[car_overhaul] Roadspeed Revival

[Anthony 1,003]

With the Kurust drying overnight, I took the opportunity to give the carpet a clean to bring it back up to a nice bright red. Unfortuntately, the small issue of it being winter means that cleaning the carpet outside wasn't an option, so instead I did what any self-respecting batchelor would do - crack open a beer, hang the carpet above the bath and use the shower to clean it.

 

 

Despite the carpet not looking particularly dirty when it was in the car, the amount of grime that came out of it was immense - the water coming off it was brown initially, which was pretty disgusting. slowly but surely though, the water ran clean and the carpet looked much better - I'll get a picture tomorrow when it's finished drying off.

 

 

With the carpet now clean, I decided that the seats could do with a little TLC as the leather was starting to dry up and no longer looking its best. Gliptone leather cleaner and conditioner does a fantastic job though, following a clean and couple of applications of conditioner, the rear seats were already looking and feeling better. I'll give them another application of conditioner before I refit them into the car though, just for good measure.

 

Front seats to follow in the next few days when I get chance

[hman205 1]

All looking good mate can't wait for you to have it back out to play. just need to find me one now thats cheap enough that Vikki won't complain about me spending the wedding budget on lol.

[Gibbo GTI 0]

I feel your pain on the rust under the rar seat. Mine had gone in similar places as well as a few others. The Rally prep shell i've just picked up is a '92 shell like my car but it has no rust there or has any signs of being repaired there in the past.

 

Loving the carpet cleaning lol. I cleaned my mountain bike in the bath/shower last week as I live in a 3rd floor flat, didn't have a beer in my hand so will have to work on that lol.

[Simes 248 2 Cars]

I like this thread.

It reminds me to get off my arse and finish mine off.

[S33GAV 0]

Nice thread. I remember the amount of dirt that came off my carpet when I used the vax to clean it, it was minging!

 

A bit gutting to see that rust though

[Alan_M 66 1 Cars]

Mine's getting this over winter too, inside and underneath. Had a mooch under the car the other day and noticed one of the rubber bungs has fallen out, allowing rust to form between the double skinned floor. Whole things getting done now!

 

If I'm not using it, you're quite welcome to borrow my welder for the little jobs.

 

Steamers work well on the carpets, used mine to good effect previously with some Vanish. Otherwise, coming together well

[Anthony 1,003]

Taking advantage of a dry (but cold) day I cracked on with getting the interior back together.

 

First job was to give the areas that I treated with Kurust yesterday a coat of paint to protect them further. I had planned to paint it all properly in Alpine White to match the existing paint, but the cold weather quickly scraped that idea as the rattle cans just wouldn't spray properly and then blocked themselves up.

 

Deciding that it didn't matter too much whether it was a good colour match - seeing as it will be hidden underneath a carpet - I opted for plan B and used brush-on Hammerite instead, which worked fine even on cold metal. What it does highlight is just how creamy Alpine White is - it's not immediately obvious when looking at the car in isolation, but put a crisp, bright white next to it and it's very noticeable.

 

 

While that was drying, I decided to tackle another job that had been on the "I must get around to that" list for far too long and sort out the alarm install. I'd "installed" it (and I use that term loosely!) the morning before flying over to Cyprus for a friends wedding back in August 2008 after it transpired that I was going to have to drive a group down to the airport and leave my car parked up for a week in the long stay parking - and there was no way that I was happy doing that in a 205 with no alarm/immobiliser whatsoever.

 

It worked, but it was a bit of a lash-up with messy wiring and the module hanging loose behind the dash, although still better than most "professional" alarm installations that I've had the misfortune of having to fix/remove over the years. No pictures or specific details for obvious reasons, but suffice to say that it's installed properly now and any would-be thief will atleast have to work for their prize if they want to drive it away.

 

I even mounted the LED properly finally, instead of hanging loose out of the front of the air vent in true bodgetastic style as it had been. That's the problem with bodges and why I don't like doing them - they inevitably end up being far more long-term than you intended.

 

 

With the alarm now sorted and the paint dry, I fitted the carpet back in that I cleaned last night, and a very good job I did too if I do say so myself! All the oily and grimey marks have gone, and it's now a uniform bright red colour like the day it left the factory.

 

Until I'm 100% sure that there's no more leaks I've not put any underlay back in, and in truth I'm in two minds about bothering to refit it even if it is leak free - having been in 205's with the underlay removed they're not noticeably louder, and makes it a few kilos lighter. We'll see - first I need to convince myself that it's definitely watertight after how wet the underlay was previously.

[Anthony 1,003]

All looking good mate can't wait for you to have it back out to play. just need to find me one now thats cheap enough that Vikki won't complain about me spending the wedding budget on lol.

