YIKES! What floor?

[ruckman101]

Looks like things are starting to get a bit critical with Bertha's floor on the driver's side.


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Beyond POR 15? Time to learn to weld.

Please let me know what you think. There must be replacement metal available somewhere. Used?



neal

[AzironaZack]

It just so happens that as I was browsing thesamba classifieds looking for fuel injection parts in the Southwest earlier today I saw this:

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/ ... ?id=425100

A search for "floor" in the bay window bus parts section turned up a number of other floor pieces too.

Good luck with that! I had a jeep with a floor like that once and I could feel it wanting to give out every time I stepped on it.

[ruckman101]

Cool, thanks.

Are all the bay floors the same? Mine's a '70.


neal

[Amskeptic]

Cool, thanks.

Are all the bay floors the same? Mine's a '70.


neal

Up to '73. In '73, VW moved the step indoors, so the floor pan has cut-outs near the door opening. I never utilized these indoor steps, my front speakers sit right over them and I continue to vault into my VW with gusto.
Colin

[MeyerII]

In case even that is too spendy for ya, there is an abundant source of rust-free un-corrodable material - literally on the side of the road - that you can use.



This is just one of many examples:





 

[hambone]

If you're not too worried you can always either weld a patch in or cover the area with that fiberglass patch kit. If you want to keep everything stock ya gotta get a decent replacement piece welded in.
I check for rust spots every year and rustproof with POR15 or whatever, it just never stops. Even little chips can get out of hand if left for too long, epecially in the floors and "wet spots".

[Amskeptic]

In case even that is too spendy for ya, there is an abundant source of rust-free un-corrodable material - literally on the side of the road - that you can use.
 

You have been demoted to IAC Level 7:
Hill-Billy Who Drives A Rusted-Out Monte Carlo With Coconut Air Freshener Trying To Hide The Damp Wet Dog Smelling Carpet Hiding The Speed Limit Sign Floorboard

[bus71]

Water heater skin. Easy to work with. Used one for a roof section for years.

[ruckman101]

I'm not finding anything on the Samba today. ArizonaZack linked me to a floor out of a '77, but it has the cut-outs for the step, and mine doesn't.

I've never dealt with a fiberglass repair kit. I'd like to do it right, but maybe I should patch it for now, learn to weld and such. The dogleg might need replacing, too.

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The ridge is rusted away there. Go Westy had no body parts. Bus Depot looks like they have them, although the photo for the panel for '72 and later looks like there is no cut-out for the step. Confusion.


neal

[Amskeptic]

The ridge is rusted away there. Go Westy had no body parts. Bus Depot looks like they have them, although the photo for the panel for '72 and later looks like there is no cut-out for the step. Confusion.

You have nothing to lose. Spray rust-catalyze-prime the whole floor very thoroughly underneath and above. 24 hours to dry. Top-coat with (may I suggest red) a decent engine enamel up top and very thoroughly down below. 24 hours to dry. Now join me in a grossly hick application of an entire tube of red RTV over the small holes. Get your Reynolds Wrap Aluminum Foil and tear off a big enough piece that you can fold it at least four or five or six or seven or eight times and still be able to cover the big holes with an overlap of about an inch. Smear a nice bead of RTV around the perimeter of the big holes. Place your Kustom-Fit Foil patch over the RTV perimeter bead. Allow to cure overnight. Make a new top side perimeter seal over the outside inch of foil and out onto the painted surface an inch. Smear it smooth and don't harrass it once it begins to set. Go under the bus and make sure you have a weatherproof RTV seal between the floor of the car and the aluminum foil. Next day you apply a couple of coats of Rubberized undercoat. Lay down your cleaned floor mat. Now you have an official IAC floor patch job and I dare anyone who has ever seen my bus to know where the patch is that I had to put in in 1992 so my passengers would no longer see and hear the road rushing under the car. Your photographs do suggest a proper repair is in order at your leisure.
Col. HackPatch

[covelo]

You have nothing to lose. Spray rust-catalyze-prime the whole floor very thoroughly underneath and above. 24 hours to dry. Top-coat with (may I suggest red) a decent engine enamel up top and very thoroughly down.
Col. HackPatch

That was very funny and inspirational at the same time. I'm going to do this with my floor holes.

[spiffy]

Hey Neal, here is my new best friend of a vendor:

http://www.wolfsburgwest.com/cart/Detai ... 11801051KX

I need to weld some pieces in on Bill as well (check out Klassic Fab as well, I hear the panels fit better). Colin's method will work and stop the cancer for now.

I am seriously looking into buying a MIG welder and the equipment to weld in 2 rockers and a small floor section (by cargo doors) on Bill and the battery trays on spiffy. If I do go this way, I would be glad to help you out and get that piece patched in.

After all....it's just like caulking, but with hot metal....grind it down, primer and paint...can't be that hard to do.

[hambone]

I would say it's a bit more difficult than cauking to get a good weld. Not that hard, but there is technique and theory behind it all. Do some reading up, there are different systems out there and you do need proper equipment to protect your body from all the heat and radiation, not to mention the right tools like clamps to do the job right. It's also a little more difficult to get a good weld with thinner material like sheet steel but with practice it can be done!

[spiffy]

Neal, you can alos try a method that Jasan told me about....

Go get the Bondo brand fiberglass mat (home depot has it for $6, and there is enought for a lifetime) and then get yerself the SMALL can (unless you have other areas to do) of POR 15. Clean the area (don't use any naval jelly or other rust inhibitors...the POR doesn't like that) and then lay down a good slathering of POR, lay down your fiberglass and then dab in more POR over the top of it until it is saturated.

Wait 3-5 hours (better to wait overnight) and then do a second coat of POR. Let dry and then primer and paint.

The fiberglass and the POR end up being solid as a rock, I just did this to a few spots on the new bus and it works well.

The downside: By the time you buy the POR and the fiberglass you will have spent a little more then half of what it would have cost to buy the repair panel......

I still say weldin' would be an easy thing to learn.....hell, if ya mess up, just grind it down and start over.

[RSorak 71Westy]

A mig welder is a godsend and yes very easy to learn....I bought a miller 175 a few years ago and my vehicle repairs have gone up 10 fold in quality and durability....