Replacing rear quarters

[GabrielKnight]

When people talk about replacing a 'rear quarter' due to rusting, what do they mean?

How much do Renault charge for a rear quarter please?

[16v_paddy]

:lol:

[Coops]

renault dont sell them unfortunately

any decent bodyshop will be able to rebuild arches from scratch though

[16v_paddy]

Ok, being sensible now. Have a look at this pic of the rear quarter of my car, this is what people are refering to

http://i444.photobucket.com/albums/qq165/16v_paddy/1st%20respray/OSArch.jpg

However, there's no need to replace the whole lot. Renault want about £350 odd + VAT for a whole rear quarter. Your car would have to be rotten all the way up to the windows to warrant needing a whole panel.

Have a look at this next pic, my arch & sill were rotten so replaced, you can see the fresh bare metal. Only a very small bit of a £20 repair panel was used to replace the rust that was cut out

http://i444.photobucket.com/albums/qq165/16v_paddy/1st%20respray/sillwelded.jpg

So you can imagine how pissed off you'd be if you spent the best part of £400 for a big bit of metal & only used a very tiny bit of it, when a small £20 bit of metal is more than adequate :lol:

[16v_paddy]

renault dont sell them unfortunately

any decent bodyshop will be able to rebuild arches from scratch though

They do, well they did when I asked last year before mine went in for it's respray. They quoted me £385 +VAT :shock:

[GabrielKnight]

I understand the thinking behind patching up the bits of rust for a much cheaper price, but no doubt you're probably in the business and can get jobs like this done for £20.

If I took my car down to a bodyshop, they'd take one look at my face and charge me £200-£300 to do a botch with a horrendous spray job.

My thinking behind replacing my rear quarters is that I've spent £4000 on the car already, the engine is low millage and everything else is mint. I plan on keeping the car in as mint condition as possible for a looong time and it seems to me that the rear quarters are the achilles heel that need constantly repatching.

Would it not be a long term investment to spend say £1100 on a rear half, professionally sprayed off the car while Renault are still manufacturing them, to have another 10 years (£110 a year) of trouble free from the worst part of the car?

[16v_paddy]

No.

A bodyshop will just get the £20 part & chop that up accordingly. It's not patching up, they will cut away all the rot plus a bit more, then take the new bit of metal, cut it to size then weld it in.

Look at how much fresh metal is on mine & my arches were really bad. If you waste your money on the panel from renault the bodyshop will still use the same amount of metal to do the job & the leftover of the new panel will be useless & worth about 50p in scrap.

Trust me, there is no need to waste your money on new panels from renault

[16v_paddy]

Just re-read your post and no again :lol:

It can't be painted off the car as it's all got to be welded onto the car before it's painted :wink:

[16v_paddy]

Oh and renault will only give you a piece of bare unpainted metal :wink:


edit button would be really useful about now :roll:

[Tommo]

Any photos of the arch painted and finished Paddy?

[16v_paddy]

Any photos of the arch painted and finished Paddy?


LOTS!! :lol: just look for my threads in the pictures section :wink:

[MatrixGuy]

16v.... were your arches guaranteed for any length of time?

I need mine doing, again!! but i don't want the rust coming back 2 months down the line, lol.

[GabrielKnight]

OK then. To start with, where do I get the 'piece of metal' that is suitable to weld on for £20? Afaik, there were only 300 or so W3s. Or have you welded on a bit of a mk1 and stretched it somehow? What should I search for to find the donor part? Where should I try? Not many people have such skill. I'm a primary school teacher, not a mechanic.

My family home is in Leicester, not so far from Nottingham and I'm owed a lot of holiday so maybe we can come to some arrangement to look at this together. Msg me if interested.

Rgds.

[Coops]

beevers autopanels, google search it

they sell mk1 rear panels for the lower none flared arch models which will supply the bodyshop with all they need to replace the parts that rust

[GabrielKnight]

16v.... were your arches guaranteed for any length of time?

I need mine doing, again!! but i don't want the rust coming back 2 months down the line, lol.

This is what I mean and invisage.

Renault won't manufacture rear quarters much longer, so it seems like now or never', albeit at significant cost in the short term?'

