Mondial 172 Cup OEM+ / Rolling Resto

[MAXRUNDOWN]

So 24hrs into "this isn't going to turn into an underside restoration" I think we're probably there

Cleaned up this bit of surface rust on the chassis cross member between the axle mounts

I dropped the back box and heat shield, the forward most heat shield mount was very scabby, basically turned to dust with a knot wheel and it's going to need cutting out and a patch welding in, not a massive issue, I'll get some steel ordered.

The section aft of the axle mounts had some surface rust on it, including under the exhaust mount so that was wheeled off and rust converted

The other side is pretty much the same, however to get to it I need to remove the tank and filler neck

Caught another couple of scabs on the spare wheel well and inside the rear arch

So I think I'm at the point where there's enough spot repairs that it makes sense to drop the tank and refinish this area at least

It means pushing back other work I wanted to get done like the exterior bodywork, but that's not essential at the minute.

In other news, MS Customs quoted me £165 to powder coat and refurb the rear calipers (just the calipers not the bracket that holds the pads as I've already had them done) so I'm just going to send them out, as the seals kit and sliders are about £70 so it's not worth my time to fanny on with them when I can be doing other bits.

 

[AUS-172]

Well, s**t. Not ideal, but you're into it now - might as well crack on.

 

[MAXRUNDOWN]

Another couple of hours under the car this morning, got 95% of the horrible bitumen underseal off the boot floor using wire wheels in a drill and thinners soaked microfiber cloths.

Raptor will adhere nicely to the factory rubberised underseal as long as it's degreased and keyed up properly so I'm not interested in taking it back to bare metal.

I'll get the shocks, back bumper and the tank off tomorrow hopefully, then I can remove the underseal and scuff up the inner arches, rear panel and under the tank, then I'll have to fire up the welder and put a patch in the boot floor.

 

[Yarp]

Looking good so far.

However... you inspired me to have a look under the back of mine. It looks like absolute s**t. In fact, it looks worse than that. Mine has the flat boot floor being a 182 and I'm not convinced there's actually any metal left under the rust on the rail things it sits on. So now I'll have to do this too. Thanks

 

[MAXRUNDOWN]

Looking good so far.

However... you inspired me to have a look under the back of mine. It looks like absolute s**t. In fact, it looks worse than that. Mine has the flat boot floor being a 182 and I'm not convinced there's actually any metal left under the rust on the rail things it sits on. So now I'll have to do this too. Thanks

That's not ideal, but at least with a flat floor it'll be much quicker to strip back

 

[Yarp]

That's not ideal, but at least with a flat floor it'll be much quicker to strip back

Very true. There’s very few things I can think of that are more fun than lying on one’s back on a rock hard freezing cold floor whilst having 20 odd years of rust and s**t drop onto your face

 

[MAXRUNDOWN]

Been sidetracked the last couple of days decorating the kids bedroom, back to the garage this afternoon

I removed the back bumper and got the aft end of the spare wheel well cleaned up and keyed for painting

I collected a 500x500 sheet of 1mm steel during the week, however I probably should have ordered more..

Got the patch for the boot floor made, I haven't got a press or any dies so the indentation isn't the same depth (or shape) as the original, but also I don't care, this isn't a 100 points concours resto.

I'm going to weld it in from underneath, mainly due to the lower possibility of setting the inside of the car on fire.

I've always known the rear jacking points were a bit frilly, the drivers side being worse and also a bit deformed from previous owners careless jacking too, if I'm painting the rear half of the floor it's an ideal time to sort it so I removed the side skirt and started poking around

Balls..

Not great, but also not the worst I've seen by a fair margin, I think the sad truth is unless it's never been out in the rain or has already been done all Mk2's are probably like this now.

I've supported the car on the front chassis rail but I need to get a significantly taller axle stand I can sit under the axle mount before going any further, I've ordered a pair of outer sills too.

 

[Brigsy]

I think you have done the right thing tackling the sill rust now before it had chance to really spread. Well worth doing

 

[YorkshireKyle]

Snap

 

[MAXRUNDOWN]

Snap

View attachment 1804496

Hopefully it's not too bad underneath, mine had a couple of 20p size paint blisters when I took the skirts off, which turned into a fairly big hole when I hit it with the knot wheel

 

[MAXRUNDOWN]

Good few hours in the garage today, got the tank and filler neck out, there was about 10L of V power left in it which I've chucked in the Volvo, bonus!

It was pretty good under the tank, just dirty and plenty of sticky black bitumen underseal

Hours of cleaning later, it looks loads better

I've also been at every little rust spot I can find with knot wheels and the finger sander, then rust converter.

I've not used the welder for a few years so I've powered that up to test it, put a new screen in my mask and that's ready to go. I wanted to get the patch in the boot floor today but the Mrs is out and I won't weld on a car without a fire watcher, so tomorrow's plan is to get the patch in and some primer on the bits I've had back to bare metal.