Bongo Fury

Hi folks,
Having had the MOT man tell me last December that he passed the van somewhat generously with welding (i'm sure because he didn't fancy it!) I have finally got round to starting it today. Planned to do it in August but life got in the way.

As is the way with these things, only once you start cutting it out do you really find the horrors within. Having recently had Morris Minors and Triumph Heralds, i wasn't too alarmed, but still, pretty depressing!







Rear arches have been replaced in the past and are holding up well. I did have a look at thr replacement outer sills, but they do not appear to go high enough to cover how high i have had to cut it out. It had been liberally seam sealed to cover some holes, but that is all cut out now.

It was a very difficult panel to fabricate, i am an events manager/hobby mechanic, so it won't be the prettiest. But, it will be strong and will last for some years yet.
Took bloody ages though and not nearly finished.

Out of curiosity, how much would you expect to pay for this job? Bongolia, you're the chap in the know!

I'll post some other pics when it is all done!

Makings of a pukka job there Callum. I would put that with fabricating panels and modding an outer sill at around three days to get it levelled for prep & paint so 24 hours @ whatever rate charged where you are
Plus materials and sundries.
What outer sill did you use?
From what vehicle?
Nice to see what behind the panels. I am sure a image database would be useful for others on here too.
Good luck.

I didn't buy a replacement panel. Spent a whole lot of time making it. It isn't fantastic, but it'll be ok.
I will be embarrassed to post the pictures once it's done, but the alternative was filler and pretenting it would be ok!

So yeah, i'm looking forward to finishing it, then focusing on th hole in the front wing.

Damn expensive play thing (not comparing though, i've been reading about your woes!)

Your obviously mot afraid of a challenge and It all adds to your skill set mate.
There`s always sill skirts
The most important thing is that its a strong repair, better to have the the strength than the looks and being that low down its unlikely to be that noticeable.
Post up your pics when your done.
P.S. The triumph looks good, anyone who can get the bonnet to line up on one of those can sort a Bongo!

Ha, i forget all the old pics are up there. I've had a few different vehicles, certainly for my age, it's a bit eclectic!

A side note, the metal i used to make the panel today was actually the roof of the mini in the pictures. I fitted the webasto myself to that, so the spare roof panel has been used on a few different vehicles!

Recycling! Like it.

callum wrote:I didn't buy a replacement panel. Spent a whole lot of time making it. It isn't fantastic, but it'll be ok.
I will be embarrassed to post the pictures once it's done, but the alternative was filler and pretenting it would be ok!

So yeah, i'm looking forward to finishing it, then focusing on th hole in the front wing.

Damn expensive play thing (not comparing though, i've been reading about your woes!)

dont be worried mate, as said above better strong than pretty weak, there are loads of shinny top rusty under the skin bongo.s out there, and the next one you do will be better, then the next better still.

Cheers for that.
We don't have th funds to get it sent off for a X thousands worth of welding, so we do what we can with what we have. To be honest, i'm sure it will look ok. We don't plan on selling it, so it is really just for us, so no worries about the "looks" affecting the value.

Yes, my first Herald looked ok when i bought it, a bit rusty, but ok. It really wasn't ok!! It was horrendous. We sorted all that structural bits, but i got a bit scared of the bosy work that was on show, so bottled it and sold it. Lovely car that was, Herald estate. My wife still says that was her favourite car of mine!

Progress.


It feels great by comparison. My father in law has done the filling, he's a plasterer so has a good eye for it.

Getting there!

Looking good there. But you're supposed to use P38 not plaster.

Haha, i didn't have the heart to tell him!

Very nice to see someone with skills sorting that kind of thing out ! This is exactly the place where I had a little hole in my sill I bashed screwdrivers along my sills this late summer to see what was really happening and had a small steel plate welded over, that was £55.00 1inch by 6 inches. Looking at what I see there it does make you wonder what lurks deeper. I think given the external good condition elsewhere around this area, arches, seams, behind by toush/prodding and visually around the sill I should be ok for a while since the welding.

I guess we are all in the same boat as that specific area is supposedly a hot spot for rust due to an air con compressor which attracts moisture to that area and apparently this tends to happen in Japan before they are shipped elsewhere so anyone buying should look around this area.

Great work and nice to see a Bongo being sorted out and as far as I can tell you have done a tidy job on it as well.

Notice i didn't put one up of it just with the welded plate! It wasn't pretty, but it had a full seam weld, so better than if i had got a garage to patch it up (a few spot welds and some sealant if i had i think!)
Yes, feeling quite positive about it.
And regarding your comment i my other thread, yes, i am getting stuck in, my list of vehicle work and house jobs is ridiculous currently.

First coat if primer to get a feel of the finish. It isn't perfect, clearly, but is getting there. The edge i made in the panel is a bit more pronounced than the original, but hey, i'm an events manager, not a fabricator, so it'll do.

Well, i finally got a chance to do some top coat on the repair



It's not perfect, but i'm really happy with it. Compared to what was there, it looks and feels a whole lot better!

I did a couple of other bits too, in anticipation of the inevitable sale.



Paint had all started to come off the wheels, so i had bought some paint to do them, so figured i may as well do them anyway. Only managed to do the rears, but i love the anthracite.

I also painted my wipers and the grille, so it is really starting to come together to be a relatively presentable van. Which is good.

Oh, and i did the rocker cover gasket too as it was leaking oil, has been for a year, but it was down the list. Relatively simple to remove the centre part of the engine bay/cab, which was a surprise.

Just the 2 other wheels and a thermostat left to do before bye bye van. Oh, and an MOT, but that should be fine.