Rubber-mounted window relocation

[Samwise-zambeezi]

Hi,

I've mentioned this on my camper progress thread but reckon it may get more traffic here, so will repost my question.

I recently bought a van which has 2 x rubber mounted camper-van windows on the right hand side; one mid panel, one rear panel. On the opposite left hand side i have no windows, instead, i have a solid sliding door (mid) and a solid rear panel.

I'm thinking of swapping the mid right window to the rear left panel (so i would have matching windows on both sides), so want to know, if i remove the mid window on the right hand side, make a template and cut the exact shape from the rear left panel where the window would go... do you think this panel could be welded into the mid-left hole, rubbed down from the outside, filled and sprayed to leave a decent enough finish? Or do you think it would always be visible? Note that the appearance on the inside is immaterial, as it will be covered anyway.

Any input from anyone with welding experience would be appreciated.

[Chug]

It can be tricky with large panels making sure the panel doesn't get warped from the heat, but someone who is good at welding should be able to do it for you.

[dumper]

I remember seeing a lot of mk 3 transit camper vans that had a louvred panel on the side of the van at the rear side panel and a window in the front side panel not sure if they are bonded or screwed on at the time I was looking at doing the same.
As for welding the panel back in if you do loads of spot welds from inside the van and then flatten the welds on the outside you may only need thin skim of filler .will need a lot of welds and time to do it so not to overheat the panel.

Just another thought why not put it in with rubber mounting instead of welding it in maybe even paint it black so the rubber doesn’t standout.

[Samwise-zambeezi]

Hmm, yea, maybe the panel wouldn't need any welding from the outside?

If i try to cut as accurate a hole as possible, so the newly cut panel piece fits in the hole with, say, 1-2mm tolerance, then maybe it could be fixed from the inside by welding patches along the edges. Then, what about just filling the saw-blade gap from the outside using filler.

I suppose the main thing would be whether the front and rear panels have exactly the same profile/curvature. Looking at it, it looks pretty consistent... Might need to figure a way of checking, maybe make a template to offer up.

It's funny, googling like mad to try and find any account of similar window swaps or repairs to the side window/panels in question; and there's everything but!