You just need to sell the idea to her better - point out that it's an investment and that values are appreciating, point out the cheap running costs, and, well, hope she's forgotten about the problems you had with the last one

 

If I'm not using it, you're quite welcome to borrow my welder for the little jobs.

Thanks, much appreciated

[feb 47]

The weather has not dampened your spirit Anthony.

Well done and keep up the good work, your dedication is admirable.

After seeing the soggy underlay of my sorrento when it had the leak I wouldn't fit it as you never know when a new leak will occur.

Saying that, if there is a leak the water will never(?) dry IMHO even without the underlay since the carpet is waterproof isn't it?

[pug_ham 244 3 Cars]

Looking good.

 

What it does highlight is just how creamy Alpine White is - it's not immediately obvious when looking at the car in isolation, but put a crisp, bright white next to it and it's very noticeable.

I agree, I've a J reg shell outside I'm slowly working on & when I did the engine bay last year the difference between the later Bianca white & hammerite is still quite shocking.

 

Moving on at a good pace Anthony, you'll probably have this almost done before I get my engine back in at this rate.

 

Graham.

[hman205 1]

hope she's forgotten about the problems you had with the last one

 

There's the Major Issue How do you get someone to forget that Maybe I can sneak it onto the wedding list if its a gift how can she complain

[Andy_C 50]

OCD Anthony style - bloody love it. Glad to see you managed to avoid painting over any bolt heads with the Hammerite

 

Seriously nice work mate - coming along really nicely.

[Miles 331 1 Cars]

Normal place for rust, As the rear suspension cross member is under there, 3 panels as such meet there and cause it, In theory it's a MOT failure but not many look under the rear seats, I always remove the fuel tank to patch these up as it's a bit close.

[SurGie 54]

I feel your pain on the rust under the rar seat. Mine had gone in similar places as well as a few others. The Rally prep shell i've just picked up is a '92 shell like my car but it has no rust there or has any signs of being repaired there in the past.

 

 

Where the rear beam strengthening plates are that are spot welded under the rear seats area is where the rust starts. On mine it had no rust there at all until i started poking it underneath and it went through the panel. The rust looked like it has started between these two panels and has taken me a while to remove all the rust, i drilled the spot welds out to get between these panels. Mine is a 92 year as well.

 

 

Anthony i have found kurust to rust again after a while, iv tested it myself and out of all the stuff iv tested the Bilt Hamper rust cure fully protects the metal from re-rusting again.

[Edp 67 3 Cars]

Great thread! Keep it coming!!

[Anthony 1,003]

Thanks for the pictures - much clearer how that area is built up and why it's a rust trap now.

 

I know that it's an extremely common rust area, and I'm fully expecting it to be a bit of a state underneath when I drop the fuel tank. 171k miles having been used in all weathers and having lived outside through all seasons, it was never going to be pretty - I should really have tackled it years ago when it started bubbling up, but given I'm not a welder and the car was only intended to be short-term stop gap, I never did.... and here we are.

 

I'm planning on using that Epoxy Mastic rust proofer / underseal that was recommended a while back - I'm happy enough with that Kurust inside where it's largely protected from the elements, but certainly wasn't expecting it to be good enough to stand up long term underneath the car where it will be subjected to rain, mud, and road salt on a regular basis.

[matty_gti 20]

A very nice project, I love them in white

 

Anthony i have found kurust to rust again after a while, iv tested it myself and out of all the stuff iv tested the Bilt Hamper rust cure fully protects the metal from re-rusting again.

 

I've been looking at that, would it be the Deox gel or the Hydrate 80 for areas like under the car?.

Edited November 17, 2010 by matty_gti

[SurGie 54]

Its the Hydrate 80, it can also be used on bare metal before priming to gain more protection, unlike other products of the same type. Ill be using it on the unreachable rust as well.

[Alan_M 66 1 Cars]

Its the Hydrate 80, it can also be used on bare metal before priming to gain more protection, unlike other products of the same type. Ill be using it on the unreachable rust as well.

 

Sorry to jump into Anthony's thread, but I take it this Hydrate 80 can be applied to rust as converter? I was planning on using Kurust, but if this stuff is better?

 

If you want to spray that mastic stuff, don't you need an air-fed mask? It can be brushed on AFAIK though.

[allye 530 3 Cars]

Progress great as expected! I'v been looking into what to use on the under side of the Rallye for quite a while, will you just use the epoxy mastic after a bloody good clean underneath?

 

I'v read people suggesting to use a coat of this and a coat of that! That epoxy mastic looks good though, although it doesn't come in white :-( What colour will you go for Anthony?

 

Cheers, Ali

[Lan 24 1 Cars]

I'm planning on using that Epoxy Mastic rust proofer / underseal that was recommended a while back

 

yeah definatly use epoxy mastic, I used it for the interior floor and its spot on, really tough stuff

[Anthony 1,003]

The weather wasn't being particularly cooperative yesterday, so I got done what I could.

