My rusty Williams, where to start?

DBS · Sep 21, 2025

So, my Williams has a fair few rust problems. No surprises there I suppose...

I'm not quite sure how best to deal with all of it.

From what I've picked up on the forum, I was thinking of this for the chassis rails:

Wire brush
Surfex-HD
Deox-gel
Stone chip paint

Would you do the trailing arms and rear beam too? They're not looking awful, but, not great.

The front arches though... Once I start getting rid of the rust here, I suspect there’s going to be a massive hole. What’s the best way to start tackling it?

In a lot of places the sills have started to separate. Apologies the photo is a bit out of focus. Is it possible to try and treat it with some Bilt Hamber bits or am I better off digging it out and finding a welder?

Yosemite Sam · Sep 21, 2025

Get yourself a pack of wire brushes, a couple of large and small drill attachments with wire brushes, and ideally a needle gun too.

Take as much stuff off the bottom of the car as possible. Rear beam and fuel tank definitely need to be removed.

Attack the lot, then see what you’re left with and go from there.

Brigsy · Sep 21, 2025

From a quick look at the pics, its going to require sills and jacking points replacing/welding.

MAXRUNDOWN · Sep 21, 2025

There's a lot more work than a wire brush and some snake oil rust products required there unfortunately. If you're not up to speed with welding/body repairs I'd start getting quotes from some body shops that specialise in restoration work. There's nothing stopping you stripping the paint/underseal off with a knotted wire wheel on a grinder to see the extent of the rot first.

The rear beam is a straightforward remove, strip down and get it blasted and powder coated job.

Louis · Sep 21, 2025

This is the cheapest way

ex-Chinese Dave · Sep 21, 2025

Remove as much rust and old paint/sealer as possible with wire brushes and drill attachments. You need to find the border areas between rust and good metal before you can make a full assessment and get costs. Some areas may not be so bad but expect to find some problems that you haven't seen yet.

DBS · Sep 21, 2025

Thanks, sounds like it's definitely beyond me.

Its booked in to have the timing belt and gearbox leaks sorted in October. After that I'll start getting the rot out and book it in at a bodyshop.

I've seen good reviews on the forum for a place in Braintree who do classic cars. Its only an hour away from me so I'll try them first.

Ant1 · Sep 21, 2025

I would be getting the rust looked at before pumping money into belts. That’s gonna cost.

gez 172 · Sep 21, 2025

As above - forget the timing belt and gearbox leak. Cancel that appointment and keep the money for replacement panels and labour costs for the shell. Why have the belts done when the cars going to be off the road anyway.

DBS · Sep 21, 2025

Thanks, I hadn't thought of that. Sounds stupid to say, but I hadn't planned on spending much money on the bodywork. Now its pretty obvious I was waaaayyy too optimistic

Yosemite Sam · Sep 21, 2025

DBS said:
Thanks, I hadn't thought of that. Sounds stupid to say, but I hadn't planned on spending much money on the bodywork. Now its pretty obvious I was waaaayyy too optimistic

It’s not ‘that’ bad mate. I just had 2 x rear outer arches, one inner arch replaced, one sill replaced, one sill repaired, all painted and looking completely original on my 1989 Orion and it cost me £200 in parts, £800 cash to the welder, £1500 cash to the Bodyshop. And I couldn’t be happier with the result.

ex-Chinese Dave · Sep 21, 2025

Have a look at this from 12 mins in...

DBS · Sep 22, 2025

That's a cracking video. I might look up their welder.

Is it normal to find a welder and bodyshop separately? Or do most restoration places do the lot?

ex-Chinese Dave · Sep 22, 2025

Normal I would say. You may get someone who does a bit of welding in their spare time.

MAXRUNDOWN · Sep 22, 2025

DBS said:
That's a cracking video. I might look up their welder.

Is it normal to find a welder and bodyshop separately? Or do most restoration places do the lot?

You need to be quite picky when it comes to finding someone to do the welding.. Most crash repair/volume work body shops won't be used to rust repair/restoration work, and you definitely don't want it done by someone that does 'MOT welding'

The last thing you want is to pay good money to end up with pigeon s**t patches under filler and some shiny paint and underseal

DBS · Sep 22, 2025

Good shout, thanks. I'll look for a welder with decent recommendations, or at least one who specialises in restoration work.

Matt Cup · Sep 22, 2025

Just take some inspiration from these guys.

