Caddy mk2

MPalm · Post by **MPalm** » Thu Dec 27, 2007 10:24 am

I thought I could make a project thread about my Skoda Pick-Up (also sold as VW Caddy), maybe someone brings them to the US some day

ItÂ´s a -99 with a 1.9 N/A AEF-code VW IDI engine.
Today I had to replace some sheetmetal due to rust, yep, rust on a car thats 8yrs old. Thanks for putting salt on the roads

ItÂ´s on the inner wall of the bed, where the shocks are mounted.
This is what it looked like when the rusty bit was off:

The shock is attached to a 3mm plate seen in the middle of the hole, that plate is spotwelded to the inner sheetmetal.

Next is halfway, with a new piece in place, I drilled 10 holes on it to be able to weld the shock plate to it.

Pics were taken with a cell cam, I forgot to bring my camera.
For me itÂ´s more important that the welds or whatever IÂ´m working with works well rather than looks good

MPalm · Post by **MPalm** » Fri Dec 28, 2007 8:18 am

Did the other side today. HereÂ´s what it looked like before:

Took out the rusted parts:

Makeing of the piece:

Getting ready to weld:

Done:

I have overlapping panels to save time, it doesnÂ´t look as good as if they were flush but is strong enough and thatÂ´s what really matters.

Oh, IÂ´ve put on the aux lights too (a week or so ago):

Post by **Fatmobile** » Sat Dec 29, 2007 1:31 am

Rusted out in 8 years?

It isn't always important for repairs to look good. Strength is important, I'm with you on that.

They have some stuff called weld-through zinc primer.
On my 4 door project, I wish I had used it on surfaces that overlapped.
So something protective would have been between the 2 layers of metal.

coke · Post by **coke** » Sat Dec 29, 2007 1:45 am

Don't feel bad, in our state they use liquid calcium instead of salt. Its like pouring hot acid on the road and the effects on the vehicles is as such.

MPalm · Post by **MPalm** » Mon Dec 31, 2007 9:06 am

This truck was used by a contractor and probably not washed as often as it should have, itÂ´s not normal with that much rust on a car less than 10yrs old.
Our Golf -98 is doesnÂ´t have rust anywhere, but then again itÂ´s really well taken care of.
I noticed that although it is a VW AEF engine in the Skoda it has a Lucas IP

IÂ´ve heard nothing but really bad things about them, I tried to find info on the net but didnÂ´t find anything of interest yet.

MPalm · Post by **MPalm** » Mon Jan 07, 2008 5:15 am

IÂ´ve had a lot of fog/ice on the inside of the windows and now IÂ´m searching for a leak...The floor is wet behind the drivers seat. The drains on the bed were clogged up so I suspect that the water has found a way to the cabin, but I donÂ´t know where yet.

MPalm · Post by **MPalm** » Fri Jan 11, 2008 12:53 pm

Oh man, more rust!!
Found the reason to the wet floor in the cabin:

The picture is taken from the rear of the bed, facing toward the cabin. Who knows how long the draining ducts on the bed has been clogged up, leaving water between the bed floor and the wooden bedliner?
IÂ´ll post pictures of the patch I made tomorrow..

Post by **Fatmobile** » Sat Jan 12, 2008 4:18 am

That has the potential to dump ALOT or water into the cab.
Glad you found the leak.

MPalm · Post by **MPalm** » Sat Jan 12, 2008 10:35 am

The holes werenÂ´t that big at first, more like airbubbles in the paint but youÂ´re right, I have found THE leak

DidnÂ´t get any pictures today, I got a small piece of metal in my eye when I was cutting out the rusted parts, had to go to see a eyedoctor

I did have protective glasses but that didnÂ´t help much.

MPalm · Post by **MPalm** » Sun Jan 13, 2008 9:01 am

HereÂ´s some pictures of todays work:
I made the new piece much higher up on the cabin wall than necessary just to have some extra protection from whatever junk I may have on the bed at times. The sheet is 1.5mm thick. I had to pound it to shape on the top, then I put RTV-sealant around it to be 100% sure it keeps the water out.

Next picture is after primer and paint, IÂ´m going to sand down and paint the whole bed someday but I donÂ´t know what paint to use yet. Something that doesnÂ´t scratch easily...

HereÂ´s how it looks right now, you can also see my next project for the car on this pic. IÂ´m going to make a bed cover..

MPalm · Post by **MPalm** » Fri Jan 18, 2008 9:01 am

Picture of the bed cover, I ordered a dark grey but got a blue! The shop that made it were sorry, it was their mistake, and cut 50% off the price, thatÂ´s fine with me

This winter is really crappy, rain and 0-5 C every day. Normally in january we have 50cm of snow and -10 to -20 degC...
Good thing I got the cover though, now I can keep my stuff dry

MPalm · Post by **MPalm** » Mon Jan 28, 2008 10:59 am

Before:

After:

MPalm · Post by **MPalm** » Wed Feb 13, 2008 8:14 am

Today I have put in a orange glowplug-light that shows how long the GPÂ´s have power.
Then I made a override switch in series with the wire coming from the coolant temp sensor that tells the relay how long to run power to the GP bus.
I put it in series to be able to switch it off when I start the engine, if IÂ´d just disconnected the wire it would glow 30-40 seconds every time.
Normally, above 60C it doesnÂ´t run the GPÂ´s at all which probably was OK when the engine was new, but after 210 000km I had to crank it for 3-4sec before it fired up. I donÂ´t like that...
Now I flip the switch and it fires up immediately

MPalm · Post by **MPalm** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 3:55 pm

Update.
I changed one of the rear brake cylinders since it was leaking. I managed to get both allen bolts out and even got off the brake pipe w/out it twisting too much. ThatÂ´s rare due to all the salt on the roads, the brakepipes rust and when you loosen the nut, the pipe gets twisted and starts to leak..
So this went surprisingly well, the brakes looked EXACTLY like the old Caddys. Why change a design that works well

I would like to make a plywood wall or something in the bed to make 2 separate rooms so to speak, one larger section for fuel cans and other greasy stuff and one clean section for grocery bags, backpack etc...
It needs to be easily removed or put away when I need to carry longer/larger items with me.
Any tips on how to make it is appreciated!

Post by **Fatmobile** » Sat Feb 23, 2008 12:29 am

I don't have any tips for making compartments.... but I can relate to twisting off brake lines when trying to remove them from the wheel cylinders,.... when I see them starting to twist, I start spinning the wheel cylinder it's bolted into instead of the nut.
Your truck is looking good, better all the time.