Who can do full body fabrication and rust repairs?

[Bedfordcrazy]

Hey Rubman, please tell me they are taking build pics, OR rodders life is filming it. 

george.

[Kirk]

Just an update....

Wanted to let yas know over the last couple of weeks, ive called just about everybody...some have agreed to view, but never showed up, only 2 people have come...One of which is Graham from Antique Autoworx. who so far has been fantastic, but realistic, im just waiting for his itemised quote/estimate which i expect in the next week.....then i will take it to the company and see what they say, but ive done some research and talked to some people...and even with a bigger figuer i think i can sell it to them (the idea not the van).....fingers crossed:) and thanks for those who replied with contacts.....oh Rubman i tried the number you gave but noone answered:(

[Zeeman]

Hey Kirk, glad the numbers were of use.

It's like any tradesmen, if you start with twenty, by the time they've returned your calls, expressed interest, and are actually competent,
you're left with two to choose from.

Antique Autoworx are good. They could build you a Bedford from scratch if you needed!
They will be expensive, but you generally get what you pay for with panelwork.

[walzaher]

Hi everyone sorry to bring up an old topic post here but curious, how does stripping the van, blasting or acid dipping, then panel beating and painting compare to dealing with rust by panel removal and welding but in bit by bit? Clearly the first is more effective but definitely seems more costly, a lot more all at once!

Waseem

[Warren]

Wassem

With the stripping of the van and cleaning all you are doing is finding ALL the rust at once, you still need to cutout and replace the rusted sections.

Nothing stopping you repairing a section at a time, the main thing is to remove the rust and reseal it so it cant come back.

Warren

[BusyKiwi]

It cost me about a grand to get my custom van sand blasted, that's the shell and all the panels I took off, the only thing they wouldn't do was the roof (it was off the van) as it would of buckled.

If you see rust, you need to clean it right back and then cut it ALL out, a wire brush in a drill (or hand one) will only polish the rust, wont remove it, same as with these "rust killers" on the market, they stain your fingers, goes on steel purple and turns rust black. It doesn't actually kill the rust, just neturalizes it for a while. cleaning up the rust and coating it is actually giving it life again - new oxygen.
Sand/soda/coconut shell/bead .... blasting does work, same as acid dipping (no one in Auckland has a big enough tank for complete car or van, there is one down south), acid dipping does work BUT it also gets into the seams (bedford seams are glued) and the acid can leech out over time and destory your paint. pros and cons with everything.

Sand blasting: only blasts the visible panels, things like inside sills remain rusty and rust out (they usually rust from inside out)

Acid dipping: gets inside everywhere and works well but can leech out years later if not neturalized properly.

My standard CF I took back to metal by hand and cut out all the rust I could find, 3 or 4 years later (i forget how long ago I did it) I have a few little rust bubbles coming out, not using it doesn't help.
Because it rusts from the inside out, what you see is usually only the tip of whats there so you should always cut out several inches (25mm to an inch) around what you see.
I remember when I used to do homers, people would often say I have this small bit of rust under the windscreen rubber ... I'd reply back it's going to be a major (especially if it was the corner), they wouldn't believe me, so after the screen came out and it was cleaned up they were shocked to find out how big a hole was there.
When you weld to close to rust (if it doesn't blow holes) it actually weakens the steel, the heat of the weld fuels the rust.

Rust proofing: You can buy rust proof which can work well BUT used wrong and it actually works against you. With rust proof less is actually more. If you pour it in, it will sit in all the pockets and work great until it heats up, then it will dry up and crack (like an old tin of paint), when it cracks the water sits in the cracks - with no where to go and starts rusting out the steel.
The best way to rust proof is to thin it down (check on side of container as to what it can be thinned with, must are with kerosene), on a hot day spray the thinned mixture into every hole you can find, even drill some if you can't get into a certain area. spray well and let it all drain out - hense the hot day. Leave it drain for a few days then do another thinned coat and again wait, then 3rd time a light normal coat. The thinned brew will get into more areas

[John Abbott]

Good advice there Busy. Its a bugger that rust. I have had good results with Fisholene  (fish oil base) Brings every cat in the area around 

[walzaher]

Appreciate the replies very interesting. So does mean that with bedfords cutting and welding out rust , even after doing a complete sand blast and cutting/welding, will always b a reality that cannot be eliminated totally?? Will this apply to all older cars or is the rust problem just on bedfords because of the way they were made or do old cars in general suffer from the same rust issues? To me it would seem normal for all cars to rust and once it starts its nearly impossible to remove it fully, for example in between the metal sheet layers as Busy Kiwi suggested.

Waseem

[BusyKiwi]

The biggest problem with bedford is they were made in bare metal then painted (sprayed not dipped), example if you look up under your dash you'll probably see bare metal. So everywhere you can't get a spray gun wouldn't of been painted. A lot of older cars were made this way, and a few design faults (water traps) but they did use real steel back then, you wont see a toyota (or any jap van) lasting as long as a old car can.

In NZ, the post office brought hundreds of CF's, they had them all rustproofed (most were made in NZ and were converted to 6 cly but some were brought in from Oz), these vans, while given a hard time are the ones that have lasted the best.
You'll mostly find were bedfords rust is where they have had no paint or rust proof. Road grime can actually act as a rust proofing, but dirt, sand and other stuff trap water. I've even taken a sill off a van and found weeds growing on the inside of the sill.

The main parts you really need to keep an eye on are:
#1 the roof seam
If there is rust on the bottom of the back door pillars or side door pillars the roof sealer will crack/split allowing water to get inside, a hair line crack is enough.

#2 the bottom of the pillars
If these rust you loose the strength, and if you find your back doors opening while going around a tight bend its a sure sign you have rust. rusty pillars allow the van to flex and this can crack the sealer, break the spot welds and open the panels allowing moisture into the panels

#3 around the grommets and drain holes
front and back of the rear wheel you'll find rubber grommets, these can be forgotten to be replaced, rusted away (the hole not the rubber), or just missing. fine grit will get into these holes and build up in the sill and rear panel, the drain holes are rather small but can work well if kept clean.
As often as you check your oil you should crawl under your van and clean these drain holes (bottom of the doors, sills, rear corners and rear panel), a thin screw driver or even an ice block stick

#4 windows
Always seal ALL your window rubbers (not the drivers or passengers), use a proper windscreen sealer and test for leaks with a hose. The back doors ones hardly need sealer as they are a real tight fit, but test anyway.

extra bit.
One thing bedford forgot to add was a compression flap, if you look in the boot of a jap car you'll see little rubber flaps, these are to equalize the inside/outside air when you close the door with all the windows are up, without them you'd pop a window out if you were able to close the door. In the bedford (nowadays) they aren't really needed as the rubbers are worn and it doesn't seal like a water proof box but if you replace all your door rubbers, seal everything and have trouble closing the door with window up (but easy when window down) then you need to add a in/outlet, just taking out a rubber bung in the floor can be enough

[John Abbott]

Quick question Busy,,,  I plan to do a complete pull down and rebuild on my truck, do you think it is worth my while to un pick the welds on the front guards to have a look behind them.?