Fixing the right rear corner 2/2
C-pillar
The next operation, concerning repairing this corner, was undoubtedly the most difficult one. The lower edge of the C-pillar (VW p/n 251 809 354) was basically completely gone. Therefore, in order to craft the replacement piece, I could only use pictures of what the original piece looks like. While looking for the pictures, I found out that only a little while ago you could’ve bought this C-pillar in full length for a large amount of money.
Considering, while restoring these buses, many people must have crafted this complex detail themselves, it makes me wonder why there is no aftermarket repair panel available yet. All in all, after 14 hours of work with this piece, I was pretty satisfied with the result.
Door Railing
After the C-pillar had gotten it’s original shape back, it was time to start restoring the part of the door railing (VW p/n 251 801 622 B) that had left us. The C-pillar, while starting to rot, had obviously taken some of the door railing with it, or maybe it happened the other way around…anyways, in the end they all got the medicine they needed.
The Joint of the Corner Panel and the Air Guide Box
After a proper pain in the @$$ with the trailing-arm mounting point, C-pillar and door railing, I decided to do something a little bit easier for a change. For starters, I needed to weld the connecting piece (VW p/n 251 813 262) in place which is between the lower end of the corner panel and the air guide box. After that I could weld the lower panel (VW p/n 251 813 358R) for the corner panel in place.
I had bought the both pieces brand new with JP Group labels on them. As for the suitability, I would say that the quality of the connecting piece (JP Group p/n 1180650680) was really good – proper 1 mm sheet metal and overall a great piece in the right size and everything. The lower panel of the corner panel (JP Group p/n 1180650580), however, looked more like Van Wezel labelled panel. The bends seemed to be more or less in the right places, but the edges of the panel needed some cutting from here and there in order to make it look more like the original panel.
Side Panel
At some point while removing the rear wheel arch panel, I realized that there is something wrong with the side panel (VW p/n 251 809 160 B). It didn’t seem to be dented, but for some reason it seemed to be covered in newer paint than the rest of the bus. Those suspicions got quickly confirmed, when I investigated the panel from the inside and found some weird holes that had simply been covered with the filler. What followed, was a very exhausting grinding of the filler and a lot of dust from the process – there was a very thick layer of the filler applied.
Since it became obvious that the lower you go, the thicker the filler gets, I didn’t even bother to grind the lower end of the panel. Moreover, it was thoroughly rusted so it seemed to be more reasonable to just cut out the lower end of the panel and replace it with new straight sheet.
Before I got to doing that, I patched up some more holes and smoothed out a bit of the part of the panel that I did not intend to replace, so that I wouldn’t need to use so much filler on it in the future.
The repair panels are great things to use when they come in the correct shape and size. Unfortunately the manufacturers don’t always think that the shape designed by the VW is always the best shape that should be followed. This Van Wezel panel (Van Wezel p/n 5870142) needed quite a bit of craftmanship on the edges. While one edge was too long, the other one was missing some very much needed material…
Next up was cutting out the necessary piece and bending it to create the missing piece for the panel. Then I cut off the excess material and crafted a new bend that would match with the bend on the wheel arch panel. And finally I needed to weld the new detail together with the side panel.
Wheel Arch Panel
The last operation with the right rear corner was attaching the new wheel arch panel (VW p/n 251 809 156). At first, I tried to order the new panel from Estonia. There seemed to be quite affordable Van Wezel panel (Van Wezel p/n 5870144) available, but unfortunately it turned out that these panels are no longer manufactured and thus can’t be ordered. As an alternative I found a panel from a German e-shop that had JP Group label on it (JP Group p/n 1180451180) and when it arrived, it looked like a decent product. The panel is made form 1 mm sheet metal, covered in strong weld trough primer and overall it looked a lot like the original VW piece.
However, this piece needed some modifications as well before it could be welded on to the bus. The main problem was with the joint above the trailing-arm mounting point. The bend on the panel was about 8 mm off point and had to be rebended to the right place. The best way to do this was to take the measurements from the original panel. The second problem was purely visual – the back end of the panel was about 4 mm shorter than the original piece and thus it created a step in the lining of the car body.
Spot welding these panels in the factory must have been quite an easy job once. Doing it myself, using only MIG welding, the number of the spots welded and the grinding afterwards was pretty time consuming job. The fitting and welding of the panel, finishing off the welded spots and preparing the surfaces for primer took me, a beginner in body works, all in all 16 hours of work.
As a short reminder, here’s what the repairing of the right rear corner begun with. As one might guess, next up is the left rear corner. Initially it seems to need the same attention and care the right side needed. The difference is though that instead of repairing the door railing, I need to prepare myself for the fact that once I get to the middle side panel, there is a lot of metal that needs to be replaced.
Replacement panels
| Title | VW panel | Replacment panel |
|---|---|---|
| Connecting plate | 251 813 262 | JP Group 1180650680 |
| Side panel corner plate | 251 813 358 R | JP Group 1180650580 |
| Exterior panel | 251 809 160 B | Van Wezel repair panel 5870142 |
| Panel for wheel housing | 251 809 156 | JP Group 1180451180 |