Welding costs

Post by **Orange_Octopus** » Tue Jun 24, 2003 11:49 am

Hi all,

Distressing weekend when I decided to rip out the carpet in the front of my MM van. The seat belt came away from the support in my hand

Obviously a bit of patching needed there I thinks to meeself. I then decided to tap the floor pan to check for any other spots that may have gone unseen.

To cut a long story short I made a hole about 3 inches in diameter in the drivers side floor pan. Both the inside and outside sils are rusted up too (including the seat belt support) on the same side and to be honest the passenger side seat belt area isn't looking too hot

Anyone have any rough ideas how much this is going to cost me to patch? Aside from the hole the rest of the floor is fine! Also does anyone know anyone in Essex (Chelmsford) who can do this for me properly? Finally does anyone know what the 'rust minimums' are for an MOT? Obviously I wouldn't leave any rust on my precious baby but when does an area have to be patched and when can it just be filled?

Cheers for any advice you can give me

Post by **Cam** » Tue Jun 24, 2003 2:22 pm

does anyone know what the 'rust minimums' are for an MOT?

I think it is within 30 cm of structural mountings (suspension, seatbelts, etc).

Obviously I wouldn't leave any rust on my precious baby but when does an area have to be patched and when can it just be filled?

If by filled, you mean filled with body filler, then never! Body filler is used for smoothing over slight body imperfections in the aesthetic sense. It must never be used for filling rust holes. Cut the rust out and weld a new piece in.

To be honest (talking from experience) it takes MUCH longer to cover a hole convincingly with body filler than it does to cut the rot out and weld a new piece in. Plus you have the satisfaction of knowing that your vehicle is structurally sound again.

As a rule of thumb, NEVER use body filler on the underside of a car. It's only for smoothing the body lines and to hide dents and surface imperfections (weld edges etc).

Post by **Orange_Octopus** » Tue Jun 24, 2003 3:04 pm

Ta Cam!

When I said filler I am talking about slight rust bubbles here and there (i.e. on the bonnet etc where my mum drove into a ditch in 1982!!!!)- filler was a bit of a drastic word!! I just meant any other treatment than welding another piece on.

Fortunately the underside is lovely (ironically!) it's just a strip (probably about six inches) along the inside of the driver's door seal (my guess, water leakage!) and this hole in the back of the driver's side floor pan that's really worrying me. I've whacked everywhere else and it's reassuringly still intact. I can weld the minor bits here and there but I don't trust myself with anything that's going to affect the saftey of the car!! I've had welding done before on a previous car and the naughty little monkeys just patched over the top

(I may be a girl but even I can see the problems there!!) I want someone who's going to do it properly and before I ring for quotes I thought I'd try to get a rought idea of what price to expect!

Ta for you help!

Post by **Willie** » Tue Jun 24, 2003 8:25 pm

Unfortunately,if your seat belt mounting has collapsed it is
quite likely that the sills are in poor condition internally,
i.e. that boxing plates etc need replacing. This is a job for
someone who is familiar with the Minor. The only price I
know is for a COMPLETE underbody rebuild...sills,floor,spring
hangars etc which is about £1000, sills only would obviously
be much cheaper. Re the Rust spots,you must rub down
the areas with wet and dry paper,wrapped around a rubbing block
until you have removed the rust. Any remaining pitted areas
should be treated with 'Jenolite' (liquid) to neutralise the rust.
Then you can apply filler and rub down to a perfect finish
ready for painting. (these jobs have a way of escalating)

Post by **Cam** » Tue Jun 24, 2003 9:46 pm

If you have an angle grinder, you can attach a wire cup brush and use that to remove all the rust back down to bare metal. The only trouble is that it removes ALL the rust and so the hole often gets bigger than you might have expected!!

If you are not that keen on precision welding then you could fill the holes with body filler, but if the holes are quite big then you might find the filler sagging and creating a large bulge under the hole on the other side of the bonnet.

Post by **Orange_Octopus** » Wed Jun 25, 2003 10:21 am

Thanks for all you advice! I do have an angle grinder (absolute gift, it really has halved the work I've needed to do!!) and to be honest once I found the holes I really went for it removing the 'dead' metal. My thinking being if I'm going to be horrified I may as well get it all over and done with quickly!! I think the hole is as big as it's going to get (fingers crossed!)

I've been using Krust to neutrolise the rust, is Jenolite better?

Thanks

Post by **Cam** » Wed Jun 25, 2003 10:35 am

Yes, angle grinders are worth their weight in gold!! (well maybe not!) but don't use the grinding or cutting discs, use the wire cup brush instead.

The general consensus of opinion is that Jenolite is better than Kurust, but if you can't get Jenolite then try the Hammerite rust remover from halfords (bright green slime).

Post by **Orange_Octopus** » Wed Jun 25, 2003 3:58 pm

Thanks Cam - bright green slime sounds almost fun!! I'll keep my eye out!

My angle grinder has got a special attachment just for rust - it's a kind of wire brush made out of sandpaper! It's great for the large areas but I tend to opt for the brush when it gets to the more fiddly areas!
I'll get my goggles out this weekend then

Post by **Kevin** » Sat Jun 28, 2003 10:42 am

If you need a local welder try contacting the Clubs Technical Adviser as he lives in Essex and may know someone
rob.thomasson@morrisminoroc.co.uk

Post by **Orange_Octopus** » Mon Jun 30, 2003 12:27 pm

That's excellent Kevin - many thanks, just what I needed. You don't see that many Morris Minors in Essex sadly so I didn't know where to start!!!

Post by **Kevin** » Mon Jun 30, 2003 4:52 pm

Just another thought, you do know that there is an Essex Branch ?
In case not the area contact is Justin Booth 01920 487530 and he should be able to put you in contact with your local branch who`s local contact I think lives in Billericay, and they are active as they were organising the help at the National a couple of weeks ago.

Post by **Orange_Octopus** » Wed Jul 09, 2003 2:55 pm

Ta - I may give them a call. Did have a look to see if they had a web address (I'm lazy and have a mortal fear of phones!!) but had no luck. I think there's a place in near me that does Moggy repairs but I don't know the name of the garage - I guess that's the ideal opening line in a phone call really!
Many thanks!