19 Years of Tin Snail - Back to normality

[dollywobbler]

Have some horror.

Rear seatbelt mounting, nearside.

 

That same inner wing a bit further up.

 

That same inner wing down the back.

 

Offside inner wing not quite as bad...

 

Rear lamp panel.

 

Yup, this is going to be a big ol' job alright.

[mrbenn]

Just seen the blog, great progress already. Love the timelapse.

 

Edit: beat me to it with the pics above - good job you've got a good source of panels!

[dollywobbler]

Just seen the blog, great progress already. Love the timelapse.

 

Edit: beat me to it with the pics above - good job you've got a good source of panels!

 

Indeed. Though a complete bodyshell at £4100 would make sense! If I had the money. Body sides are £1395 each. Ouch. But it's amazing to have so much available. You wouldn't want to have to try and rebuild this from scratch, that's for sure.

[mercrocker]

Thing is, you don't need to have a tenth of that rot to be looking at the same kind of cost, if done properly, so its been on free time for a while....

 

 

I apply a certain amount of man maths to the Minor weldathon - so far its cost well over 3 grand in sparkly time but I spread that over the 12 years its been getting me around to earn my living, go on holiday, get in to car shows for free etc.   It also puts selling the car out of the question, domestically.  Win. 

[dollywobbler]

True, though 14 years ago, this bodyshell had been completely refurbished, and it was refurbed again (mostly paint and the other body panels) ten years ago. In short, it seems a major body overhaul is required every 100,000 miles.

[HMC]

Great to see the progress made with Ellie's resurrection already; also sobering to see even

How a well loved older car deteriorates simply from being used as intended.

[mercrocker]

As DW says, every 100,000 miles.  Its fine if you do the mileage in that time, probably would have looked not a lot worse with 15,000 miles and lots of down time.....

[dollywobbler]

As DW says, every 100,000 miles.  Its fine if you do the mileage in that time, probably would have looked not a lot worse with 15,000 miles and lots of down time.....

 

I do think one of the issues has been leaving her parked up, outside here in Wales. I did start putting her away in the garage, but that meant I didn't like taking her out in the rain at all. I clocked up fewer than 3000 miles that year so decided sod it - she'd be out in all weathers. She clocked up 5000 miles in the year before I took her off the road. Problem is, I work from home, so there can be days and days where my cars sit around not being used. Similarly, if I'd used the 2CV and come back with her soaked, it didn't seem that putting her in the garage (breeze block, metal door) was a good idea. As it turns out, leaving her outside wasn't a winning solution either! 

 

Going to all this trouble, I do wonder about usage. I'm already exceedingly precious about the Dyane, because I don't want it to dissolve in the same way.

[320touring]

At least 33% of spend should be on bilt hambler/other generic anti rustingficationings stuff:)

 

*i am joking!

[mercrocker]

 

 

Going to all this trouble, I do wonder about usage. I'm already exceedingly precious about the Dyane, because I don't want it to dissolve in the same way.

 

Having bought a second Morris a few years back, this one is similarly accorded much more consideration.   Hearing legends about the previous owner never letting it get wet hasn't helped, either....

[320touring]

Just drive the fackin hing:)

[dollywobbler]

Fancy some more horror? I've been stripping more out from the interior today. Seatbelts came out without too much trouble, though levering one of the rear seatbelt bolts out was threatening to tear the inner wing apart. Impact driver to the rescue.

 

Then it was out with the front seat runners. This side was fun, as the captive nut no longer was. Had to wedge that square plate (which should be part of the floor) so I could undo the runner. Nasty.

 

Over on the other side, the whole bolt just pulled out of the floor. Scary.

 

Then it was off with the front roof bar, sunvisor and roof clips, before removing the rubber seal that sits above the windscreen. YE GADS!

 

Pretty sure that insufficient paint coverage was the issue here, allowing water to creep in. I just rubbed the paint away with a screwdriver!

 

This project still has an awfully long way to go. Still to come on the stripdown, I need to disconnect the brakes, remove master cylinder and pedal box, disconnect throttle and choke cables, disconnect the steering column and fuel wiring and unbolt the body from the chassis. Then it should be body-off time. Though I think I'll keep stripping the dash out before then. Might also remove the rear wings and rear bumper to make body removal easier.

[trigger]

Just looking at those photos brings me out in a cold sweat. God speed young man.

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

Good grief, I'd have never guessed it was rotting like that.  

[phil_lihp]

That's some nasty rot, imagine how good it'll feel when it's all welded up though.  Are you doing any of the bodywork repairs yourself?

 

Presumably a thicker coat of paint and a healthy dosing of waxoyl and underseal in every possible nook and cranny will help preserve the metal?

[John F]

Strewth! I feel slightly better about my Maserati now.

 

Best of luck with it, Ian. At least it's not a big car...

[dollywobbler]

That's some nasty rot, imagine how good it'll feel when it's all welded up though.  Are you doing any of the bodywork repairs yourself?

