Westfalia Restoration - heavy lifting is done

There is still a little more body work to do but the heavy lifting is done. Volker worked over the long weekend to try and get Babe done in time. And of course I appreciate it!

The last blog entry was about cutting out the rot and putting in the new metal for the front pillar and the bottom of the kitchen panel. There was one other spot on the driver side that needed attention… the seam above the rear wheel. Here’s a shot of what it looked like before Volker started. Doesn’t look like much from the outside, right?

Not So Little

If you can see it from the outside though… well there’s something going on inside. So here’s what it looked like and what was involved in repairing it.

Pooling — Water must have been pooling up here

Outside Cutaway — A small section needed to be cut away

Inside cutaway — the inside area with holes through were cut away too

Sand blasting — Cleaning out all the rust

New metal glued in and sealed from the inside

sealed seam — The seam and new metal from outside

body work — getting it smooth and shaped perfectly

Rock Guard

The rest of the new metal got the same finishing touches to get this entire section completed and ready for primer and rock guard. So that’s that for the driver side panel. From having a hard day to a few days closer to complete over the long weekend. Here’s the gallery to show the current state.