Yes, old 'Furby' had gone in the same place & had to have a little patch
It had already gone when I got the car & had obviously been through an MOT like it - I think that as it's below the air cleaner & headlight, testers don't notice this bit of chassis if they're in a hurry........& the way that bit has disintegrated on yours, it looks like the same thing with the MOT too
Knowing how everyone likes to see a bit of rot patched up........here's mine
I should mention, that I had to do a bit more welding & reinforcing on the other side of this section above from under the front wing.
This bit of the front chassis on the wheel arch side of the steering box mounting area looked a bit suspect, so I ground away the outer rotten layer of this double skinned section. A few inches above this is a reinforcing piece which can collect water behind it when the protective sealent round it cracks away. This can cause the inner wing to corrode through down behind the steering box, which can't be welded without removal of the steering box. I gave this area a good prod with my long rust testing screwdriver & found it to be still solid - if it had been rotten here, then that would have been the end for old 'Furby' as I don't find removing a Carlton steering box a fun job
So I removed one of the steering box mounting bolts & cleaned the area up:-
I then made the appropriate repair plate/patch
Held it in place with the replacement of the steering box bolt
Then, with the fuel pipes un-clipped from their mounting & a piece of bent metal wedged behind them as a heat shield, welded the plate in place, finishing with a bit of waxy gunge
Then the front fourteen inches of the bottom of the sill needed plating - plus the bottom edge of the front wing.......This will all be hidden once the sill covers are re-fitted
I wouldn't be seen dead taking a car for an MOT with rot, like that shown, without first sorting it out - it's been a few years since I've had a car fail a test
The only thing that I can't check for myself before taking a vehicle for a test is the emissions if it's a CAT equipped car
.........but I've been lucky on that particular score - so far
After this work, this car flew through its MOT last week
