One of the first things that i noticed when i bought the van was the condition of the strut mounts on the tailgate, i could tell they were corroded but the way they are set in and the amount of filler and paint etc.. i wasn’t sure how much of it was rust / rot and how much was just the weird positioning of the brackets, so after stripping it all back and cutting out the rot i did a bit of research and lots of looking at other vans it was time i tackled mine, i found a few other suspect looking holes up towards the roof line that will get sanded back and inspected before i weld those up too. Tailgate is finally solid again in its opening and closing action and sits correct on the shut lines, also i am not worried it fall off when i open it anymore.

Looking like this will be my last work on the van for the year as its nearly Christmas and the weather is COLD……

Hopefully back on it in the early new year when the weather is a tiny bit warmer and dry.

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Next up is the rear arch area again, pretty much the same as previous but rot is weirdly in different places which makes things interesting, same procedure with the swing arm mounts as per the other side and this time the area was in better condition, few more patches to various areas and all in all pretty straight forward, manged to test fit the large side panel before welding to make sure the gaps were correct, quite a few fiddly repairs around the upper and lower quarter panels at the rear this time as this area although not used for directing airflow to the engine does house the air intake pipe area so i couldn’t just fill in the gaps with metal for better and easier welding so it got reconstructed as per the original.

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Moving onto the sills again!! this van was just a rot box covered in filler and house paint, its slowly getting back to something resembling metal, this side was a bit easier than the other sill just because it didn’t have to have the door runners on and the complications that causes, still a painful job with lots of measurements but pretty straight forward.

The complication on this side and in particular the front area of the sill is that it connects to a front outrigger / jacking point and on this side of the van that is where the chassis number is stamped, mine is rotted away and i have no other option than to replace with new, this complicates things for reselling and potentially MOT inspections, after advice online (however good that is) and actually ringing the DVLA to seek advice the opinion / guidance was if it has to be done then it has to be done, DVLA said document this procedure with photos, videos, keep the old number if salvageable etc.. re stamp the number back on and most likely this will never cause a problem as this area is normally covered in underseal / paint and protection but if it does warrant an inspection later down the line at least i am covered, or so the theory goes. Weather is starting to get colder so i will carry on until i cant……..

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