Rear Arch Replacement Cost

[james.ed]

Hi all,

I'm finally able to spend some money getting a bit of house keeping done on the moggy - namely the passenger side rear wheel arch seam which seems to be a filler hot spot.

Over the last year I noticed some rust staining coming through around the seam towardds the front and some bubbled paintwork (alarm bells sounding in my head). got the area sanded and found the swelling was filler and the edges of this was causing the rust. There is also some rust staining and filler around the base of the wheel arch/strip along the base of the car. It wasn't to suprising because the seam around this arch seems to be very ill defined so I think alittle job has been done on it at some stage.

I'm looking at, if needed, getting the whole arch replaced and the area made good. I figure if the seam is alittle dodgy and filled i'd rather get the lot fixed properly. As I have no garage myself it will have to a workshop (was thinking chertsey minors). Has anyone has this problem - how much should I be looking at spending (even if its a rough guess)? I've never had body work done and I have no way of knowing what a good price is? If it has any implications - I'm in surrey.

Also, are there elements of the repair I could do myself (i.e. getting the arch off - can I drive with it off?), and does complete replacement seem like a good course of action?[frame][/frame]

[james.ed]

[frame][/frame]

[bmcecosse]

What do you mean by 'the arch' - the wing? Or the body to which the wing is attached? Don't see much wrong with that pic? Let's see a pic of the 'rust'. Wing is bolt off/bolt on job - but of course, will the bolts come out - and what lies below is the problem. And no - you could not legally drive the car without the wing fitted.......

[plastic_orange]

It looks like the car has been sprayed with the wing fitted - and the beading. Not a great problem really, but when you remove the wing, the paint will be lifted as you do so. Depending on how bad the rot is will determine whether the entire wheel arch lip or more is replaced, or it may just need a small patch repair. Either way, welding will damage surrounding paint.
A replacement section is available for this repair, but it's not the easiest job to do and therefore will not be cheap. Hopefully all will be fine when wing is removed, but be prepared for extra work - it's the nature of minors.
Look here for the extreme end of wheelarch rot and where it can lead:

http://mog.myfreeforum.org/ftopic1084-0-asc-15.php


Pete

[james.ed]

Hopefully these pics show the problem.. aside from the need to wash the mud off, hopefully you can see the bubbling. The blueish splodge was a quick wipe over with krust! The bead has been painted over, and doesn't have the same definition as the bead on the other side. I'm not sure ho messy this one's going to be once its opened up!

Thanks for the replaies - Sorry for not posting sooner but i've had limited access to the net.

[frame][/frame][frame][/frame][frame][/frame][frame][/frame]

[plastic_orange]

It doesn't look too fresh in this area. Only once you have removed the wing will you find out the extent of repairs required. You could be lucky though and it is as a result of lazy former owners.

Pete

[peetee59]

You need to remove the wing, and then you will see the true state of the underneath,i took all my wings of and they all need repair,its the only way to do it.[frame][/frame]

[bmcecosse]

Obviously you can do a quick rub down and apply kurust/filler etc - but it won't last. The rust is coming through from below - attack it there with a good wire brush to see the extent!

[james.ed]

Thanks all,

This will be one for the new year. I was planning on exposing the 'damage' but only when I know I have the funds to fix it should it be bad! I'm putting 700 aside for the worst case and hoping that will cover it. I have no welding experience so this one is going to be for the garage.

Happy Christmas!

[dgservices]

take the wings off. its the only way. reading the previous posts and from over 35 years of working on moggys all will be revealed.
nearly always the rear wing flanges will have to be replaced. as for the actual inner arches( behind the wheels) the do suffer and can be replaced no problems . i nearly always find that wing flanges( thats the edge that the rear wing bolts to) has suffered badly from the rot.