Help with rust?

[Mr2zoom]

Hi everyone,
Just wondered if anyone knows about rust on the inside of the door pillars, as far as I'm aware the car has had £500 worth of welding done in nov 2011 and passed the mot,could anyone tell if the the pillars are structural or mainly a surface skin? Can I remove the rust and fill and spray or have new metal welding done?,any response would be appreciated .many thanks Karl .

[superwhite90]

I believe this is a structural point and you will not be able to fill it up. You'll have to cut it out and plate it over. There will be no strength if you fill over it.

[Mr2zoom]

Many thanks I will add some pics so you can have a look

[Mr2zoom]

Thanks for reply I will add some pics

[Mr2zoom]

I've got a list of the welding done....both front inner chassis legs...both rear outer sills....offside sill.....offside b pillar...the bill came to £535....the picture I have taken are from the drivers side...what does anyone think? If it were serious wouldn't they have welded that to? Any opinions ? Oh just found another reciept for welding on the nearside and offside front chassis and offside front floor..lol!

[EppingMk1SC]

Hi there, can't see any pictures, have you posted a link?

[Mr2zoom]

Sorry! I don't know how to do a link but I have put pictures of it on my profile,thanks for looking

[Jimbo_Jet]

Here you go! :)

http://www.mr2mk1club.com/garage_attachment.php?id=480

http://www.mr2mk1club.com/garage_attachment.php?id=481

http://www.mr2mk1club.com/garage_attachment.php?id=482

http://www.mr2mk1club.com/garage_attachment.php?id=483

[Mr2zoom]

Wow! Thanks...must Learn more about computers....

[Jimbo_Jet]

Here's a page which will give you a better idea how to do it :)

http://www.mr2mk1club.com/misc.php?do=bbcode#imgcode

I'm sure you'll soon get some bodywork advice from the North West's MK1 sage MK1dal/Gary ;)

[Mr2zoom]

Thanks for your help :)

[EppingMk1SC]

Eek! Sorry to say it but that looks like it really needs welding and sharpish...looks like its already been done before judging by the weld marks in one of the pictures. I hope it's not too serious, best of luck with getting it sorted.

(I would also check under the side skirts for any other hidden horrors given the proximity of the visible rust to the skirts)

[Mr2zoom]

Looks I bought a bad one hey....had loads of receipts for welding so I thought it was all done :(

[superwhite90]

Here you go! :)

http://www.mr2mk1club.com/garage_attachment.php?id=480

http://www.mr2mk1club.com/garage_attachment.php?id=481

http://www.mr2mk1club.com/garage_attachment.php?id=482

http://www.mr2mk1club.com/garage_attachment.php?id=483

Its an MOT failure on the 'A' Pillar (door hinge pillar) and a probable failure on the 'B' Pillar (seatbelt post) - On the 'B' pillar it looks like a poor repair, as its rusting again behind the already welded patch. You can't weld to rust so the whole rotten section needs to be cut out and patched/plated.

Gary on here is a welding genuis, ask him about tactics on how to tackle this.

[EppingMk1SC]

Again, sorry to say this but lots of receipts for welding if the car hasn't been fully restored simply means a car that has started to rot. There may be lots of other hidden rot, potentially in lots of places you can't easily see. Have you looked under the carpet in the footwells, and in the boot and frunk? Also under the skirts, the front bumper bar etc. Before you spend too much on fixing what you can see, it would be a good idea to check (or get checked) for all the bits you can't see as the bill can potentially run into the thousands, and it's best to go into it with your eyes open.

That being said, judging by the condition of some the cars on this forum that are or have been saved it's all fixable given time or money or both. Best of luck with it, hope it's not too bad.

[Jimbo_Jet]

Mmmmm, I’ve not really given my opinion as its limited compared to some on here. But based on my previous MK1 rust issues, and looking at your photos, I would expect the cills to be rotten pretty much front to back based on the state of the pillars above. Your previous posts mention some cill work has been done so I would remove the side skirts and have a look, it may be fine down there.

With your car being a t-bar though I would check your floor pan carefully as t-bars are prone to leaks. To give you an idea/scare the begessus out of you, have a look at this thread where Gary/Mk1dal is currently restoring a supercharger t-bar. It will give you an idea of where they can rust but this is probably a more extreme example.

http://www.mr2mk1club.com/showthread.php?13303-Super-edition-project/page3

[Mr2zoom]

Got a friend ( who's a machanic ) to have a look today and he seems to think that it's not much of a problem but we've got to check under the skirts...he said he'd weld the two sections on the photo....fingers crossed that the sill is ok...:-/ from what I can c most of the sill looks nice and shiny metal lol.....it had floor work done so we will just have to c what kind of job the previous welder did???

[superwhite90]

It almost looks like you can put a screwdriver right through that B-Pillar sadly. The pillar should have been treated to some rust prevention primer and then sprayed the appropriate colour. None of my A or B pillars have got rust like this, but my sills are beginning to go.

I'd check the front behind the wheels where the anti-roll bar brackets are at, you may find a surprise if it's rusty there which can be a severe issue if not corrected quickly.

[Mr2zoom]

The crossmember is in good condition and by the seems of things the rust that you can c is all there is really, had it up on ramps and have taken side skirts off and poked around everywhere,just strange that it only seems to be the worst on the A and B pillars drivers side...no signs of an accident or nothing....to say it's all clear of rust isnt so but no major probs by the look of things,,,,,, thank goodness :) the bottom chassis is all good to, only rust where the mud guards go but no problem to sort out same for drivers side wheel arch...thanks everyone for taking interest...

[superwhite90]

It may be rusty there due to possible door seals failing as water would get down the ingresses between the door and seal and just sit in that area.

[Mr2zoom]

Yeah! Think you could be right...I thought it could be that the other day.....have to check door seals....Found out how the B pillar rusted....the rain runs down the inside of the door and sits there and if it hasn't been treated before it has obviously started to rust...had the carpets up and checked inner sills and all looks in great condition with no rust...so at least it started rusting from the top down and not the floor up....very relieved :)