My lads recent VW T4 project purchase

[Exuptoy]

I took his T4 round the garage earlier to make a start and the T5 seat fitted to the T4 base is a damn nightmare. Unable to get your legs under the steering wheel unless the seat is ratcheted all the way down then right back so you can’t reach the pedals. So, something had to be done. The back corners can wait.

I sliced off the bottom rails then removed a 50mm band from the middle before slicing and reshaping the ends and rejoining the rails. I also had to extend the holes inwards as it’s a tapered base which means as it gets lower the base gets wider. Anyway, it’s now done and it’s so much better, plus the seat it’s now fully adjustable. A first in this T4.

I was gonna slit the front profile and bend it but just plating in the end into a shelf was acceptable in this case.

Welded inside and out then ground back the outside so it’s not too obvious.

At least it’s now drivable!

Bolted in…

Et Finis!

 

[Exuptoy]

Today I boxed in the rear corner and closed in the rear arch, it’s not pretty but it’s solid. Pretty much there on one side apart from replacing the lower part of the D pillar but that can wait. Tomorrow I’m starting on the opposite corner. At the same time I extended the arch down for some protection. My T2 has these so I thought it made sense and I needed to close in the arch to corner anyway.

Whilst I was fixing his, he was repairing my R53 Cooper S mini. I couldn’t for the life of me understand why there was such a lean on the suspension…….turns out the rear strut was incorrectly assembled with a second spring assister!!
How it looked before.

The reason….

After…much better. New rear springs too so they need to settle.

 

[Exuptoy]

I got the D pillar boxed in after seam sealering the welded pieces. Should have done it after as there’s now lots of weld spatter and grinding swarf all over the place around seam sealer that’s not cured! Not my best decision.

I was dreading putting the d pillar piece back in but I just measured the spare one I had from the back end I’d cut off the other bus and it pretty much slotted straight in.

 

[Exuptoy]

Next I moved on to the other side, cut out the floor, rearmost arch, outer arch and inner arch before cleaning the rails and surrounding metal until it was shiny.
Tomorrow should see most of that made good but I’m now awaiting an outer arch and rear vent section.

 

[Exuptoy]

So this morning I threw some overpaintable Gravitex stonechip on the finished corner. What a difference!

 

[Exuptoy]

….and then back on the other corner.
Closed off the D pillar to rear crossmember then repaired the edge of the d pillar where the side panel tacks to.

Cut this piece out…

 

[Turbo]

This is a novelty on the forum.
A thread where somebody does some actual welding!

 

[angellonewolf]

Way faster than I'd do it

 

[Stuartg1]

This is a novelty on the forum.
A thread where somebody does some actual welding!

What's 'welding'

 

[Exuptoy]

Back up there this afternoon, cleaned up the spare arch cut, got that in, dressed the D Pillar to arch closing panel and got that in then cut a piece of floor and made a start. Then ran out of gas!
I’m also back on 0.6 wire and slowly getting my eye in. Doesn’t help when the stuff you’re welding to is thin and/or rusty! Well that’s my excuse!

 

[Exuptoy]

I’m under the cosh with this one as it needs a mot by next month so he can give it a shakedown before Busfest in September and my two wk offshore rotation is approaching rapidly!
Nothing like pressure to focus the mind!

 

[Morris]

This is a novelty on the forum.
A thread where somebody does some actual welding!

That's harsh, I'm sure I saw some in 2021.