 

Presumably a thicker coat of paint and a healthy dosing of waxoyl and underseal in every possible nook and cranny will help preserve the metal?

 

Not doing any repairs myself. Plan is to ship it and a load of repair panels to a very competent specialist. I may need a fleet clearout to assist with this plan!

 

I'd like to handpaint the bodyshell myself. Part of that is so I know there's a good coating of paint in all areas, and secondly, it'll mean that if any blemishes develop, I can easily sort them out as they develop. This car was painted in two-pack and I don't think the mix was right. It was always too hard, and cracked in a lot of places where the body tends to flex. Those cracks happened after two or three months. 

[oldcars]

True, though 14 years ago, this bodyshell had been completely refurbished, and it was refurbed again (mostly paint and the other body panels) ten years ago. In short, it seems a major body overhaul is required every 100,000 miles.

I was just reading your blog thing, interesting reading enjoyed it. The poor thing does seem to rust quickly, is there anything you can do this time to protect it more or is it just the way it is with our weather and road salt etc.

[dollywobbler]

It'll help that new repair panels are often zintec these days. They weren't when the body was first overhauled. I guess I do need to get better at regular waxing, but it's not just the body that has rusted - pretty much every fastener that sits outside the bodywork has rotted really badly too. Regularly going around with WD40, grease or similar might help, but I think what I really need to do is stop leaving the 2CV sitting out in the Welsh weather. It was still quite nice when we moved here five years ago - albeit some bits had already undergone work. 

 

It's a struggle, because I don't want to get all 'garage queen' about the 2CV. They joy comes from driving them, not having them sitting in a garage. Mind you, that's where the Dyane is right now, sitting in a friend's garage because the weather is awful again.

[Chris2cv]

Wow! Best of luck with this, looks like you have got quite a job there. I bought my 2cv back in 1994, and it served as my daily driver until 2002 when the Clio arrived. Since then it has gradually been used less and less, until last year it did 13 miles!  I am determined that this year will be better, and seeing the efforts you are making can only spur me on! 

[twosmoke300]

That looks horrific , never mind , at least you will have some nice thick steel to weld to . Oh no wait a minute

[mat_the_cat]

This car was painted in two-pack and I don't think the mix was right. It was always too hard, and cracked in a lot of places where the body tends to flex. Those cracks happened after two or three months. 

 

I wonder if this is a big part of the problem? Water (and salt solution) behind a mostly complete coating will remain moist for a lot longer, so you'll need a good long dry spell (ha!) to get rid of it. Plus salt is hygroscopic, so any that does remain trapped (highly likely) will absorb moisture from the atmosphere even when it does stop raining!

[dollywobbler]

I wonder if this is a big part of the problem? Water (and salt solution) behind a mostly complete coating will remain moist for a lot longer, so you'll need a good long dry spell (ha!) to get rid of it. Plus salt is hygroscopic, so any that does remain trapped (highly likely) will absorb moisture from the atmosphere even when it does stop raining!

 

I'm pretty convinced. There are so many places on this car where the paint has effectively flaked away from the metal, or where you poke the paint to find barely any metal beneath. Mind you, the powder coating has gone the same way. I'll never bother with that again, for exactly the same reason.

[richardmorris]

Hmm. It's leaving the darling outside that doesn't help. It's 10 years since the last overhaul of our family 2cv and that long since any welding. But this year will see some work to the front of the sills and bulkhead floor area needed. But, that whole time ( for the first time since new probably) it's been under cover, but not garaged. In my experience though, car restorers and painters don't actually do any rust proofing unless you ask. Also powder coating doesn't seem very flexible and, as you've found, cracks.

[dollywobbler]

I'm pretty sure it was Shultz'd and waxoyled after the major overhaul in 2002. Possibly again in 2006, not sure. So much has been done to this car over the years.

 

A car port is high on the wish list, but haven't yet found a way to make that happen where we live. There's nowhere really ideal for it. Might have to give it more thought, because as soon as you garage a car, you just become scared to ever get it out.

[Noel Tidybeard]

primer the whole damned thing in stonechip!

[richardmorris]

The metal is so thin on 2cvs that they do dissolve quickly once rust gets a hold. Good luck!

[oldcars]

I'm pretty sure it was Shultz'd and waxoyled after the major overhaul in 2002. Possibly again in 2006, not sure. So much has been done to this car over the years.

 

A car port is high on the wish list, but haven't yet found a way to make that happen where we live. There's nowhere really ideal for it. Might have to give it more thought, because as soon as you garage a car, you just become scared to ever get it out.

Could you garage it over the the worst of the winter and keep it off the salted roads?

[Six-cylinder]

Could you garage it over the the worst of the winter and keep it off the salted roads?

That's what I have done with mine, but I do have other things to drive.

[oldcars]

I have the bonus of a plastic Reliant for winter