 

The cleaned carpet had highlighted just how dirty everything else was, so a couple of evenings ago I washed the center console and floor mats and they too came up very well:

 

 

The rain and dizzle meant working outside was out of the question, so instead I started stripping the plastics out of the rear of the car. Three reasons for that - I've got a replacement set in excellent condition; so that I can check for any rust or problems lurking behind; and so that they don't get damaged when grinding and welding.

 

 

With a quick wipe over, everything was in pretty good condition - the offside was excellent and like it was from a car a fraction of the age, and the nearside was largely good too, with just some very light surface rust starting to crop up in the very bottom of the rear quarter panel. Nothing that a wire wheel cup and a rest proofing agent won't solve, so all good hopefully. Only other thing was that the seam sealer in both rear wheel arches had cracked, so at some point I'll re-apply some fresh sealer to ensure that it's watertight.

 

 

Otherwise, just a few minor job - adjusted the drivers door so that it now closes flush, and replaced the glovebox with a base model one without a lock barrel. I don't ever bother locking the glovebox and, besides, if I wanted to the key that operates the rest of the locks on the car doesn't operate the glovebox - so makes sense to replace it with a lockless one that can't accidentally be locked.

[feb 47]

 

I love this photo, the interior looks like new

Is it me or does the shifter look longer than normal? I guess once the seats are in it will look normal.

[Anthony 1,003]

I couldn't put off having a proper look at the rust any longer, and took advantage of the dry, sunny weather to remove the fuel tank and rear beam and get a proper look and begin prepping it for welding. I had to turn the car around first though, which was slightly more challenging than usual given that there aren't any seats fitted - sitting in the rear footwell and giving the confused neighbours a cheery wave as I reversed out got my morning off to an amusing start if nothing else

 

 

 

While there was significant rust around the fuel tank, it was a pleasant surprise to find that it appeared to be nothing worse than heavy surface rust and all seems very solid, if unsightly. I'm confident that it will all clean up fine, but again, until I have some rust proofing formula I don't want to clean it up back to bare metal.

 

Unfortunately, the good news ends there, and it goes somewhat downhill from there.

 

The two areas of rust on the edges of the boot floor turned into holes when poked with a screwdriver as I feared they would. Worse than that, the rusted area is contained in a narrow section that's probably going to be too small to get the welder in from underneath, meaning that it will need an unsightly patch from above. It'll be hidden the boot mat so it's not the end of the world, just disappointing.

 

 

 

The section under the rear seat was quite bad as I suspected, and the hole got progressively larger the more I poked and proded - the larger the hole became, the lower my spirits dropped. They say that every project has a low point, and I'm really hoping that this is mine - I'll freely admit that thoughts of a reshell were going through my mind, and to a point still are, thinking that I'm going to alot of effort building a car into what is starting to feel like a second rate shell...

 

Still, I pressed on as chances are any 205 shell is going to need work sooner or later, and aleast it's a case of better the devil you know.

 

Firstly chopped out the rust on the boot floor and took the surrounding metal back to bare metal ready for welding. Made a bit of a hash-up of the nearside area, cutting too far over and ended up the wrong side of the vertical seam below, but nevermind. Should be straightforward enough with a simple rectangular patch over the top, and then a healthy application of rust proofer and some seam sealant underneath to prevent water getting between the metal layers.

 

 

 

I was speaking to George (Surgie) and he mentioned that he believed that moisture getting between the layers is what is behind much of the rust problems on 205's, and certainly looking at my car that rings true for both the rust on the boot floor and the rust underneath the seat. Indeed, on both you can see that the rust is pretty much bang over the edge of the 2nd panel, hence the rust holes with the straight edge on one side - that straight edge is the other panel.

 

On my car atleast the poor state of the underseal would allow moisture to get between the panel layers given that they only appear to be spot welded for the most part with no seam sealant. The underseal is falling off in chunks all over the place with patches of surface rust all over the place - again, hindsight being 20/20 and all that, chances are had I gone through this process 5 years ago when I bought the car I wouldn't be in the situation I now am. Ho hum.

 

 

The section under the rear seat base needed a fair about of metal cutting away once I'd managed to seperate the section below that runs back to the rear crossmember, which was also heavily corroded and needed cutting back. Just need to work out how to make a suitably bent section to patch the hole with, as it's sort of bowl shaped, rather than a simple straight or curved section.

 

Funny, isn't it - the paint issues on the Sorrento I sold seem distinctly appealing right now...

[Alastairh 47]

 

Its not that bad really. Considering the age and miles of the poor old girl. You could make a good serviceable repair out of all that though, rather than just slabbing a huge random plate over it all which i've seen on some 205's.

 

Get the thought of reshelling out your head, i can't see you will gain much doing all that work when a "mint" shell will only be a few years away anyway.

 

Al