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walters300
12-04-2015, 23:23
I have started this years tinkering and my w3 is back to life after 3 years of not being started, it hasn't been on the road since 2009 and this summer its going to be refreshed. Looking at the rust on the sills and rear arches I am questioning whether its worth the massive expense of getting plates welded in. Years ago paper and filler was the inexpensive alternative or fibreglass if you were a bit of a connoisseur !

I have been looking at alternatives and I've seen a few articles where people recommend using 3m panel bond to either attach new sills etc or use from inside out for minor rust issues on panels. Main structures obviously need metal.

I'm looking at this for 2 reasons.
1. Much cheaper option than welding.
2. The rust that's shown itself after 20 years would be better replaced with a product that won't perish leading to the same problem in 20 years time.

value is not an issue as il probably be buried in my car!! I can see that from a purist point of view metal is the original product.
From a practical/ economic point of view the use of a non perishing product which saves a huge amount of labour cost is far more beneficial for my requirements and in 20 years time I won't have to revisit the same place.

Your views please and i have no issue with being called a cowboy...

PhilW
13-04-2015, 07:29
Hi there,
After reading your question, my comment is based solely on the fact that you are not concerned with originality/value and this is just an economic decision.
If this is the case and the option that you have chosen IS a viable alternative for the cosmetic repairs to the car, then I would say its your decision. My warning to you would be that if your sills and wheel arches are showing signs of rust, then its very possible that the corrosion has also got into inner sills etc which will need to be cut out and repaired with good metal before cosmetic bonding of panels takes place.
With rust, what you can see is normally only part of the problem, just ensure that you only bond panels to solid corrosion free metal, anything else would earn you the "Cowboy" badge in my opinion ;-).
From my point of view, I would only replace metal with metal, but I quite understand where you are coming from.
Whatever you decide to do, I hope that you make the right decision and get to enjoy your car again.

walters300
13-04-2015, 09:53
Thanks for that... I've got a boroscope and I'm going to delve into all the nooks and crannies to see exactly what's required, katbloke has done a fantastic job of his car and you get what you pay for at the end of the day. I will ponder the options and costs before making a final decision. Ultimately the best way is to do an evening course on welding and DIY maybe.

PhilW
13-04-2015, 11:08
The Boroscope is a great idea, if you take out the rear door cards you have fantastic access to the rear wheel arches & inner arches and then going forwards right through to the front of the sills.
As you say Katbloke has done a comprehensive job on his car and will have a very strong body shell at the end of it.

walters300
13-04-2015, 13:15
That's a great tip going through the rear door card.. Thanks for that. The unit has a 1m flexi which should be perfect. I will post up a few pics if I get a chance to do it on the weekend.

Ayli Carper
13-04-2015, 13:48
If it's not been on the road since 2009 and you want to be buried in it, then anything which gets the car running and you using it has to be a good thing.

So long as you are safe in it when it's running, and have a smile on your face, what else matters?

walters300
13-04-2015, 15:08
That's exactly where I'm at:-D . After fitting a few new parts it burst into life and I was smiling like a Cheshire Cat after not being able to get it starting last year. I've got about a 1.5k budget to get the car back to presentable condition.