[Coops]

theres no guarantee renault ones wont rust either, its still just a sheet of pressed steel

the rust re-occurance is all down to the bodyshop, not the parts

renault may use a slightly higher grade of steel, but it will still rust straight through if badly fitted or poorly painted

i'd be more worried about finding a decent, reputable bodyshop than where you'll get a few square feet of metal from

[16v_paddy]

:withstupidup: no need to buy it yourself as the bodyshop will get it & sort it all out for you, just need to find a good one

[GabrielKnight]

Fair enough, but again with the reps here, no doubt you all know so many people in the trade and forget that for average Joe, finding a good mech / body worker that knows the car well enough is a really tough deal.

I don't have any such contacts so might just as well end up getting a Unipart fitting and a repaint job from Kwik-Fit.

My postcode is WF14, if anyone can help.

[Coops]

not sure about bodyshops up leeds way i'm afraid mate, sure there must be a more northerly member on here who will know one up there

l.w. smart repairs near me have done all my bodywork and darrens (talkingfish) and they do a cracking job, but not cheap

[drsmith1979]

i'm sure people will come along fairly soon with some suggestions, however, as has been said a fair few times, the cost of parts and materials is fairly cheap. This is so common of Clio's that some bodyshops will have seen it time and time again so the odds of getting someone experienced is better than you think...

The main cost is labor, the time it takes to prep the panels, weld and then prep for pain etc... people have done their own on here too... just depends on the quality of job... some people have paid big money only to have them come back within 12 months, so i'd see if you can get a nice happy medium in there somewhere...

[DaneC]

OK then. To start with, where do I get the 'piece of metal' that is suitable to weld on for £20? Afaik, there were only 300 or so W3s. Or have you welded on a bit of a mk1 and stretched it somehow?

Rear arches are identical on all Williams and Valvers, so that's no problem. :D

[busterhymes]

check this link m8----- http://www.st-performance.co.uk/ hes a forum user and based in retford so not so far from you
also have a look at this link for an example of work done------http://www.williamsclio.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=37111

[busterhymes]

bloody link not working, pantsorama :oops:

[katbloke]

link does work.

I had my arches down 18 months ago and its starting to come back, now my quandry is do i go back to get it redone at the same place for it to eventually fail again or go to a car restorer, at least the latter will know more about rust prevention than a body shop. Im off the opinion that you need to really protect the bare metal with copious amouns of etch primer etc inside and out before you even think about normal primer and paint.

Most bodyshops will slap the primer on bare metal and squirt underseal behind it and thats their idea of corrosion protection. Strip it all back and use hydrate 80 to convert and rust thats only sufrace wise, then etch primer then primer basecoat and laquer, id even be tempted on the arch lip to use a smooth stone chip paint between etc primer and basecoat layers

[busterhymes]

what the link to WC forum :? thought etch primer just gives a key to what ever filler/paint u put on top :?

[northy]

if i was to ever replace rusty wheel arches again i would buy a full £300 rear wing and fit that.

The time to do it properly and get the right shape is well worth the £300 notes.

[Tommo]

Do you mean buy a new arch from Renault? I've always said I'd do the same, luckily I've never had the dreaded rot on the arches but it will happen eventually

[Tommo]

Or I'd buy a fibreglass one, guranteed it will never come back then!

[katbloke]

what the link to WC forum :? thought etch primer just gives a key to what ever filler/paint u put on top :?

Sorry st one works didnt see the wc one you needed to live a space after --- before puting the url in

http://www.williamsclio.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=37111

[katbloke]

oh and yes etch primer does provide a better key on bare metal for normal primer hence why id want to use it before normal primer, the reason for rust is water/condensation penetration through surface protection failure so the more stabilising and adhesion it gets the better protection itll have

[GabrielKnight]

I know this seems like a silly question but what exactly does the 'rear wing' cover? Everything behind the rear quarters?

[katbloke]

it covers from the door opening back to the tailgate shut line up to the window and down to join the sill and bumber area

[busterhymes]

what the link to WC forum :? thought etch primer just gives a key to what ever filler/paint u put on top :?

Sorry st one works didnt see the wc one you needed to live a space after --- before puting the url in

http://www.williamsclio.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=37111

cheers :oops:

[Tommo]

How much would st-performance charge for a rear arch repair just out of interest, if the arch is in a bad state?

[busterhymes]

How much would st-performance charge for a rear arch repair just out of interest, if the arch is in a bad state?


ring them :roll: