The Queue-Jumping T25.............

[A30Racer]

Progress on the Austin A30 & re-engining the Caterham has been slowed a little by the tribal elders all breaking down suddenly. The real progress-stopper is the dreaded VW T25/T3 camper van. It actually belongs to my step-daughter, but I recklessly volunteered to get it road-worthy for her. 
The story so far is that it is a 1987, Holdsworth conversion, 1.9litre wasser-boxer (liquid cooled, flat 4). It drove onto the trailer when we bought it, but it was clear quite soon that the engine was toast (dis-similar metal corrosion between the head & barrel faces meant the coolant wanted to spread itself all over the floor rather than do it's intended duties). A good used engine has been fitted and runs ok. Started attacking the crusty bits on the bodywork (surprising well preserved considering the gaps in the window rubbers). Spent yesterday remaking the rear of the rh sill and wheelarch. I can do more progress updates if the other members of this illustrious forum would like.........

[Nick Jones]

I’m assuming that the T25 itself isn’t considered one of the tribal elders?

Certainly easier to repair!

Sill and arch repair look good. The last pic…… I have no idea what it is/was…..

[A30Racer]

The last pic is the gasket face of the coolant jacket which butts up to the head. They use compression rings for gases and a rubber gasket to hold the coolant back against the head face. Corroded to a sharp edge, so never likely to seal. The brown things are the liners. Engine not an economical repair, so we replaced it with better one.

Done a bit more on the rh rear today, but run out of welding gas. Went in before taking any photos.

You are indeed correct that this is an easier repair than the tribal elders!

[RogerH]

Keep posting.

Body repairs and leaky engines are always worth reading about.

 

Roger

[Nick Jones]

On 12/27/2023 at 5:50 PM, A30Racer said:

The last pic is the gasket face of the coolant jacket which butts up to the head.

Ah….. that is indeed completely done….

Lord H is very pleased with his Subaru conversion  (yes , I know that is above and beyond)

[A30Racer]

After 9 weeks away tending to the various broken tribal elders, I managed to get a few hours working on the dreaded VW T25. I have been trying to work my way along the RH sill and front wheel arch. The seat belt mount just tore out of the arch when I tried to undo it, which was a bit un-nerving! It all seems a bit stronger now the wheel arch is not crusty any more!

[Nick Jones]

 They do rot well don’t they…..

Nicely done 

[A30Racer]

It's corrosion isn't actually that bad, but the design is a bit strange. There are pipes and "extras" all over the thing to cover up for design evolvement. As an example, there are two expansion tanks under the front arches to accommodate for the dish in the centre line of the fuel tank (that gives room for the handbrake and the gear linkage).  There are 3 pipes to each of these expansion tanks. Also there are 4 big coolant pipes from front to rear (radiator and heater) to take into account the change from air to liquid cooling. Add to that a hasty camper conversion and 37 years of bodgery and you have a pretty toxic scenario!!

[A30Racer]

Managed to move this on a bit over the bank holiday weekend, in between a 400 mile drive to mid-Wales to visit a hospital-bound tribal elder. Cut out the driver's step and welded in a new one, along with repairing the bottom of the arch some previous comedian had attached with one blob of weld and a trowel full off filler........

[Nick Jones]

That’s a big gap filled 

Looks like yet another hold inboard though…… surely must be running out of holes?

[A30Racer]

I'm pleased to report that is the old step holding up the rubber mat & not another hole!

[thebrookster]

12 hours ago, A30Racer said:

I'm pleased to report that is the old step holding up the rubber mat & not another hole!

That's deceptive lol 

[PeteStupps]

On 12/27/2023 at 10:55 AM, A30Racer said:

Looks simple when you just see a couple of photos! 

Forgive the numpty question, but when you weld in a patch like this, what do you do to prevent / slow down future corrosion behind the panel? 

I've got rust stains seeping out of my 1300fwd sills, and suppose that the previous repairer didn't do enough (or possibly anything) after patching up similar holes to the one you tackled above.

[zetecspit]

2 minutes ago, PeteStupps said:

Looks simple when you just see a couple of photos! 

Forgive the numpty question, but when you weld in a patch like this, what do you do to prevent / slow down future corrosion behind the panel? 

I've got rust stains seeping out of my 1300fwd sills, and suppose that the previous repairer didn't do enough (or possibly anything) after patching up similar holes to the one you tackled above.

Pete, when I have done similar type repairs, if accessable I will grind back and seam seal, then paint and underbody wax. If inaccessable, I spray a thin wax (dynax s50, or dinitrol equivelent) in the area to hopefully soak into teh pits/seams etc, then shortly after a squirt of underbody wax seal to help geep water out of the repair. Dynax UB or again the Dinitrol equivelent. Very tough stuff, and works well. 

[A30Racer]

It is a hard call to get all the bare metal in the inaccessible areas. My plan was to spray some wax stuff in all the bits I can get to (after painting) & do regular squirts of said wax after to prevent the bran flake cancer spreading again. There are various access holes in this VW, but drilling holes & then plugging them after wax.