My rusty Williams, where to start?

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?

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.

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

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.

This is the cheapest way

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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

Click to expand...

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.

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