Lower Front panel

Jim, our restoration guru, noticed a couple of areas of bubbling paint which on closer inspection showed some rot. This is the front left hand lower area, this is where the front deformation panel meets the body. The rot is on the body and it has spread behind the deformation panel so he had to cut them off and remake.

 

 

 

Like so

 

 

Another small repair to the rear, a common rot spot as the A post is right next to the bodywork and it seamsealed so as soon as it cracks moisture seeps in and this is what happens

 

 

Rot cut out, post cleaned and treated as required then sprayed with a zinc rich primer for protection

 

And on the other side its just the same

 

 

 

 

The rusty area is the A post, the extent is quite clear, again all cleaned, treated and zinc primed

 

New area all welded

Rear Arch

This is the rear arch behind the sliding door, this is having a new panel fitted but on closer inspection this was found. It looks like Tessie is throwing us another curve ball

 

 

 

This is inside where the water has sat. Its rusty but solid

 

 

On closer inspection this is what is found. Looks like a new arch/repair is needed

 

 

Arch rust but check out the bit of yellow, has this something to do with rust?

 

Rockwool is known to soak up water and hold it. This may not have helped the rust

 

Rotten edges cut out

 

More cut out

 

Arch removed

 

New rear arch

Accident Repair

Before we got Tessie, when she still lived with the nice couple from Macclesfield, she was involved in an accident.  He pulled out of a junction, in front of a car, and was hit in the side on the panel behind the sliding door. This went through the insurance and a "professional" repair was done so all the paperwork says.

 

 

 

Previous repair but not with filler here but body solder (lead)



 

The white dust is filler from the repair but panel is nowhere near straight

 

Paint being keyed for spraying. Still a bit snowy

 

 

Tessie

Quite a lot of filler though!!!



Remains Found !!!!

Whilst removing the fibreglass top cover to prepare the roof for painting small bones were found. This was probably a small mouse or maybe a bird but had been there for a long while.

 

Lots of muck from underneath the top cap. Not surprising as it has been fitted for 27 years

 

Remains unidentifiable!!!

Rust bubbles but overall a solid roof

 



 

Tessie with grills and top cap removed. How sad does she look?

Crusty Bumper

Lets go back to the "Crusty Bumper" I mentioned earlier and investigate that a little more, as we already know Tessie likes to throw us a curve ball every so often just to keep us on our toes.

 

The lower grill panel was held on by a rawl plug so we were lucky to still have this!!

 

I think this is rotten and have to be replaced. Lucky Jim is good with a welder as we aren't using filler on Tessie at all

 

Lower front panel to be repaired

 

Lower piece of lower panel has been sandblasted and coated with rust killer

 

Drilling out spot welds

 

Majority removed just lower strip to come off

 

Inside ofold panel. As you can see VW didn't protect them from rusting

 

New panel has a good coat of red oxide applied to protect it

All fully welded

 



 

Testing the fit with the grills in and weld primer applied to stop the welds rusting the seams from the inside

 

Lights and grills fitted for safe keeping



Lets strip her down

We are now working to a deadline that Jim, our restoration guru, now knows. I have booked a road trip to France, Holland and Germany (maybe Italy as well!!!!) for 22nd March 2013. She needs to be ready by then so we crack on and get her stripped. Lets see what this brings.

 

 

Beautiful original interior but it all needs to come out

 

First unit out

 



 

Second Unit out

 

 

On removal of the Rock and Roll bed it reveals a rusty bracket and if you look closely you will be able to see the tyre through the hole. 27 years of driving and no wonder there is a hole

 



 

Underneath the fridge reveals a very rusty floor

 

This is the opposite side to the dreaded bulge. Looks like some welding will be needed on here not just a new panel.

 

Start of the Restoration

Tessie is a lovely campervan but did have some problem areas on her bodywork so Mr Tickle and I decided to take the plunge and begin to restore her. We saved up some money and sent her to a VW specialist to begin work. Over the next few weeks I will add the progress onto here for all to see.
This will be the last time we see her like this

 

These are the problem areas that need sorting out. The rear door, probably a complete new door is needed as it does leak when it rains!!! Plus the remains of the 1980's cycle carrier needs removing.

 



 

 

The near side panel is bulging, this is a common fault as the fridge is on the other side of this panel and the condensation that it causes does tend to cause rusting. Lets hope its not too bad.

 

 

On closer inspection it may be a little worse. The units inside need to come out then we'll know more

The crusty bit where the bumper is fitted. All the rainwater tends to be trapped on here therefore causing a problem.

 

The bonnet has a small area which needs attention but a complete respray will sort that out.

The panel behind the sliding door has seam rot so that is being replaced.