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Re: Drip Rail/A-Pillar/Front Wheel Arch Rust Repair - Best Strategy
Death or victory #748605 May 19th 2019 10:47 pm
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Dang that 78 brown one is really cool. Sucks because I have a good amount of time and money into my current van. I love the 71-78 body style much more than the 79+ but I’ve had it two years already and most of it is in good shape. But I also know that it would cost a lot of $$$ to get it where I want it. Mines an auto with a 360 and is a great running van so it’s got a lot going for it. I have been considering if another van is worth starting over with.


1987 B250 - Painkiller
Re: Drip Rail/A-Pillar/Front Wheel Arch Rust Repair - Best Strategy
Death or victory #748635 May 20th 2019 12:30 pm
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Originally Posted by Deathorvictory
I have been considering if another van is worth starting over with.


If the brown one has no rust, its definitely worth it. Go take a peek. By the time you chop off the roof, fill in the windows and deal with the rust starting in the lower bits, you will have so much money in that van you can never get it out. The bad part is in 5 years or less there will be bubble popping through somewhere else. You just have to look around, other people have done what you are thinking about and regretted it. The recent post of the nice green 4x4 van was similar, he fixed it all and painted it, only to have to buy a rust free van from the southwest to replace it all when the rust came back. If you like the 71-78 better start looking for a rust free one and hold out until you do. Your good running power train can be swapped over along with the wheels and visor. There was a shorty mid 70s that was pretty good on craigslist in Eugene for 600. It never sold, the guy got his ad deleted when they started charging last month. I have no Idea how to contact him. He did have it on ebay a few months earlier for a ridiculous price. I looked and its gone from eBays completed listings too.

Re: Drip Rail/A-Pillar/Front Wheel Arch Rust Repair - Best Strategy
Death or victory #748636 May 20th 2019 1:11 pm
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I don't have facebook so I generally miss everything on marketplace and I certainly cant contact anyone through it which is a bummer. I can pull that up online but I cant contact them. I've looked on offerup and CL to see if its posted there but I dont see it so I'm kinda SOL and will have to keep looking.


1987 B250 - Painkiller
Re: Drip Rail/A-Pillar/Front Wheel Arch Rust Repair - Best Strategy
Death or victory #748646 May 20th 2019 3:26 pm
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If one goes ahead with the improper way to do it ( fiberglass), One shoulld use epoxy resin instead of (fiberglass) resin, which is polyester resin. Epoxy bond strength is quite superior, and epoxy is also more flexible, meaning it can expand and contract with the steel much better than polyester resin.

Epoxy is more expensive, must me mixed in a precise ratio by volume or weight, and then mixed thoroughly within the mixing cup. POlyester resin is much more forgiving with regards to the amount of catalyst and its mixing, and cost.

Use Ospho, available at ace hardware, for treating rust, steel and questionable paint. The rust will turn black, the steel will turn grey, the paint will lift where there is rust below it. The blackened rust can be removed fairly easily revealing brown rust or grey steel below. One can go a bit crazy in basically dissolving all rust with multiple applications and scraping tools, instead of just converting it, but one can get to clean bare pitted steel, if they desire and can reach it all.

Protect from moisture overnight when the Ospho is doing its thing.

A hair drier can speed the conversion process.

Getting maximum possible adhesion of epoxy saturated fiberglass is achieved by 'mechanical tooth' on a grease free surface, which the Ospho should have taken care of( the grease free part). I use rotary carbide bits on teh dremel or cut off wheels to make the steel super rough with sharp valleys and mountain tops for maximum possible adhesion.

Honestly doing it as best as one can with fiberglass is likely a lot more work than if one can cut out and weld in donor parts. I do not have the latter ability, but I am good with fiberglass and have all the materials on hand. My war with rust will ultimately be lost, I just want to slow it as much as possible.

Much of my roof gutters over barn doors side and back, is rebuilt with aluminum C channel, and epoxy and fiberglass.

Its no show van but the gutters are functional and sealed, mostly. The area around the top of my windshield was really bad and I have used a considerable thickness of fiberglas to not only rebuild the skin but to also lend some strength to the fiberglass conversion van roof. The original covnerters used drywall screws and the leading edge of the roof these screws basically did not penetrate steel, so they did nothing other than gouge paint and prep it for rusting and securing the roof here properly became a mission.I did not adhere the roof to the fiberglass covered steel below th econversion van roof and the caulk will still split with body flex. I need to rewax what remains of my roof gutters often and try to prk downhill if it is not going to be driven much to keep moisture from pullding in the gutters.

Re: Drip Rail/A-Pillar/Front Wheel Arch Rust Repair - Best Strategy
Death or victory #748647 May 20th 2019 3:28 pm
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Originally Posted by Deathorvictory
I don't have facebook so I generally miss everything on marketplace and I certainly cant contact anyone through it which is a bummer. I can pull that up online but I cant contact them. I've looked on offerup and CL to see if its posted there but I dont see it so I'm kinda SOL and will have to keep looking.



Its not like facebook costs anything to join. You have internet, so your good to go if you want to find a solid van.

Last edited by Don_F; May 20th 2019 3:28 pm.
Re: Drip Rail/A-Pillar/Front Wheel Arch Rust Repair - Best Strategy
Don_F #748650 May 20th 2019 4:28 pm
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Yeah, screw facebook. I haven't had it for over 5 years. Not intending to go back now.

Last edited by Deathorvictory; May 20th 2019 4:30 pm.

1987 B250 - Painkiller
Re: Drip Rail/A-Pillar/Front Wheel Arch Rust Repair - Best Strategy
Death or victory #748653 May 20th 2019 6:47 pm
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I'd still say go with a needle scaler, blast thru all the cancer so it doesn't spread and then spray rust converter on whats left behind. Fill the holes and enjoy the van. It would look half decent and last a while too if you do a good job. The van looks nice from those shots so I'd give it a shot fixing it.

Re: Drip Rail/A-Pillar/Front Wheel Arch Rust Repair - Best Strategy
Death or victory #748705 May 21st 2019 4:48 pm
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I found this old thread which is super helpful to
Visualize what’s happening in the roof of my van. I’m pretty sure if I can wrangle the right help and am patient, I can get her fixed up. Going to stick to my plan of cutting pieces from donor vans that I can find and get a solid plan together for the late summer. Best part about summer here is that it stays dry and warm. I may be able to get this done a time my own house if I can borrow a few tools.

https://www.vanning.com/threads/ubbthreads.php/topics/419699/3.html


Last edited by Deathorvictory; May 21st 2019 7:14 pm. Reason: Typo

1987 B250 - Painkiller
Re: Drip Rail/A-Pillar/Front Wheel Arch Rust Repair - Best Strategy
Death or victory #748712 May 21st 2019 7:37 pm
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Holy crap, that looks real nasty on the other thread. If that van can be saved so can yours. Glad to hear you going for it though, your ride is too cool to give up on and in pretty decent shape from the pictures of it.

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