Mully's 79 Devon long term Procrastination project

Well I got my Bay around 2012. Read about it here : https://thelatebay.com/index.php?fo...4094700bc0a44da0ecf2a0f05e26ams/restorations/

In summary bought a rough one.... I knew it was a project carbut didn't follow any buying advice, didn't inspect, any massively underestimated the task at hand....

 

That was mistake number 1, mistake number two was paying a specialist to sort the bodywork out, without 1st inspecting underneath, taking out the interior or defing a clear list of jobs to complete....

 

After spending (£I don't care to remember) it looked pretty for a bit, had 12months MOT on, but all was not well....

After pulling out the interior the years of bodging and rotten metal still present dawned on me... what a waste of money.... How it got through an MOT is beyond me!

Then for the next 10 years I lived life, poked at the rot occasionally, made a few attempts at piecemeal repairs and it generally got nowhere...

It's been sat outside that whole time slowly decaying...

Over the next few days I will attempt to consolidate my photos of the rot and badges here, in the hope having my expensive mistake in a public forum will motivate me to make some progress!

Hopefully it won't be another 10 years before it's on the road again...

 

And those with a keen eye can probably spot what is to come further down the thread by some of the bulges on the bodywork!

 

So a bit more. I've lost some pics over the years so there may be some gaps, but you'll get the (all to familiar) picture!

After some poking around and tappy tappy with a hammer on offside:
Inner Sill:

 

Outer sill:




That's a lot of Filler!

Chop chop....




There was reminants of at least two inner sills In there, the bottom was a crusty mess over rust and blobs of weld...

 

You have come to the right "place"...

 

I know I've been lurking here a long time! Without this forum I think I wouldn't have the confidence to tackle this van...

 

The rear side panel (excuse the terminology if it's wrong!) Had a repair panel (that looked half decent to be fair) a long time ago...
Then some buffoon put a repair panel on top of the 1st repair panel, without cutting back the rust or any attempt to neutralise the rust...



Inside the original repair:



C pillar:



B Pillar:



Rear out rigger/jacking point/ top hat floor support:

 

"Buffoon" .... You're taking it very well!
It's the best way.
Way back at the start of MY sad little story there were bits of refrigerator metal welded over untreated holes .... This was the "better bet" I was persuaded to let someone work on.
The rest is a looking tale that I'm never going to tell again, but it would have been much longer, and less well concluded without TLB.
It might be a while yet but you're on your way home now!

 

And the inner B pillar and are

That piece was a previous owner not the so called 'vw specialist' I paid.... but they to are guilty of panels on top of rot.... mostly they seem to have of been into body filler sculptures! Oh I'm sure it will be a while but I'm now making slow progress, I don't want a show van just something solid!

 

And the inner B pillar and are behind the bulkhead:




This is just an outer skin, not a complete arch...



The newer metal you can see in the next images are my own attempt at repairs from inside the van, a complete mess! Maybe that's why I didn't bother painting the repairs, I knew how s%#t they were!

I live and learn




Cutting back:

 

Come up to Tech Enders in May or when ever it is next.
Camp in a tent, or bob in just for the day, it's not far away from you....the support network as you know is nuts.
Fair play to your perseverance with the Devon and you'll see vehicles in various states of drivability that'll help with the next big push
Oh, and beer or wine is the law...it's a fun weekend of just chewing the fat and making mates who bizarrely have the same interests..

 

Off to Google tech enders.... I may just do that, cheers

 

So after 10 years of proving and poking, failing and learning, I learnt a thing: un protected metal goes rusty very fast! NEWBIE TOP TIP #1 Paint your new parts very quickly, it will save a lot of de-rusting!

New repair parts primed:



I welded an inner tab to the top hats to make welding in easier, can turn the welder up and get lots of heat without blowing through, works for me:




Welded in, welds tidied and primed:

 

The main chassis is really good but some isolated rust under old outriggers:




Welded in:



Tidied and primed:



After struggling with a cheap second hand Clarke welder I upgraded to this, my welding improved a lot overnight...



TIP # 2 Buy the best welder you can afford

 

And rear out rigger glued in:

 

The primer I use is ProXL rattle can epoxy, it seems pretty good, but I have been painting the inside of repairs also...

Then I thought I might as well prime and paint inside and outside of repairs, it might be a few years before they get any further protective coatings...

More repairs...



I ended up doing repairs to the front and 2nd to last rear top hat, full rear most top hat complete and both out riggers on the off side... (There is only 2 out riggers on my 79 van...)

I am missing a few pics so you will just have to believe me

 

Love a good resto thread!!

I have procrastinated about mine for 4 1/2 years and this year is the year I start!

the Pro XL epoxy primer might solve one of my worries