Hi guys,

I stripped out the saph today getting ready for new sills and rear arches, only to come across this in the drivers footwell:





Is this fixable or terminal?

Many regards,
Kieren

 

Is the first pic the outer seat mount? If so, mine was like that, my mate welded a plate over it, I'm sure the tunnel area can be cut out and a plate welded in....?
Hope you can sort it easily!

 

Yeah it's the outer seat mount.

Well I would love to fix her, but weighing up the options at the moment, reshell may be an option, just really like this car?!

 

Can't remember exactly how he did it, but my mate didn't have any real trouble welding the seat mount area back in... I fear mine is going in the footwell area too, just not as bad as yours! ....I hope!!!

You must surely be able to get a repair panel to do the footwell, even if you have to pay someone to weld it in (I can't weld for shit, so that's what I'd have to do!!) it would be easier than re shelling it, unless the rest of its rotten like that underneath!?
It's not GOT to be mega neat, so maybe you could hire a mig welder an have a bash yourself!?

 

if your getting sills and arches done already, you may aswell throw the bit extra towards these other bits. either that or cancel the bodyshop and buy a kit to try your hand at it yourself. practice first though! atleast if you find you cant do it, you can flog on the welder etc with minimal loss and then decide what to do.

cue someone from a bodyshop to come on saying your mad to try it yourself, cant beat a professional job rah rah, if you have the time and patience ro learn how to do it and do it properly, the only difference will be the amount of time it will take (considerably longer) and momey (considerably less)

 

Hi , my sapph went in exactly the same places and we cut out the rot then made some repair pieces to fit , its quite time consuming , you will find its double skinned on the tunnel so we had to repair both skins but it can be done

 

Just get the grinder out and and chop the rot out. Saffs need saving not scrapping.

 

Ayup fella.
Mine was exactly the same I hadn't got a clue about welding either!!!! My mate had done a bit so we just got the grinder out & cut all the rot out the took our time cutting & shaping everything so when it was welded it looked like a factory finish, the tunnel was the hardest as it was double skinned, & shaped all different ways but now it's all painted u would never tell. As I'm a tad fussy about things looking right.

 

Thanks for the replies guys, it's reassuring to know that this isn't terminal!

Although I am surprised that you can't get the floorpan as you can get all sorts for the mk1+2 escorts, hey ho, the joys of old ford ownership :-/

 

Those are common rust areas unfortunately. Worth saving though!

Cosworth's are getting old enough now that they'll be able to be used in rallies etc again soon. I think we'll see lots more panels being remade when people can compete in them again.

 

Let's hope so

 

EBay item 251034001119 cover that part of the floor?
They have both sides for sale too but not cheap.

 

If you have got the time and patience buy a mig welder and have a go yourself as said above practice on some scrap first, to cut mine I used a dremel with the speed click 38mm cutting wheels on the end of a flexy shaft takes a little bit longer than a grinder but gives a more accurate cut in tight areas.

here is a few pics of my first attempt

 

Get stuck in with a grinder

 

Thats very tidy work there

 

Some top work there matey.

 

Hmmm, might actually attempt this!! I have a grinder, can buy a welder, couple of questions though,
What can I coat the metal work in to stop it reoccurring?
Also my seat anchor is very close to the chassis number, what options do I have if the rust is under that?
What's the easiest way to get the sound deadening up with?

 

That's looking really good, well done

 

I ground back to bare metal after cutting away the rusty bits and then spray everything with a weld through primer inside and out before welding.

 

Tosh, will that stop it rusting again? Mark what did you coat yours with?

Some really good looking work there!! Mark, with a standard grinder how did you not go through the jacking point etc on the outside?

 

I used these, they are fantastic considering how thin they are.

http://www.screwfix.com/p/flexovit-u...ack-of-5/71334

Next to no distortion when cutting as they make hardly any heat.

I did go through the jacking point a tiny bit as you can see the small slit in this pic.



I just welded it up and ground it smooth, I also built up the area around the jacking point hole with weld and spent ages with a dremel smoothing it out.



On the inside of the panels that are not accessible after welding I used weld through zinc primer from Halfords

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/s...egoryId_165625

Once the whole car is painted I'll drown all the cavities in dinitrol

http://www.rust.co.uk/products/produ...hs-cavity-wax/

All bare metal that I could get to after welding I used epoxy primer

http://www.rust.co.uk/products/categ...y-body-primer/

After that I used epoxy chassis paint

http://www.rust.co.uk/products/categ...chassis-paint/

After sanding more primer, then top coated with two pack.



With hindsight I should have used the epoxy chassis paint first and then used epoxy primer over the top.

 

Bloody hell, smart job! Thank you for all the links etc, very much appreciated.

 

Tosh made a good point when he said about using a dremel on the tunnel.

It's really difficult to get into the tight corner with a regular grinder, dremel takes a while but does a neat job.

 

Dremmel is very good I used one to cut out inner wing behind the strut top, nothing else would have got in there.

Also jotun 87 is similar to epoxy mastic as above and a lot cheaper

 

Totally agree! You would be surprised how good a dremel with the 575 angle attachment is, and with the speedclick cutting disc's it makes a great mini grinder and cuts thin metal pretty quickly.

 

Mark V8 I bow down to your work mate, what a great finish.

 

Hi Mark, what did you guys use to get back to bare metal?

Tosh, what metal did you use for your plates?

 

I bought the cheapest, nastiest electric drill that B&Q sell and used these.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/24pc-Wire-...ht_2543wt_1161

It buggers the drill up fairly quickly so you just take the broken one back and exchange it for a new one

 

Want to do the underside of mine Mark?

 

I was recommend to use zintec coated steel I think it was 1mm great stuff had it lying around for ages and didn't rust, if it's for structural parts you would probably need thicker.

 

Excellent, thanks guys.

 

Once in a life time is enough to be honest

 

Not even if I throw in a packet of Skittles?

Your's has to be one of the best shells about by now

 

Hi guys, I make new reinforcement brackets for this exact purpose. Made from 1,5mm steel identical to the original stamping, but with superior material quality.
They come in pair with proper square weld nuts. £120+28 shipping to Britain from Norway.
Ideal for your restoration.

Best regards
Andreas