Now let's get on with the body restoration
A sight that often greets Mk6 owners when they inspect the underside of their van is corrosion in and around the rear spring hangers. Repair parts for this area were some of the first parts we produced for the Mk6 range and are still, perhaps, the most frequently sold of all our repair parts.
Here are some examples of what is often found, some pictures supplied by owners when inquiring about the parts we supply and others taken of corrosion in vehicles we have repaired in our own workshops.
Unfortunately, a familiar sight for many a Mk6 owner
We set about removing the corroded parts from our van, CAD drawings of the parts were made and CNC cut to ensure accuracy, the necessary tooling was then manufactured and the parts produced.
Here are pictures of the rear spring hanger parts that we needed to fit,
These parts, and all the others you will see in this restoration thread are available to purchase from ourselves, please contact our workshop on the number at the end of each post.
Due to the extent of the corrosion on our vehicle it was necessary to replace the rear cross member reinforcing panel. At the time of the repair, this part was only available from Ford as part of the rear cross member assembly, so we set about making a replacement.
Again, the corroded part was carefully removed from the van to enable a pattern to be produced. The Ford part has a pressing to provide additional strength to the part, seeking 'visual accuracy', we manufactured some basic press tooling of our own to produce the correct shape, here you see the final result.
Repairs were carried out to the inside of the rear cross member than this new panel was fitted, here you see it clamped in place. Holes have been drilled in it to enable 'plug welding' to the inside of the rear cross member panel;
In the picture above you will see that the inner rear lower corner panel has also been removed ready for fitting a replacement.
Now we are ready to fit our new rear spring hanger parts.
The rear spring hanger extension piece and the rear spring shackle plates were clamped in place using our rear spring shackle as a 'jig' to correctly locate the parts, holes were drilled in the flanges to enable 'plug welding' to the floor;
A small part of one of the original shackle plates was left in place to ensure correct alignment;
The rear spring hanger extension piece was now 'plunge welded' to the rear cross member and the floor of the van, remember to remove the new shackle plate to allow welding of the extension to the underside of the floor at the forward end as the shackle plates sit on top of this. Dress off these welds before refitting and welding the first shackle plate.
Here we can see the small part of the old shackle plate that was left in place to ensure correct alignment, this can now be removed and the second shackle plate fitted. Again, the spring shackle should be temporarily bolted back in place to ensure correct alignment.
Here we see the second shackle plate clamped in place prior to welding, remember, DO NOT, weld the very front part of these to the floor as the main part of the spring hanger needs to fit between these and the van floor!
Now we are ready to fit the main part of the spring hanger, this is spot/plug welded to the underside of the floor, the chassis rail and the spring shackle plates. A few images of it in place;
In the last two images you can see that we have welded along the 'seams' of the main hanger part and 'dressed' off the weld. This creates a more 'factory' look, but if you do this it is best done AFTER to part is welded to the van so as to avoid the possibility of distortion due to heat build up from the welding process.
I hope that this post will assist other owners in the repair of their vans so if any of you would like to share your experience of replacing these panels then please do so. Naturally we will answer any questions regarding this so please 'ask away'.
More at a later date,
TIM