body rot

dubthang · Post by **dubthang** » Sat Mar 01, 2003 8:19 am

i need some serious help. my thing's body is rotting uncontrolably. she is rusting from the inside out, making it hard to detect where new spots will appear. currently, she needs new outer and inner rockers, parts of the front inside wheel wells, and the interior sides between the rear seats. i sm thinking that i would get some straight steel sheet and some diamond plate to fix, but am open to suggestions. i am a college student so nos metal is out of the question. thanks for any ideas/suggestions.
-seth

Bob Ingman · Post by **Bob Ingman** » Sat Mar 01, 2003 8:35 am

I have the same problem on my thing. I am going to remove the body and POR 15 the pan. Then attack the body. The rockers will need to be cut out and replaced. Plain sheet metal is fine with me since the body has no collector value to me being my daily driver. The fenders will heve to come off as well . Its a time consuming task so be prepared.
Will be posting more as work progresses. Good luck. Bob Ingman

dubthang · Post by **dubthang** » Mon Mar 03, 2003 8:51 am

bob- how do you plan to fix your rockers? my idea was to replace the top and bottom with sheet in the shape of a 'u' or use square tubing. then connect these with flat sheet. i was thinking that if i went with the tubing that i could create a kind of mini tube frame for the rockers by adding some verticle and angled pieces to the required horizontals. add some nuts to the bottom piece too.
-seth

Thingguy · Post by **Thingguy** » Mon Mar 03, 2003 9:28 am

I would be interested in knowing how to replace rockers. I would think it would be quite a task.
Scott

Kenny2428 · Post by **Kenny2428** » Mon Mar 03, 2003 2:52 pm

My dads thing has rust all over it. He isnt going to do a show restoration, but he's going to make it look more like a military Thing. The whole front end is bondo. The holes that have been filled with bondo are going to be covered with pieces of sheet metal. All in all it is a pretty solid Thing.

BobMiller · Post by **BobMiller** » Mon Mar 03, 2003 3:09 pm

RE Rockers: (Purists look the other way please) This kind of damage can be very difficult and expensive to repair. You might want to consider the following idea from Neil Smith, well known fabricator and THING builder, formerly of Walnut CA, as an alternative.

After welding in flat metal to replace the rusted area, and coating the area with lots of POR-15, you can have thin Aluminium Non-Skid plates cut and bent to appear fairly decent. By wrapping the metal about 2-3" under the pan you will add some protection to the bottom edge. A good metal bender can bend the top edge to just contact the body above the top rib.

I posted a picture of his car with this treatment so you can get an idea of how it looks. If I find a better pic I will post that later. http://www.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/inde ... +68965.gif

------------------
1966 MANX SR2 (Karma Coachworks), 1974 VW THING

[This message has been edited by BobMiller (edited 03-03-2003).]

dubthang · Post by **dubthang** » Mon Mar 03, 2003 7:46 pm

i already have some aluminum attached to my rockers, very similar to the pic. the problem i face though, is that i need to replace the entire set of rocker panels. patching in pieces won't help at this point. the rust is attacking from the inside out. plus, there is not a whole lot of structural integreity (sp?) left. everything is only in the 'idea form' for now. -seth

Thingguy · Post by **Thingguy** » Tue Mar 04, 2003 10:50 am

Do you have more detailed pictures of the trailer?
Thanks,
Scott

BobMiller · Post by **BobMiller** » Tue Mar 04, 2003 8:09 pm

As a matter of fact I do have a close up. Take a look. The back looks exactly as you would expect, like a THING. The inside is entirely finished and open, both the hood and the engine cover open for access as well as the small tonneau on the top. No, he did not build an Acapulco top to go with it. Although a windshield and seats would have been very cool. http://www.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/inde ... +69107.gif
Work done by Neil Smith, one of the true metal artists.

[This message has been edited by BobMiller (edited 03-04-2003).]

dubthang · Post by **dubthang** » Tue Mar 04, 2003 9:03 pm

nthang-
in your experience, were the metal fabricators just making the pieces or were they installing (welding) them into place too?
-seth

Thingguy · Post by **Thingguy** » Wed Mar 05, 2003 4:41 am

Your Right That is cool! Thanks for posting the picture.
Scott

dubthang · Post by **dubthang** » Wed Mar 05, 2003 7:00 pm

nthang-
thanks for the info. i am actually experienced in the art of welding, i just don't have a welder (mig, tig, oxy/acet. etc.,) and i don't think my landlord would be to keen on me welding in the parking lot.
-any welder that requires a ground clamp will send electricity into the body of the thing. welding without a gas tank installed is just smart too.
-seth

dubthang · Post by **dubthang** » Mon Mar 10, 2003 12:20 am

has anybody ever replaced the interior rear section (parcel tray area) with something else other than stock to fix rust? if so, any pics?
-seth

Kubelmann · Post by **Kubelmann** » Tue Mar 11, 2003 11:32 pm

A good way to repair rotten rocker panels is to get a thing door. the ridges in the coor match the ridges in the rocker. Cut out sections of doors to repain the rockers. Thing doors are available for $25 each. NuVintage VW in Colorado has nearly 100 thing doors for sale. K-Mann