http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=wua8um1.y9syp9t&x=0&h=1&y=a9r73p&localeid=en_US

Hi Miguel & All,
You didnt describe the damage to the front end,
but, this is what I did to repair the front corner of my 85.
Get yourself a little 120 wire feed, with gas,
and anything is possible! :o)
best of luck on it !
John C.
SLC, UT...

http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=wua8um1.y9syp9t&x=0&h=1&y=a9r73p&localeid=en_US

-------------- Original message --------------
From: Miguel Pacheco <mundopacheco@GMAIL.COM>

> Some of you may remember the thread 'What To Do With a Crash Survivor',
> Neale Pickett, author. He had this crash survivor in Los Alamos a couple of
> months ago and I bought it :
>
> http://inventors.about.com/od/astartinventions/a/air_bags.htm
>
> My question is regarding body work. Are there any instructional sites
> recommended? Specifically I want to repair the front. The door I will just
> replace. I don't know if it would be advisable to replace the skin or just
> slide-hammer these indentations as far out as possible then just fill in.
> I purchased the van from Neale and picked it up last week. The deal was
> straight up with no surprises. Originally I was going to haul it back to
> Durango (a 3 hr drive) but I ended up installing a cracked windshield from
> my boneyard and re-connecting the hot water supply to radiator where the
> impact apparently caused the hose to fly off of the plastic conduit. Other
> than that, the van drives straight. It even looks pretty good if you stand
> at the right spot, tilt your head and squint your eyes a bit.
> BTW this van has a 2.3 GoWesty engine (transferable warranty) with 16,000
> miles. This thing is smoother and quicker than any 2.1 I've ever driven. Big
> smile on my face every time I drive it..........now back to the regularly
> scheduled, never ending repairs, on one van or another....................
> --