1995 GMC Vandura G2500 - Rust Battle

You've been bloody busy on this, it's looking good. Were the repair panels easy enough to get? I assume somethjng like this is well supported for spares stateside?

Fantastic Buildthread deano.

The history, the fact that this was a vehicle you grew up with.

And the work. ( the results and the amount it needs)

Very cool to see you save it...

Cheery fella, glad to have you read through it!

It's been a big part of my life and a promise I made was she'd see her former glory when I take ownership.

All of the work I do is done by myself, really time consuming but I'm not rushing to complete it and just work away when I feel I can.

Thank you again bud, I can't wait for the day I show you all the end result 

A wee update, not much but it's still progress!

Working on the inner sills this time at the front right lower quarter section, just simplistic fabrication which I love 



I then made another plate up which will be cut to shape for the contours of the outer wheel arch





It's all scattered work doing bits here and there but it's making me enjoy it much more as I'm easily bored in one area. Moving slower than I hoped but no timescale and certainly no deadline to reach either  .

Well, Saturday night came and went, I maybe gone out and had a bit too much, hence no update yesterday while I sat watching The Outlaws feeling sorry for myself 

Anyways, here's to get you all up to scratch, I carried on from where I left off and fabricated the patch for the outer wheel arch.



This actually went far smoother than I thought, I expected some form of distortion but the whole arch actually feels good with no warping. After I done that, I then went ahead and started test fitting the lower quarter section, which I was going to leave welding in for my next visit... but then I got carried away, again.











I was well happy with the progress I made, although I've not set a deadline or timescale, I would love to have her finished for next year. Very optimistic yes, but the list is decreasing rapidly which just takes my motivation to another level!

I can't believe September was my last update! Time has flown in, I haven't done much in the way of working on Cindy as I've had a lot going on in transitioning into my new job. Training is almost done with my upcoming practical test tomorrow  .

I did make some progress over the course of the month and a bit I was absent, the inner tub section in which I cut out the questionable patch was finished. I also decided to go ahead and make another section for the inner sill in which the inner tub patch is propped against





You can see I've changed the weld through primer to a silver Zinc based one. I had intended on getting copper but was given Zinc by accident, I actually find this to be nicer to weld with and covers better too. Onto the next bit, I also had a wee dig at the rear left floorpan section that I cut out near the start of the project.





I could weld the underside, but the leaf spring is actually hindering access to grind surrounding areas down for welding. It's solid all round so at the end once all the welding is done, a bead of Tiger Seal around it and the other patches will do nicely.

I also removed the rear heating / air conditioning unit, as there was a fairly rusty patch underneath it. I wanted to take it out the way to cut the rust out and put a fresh bit in.



The left hand lower quarter section is going to be redone as I'm not overly pleased with the job I've done. If I can source an actual repair section for the whole bit I will get one so that way it minimises the use of filler.

Lastly to finish off, I started buffing down the rust on the inner roof strengtheners / pillars to get an idea of how big a challenge I'm up against. It looks like it's going to be extensive, as a lot has holed and is deeply pitted.









Certainly going to be do-able, but very time consuming. I just need to get the hightop off to continue on, I can't wait to get started on that. Hope this update gets you all back on track 

Came back to this sooner than I thought I would be, sometimes when that bit of motivation returns it puts you back into gear!

Lifting off from last time, below is the progression in stages:









You can see that the welding isn't 100% complete, I was actually making sure the shape of the door wasn't going to cause issues for the catch and bump stop so left it semi tacked to adjust with tools if need be.

Below is how the door looks now:













I was really pleased with the outcome of this, especially considering there was just about no good metal left. All that's needed is to add drain holes and then put a bit of filler on to neaten it off.

And I've officially reached another big milestone, that's 6 out of 6 doors successfully saved from going in the bin, all because I decided to try and save "As many as I could"  . Now, I wonder what other big challenge awaits me on the main body  .

Grizz, thank you very much for that my man 

I most definitely will be the happiest laddie ever. I can't wait for that day when I can finally say she's done , with a big grin  .

Looks like a nice decent repair on that wheel cover. Fibreglass is strange stuff, but so satisfying when it quickly adds strength back into something that was as floppy as. Sounds like you made a "Hot Mix" that hardens really quickly. Nice work.