rust oh my god

[peetee59]

Just started on my moggy having had her 5 weeks now,what a job i had taking the wing off,had to cut the wires to the headlight and the indicators,could not find away of removing them,now it is a splice job,however not for a while.Guess what i found when i did get the wing off,bl---y rust and rot,right at the bottom of the plate that divides the door hinge,and continuing underneath too,will put up some pics tomorrow,it goes to show what appears to be solid,(AS I WAS TOLD BY LAST OWNER) is not what you expect.Will have to start welding it tomorrow,having prepped it today,patchwork but i will make sure its sound though.I will submit pics as i said tomorrow,so look out.How do you get the headlight bucket from the wing ,cos i cant tried everything,it turns but gets no where,HELP PLEASE.
Pete

[jagnut66]

Hi Pete,
I'm puzzled as to why you had a problem with the headlamp / indicator wiring? It should just go through the inner wing (into the engine bay) to some push connectors on the main loom? Once they're disconnected the wires should just pull through - has it been zip tied to anything? Would be interesting to see a picture of the wiring in this area.
As I recall, once you've undone the securing screws, the headlamp bucket should just push out. Okay, maybe tap out if it's rusted in place.............
These cars can be a bit of a rust trap in places but they are so worth preserving! Plenty of cavity waxoil and underbody protection is always good. And old engine oil in the cavities (once it's all welded) is a good trick / way of saving money, though have a bag of sand handy....
Regards,
Mike.

[peetee59]

I could not disconnect from the headlights or indicator,otherwise i would have pushed them through,regarding the headlight bucket,it has 3 posi drive screws at the front of the bucket and into the wing front edge and nuts at the back,.i turn them and no joy,i will get some pics and post them,or i might pm you and give you my own e mail address and that way i can send them to you????
Pete

[ASL642]

Try a squirt of Plusgas on the rusted screws. Let it soak in for a few hours and try again.

[stag36587]

I had exactly same problem with the headlamp screws, in fact even after mixture of heat and lubricant they still all snapped. I've managed to get 3 out, another 3 to go - I may have to remove and repace captive nuts at back.

[tysonn]

Well as you said yourself youre in for a lot of welding anyway so just grind the heads off and once the buckets are removed you can grip whats left and warm up the captive nut to remove.If this fails cut the nuts off and weld new 2BA nuts in their place.To be fair to the PO he probably didnt know how bad the hidden areas were.The wings obviously havent been off for years hence the probs youre having now.Its not a difficult area to repair anyway.

[peetee59]

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