1989 VW T25 - Journey to anywhere

Good choice of MIG welder, I have one of these myself. Makes my welds look half decent. As for the grinding disk; Brilliant, where did you get these?

Advice: invest now in the big bottle of gas … it’s the only way to go. Way cheaper in the long run, and so much more convenient.

Looking at that bog and previous welding …. this was meant to be a “nice van purchased from two nice people”, right? I wonder if they knew the full story? Good job hanging in there with it.

I like the 996 stoppers.

John

Cheers guys, appreciate the comments

Indeed I should have rented a big bottle. I bought a hobbyweld one so I could have a practice without a huge canister taking up space in the garage, and for less outlay. Probably a bit shortsighted in hindsight, especially needing a different regulator. Anyone have any recommendations for suppliers?

Yes that's a question that I mulled over in my head many times! In fairness to the previous owners, I really don't think they knew and didn't seem hugely mechanically minded. More concerning was the fact it passed MOT's and they were driving about in the state it was seemingly unaware.

There's ZERO paperwork with the van, and all I can tell from MOT history is there was a period of a few years where it was off of the road before being sold to the previous owners. I think that may have been where most of the bodges happened and it was blown over with a fresh lick of colour. The paint is actually very good, it's just a shame corners were cut - windows not removed, filler repairs etc.

A few months ago I was beating myself up a bit thinking HOW could I not have seen this? I've been around enough ropey retros to know what I'm looking at but the reality is when you can only visually inspect the surface, things get missed. Perhaps I should have been a bit more gun-ho but it's tricky when it's not your own vehicle. The black underseal really has hidden a multitude of sins! It's only once the wheel of death comes out all is truly revealed!

I did go in to this eyes wide open so I'm pretty chilled about it all, it's nothing that isn't standard for a T25

I don't plan on selling this anytime soon so it's worth the time/money investment. Just got to bite the bullet and keep trucking through! Can't wait for it to be back so I can get stuck in and pick up the pace for more regular updates.

I still have the BOC volkszone deal for argoshield which is a 50% discount

Hope everyone had a great xmas and best wishes to you all!

Popped up the workshop in the festive downtime to have a look at progress. Things are shaping up nicely. Most of the drivers arch is now complete:







We also now have a front and windscreen lip again!







Passengers side sill jacking has largely been replaced along with remedial work on the b-pillar:



Progress underway for a repeat on the passenger side:



Couple more weeks and the front fabrication work should be finished. Then I need to decide how to dig into the rear arches... GULP

Progress is progress, nice choice on welder, my boy is taking the lead on using mine (or ‘ours’ as he sees it..). haven’t been brave enough to do more than patch the visible hole in the rear crossmember on cars get yet as that is just holding back the 1/4 chassis it really needs. We need something cheap to mess with soon.
Think we all catch a cold once in a while on cars but the skill you are learning are worth so much as well as a saving on paying somebody else to do it.
What you doing with the rear brakes ? If it’s anything like my old Skoda I always felt it would take nearly as much on the back wheels as the front.
Keep the updates coming.
James

Fantastic work as ever, this remains one of my favorite projects. Glad you’re doing it right. Please keep surgical images coming.

Best, John

Feeling extremely grateful this morn, there really are some awesome people in the world.

After a long chat with the bodyshop and making the decision to go full resto, it’s been agreed that I’m going up weekends to remove the engine, gearbox, rear suspension, all windows, trim etc. It’ll save me some precious funds, save a heap of work for the bodyshop, I know how it all came apart, and means I can begin restoring bits away from the van ready for reassembly. We’re all working a bit backwards because of the project creep, but this way we can all get back on track!

My mate who was helping me before is being an absolute diamond offering help wherever he can, and is really excited he gets to now paint the entire thing. I’m really humbled and I can’t thank them enough!

Speaking of parts away from the van, I began restoring the heater box recently. This looks like it’s been taken from the Titanic due to being in the firing line of the leaky windscreen for so long. It's a real pain to access this when the vans are complete, so I'm replacing anything inside I possibly can.

State of that:





Having had the heater box in my Golf apart, I knew what to expect inside but man, this one was bad! Volkswagen glue these together for some reason, so the first job is taking a dremel/cold chisel and cutting the tabs open to get in.

The first time it's been apart and therefore still on its original fan motor and wiring. Seized solid! That would explain why it pops fuses!





Original matrix and 30 years of roadtrippin'. Bleugh.







Crusty!



Into a Deox bath they go:





Primed:



Haul of new parts - Blower motor, flap sealing kit, heater resistor and wiring, and a new upgraded heater matrix. Unfortunately, this was damaged so awaiting a replacement. Ignore the suspension mounts, for another time!



Brickwerks flap sealing kit was very comprehensive:



Dog is being helpful as ever:



Much better:



More soon once the replacement matrix arrives.

There's something so satisfying about a fresh primer coat! Looking forward to seeing more