Floorpan Damage And Tinworm.

[sparky 0]

Hey folks!

 

Having got the car road worthyish and actually driven the thing for a bit (since its been on axle stands for months) I figured it was time to address the issue of the rust on the bodywork and to see if there where any other horrors lurking under the carpet.

 

Seeing as the weather was good last week, out came the interior.

 

 

Apart from small spots of rust in the usual places I was quite pleased with the state that its in.

 

However there are one or two spots that I could use some guidance with hence the point of the thread.

 

Firstly under the rear seat bench I found this

 

 

and this

 

 

Im assuming that the 'button' in the second picture is part of a mounting bracket for something under the car (fuel tank?). The first picture shows a hole where i've seen a similar 'button' on other cars. If they are fuel tank supports then how did it pass an MOT only a couple of months ago....... Anyway Im fine with cutting out the bad metal and welding in new Im just not sure about the brackets.

 

Second spot is where the B pillar meets the sill

 

 

Looks like a terrible bodge job done by the previous owner. It looks like its been painted with a mix of hammerite and swarfega!

It now has a thin line of rust showing on the surface which continues along the seam between the sill and the quarter panel all the way to the rear arch. I've not attemped exterior bodywork before so im a little apprehensive about taking the grinder to it so any tips on making a good job of it will be greatly appriciated!

 

Ok last bit seeing as this is lengthy post. Appologies.

 

Drivers side

 

 

Passenger side

 

 

These sizeable dents are what greeted me when I lifted the carpet in the front foot wells. I can only assume that a monkey in a garage has seen it fit to position the pads of a 2 post lift on the floor pan instead of the sills . Am I going to have to cut these bits out and weld in new or can I get away with taking a big hammer to it. This wouldn't normally bother me, however I plan to fit a cage sometime in the future and I don't know what the scruntineers would say about a repair that close to the mounting points (I know they can be very picky sometimes). Perhaps someone in the know can clear that up for me.

 

Appologies for the length of the post.

 

Any help is greatly appriciated

 

Regards

 

Chris

[Tom Fenton 1,541]

Rot spots under the rear seat are very very common, nearly all GTI's seem to have this. Needs the fuel tank out really though to repair.

 

The bit at the B pillar looks to be full of jam, as you say someone has beaten you to it and bodged away merrily. If you search for a thread "sill repair" by me you can see how I tackled that area.

 

The front floor pans I would personally just beat something like with a hammer and dolly. The metal looks solid enough, it is just misshappen, most likely as you say by bad positioning of a lift or trolley jacks.

[sparky 0]

Thanks for that Tom. Your thread is a great help and is for the most part identical to how mine looks.

 

I've removed the Hammerite crap and the seam sealer along the sill and it doesn't look as bad as I first feared.

 

Now then, where can I get hold of a decent rust treatment, seam sealer and underseal?

[Tom Fenton 1,541]

Rust treatment stuff isn't hard to get, I have used some Loctite stuff and also Jenolite, both seem to do a similar job. Seam sealer and stonechip for the sill are best got from an automotive refinishing supplier so you end up with professional stuff rather than DIY stuff- the DIY stuff is never quite as good in my experience.

[joe1joe 3]

mines sligtly dented here aswell...... part of the shell drops down past the sill, which makes it easy to crush..... but it looks like some monkey has directly rasied the car on it!

[MerlinGTI 3]

Some bloody idiot has dented the front floor pan on my 205 as well with a 2 poster/jack.

 

Shot filled rubber mallet to reshape and a hammer andy dolly to get it perfect if your fussy like me. I think you will be suprised how well just the shot hammer will reshape that though

[boombang 2]

For rust remover, I'd now go for Bilt Hamber.

 

In the past used plenty of products, couldn't see the point in spending the extra. Used it recently on a few bits and the difference is unbelievable.

[DamirGTI 342]

Some bloody idiot has dented the front floor pan on my 205 as well with a 2 poster/jack.

 

 

Ditto , on my other Ph2 car .. the problem might be if it's dented underneath from the floor stiffener base , as this is double skin area (floor stiffener is of thicker steel than the floor panel) i've tried to bang it out with really big/heavy hammer ! but i couldn't straighten the area around the floor stiffener sufficiently as it's a bit hard to bend it back to the shape ..

 

Check if some of the rubber plugs/caps is missing underneath on the both stiffeners as if the car was jacked on them the plugs/caps usually fall off afterwards and then the moisture/water collects inside the stiffeners (insides are full of protective wax , but better check it out before it's too late as the moisture can do a right mess in this kinda double skin area if left for too long especially if the paint/underseal is damaged inside because of the metal bending)

 

Damir

Edited April 14, 2009 by DamirGTI

[joe1joe 3]

as above...its double skined so thers not much u can do about underneath.....

and my underseal was damaged aswell, so sealer and paint sorts it out!