Red Ven

[DG-Unit]

Day 101... decided to make a new hole in the floor:

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Trying to work out how to remove the old arch spot welds and got distracted making sure there's some actual metal to weld the new one onto:

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Had to leave it like this for the day hoping it survives the rain. Big welding blobs are where the patch piece had a large gap and I had to battle filling it and burning through rusty old metal:

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Looks like the rust on the arches forms where water soaks into the factory grey foam. I'm thinking of just removing it all but is this here because of some sound resonance issue? Should it be replaced with sound deadening?

MOT next week and I'm very worried

[Jay2018]

Celebrated my first 100 days of van ownership by making sure there's no more holes in the floor big enough to put your foot through:

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Going to repaint all repaired and treated sections of the floor and underside in silver (zinc primer then hammerite) so don't lose track of what hasn't been done and I can spot any returning rust.

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Just when I'm having a go at myself for crap looking welding (but functional with decent penetration) and excessive use of seam sealer the previous owner makes me feel like a master mechanic...

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Classic bodge. I was getting excited that I'd finally have some paperwork for the service history but I wasn't able to date this particular repair as it's an undated bird watchers magazine. This is the van that's passed pretty much every MOT with zero advisories... does this mean they don't care about the outer sills on transits

You're doing some solid work mate. A lot of respect for what you have managed so far. £20 backhander at a FEW (I won't say most lol) MOT places will get you a pass. I live in East London tho ahaha!

[Jay2018]

Welcome and I see I'm not the only one to buy a Transit in much worse condition than advertised. Mine was done "honestly" but with an inch of body filler along the lower panels, attached directly to rust, hiding major collision damage and repair panels stuck together with bathroom silicon and more body filler, my van is honestly the worst vehicle I've ever tackled. Carry on, soldier!

Thanks Mike. Depending on local Covid restrictions I might setup a Trashed Van Support Group with biscuits, tea, tissues to cry into and a padded wall to take in turns to bang heads against while everyone else claps.

[DG-Unit]

You're doing some solid work mate. A lot of respect for what you have managed so far. £20 backhander at a FEW (I won't say most lol) MOT places will get you a pass. I live in East London tho ahaha!

Telling myself I want to do it the honest way but...

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£20 and experiencing warmth again seems like a good idea right now

[Jay2018]

Honest way is deffo the only way mate. You've got your work cut out, but looks like you can handle it.

[DG-Unit]

Honest way is deffo the only way mate. You've got your work cut out, but looks like you can handle it.

Thanks Jay. Another one of those jobs you wouldn’t start if you knew how long it was going to take. It’s starting to look a bit more honest today...

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Just a shame the full arch and sill from Central Panels doesn’t actually fit so will have to find a way to extend it. A lot of time taken making sure everything is seam sealed except some drain points to make sure water doesn’t get stuck in there again (thanks to Ford factory fitted foam).

[DG-Unit]

Day 106...

The bad: Clarke/Machine Mart welding helmet dies one month after the 12 warranty is up. New helmet required £45 and wasted an hour. Fast running out of time so probably won’t get the passenger step done before the MOT
The good: New helmet is better - stays on my head and lots of space for the gas mask. Slower wire speed also resulting in better seam welds.
Worked out a trick to bend the top of the doors in and it’s made a massive difference:

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Another trick to get the sill panels to fit together as the one from Central Panels is actually about 6mm too short. Some 1.5mm galvanised strip from B&Q scored with a cutting disc to bend and welded behind to help fill the gap. It’s also helping with aligning the panels:

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Also realised that work on the inner sill was a waste of time as it’ll keep trapping water so chopped it off and put a thick line of seam sealer to encourage any water ingress towards the drain hole in the inner sill which was bizarrely blocked from the factory with a plastic plate:

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[Nordic Blue]

I'm watching your progress with awe. I wish I had the balls, equipment and ability to attempt what you're doing - my steps are looking decidedly flaky under the paint too!

Mine has MOT til July so hoping to put it off until the new year. I have a local guy in mind to look at it - hoping he won't bankrupt me too much. It may be easier if he just holds the torch on while I put my wallet in the flame.....

[DG-Unit]

I'm watching your progress with awe. I wish I had the balls, equipment and ability to attempt what you're doing - my steps are looking decidedly flaky under the paint too!

