'76 VW Van

[bassnailer]

I know it aint no Deli, but I know that a few of you have some VW history in your past, and I need a little advice. My neighbour has '76 that needs a little help with the huge rust spots in the floor of his van and he was hoping that I could help him out. Now, I don't have too much experience with working on auto bodies, but I am a carpenter so I do have some understanding of structures and load-bearing type things. So, he wants to fix the big rust spots on the floor. (and they are rather large). I was thinking, after having a look at the van, that the best thing to do (cost being a factor as well) would be to mount a full piece of sheet metal over the existing floor and riveting it down into place. (after dealing with the rust spots, of course). I was thinking about using rivets because I don't have much experience with welding and I don't have access to a mig welder. So I was just wondering if I have pointed myself in the right direction here or not.

Thoughts?

[Firesong]

Make sure the rust doesn't go down into the frame.
They have what I would describe as thin dual rails coming
from the 2 main frame pieces. Those you can buy separate
to replace the ones that have rusted, then tackle the floor.

The existing floor is tack welded down place to place. If the
floor is bad enough I would consider removing the floor.
If it's in the back, locate the frame then cut it out on the sides
of the frame, then use a grinder and remove the left over
metal above the frame. Hope that makes sense.

There is no point really fixing spots then covering the floor
with another chunk. If the spots aren't that bad, fix the spots,
POR-15 the metal, prime and paint.
Im not a van of riveting with something like this. Find someone
with a welder, it doesn't have to be pretty. Unlike the side panels
which may warp with the heat the floor can be a great learning
piece :)

In the rear end, make sure that any sparks are under control
since with the older bus's the gas lines are always suspect unless
recently replaced.

Is it the whole floor, the back passenger or the front as well?
It's a job for sure, My 74 and 78 were fun but always invited rust
in to play if a person wasn't watching.
FS

[delicat]

I've done it on my '65 split window. For some reason the front passenger floor was rusted out so cut all the crap out, sealed and pop rivet a new sheet metal until I could afford to do a real job (it was either this or risking to loose my passenger!). After 12yrs of driving this bus all over north America it stayed like the day I fixed it.

I agree it'd be way better to replace with new floor panel (google Bus Depot) but if time and money are a concern than go for it.

Cheers,
Mr. D

[thedjjack]

If it has major rust, I would look for a solid van and swap the parts.

Rust on a unibody is not fun. or just do a quicky patch job.

[Aciled]

I know it aint no Deli, but I know that a few of you have some VW history in your past, and I need a little advice. My neighbour has '76 that needs a little help with the huge rust spots in the floor of his van and he was hoping that I could help him out. Now, I don't have too much experience with working on auto bodies, but I am a carpenter so I do have some understanding of structures and load-bearing type things. So, he wants to fix the big rust spots on the floor. (and they are rather large). I was thinking, after having a look at the van, that the best thing to do (cost being a factor as well) would be to mount a full piece of sheet metal over the existing floor and riveting it down into place. (after dealing with the rust spots, of course). I was thinking about using rivets because I don't have much experience with welding and I don't have access to a mig welder. So I was just wondering if I have pointed myself in the right direction here or not.

Thoughts?

Having owned a number of VWS ( 72 lowered 8 passenger bus) There are panels available on line.



My advice...stay friends with your neighbor, bow out and direct him to looking for an auto body person. Get him to check out this local site

http://www.airspeedparts.com/forums/



Geoff one of the moderators has owned and owns many.. check out these floor boards

http://www.airspeedparts.com/forums/ind ... pic=5084.0

http://www.airspeedparts.com/forums/ind ... ic=18029.0


Cheers,

EN

[TAIT]

I agree with bowing out and directing to an 'expert'.
However...should you commit, maybe try this forum here:

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/

and good luck!

Chris

[bassnailer]

Bowing out sure got my attention, but he is low on cash and rich on time, so we figured we would have a go at it. It's going to be a mid-winter project so there will be lots of time do to more research. I'll pass along all of the links to him, as well. Thanks for all of tips, links and advice.