Body Repairs 4 - Windscreen wiper hole

Many years ago the area around the driver's side wiper arm started to rust, and water eventually started to get into the cab in rainy weather.  I had no idea why this corrosion might have started in this particular place, as the centre wiper arm was unaffected.

I made a temporary repair using a bit of fibreglass, and it worked for a while but without being able to get at the complete area properly to remove all the rust it was short-lived.

The problem is that the wiper arm assembly is behind the dash and the inside fascia panel, and these are difficult to remove.  The rusted area also extended up into the windscreen rubber.  The area was therefore virtually impossible to repair without removing the windscreen and the entire dashboard.

Now is the time.

Having removed the old windscreen and the entire dashboard and fascia it is now apparent why the area has rusted away.   This is the passenger side are of the front.  The lip is where the windscreen sits, so the top half of the photograph is outside and the lower half is inside the van.

The dashboard / fascia bolts to the area that is showing surface rust.  This is where condensation that has run down the inside of the windscreen collects, and it runs to either end of the opening, where it is supposed to drain through that large hole and drip onto the floor.

It has corroded this side of the windscreen opening.  On this side it is only surface rust and will clean up, but part of the lip is rusted and will have to be rebuilt.

At the driver's side this water has accumulated around the windscreen wiper pivot and bracket, and caused major corrosion.  The rusted area was cut away but the lip which reatins the windscreen, and the inner plate onto which the dashboard is bolted has completely disappeared.


Two replacement sections had to be made to patch up the area, one for the outer surface, and the other for the inner surface.  These are tacked into place and plug-welded along the top to rebuld the lip.  This is how the original lip is formed where the front panel and the inner plate are spot-welded.