Lost cause?

Well, my old man tells me that I should just sell it, save my money, and find me a west coast van.

I still have faith that I can cut out the cancer, make a pattern, and fix this with sheet metal and patience.

How wrong am I?

K,
For what it's worth, that is way beyond my skill level. I hope someone chimes in with a plan of attack, words of wisdom or whatever. I usually learn something from whatever advice the "powers that be" offer.
Jim

I mean, I've got the idea in my mind that if it can be done, then I could do it, the only issue is getting the mounting bracket hole centered properly.

I rebuilt a couple bad vehicles when I was younger.

what I now know is , just because you can do something dosn't mean you should.

That van is beat by my measure. Yes you could go at repairing it but I cn tell you from what I see many other areas of the van will be just as bad. This is a unibody van, rust like that means the whole thing is structuraly unfit for the road.

You can fix it but it alleays ends up being much more work than you think it is in the beginning and by the time you get most or all the way through fixing the body you are going to be so sick of it you will no longer like the vehicle.

Your father is right. just drive it and save to buy a reletivily rust free Van.

It takes some looking and monitoring the web and all you can watch but you can find rust free vans for reasonable prices. I bought a 68 out of CO for $1500. A couple dents but vertually no rust. All I had to do was fix the dents and paint it.

take a look

https://vintage-vans.forumotion.com/t46866-body-work-and-paint?highlight=paint+++%2Bbody

sure it cost $3000 to get it shipped to my home and licenced . But I garrantee you are going to spend many thousands fixing that van you have. Proboly 8 to 10 thousand if you are able to completly fix the body on that van properly.

I owned a body shop when I was in my twenties, I know what I am saying.

Also I always regretted fixing up the rust out victems I have because what you end up with after spending as much or more money is a repaired vehicle in the end that cannot be sold for anything near what went into it. On the other hand I am spending about the same on my 68 however the finish product is a vergin metal van an that will have a much greater resale value than a repaired van.

m1D

m1dadio wrote:I rebuilt a couple bad vehicles when I was younger.

what I now know is , just because you can do something dosn't mean you should.

That van is beat by my measure. Yes you could go at repairing it but I cn tell you from what I see many other areas of the van will be just as bad. This is a unibody van, rust like that means the whole thing is structuraly unfit for the road.

You can fix it but it alleays ends up being much more work than you think it is in the beginning and by the time you get most or all the way through fixing the body you are going to be so sick of it you will no longer like the vehicle.

Your father is right. just drive it and save to buy a reletivily rust free Van.

It takes some looking and monitoring the web and all you can watch but you can find rust free vans for reasonable prices. I bought a 68 out of CO for $1500. A couple dents but vertually no rust. All I had to do was fix the dents and paint it.

take a look

https://vintage-vans.forumotion.com/t46866-body-work-and-paint?highlight=paint+++%2Bbody

sure it cost $3000 to get it shipped to my home and licenced . But I garrantee you are going to spend many thousands fixing that van you have. Proboly 8 to 10 thousand if you are able to completly fix the body on that van properly.

I owned a body shop when I was in my twenties, I know what I am saying.

Also I always regretted fixing up the rust out victems I have because what you end up with after spending as much or more money is a repaired vehicle in the end that cannot be sold for anything near what went into it. On the other hand I am spending about the same on my 68 however the finish product is a vergin metal van an that will have a much greater resale value than a repaired van.

m1D

m1D,

I appreciate your input. I think that if I was to attempt the repairs, it would be just for me, as I won't be reselling the rig. It would be more of a labor of love, than a resentment.

I've seen much worse turned into a pile of gold by a few others, but then again they have the budget and the know how, that I currently do not posses.

I guess it wouldn't hurt to keep an eye out for the next 108 panel, although my wife would probably shit purple twinkies if another van magically appeared.

In your opinion, if all that I can find is a window or a display, how difficult would it be to sheet metal in the windows?

