Complete windowless side panel cut outs to replace window panel

**HX Bordeaux Met Sandman** · 06-04-2013, 09:14 PM

Hello guys and gals,

It has been a long time since being on this site. The time has come to get into restoring my Sandman. About two years ago on this site, I read a post from a person in north eastern Victoria who had two complete windowless side panels that could be used to replace window cut outs. These where cut through the roof and below the joint of the panelvan/ute section.

At the time I was unable to purchase the items. I have been unable to relocate their post about the item. After speaking to my panel beater to do a really good restoration he wants to replace the windowless side panels this way instead of filling in the cutouts and welding them up.

I am placing this post with the hope that the person is still a member of this site, who may possibily have the sides still for sale. Or if not someone out there may have what I am after.

Regards.

**SLR_dave** · 07-04-2013, 12:38 AM

Hi HX Bordeaux Met Sandman,
It sounds from your description that you would be losing a fair bit of original steel to do it like that. If it were me I wouldnt be looking at that, I have had to cut away more of the original body of one of my vans than I wanted to due to rust, and have gone to some length to keep as much original steel as I could. I have two vans, one windowless, and one with both windows cut out on both sides. The windowless van is the one with the rust probs though, and I understand the attraction of a windowless van, they look great, but for the van that has the factory windows cut out, I am gonna keep mine the way it was manufactured. I am a bit lucky with that car, as it's colour was originally tuxedo black, and the windows that came with it are heavily tinted, so, from a distance, I am hoping it will still have that windowless look when painted up.
It strikes me, that one way to make it (almost) windowless, without chopping into the body, and thus still keeping easily restorable originality would be to simply fit steel window panels into the already existing rubber window seals, much, much cheaper than all that panel work and in the end, it may actually be worth more. But of course, it depends on the look you are after, and how it would look with the colour you are painting it. To imagine a window section filled with a steel panel stitting in rubber surrounds, have a look at a commercial econovan or something like that, they have windows and panels that are interchangeable - I havent seen it done on Sandman, (yet) but I imagine it could look quite good, and it would be cheap to do and very easily reversable/replaceable to do anything else if you really didnt like it in the future. Another thing you could do is actually paint the window Bordeaux Metallic, either from the inside, or even the outside (save making up a panel) and reinstall it in its rubber to get the effect and see what you think. Might look pretty cool. Just a thought.