Mine has MOT til July so hoping to put it off until the new year. I have a local guy in mind to look at it - hoping he won't bankrupt me too much. It may be easier if he just holds the torch on while I put my wallet in the flame.....

At least that would keep you warm for a bit Think I would've died of exposure in this if it wasn't for thermals. Put back MOT to tomorrow morning so this is the last push! Feel like I've broken the back of it now with the passenger step in place and finally getting the hang of the welding settings. Passenger side is a lot less destroyed it seems because the door wasn't pushed back and ignored hanging off it's hinges for years letting water in. However, water is still getting in and the prime suspect now is some gaps under the scuttle tray that I've heard a few things about on here.

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[DG-Unit]

Defeated

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Since I’ve owned this van I’ve done the following in hope of getting it through an MOT and making sure it’s reliable:
Discs & pads
Control arms & drop links
Ball joints
x2 tyres & alignment
Welded floor
Rear & side door locks and catches
New steps, inner & outer arches
Rear light clusters
Gear selector bearing
Door mount welded
Rear arch welded
Regular injector cleaner
Front door seals
Torque restrictor
Gear oil replaced

Well into it over £1000 on top of the cost of the van and this looks like at least that much again with weeks of exhausting work outside in the cold on my own. This is a tough one.

[angusp]

You’ve put a lot of hard work into this so far & it must be disappointing to see so much left to do! That said, if you do decide to continue & get it through the mot the sense of pride and achievement will be enormous. The van will certainly be a part of you at the end of all that.

I’ve greatly enjoyed reading this thread.

[Jay2018]

I know you know you're too far gone to give up now... or are you reconsidering now?

'Offside rear outer sill repaired with what looks like expanding foam'
'Deep cut in tyre'
You say defeated; I feel like you took it for MOT knowing it will fail, but now you know exactly what it will fail on which is good.
At least you didn't get any warnings for NEARSIDE FRONT which looks fantastic now btw.

EDIT: I've just seen NEARSIDE FRONT INNER spring turret...

To be fair mate; you're well up to the job of fixing this van properly.

[DG-Unit]

You’ve put a lot of hard work into this so far & it must be disappointing to see so much left to do! That said, if you do decide to continue & get it through the mot the sense of pride and achievement will be enormous. The van will certainly be a part of you at the end of all that.

I’ve greatly enjoyed reading this thread.

Thanks Angus. Yeah it's pretty disappointing. Went to check on it today and bail the water out that's collected in the new steps already - after 3 days. I'm beginning to think about other options such as buying a non-runner with a bad engine and swapping mine into it.

[DG-Unit]

I know you know you're too far gone to give up now... or are you reconsidering now?

'Offside rear outer sill repaired with what looks like expanding foam'
'Deep cut in tyre'
You say defeated; I feel like you took it for MOT knowing it will fail, but now you know exactly what it will fail on which is good.
At least you didn't get any warnings for NEARSIDE FRONT which looks fantastic now btw.

EDIT: I've just seen NEARSIDE FRONT INNER spring turret...

To be fair mate; you're well up to the job of fixing this van properly.

I always knew there was a chance but I've had a knack for getting vehicles through MOT's so was over confident that I'd spotted everything that needed doing. I wasn't sure on the dodgy passenger side sill repair but would've been happy if that's all it failed on. I had no idea the drivers side sill was filled with expanding foam but not surprised given the state of previous 'repairs'. Just didn't spot the rear tyre but again that wouldn't be a problem to sort. I was even more confident if it was just welding in the rear quarters but issues with the front spring turrets don't seem to be easy fixes. Can't find repair panels for them, could be issues with getting everything aligned and looks to be a pretty long job moving everything away to get access to them... Time to start thinking of alternatives I reckon but with some pointers on here it might not be the end of my Mk.6 journey just yet

[loot]

Same scenario as my van, shed load of time and money spent and it seems the same again to finish. It is stressful because you can't give up on all that money and time but you're frustrated as it seems to be a pit of despair that is taking your soul. Don't look on market or Facebook because now is when you see smart little cars that look mint for 300 quid

Take a day off if you need, clear your mind then carry on regardless.
What keeps me going is that I know mine is economical and I won't plan on selling it ever