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My rusty Williams, where to start?



D

DBS

  Clio Williams 2
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.

trailing arms.jpg

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?

front arch drivers side.jpg

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?

sills.jpg
 

Attachments

  • front arch.jpg
    front arch.jpg
    2.4 MB · Views: 72
Yosemite Sam

Yosemite Sam

ClioSport Moderator
  Whichever has fuel
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.
 
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M

MAXRUNDOWN

ClioSport Club Member
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.
 
ex-Chinese Dave

ex-Chinese Dave

ClioSport Club Member
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.
 
D

DBS

  Clio Williams 2
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.
 
gez 172

gez 172

ClioSport Club Member
  Defender 110
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.
 
D

DBS

  Clio Williams 2
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 :ROFLMAO:
 
Yosemite Sam

Yosemite Sam

ClioSport Moderator
  Whichever has fuel
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 :ROFLMAO:
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.
 
D

DBS

  Clio Williams 2
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?
 
M

MAXRUNDOWN

ClioSport Club Member
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?
Click to expand...
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
 
D

DBS

  Clio Williams 2
Good shout, thanks. I'll look for a welder with decent recommendations, or at least one who specialises in restoration work.
 
16V F7R

16V F7R

ClioSport Club Member
  Clio 16V
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.
 
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D

DBS

  Clio Williams 2
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.
 
D

DBS

  Clio Williams 2
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

terryc101

ClioSport Club Member
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....
Click to expand...

Jesus, I might as well scrap mine now 😂
 
  • Haha
Reactions: DBS
M

MAXRUNDOWN

ClioSport Club Member
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....
Click to expand...

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

Yosemite Sam

ClioSport Moderator
  Whichever has fuel
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.
 
N

npt

  BMW 320d- 172 cup
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
 
D

DBS

  Clio Williams 2
MAXRUNDOWN said:
Jesus... That seems steep, is it that rotten? Who was that quote from?
Click to expand...
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.
Click to expand...
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.
 
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