quote

Started on the inner fender, cut out a few bad spots and made up some patches with some scrap I had on hand.

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Also ordered the one-piece rocker from Bus Depot. This same one is actually used in the Haynes restoration manual, so can't be that bad?....
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PostPosted: Thu Mar 14, 2024 2:33 pm    Post subject: Re: Body Panel Replacement - A First Timer's Journey... Reply with quote

Goach2 wrote:
........Also ordered the one-piece rocker from Bus Depot. This same one is actually used in the Haynes restoration manual, so can't be that bad?....

Back when that manual was written it was the only part available, and the definition of "restoration" varies greatly.
It's quick and dirty, if you aren't worried what anyone who know's bus bodywork will think do it. But it looks like you are getting in rather deep with the rest of this job, why top it off with a cheapo part that shows?

Or are you planning on a coat of bedliner all the way up to the windows when it's done?
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