DBS · Sep 22, 2025

That's my Sunday sorted

ayli carper · Sep 27, 2025

If you're in Essex, Mark Fish has a lot of experience with Clio Williams he's in Harlow probably the most expensive you can find, but... https://markfish.co.uk/workshop-services/

16V F7R · Sep 27, 2025

Defo examine the condition of the shell before spending any money on anything else. If you have a budget/limit of what you will spend on the car then you may exceed this on bodywork and paint alone depending on how far you want to go with it. Good luck.

koksracing · Sep 27, 2025

ayli carper said:
If you're in Essex, Mark Fish has a lot of experience with Clio Williams he's in Harlow probably the most expensive you can find, but... https://markfish.co.uk/workshop-services/

He’s retired unfortunately

DBS · Sep 27, 2025

Ah that's a shame. I've found two places in Suffolk who do classic car restorations so I'll get some quotes from them next week.

Bleu · Sep 28, 2025

Found this company recently. They seem to do good work and a good variety of cars too, though I’ve never used them personally. https://www.facebook.com/share/1BBuHXnSmc/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Even a 172 ph1 recently. https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1GZNnUSY7a/?mibextid=wwXIfr

DBS · Oct 2, 2025

Thanks, I'll keep them in mind.

The first estimate came back today:

To cut out, laser remove rust, replace with repair panels, weld, dress and prime:

Torque boxes x2
Inner and outer sills x2
Inner front kick plates x2
Rear legs both sides
Rear jacking points and suspension mounts
Spare wheel cradle
Front arches x2
Boot floor panel
Drivers door pillar
Drivers door surround

Came to just £11.5k without paint, and assuming they can find all the panels....

terryc101 · Oct 2, 2025

DBS said:
Thanks, I'll keep them in mind.

The first estimate came back today:

To cut out, laser remove rust, replace with repair panels, weld, dress and prime:

Torque boxes x2

Inner and outer sills x2

Inner front kick plates x2

Rear legs both sides

Rear jacking points and suspension mounts

Spare wheel cradle

Front arches x2

Boot floor panel

Drivers door pillar

Drivers door surround

Came to just £11.5k without paint, and assuming they can find all the panels....

Jesus, I might as well scrap mine now 😂

Bleu · Oct 2, 2025

terryc101 said:
Jesus, I might as well scrap mine now 😂

Just stick it up on eBay, someone will pay £4k for it

MAXRUNDOWN · Oct 2, 2025

DBS said:
Thanks, I'll keep them in mind.

The first estimate came back today:

To cut out, laser remove rust, replace with repair panels, weld, dress and prime:

Torque boxes x2

Inner and outer sills x2

Inner front kick plates x2

Rear legs both sides

Rear jacking points and suspension mounts

Spare wheel cradle

Front arches x2

Boot floor panel

Drivers door pillar

Drivers door surround

Came to just £11.5k without paint, and assuming they can find all the panels....

Jesus... That seems steep, is it that rotten? Who was that quote from?

Yosemite Sam · Oct 2, 2025

That’s an absolutely ridiculous quote.
My boss paid £12k to have the entire underneath and everything on top apart from the roof painted on a 4 door Sierra. That included 2 new sills and arch repair panels.

That very much seems like a price of “we don’t want this job but if he pays this stupid amount well do it” to me.

Why don’t you rent a 3.5T car transporter for a Saturday and take it to a few places. It’s only about £150 for the day plus your fuel. Could save you £££ in the long run.

npt · Oct 3, 2025

You'd be better getting a good shell and using that instead of repairing the one you have if it requires what you've listed above, most quotes will be high as its a lot of work, once you add paint the shell will cost you more than the cars worth when built, thats the route I'd go down anyway

DBS · Oct 3, 2025

MAXRUNDOWN said:
Jesus... That seems steep, is it that rotten? Who was that quote from?

The rust isn't terrible in my opinion, the quote is certainly far more than I thought it would be. It's from Suffolk Classic Services.

I just heard back from another garage who quoted about £10k to replace the sills and arches. They said they'd have to fabricate the sills but arch panels were available. That includes Cobra underseal and paint, but still seems very expensive

Yosemite Sam said:
That’s an absolutely ridiculous quote.
My boss paid £12k to have the entire underneath and everything on top apart from the roof painted on a 4 door Sierra. That included 2 new sills and arch repair panels.

That very much seems like a price of “we don’t want this job but if he pays this stupid amount well do it” to me.

Why don’t you rent a 3.5T car transporter for a Saturday and take it to a few places. It’s only about £150 for the day plus your fuel. Could save you £££ in the long run.

That's a great shout, I think I'll shop round a bit more. That welder from the Auto Alex Williams video isn't that far from me so I'll try him too.

