1961 Van - Rough

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62'Brier
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Joined: Tue Nov 19, 2013 1:46 pm

1961 Van - Rough

Post by 62'Brier »

I bought this poor rusted van in Oakland and became a Raiders fan over night. The roof is rotted at the seam really badly and where the rear body part that the rear doors latch to are rotted out horribly. You can practically pull the roof off. Somehow the doors still close and last to it despite being flimsy.

I'm thinking maybe I can find someone good somehow convert it to a pop-top camper van. Yes it would be a desecration of an original corvair. Any ideas of what I can do in the meantime to prevent further rust and leaking of rain? What's a good sealant or quick temporary fix until I get it done right? It's a three speed with a 110 engine which I'm currently driving around.

Also, I wanted to do a plastidip or regular spray paint job on the rear and front bumpers. Do I have to sand them first?
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terribleted
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Re: 1961 Van - Rough

Post by terribleted »

Waterproof fiberglass compound (Dynaglass long strand, or Tigerhair for example) followed by rubberized undercoating ought to slow it down and seal the holes. You must remove crusty rusted metal so the glass will stick well. From the one photo it looks like someone has applied some bondo or fiberglass compound already in that corner. If you remove the rust before coating and seal after it should last better than what was done before which appears to be simply shoving material into the rust. You should rip out this old body filler whatever it is before applying fresh material. If you need to you can back the fiberglass compound with some fiberglass window screen or something to keep it from falling thru the holes. On the bumpers the rust needs to be removed first for any coating to hold and last well. Sandblasting would be a good choice
Corvair guy since 1982. I have personally restored at least 20 Vairs, many of them restored ground up.
Currently working full time repairing Corvairs and restoring old cars.
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Located in Snellville, Georgia
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62'Brier
Posts: 18
Joined: Tue Nov 19, 2013 1:46 pm

Re: 1961 Van - Rough

Post by 62'Brier »

Thanks for the tips


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dave t
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Re: 1961 Van - Rough

Post by dave t »

Call Jeff at california corvairs. He often is cutting up rust buckets
He may be able to get you some body/roof panels to graft in.

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