>I leaned on the rubber seal & the metal (more accurately, the
>former metal) buckled.  There's now a big hole.  I find this a bad sign.
>Has anybody fiberglassed bad damage like this?  I'm probably going to have a
>shop do the work (time is a factor, time and not having a garage or barn
>anymore) but I'd be curious as to whether or not anybody's been in this boat
>before and how they took care of such serious damage.

What's the rest of the bus like for structural rust?  Check in the rear of
the front rear wheels where the head of the 'longitudinal' beams sit (you
probably know this)....what's it like on each side of the engine cover (at
the base of the 'vertical' beams)???  If either of these spots is rusted out
I'd do a fibreglass/bog job for appearances/watertightness and hope to get
another 3 or so years out of it.  

If the rest of the body is structurally OK it is probably worth trying to
save/restore.... and then only real fix for the screen is to cut it all
out....usually the whole section from about 1/2 to 3/4  up the A pillar to
half way down the front of the bus is cut and replaced (finding a donor
vehicle good in this area can also be a problem)...

Rob K.

_________________________
Robert King
king@tanelorn.aod.dsto.gov.au