solson1041
Member
Hi folks, I bought the cheapest running Sprinter I could find, and oh boy, she's got some rust. The frame is all good to my eyes, but it looks like water got trapped behind the trim running along the sides of the van, and it's just rusted apart. You can see light when you're sitting inside the van during the day time (No interior, obviously).
That being said, it really is perfect for my needs. It's full of motorcycles, tools and race gear all summer long, and I don't need it to look pretty. However, I'd like it to be just a tick more respectable in the paddock, and ideally, I'd like to patch the holes and rhino line the whole thing, just because I'm not going to get a real paint job for this thing.
My plan currently is to take a wire wheel on an angle grinder to the major rust spots, hit them with Por 15, and then probably patch it with good West System epoxy fiberglass, then spray it with rhino liner. I am capable of welding (though I don't currently own one), but I am certainly not "a welder".
It's an imperfect situation without a perfect solution, but I wanted to see if anyone had good suggestions for my situation. "doing it right" would cost more than I spent on the van, and I could just drive it as-is until it throws a rod through the block then scrap it, but if I can put in a few hundred bucks and some elbow grease over the winter, to get a slightly less embarrassing rig for the next few race seasons, I'm in.
That being said, it really is perfect for my needs. It's full of motorcycles, tools and race gear all summer long, and I don't need it to look pretty. However, I'd like it to be just a tick more respectable in the paddock, and ideally, I'd like to patch the holes and rhino line the whole thing, just because I'm not going to get a real paint job for this thing.
My plan currently is to take a wire wheel on an angle grinder to the major rust spots, hit them with Por 15, and then probably patch it with good West System epoxy fiberglass, then spray it with rhino liner. I am capable of welding (though I don't currently own one), but I am certainly not "a welder".
It's an imperfect situation without a perfect solution, but I wanted to see if anyone had good suggestions for my situation. "doing it right" would cost more than I spent on the van, and I could just drive it as-is until it throws a rod through the block then scrap it, but if I can put in a few hundred bucks and some elbow grease over the winter, to get a slightly less embarrassing rig for the next few race seasons, I'm in.