Bay Bus - body panel seam sealant and weatherstripping

[metric Cwrench]

i'm replacing the nasty old rt and lt rear wheel well arch panel sections with pretty, solid, free-of-rust panels (bus depot, via oe veedub), a new rt rear lower corner piece, rt battery tray, and lt side outer rocker panel (with a little extra topside metal, about 8" or so).

i've been removing the lt wheel well area metal in preparation for the new stuff, and i'm wondering what to use to replace the old, worn-out sealant i've scraped off and the foam stuff (very much like weatherstripping?) that forms a barrier between the wheel arch panel and the wheel well itself- this fits in a groove and is about 1/2" wide. i can get generic weatherstripping that should fit ok (designed for home use, like door seals), but would it last? are there other source options for such material?

ze germans had done a spectacular job welding and seam sealing when they put these buses together. welds are all about 3/4" apart, sometimes 1/2". seams are (rather they were, before 30-odd years of wear) smooth and thick. if it weren't for the rust that started decomposing the seam sealant, they would last forever i think. i'd like to do something worthy of the quality workmanship of the original builders.

a great thing to do with the tops of the wheel wells exposed, and the pockets you just can't really get to from the inside, is to clean them up, wash them down, let them dry, and paint them up with chassis saver (or your sealing, nearly-impervious, rust-preventing paint stuff of choice).

[metric Cwrench]

pics of lt side panel cut off. still work to be done removing the rest of the welds, bending the top portion to accomodate welding there, cleaning of the newly exposed nastiness that lay waiting for me.

front section of the panel (note the rust living and growing in the bottom area between the exterior panel and the interior insulation and paneling cover).


center section


rear section


the indentation you can see in the all the pics, along the edge of the wheel well metal, is where the weatherstrip (for i lack a better name for whatever it is) fits in and cushions between the two metal surfaces.

it's gonna be a bear to weld to the post (separates the middle panel and the wheel well panel), as it appears that vw started at the rear and added panels going toward the front, leaving the original welding area inaccessible to me. so i'll be welding to the outside of the post, which is going to take some effort to make it look nice.

i still haven't decided if i'm going to keep the 110volt plug-in box, or if i'm just going to cover it up. i suppose it could be handy to have, but i'm not completely sold on the idea just yet. i have some time to decide, so i'll chew it over a bit more. probably wind up leaving it in there, anyway. not doing any harm that i can see.

you can also see in the rear section pic the work i'm gonna have to do to patch up the wheel well metal that was hidden in the engine compartment- black spot about halfway down the rear part of the well. i'm finding lots of rust in these hidey-holes, i urge eveyone to inspect these areas thoroughly and to take preventative measures to keep the cancer from spreading. a big part of this is maintaining the integrity of the seam seals originally done at the factory. if you catch them early on, you keep from having to deal with all the crap i'm looking at.

any advice on what to use for seam sealant? i was thinking rtv, although i'm not sure which one to use. thanks

[bretski]

Wow. You've been busy. Nice work so far!

As far as the seam sealers go, I'm no expert, but I have seen 3M seam sealant (and have had it recommended to me) at the local automotive paint shop.

[Manfred]

Nice work. Your bus is going to be sweet when this is all said and done.

Whatever you use, make sure it doesn't trap moisture. If you want to use foam, make sure it's closed cell.