I'll also take a look for decent shells, just in case one comes up.

cat171 · Oct 3, 2025

DBS said:
The rust isn't terrible in my opinion, the quote is certainly far more than I thought it would be. It's from Suffolk Classic Services.

I just heard back from another garage who quoted about £10k to replace the sills and arches. They said they'd have to fabricate the sills but arch panels were available. That includes Cobra underseal and paint, but still seems very expensive

That's a great shout, I think I'll shop round a bit more. That welder from the Auto Alex Williams video isn't that far from me so I'll try him too.

I'll also take a look for decent shells, just in case one comes up.

I messaged @frayz last year as he'd had some stuff done on his inferno 182. I was looking for good place to do some paint on my 172 (I still haven't had time to take it to them)
He used VJB Classics in Maldon, Essex (I hope he doesn't mind me saying this)

Frayz's Inferno 182 - Back in the old flame

Yeah, for sure! The sportster CS's that I have were from a Meg3rs. So needed to use Jon Foz Recaro seat frames + Jon Foz lowered adaptor brackets. Using my deduction of body weight method, mine came to 19.5kg. I think you can +/- 0.5kg pretty easily due to the inacuracy of the mecanical scale...

cliosport.net

We are both in Essex.

DBS · Oct 3, 2025

Awesome, thanks. I'll get in touch with them

Yosemite Sam · Oct 3, 2025

Have you asked @Ben perry if he’d be interested in doing it?? The man is a bodywork wizard.

npt · Oct 3, 2025

Worst thing is once you get into it there's usually a load more fabrication needed, not always but its usually the case

Matt Cup · Oct 3, 2025

If this can be saved (well body swapped with a s**t load of fabrication) then anything can.

MAXRUNDOWN · Oct 3, 2025

https://www.youtube.com/@Joshwaa___ this lad seems to do fairly decent welding/rust repairs..

10k to do all of the welding and a full paint isn't unreasonable, assuming it's done to a high standard. If you're looking to spend a lot less then finding someone a bit more pragmatic who will make the shell solid so you can get a presentable blow over done is entirely possible.. I was quoted £2k for a blow over on my cup from the body shop that painted my back bumper, that would have been bumpers/skirts off, lights out but glass in and doors/boot done on the car, no door shuts or under bonnet. I'd expect to pay about a grand a side for inner and outer sills to be done on top of that, so if it does need a few other bits done you could be all in for circa £5k if you're after something presentable but not show quality.

ayli carper · Oct 3, 2025

Criminal to reshell it, there are issues with that anyway, and I'd rather have an RSI myself, but this is very sweet https://www.carandclassic.com/l/C1929503

16V F7R · Oct 7, 2025

Getting your cambelt done is the least of your worries.
It is mental what some body shops will quote nowadays and I know everything has gone up. A lot don’t want the work and it is always more work than you think it will be so they like to give themselves a comfortable buffer and either make it well worth there while or they’d rather not do it. Hopefully you can find a decent bloke or company that wants to do it and will do a decent job for a reasonable price.

Keep looking and good luck. Nice to see another one hopefully being saved but not an easy decision when you start getting these figures thrown at you.

DBS · Oct 8, 2025

Yes, the repair costs are definitely testing how much I love the car

Just got another quote to fabricate and install: Outer sills, lower + upper inner front arch sections, prime, underseal and paint those areas for £9600. I'm not sure it's wise to do the outer sills and not the inner sills.

I can't find any of those bodywork sections anywhere so they probably will have to be fabricated. Apart from maybe these:

Køb Rocker Panel, 2-dr, Side Panel, Left hos Klokkerholm Karosseridele

Rocker Panel, 2-dr, Side Panel, Left hos Klokkerholm Karosseridele - Hurtig levering og nem returnering

shop.klokkerholm.com

But I'm pretty sure it says they fit the Williams 1, when I set the filter to Williams 2 + 3 it doesn't say they fit. Does anyone know if they're compatible?

I'm off to VJB in Maldon tomorrow for a quote, I'll see what they reckon

Matt Cup · Oct 8, 2025

DBS said:
But I'm pretty sure it says they fit the Williams 1, when I set the filter to Williams 2 + 3 it doesn't say they fit. Does anyone know if they're compatible?

Here’s the differences between the 3 versions.

Williams 1,2,3 Wots the difference

Hey ppl, Can some1 please tell me the difference between these cars? Williams 1,2 & 3????????????????? And have they all got ltd edition numbers or id that just the Williams 1?? Cheers Alex

cliosport.net

Pretty sure it’s only paint and spec that makes them different. Oh and AC.

My rusty Williams, where to start?

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