rusty arches

[flash911]

Iv just gone out to my car and Ive noticed the plastic trim off the rear near side arch has come off after investigating and swearing for a few Min's Ive realised its rusty as hell upon further investigation i can see the metal work behind the bumper has started to go as well. is this going to be a simple cut and plate jib or a more expensive break the bank sort of job . i love my car but this fooking metal worm is really beginning to p me off !!!, if its as bad as it looks and expensive as i think its going to b its going to have to be bye bye to my gsi  , not something i want to do but money is really tight and its due for mot in 4 weeks, any comments or suggestions appreciated

[Tetleysmooth]

Repair panels aren't expensive, so if you're good with bodywork, I'd sort it yourself.
Have a look at this site.

http://totalcarlton.com/forums/index.php?topic=1992.0

[flash911]

excuse me for being thick but is this the whole rear panel ? does it need welding or is like the front wing bolted on, I'm not too clever with major stuff like this give me a little electrical or oil and plugs in fine lol, but panels and body work this is where it gets scary 

[HMK]

I'll give you the best advice in a situation like that, 4 weeks away from the MOT!

Don't go spending a lot of money on it at this stage. The rot you mention is non-structural & will only fail the test if it has rusty bits of metal on view & sticking out with ragged, sharp edges. The thing to do is to bodge it to make it tidy for the time being. Stick the piece of trim back on to cover up the rust - ie, double sided tape, two or three 'clods' of body filler, nuts & bolts or self tapping screws -  (try not to make too much of a mess of the trim as they are hard to come by now & VERY expensive new - £70 ish & you may want to fit it properly later).

The bits you should be looking at & worrying about are the structural bits underneath!!!

If it's gone on the curved bit of chassis that comes down from the top of the rear spring mount (best seen when you take the rear wheel off), then you will have to dismantle half of the rear suspension (if it's gone really bad), to get at it to weld it properly!!

In most cases, when a Carlton goes in the above place badly, it's £40 for the MOT - which you then get back from the local scrap yard when you have to take it for it's last  'one-way' journey

Rugbyfans car has just failed on this bit & unless you really love your car or can do the work yourself, it's the end of the road

Also, check the front chassis rail, especially on the drivers side - on top, under it, behind the bumper on the side under the wing.......& the worst bit - down the side of the steering box near the box mounting where the inner wing joins the top of the chassis rail - again, it's a one way trip to the scrap yard if it's gone really bad here, too

If you're 4 weeks from the test, then you must be within the month for taking it in & getting 13 months test if it passes..........So don't mess about, go over the entire car & correct any obvious faults & as long as you don't find any of the really serious rot (as above), then get it in for a test NOW & see what it fails on - if anything.........then you've got a month to sort it out or whatever

[carlton_mad]

flash are the inner wings coming away from the outer ? if they arent then for the time being try to reattach the trim and lwa (leave well alone) if they are seperating then you SHOULD have them done properly but get the trim back on and she should be ok that will give you the chance to save a bit of cash to get them done.

try going round to the local body shops and asking a few of the guys that work there if they do private work, see what they want to do them for you gotta be worth a go

[flash911]

its the trim over the wheel arch the small piece between bumper and rear door , don't know if u can tell from the pics !
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as you can see from the pics i got some rust!! just found a hole going from rear of arch in to the boot by the spare wheel, need to know if this is another panel or a patch job , now i know why the inside of my car is so wet!! any suggestions gratefully received!!

[HMK]

Yes, I knew exactly what bit you were talking about.......Like I say, that little length of trim costs about £70 new - that is if you can still buy it!!! The going rate for a second hand bit is £10 - & that is if you can find anyone who is willing to part with one (they drop off & get lost on the road - yours is the 'stick-on' version).

That's quite rusty, but don't worry, just stick the length of trim back on for the time being & get it through a test before you spend too much money on it.

If you've lost yours, make a replica out of a piece of wood, paint it & stick it on with resin until you can find another

[flash911]

yippeeeeee i still got the trim it was screwed on to the bumper and is now in the boot safe. just wanna get that bit plated if its poss, hopefully its not gone to far behind the bumper or that's going to realy hurt the wallet mind u panels look pretty cheap just getting them on a sprayed , any one know any good body shops nr oxford? thanks for the advice guys, the local bodyshop has now shut as i have just found out, took it to mot station , got some advice fro tester as is it WILL fail but putting trim back and and providing it has gone no further it WILL pass just need to find a friendly welder !! dam I'm hoping lmao. well mots covered i think but I'm still looking at complete new panel ffs!! all i needed !! I'm guessing bumper has to come off completely? easy job? or real pain in the butt ? all help gratefully received!

[flash911]

well Ive been to the local tin doctor and he has quoted me £430 to do rear panel, sills , change rear door and fit window motor then blend up to the front door. I'm hoping this is a good price but i know they will do a good job cos Ive used them b4, just a shame my trip to Spain is now on hold indef. fooking cars might b time to sell after the docs done his bit ? just taken spare wheel out to play with aerial and found a fooking great hole from the arch into the boot  , wondered why the car was getting steamed up inside, now i now ffs think  my car is suffering from SERIOUS tin worm now ,might b time to say good by  :'(as you can see from the pics i got some rust!! just found a hole going from rear of arch in to the boot by the spare wheel, need to know if this is another panel or a patch job , now i know why the inside of my car is so wet!! any suggestions gratefully received!!