Bongo Fury

Bongolia wrote:Not an uncommon repair in restoration stuff. Thames 15cwt and early Sherpa's, yes people restore Sherpa's!
It is fairly common.
It always comes down to economics in the end.

To carry out a "proper" repair to a complicated area such as this is would require the local roof skin panel to be removed to expose the structure beneath . That area may require additional welding and treatment then the "cover* replaced.
I would estimate for a repair such as this from the images using metal as;

Remove all necessary trims etc and refit 5 hrs
Cut out affected panels and dress 2 hrs (E)
Fabricate inner support panel work 3 hrs (estimated cos we dont know till the caps off)(E)
fabricate cover panel 3 hrs
weld into position 1.50 hrs
load and level area 2 hrs
prepare for paint 2 hrs
refinish in color to match blending adjacent panels 3hrs
re seal all affected areas 1 hr
labour @63 pph
plus materials paint and sundries at MLP (150.00-200.00)
+ VAT at 20%
That would include identifying the initial cause and trying to correct it.
That should give a "proper" repair that would probably out live the rest of the van but would only ever include a 1 tyear warranty!
This is an estimate and would be subject to stripping.
That is a proper job.

Its all horses for courses and emotion should not be a factor Benji Bongo is really just a Bongo at the end of the day.

And no I would not want to do it it, it would interfere with my Bongoing time away.


re

g8dhe wrote:Spoke with Gerry today, and yes that is the plan, two or three panels replacing the outer skin, from an old donor vehicle. He has a plasma cutter so shouldn't be to bad a job to cut them out and whilst off will waxoil the inside cavity. The rust appears to be away from the internal supports so hopefully it hasn't spread to them.

mikeonb4c wrote:

g8dhe wrote:Spoke with Gerry today, and yes that is the plan, two or three panels replacing the outer skin, from an old donor vehicle. He has a plasma cutter so shouldn't be to bad a job to cut them out and whilst off will waxoil the inside cavity. The rust appears to be away from the internal supports so hopefully it hasn't spread to them.

Interesting. Can all that be done without affecting internal lining etc or will that have to come out? Also, risk of fire plus waxoyl melting and running anway as well as vaporising and impregnating lining materials, if hot technique such as welding used. Have all these been considered. I'd consider casting a new fibreglass piece against the original before cutting out, brush (not spray) waxoyling inside and then affixing new fibreglass. That is, if the skills are there to do it.

g8dhe wrote:Well work is well underway!
The roof doesn't have any structural function and the inner skin protects a lot of the cables etc.
The outer skin material is a lot thinner than you might expect as well! MIG welding is blowing holes even in the good metal so they are having to use TIG welding which is easier to do on thin material.
Progress so far is documented here http://www.g8dhe.net/bongo_images/tin_worm/

cmm303 wrote:Got to get back in touch with these guys myself. When I last spoke to them they were vey busy with an unexpectedly challenging job on a roof!! Pleased to see it has turned out well, Geoff.

I found it quite honourable that Discount Trucks were very guarded about discussing more work than the bongo is worth. Emotionally challenging! Big jobs like this and Bongolias must be right on the balance of ageing tin vs strong bongo prices.