Step one. Bought the van.
Hello Everybody, First post. I camp a lot in tents but after spending three days straight in a tent in the rain at Dolly Sods I swore I'd make a change. Here it is. Bought it Wednesday. Dro...
Forum Discussion
continued ...
Clear out more rusted metal.
In the front I decided to cut along the line where the curved part of the rocker panel meets the sloped side.
On the back side cut away the rusted metal.
Use the ruler and some tape to find the bottom edge.
Working towards the front of the van my method was to cut out the next section of rusted metal on the front and back then weld a 18 gauge panel onto the back side that then establishes the bottom edge of the repair. With the back panel in place that then gave a guide for the front rocker panel.
To help with the metal forming I welded feet onto the ends of my section of angle iron to keep it upright.
Form and weld the next piece of rocker panel. The first rocker panel I made didn't have the curve just right and this piece is transitioning towards the correct shape.
When grinding down the weld on the above piece I still wasn't happy with the results and feared that I was weakening the weld. For the rest of the rocker panel welds I decided to not try and grind the weld flat but just smooth them out and Bondo over them when finished.
The next rocker panel section was 30" long since that's the limit of my metal break. The metal is 20 gauge and that is about the limit of the thickness that this cheap Harbor Freight metal break can handle using it's entire length. It could bend thicker metal but only in shorter segments.
The joining of the back plate and the front panel leaves a bit of a ragged edge along the bottom. Because of that and also to add stiffness I'm adding another folded 20 gauge section along the bottom edge.
Start with a 90 degree bend in the break.
Then use the bench vise to keep bending the two edges towards each other. Bend it in few degrees then release it from the vise and slide it down a couple inches and bend the next section.
Keep working it back and forth until I'm left with a "U" shaped length of metal.
Slide it onto place along the bottom edge. It's not tight against the bottom edge in this picture. Also in this picture you can see where the previously completed section of metal has been treated with Rust Bullet.
To get as tight a fit as possible I'm using the welding clamps you can in this photo. The clamp can exert a good deal of force on a small area. I started at one end and squeezed on the clamp which compressed the U shaped piece tight against the two welded layers sandwiched within. I would then release the clamp and move over slightly and clamp it on again. In the below picture you can see the slight dimpling that caused by the clamp's pressure. The left edge of the U shaped metal has slipped down slightly. It will be tapped up before welding.
Weld in place.
Grind down the weld to smooth them out.
With the bottom edge of the repair now consisting of 4 layers of metal it is quite solid and there is no flex.
continued
Clear out more rusted metal.
In the front I decided to cut along the line where the curved part of the rocker panel meets the sloped side.
On the back side cut away the rusted metal.
Use the ruler and some tape to find the bottom edge.
Working towards the front of the van my method was to cut out the next section of rusted metal on the front and back then weld a 18 gauge panel onto the back side that then establishes the bottom edge of the repair. With the back panel in place that then gave a guide for the front rocker panel.
To help with the metal forming I welded feet onto the ends of my section of angle iron to keep it upright.
Form and weld the next piece of rocker panel. The first rocker panel I made didn't have the curve just right and this piece is transitioning towards the correct shape.
When grinding down the weld on the above piece I still wasn't happy with the results and feared that I was weakening the weld. For the rest of the rocker panel welds I decided to not try and grind the weld flat but just smooth them out and Bondo over them when finished.
The next rocker panel section was 30" long since that's the limit of my metal break. The metal is 20 gauge and that is about the limit of the thickness that this cheap Harbor Freight metal break can handle using it's entire length. It could bend thicker metal but only in shorter segments.
The joining of the back plate and the front panel leaves a bit of a ragged edge along the bottom. Because of that and also to add stiffness I'm adding another folded 20 gauge section along the bottom edge.
Start with a 90 degree bend in the break.
Then use the bench vise to keep bending the two edges towards each other. Bend it in few degrees then release it from the vise and slide it down a couple inches and bend the next section.
Keep working it back and forth until I'm left with a "U" shaped length of metal.
Slide it onto place along the bottom edge. It's not tight against the bottom edge in this picture. Also in this picture you can see where the previously completed section of metal has been treated with Rust Bullet.
To get as tight a fit as possible I'm using the welding clamps you can in this photo. The clamp can exert a good deal of force on a small area. I started at one end and squeezed on the clamp which compressed the U shaped piece tight against the two welded layers sandwiched within. I would then release the clamp and move over slightly and clamp it on again. In the below picture you can see the slight dimpling that caused by the clamp's pressure. The left edge of the U shaped metal has slipped down slightly. It will be tapped up before welding.
Weld in place.
Grind down the weld to smooth them out.
With the bottom edge of the repair now consisting of 4 layers of metal it is quite solid and there is no flex.
continued
