Being new to this lark i previously posted about the quality of parts being so poor , Why do the major supliers accept the quality of the goods , perhaps more importantly how do they sleep at night having sold the crap to their customers . The big dealers have the powers to stop all this hassle for restores by refusing to stock the crap , they have a bigger responsibility and should have the morals not to sell it on to us . If we are suplied with goods that are not fit for purpose then we should send it back , it should be the dealers that smash the goods with an hammer , not us after paying hard earnt cash for it , i can only encourage that we return the crap on every occasion , even if we have had it a while before trying to fit or things can only get worse
i think they respond quite well to feedback in all honesty and probably don't like the hassle of dealing with returned items either , i have a hunch that the quality control inspectors in the factory let a lot of items through that should be scrapped .
i've not had to do any repairs but from all the crap i've read about if i still have my van when it's needed i'll be paying the money and going for body cuts from rust free vans.
^ Klok panels have been crap for decades, but sometimes they are all that's available. Where this is the case it could be argued that they're better than starting with a sheet of steel? Pressing complex shapes is expensive and the market isn't big enough for stuff like step repair panels when very good quality complete arches are available. A rule of thumb is part panels will be poor, whole genuine panels good.
On subject of quality control , i was reading a report in a Sunday paper re how it is usual practise in Britain 2 do 10% check per production load regarding spec /quality,in japan its 100%>reported how a jap Co. had ordered like 100,000 bolts from a.n.other jap Co. and several bolts were found 2 be faulty, the guy who owned the bolt manuf. co, and his 2nd in command and the Co.secretary felt it proper to visit their client and apologise for their failing re said order .apparently thats the way there, they "fail"? > they take it very seriously.
have a look at the ones i done pig of a job much easier to do a full arch and easier to do all repairs around it owen nw http://thelatebay.com/index.php?topic=16418.0
I'm very pleased to hear your job's a good'un. It's a worry having a mortgage and no income... As far as front arches go, body cuts are good for earlies as the best you can get are rubbish, but for lates I'd go for the genuine VW arches which are superb, and new.
I got the gen inner and outer wheel arch sections and welded them up together A lot less money than buying it as a complete wheel arch and took 20 mins to weld Saved over £100 on both See my resto on page 5 ( they have been striped of black paint because it has been phosphated) Offer up and cut the place they fit best and bin the rest Mine fit well but getting a small gap at the bottom is hard ( they had big gaps when made) Any how hope this helps - got the sections from vwh so maybe you can do a swap? Marc
Guys thanks for all the advice really appriciate it. Ill wait till payday nxt week n then spend some money! TLB rocks
TBH it's easy to read threads like this and wonder whether the advice is good or just nah, nah snobby "I wouldn't do that"? In this case I'm afraid you really won't regret cutting off your arch (which you welded on wrong anyway ) and replace the whole thing. The genuine arches are pukka. I just had a van in I did 3 years ago and I couldn't remember doing the job as it looked so original (I have a spot welder). Not a bit of rust even a rust stain, doors aligned perfectly, solid as a rock. Well worth the outlay and effort IMO. I have another to do after crimbo on the back of that.