It can be done. Will it be 100%? Nope. If every thing behind the front doors is in good shape like the frame and spring perches it's worth a go. Making templates of those areas you need to replace before you cut them out will help keep those hinge holes located. On rust repair most the cost will be in your time. Going by the pics you have put up I'm guessing the culprit was a leaking sunroof and windshield frame. I'd tackle those areas first and work your way down. Reseal all the gutters also. Your working in areas that there are no replacement panels or pieces available unless someone is cutting one up that is in better shape for parts. So use your resources . By that I mean if you have friends in trades or knowledge that can help . Use them! Not knowing what you have for tools you may end up adding to your collection in the process also. To me that's a good thing LOL.
Not trying to plug FB but there are pages like Metalshapers you can pick up a lot of tips from and usually the guys are pretty willing to give advice. If you do this you will end up with some knowledge that a lot of folks will never know by just buying a good one.

If you have more time than $$, go for the fix. It's a learning experience, and you'll be able to say "I fixed that!" with pride.

Doesn't have to be perfect, esp. if it's just for you. Since I retired, I only fix my own and the occasional kid's car. That way, I don't have to please anyone but me. Just do the best you can and make it safe.

Where I live, I'm not faced with this kind of dilemma..... If I was, I think I would still run, and here's why.....1) My welding skills are only so-so, but even if they were good, it takes a lot of knowledge and skill to determine how far into clean metal to cut so that you have thick enough metal to attach to..... All those structures that are rusted through in places....they are also rusted very thin everywhere else....The backside of panels and inside of structures are going to be oxidized by the welding process and you will be unable to do any rust protection in those places afterward.... Places like the inside bottom of doors, ribs, post structures.....Yes, you can make the parts you see LOOK okay, but you probably can't cure the problem!
Anything from the sixties is pretty old enough now that about half of the stuff we see out west is rusty, as well. I'm also an enthusiast of 91-96 GM wagons, and the messageboard guys from the northeast are often faced with full rust-out on cars built in the nineties.....If you live in one of these places, the western rust-free vehicle you import to your area will eventually have the same problems....

Digz wrote:It can be done. Will it be 100%? Nope. If every thing behind the front doors is in good shape like the frame and spring perches it's worth a go. Making templates of those areas you need to replace before you cut them out will help keep those hinge holes located. On rust repair most the cost will be in your time. Going by the pics you have put up I'm guessing the culprit was a leaking sunroof and windshield frame. I'd tackle those areas first and work your way down. Reseal all the gutters also. Your working in areas that there are no replacement panels or pieces available unless someone is cutting one up that is in better shape for parts. So use your resources . By that I mean if you have friends in trades or knowledge that can help . Use them! Not knowing what you have for tools you may end up adding to your collection in the process also. To me that's a good thing LOL.
Not trying to plug FB but there are pages like Metalshapers you can pick up a lot of tips from and usually the guys are pretty willing to give advice. If you do this you will end up with some knowledge that a lot of folks will never know by just buying a good one.

Digz,

 You called it. PO had what I'm guessing may have been an old super scoop, or some other kind of air vent. Pulled it off, and sealed a piece of sheet metal over the hole with what I am guess was window glaze. I put a whole tube of RVT over the caulking to seal it up until I can get the hole properly metaled in. That leaked caused the top of the windshield to rust, from the pillar over to the other side of the sunvisor on the driver side. That compiled with an old windshield gasket have caused the damage to the lower door jams. Below are some pics of what I am talking about.

I'd say run from that and find a rust free van. Maybe even get a short wheel base too, but that's just my preference. You're going to spend enough just fixing one up without having to deal with that much rust.

I beleave your dad might be right. Those door hinge pillars are very structural with multiple layers of sheet metal.

I say give it a try but have plan B. Its going to be way more work then you think but so what? "If you don't bite off more than you can chew, How will you know what you can do?" I was painting motor cycles didn't even do body work and wanted one of these vans. So I bought one figured out how to do everything. 5 years and about $12000.00 later I learned how to weld do body work rebuild everything thanks to friends and youtube, and this website more than anything. Don't be scared remember plan B ? Look for a rust free van and if one is available at a great price get it and use your van for parts. But don't not try.