wasnt expecting this. get the welder out then shall i

[Daemo]

i knew the front rad support was rusty and needed patching when i bought the car, so i took the front bumper off to make a start, and this is what i found!

probably the worst one ive seen to be honest, well best get on and repair it as it wont repair itself..the rad support was loose and almost fell out. a touch worrying considering the mot is 3 weeks old...

made up a new rad support cross member out of 2" box.

sprayed some galv coat over all the new material then seam sealed all over.

couple of coats of stone chip to tidy things up and job done.

ive been over the truck with a fine tooth comb whilst getting rid of all the old rust proofing so i can dinitrol the whole thing again, this was the only rust i could find and cant explain why it was so bad in this area alone.. oh well its over now and repaired, wont have to think about it again..

now the ongoing joy of bleeding a zd30 cooling system...

 

[solarman216]

Not an area most owners look so there will be many out there in a similar situation, I know I am, fabrication looks real good, keep it on the road, Rick

 

[jims-terrano]

Eek, worrying when you find it isn't it. Still all fixed now and looks a tidy job. Can't wait to get stuck into welding mine up.

 

[Blocky10]

Bloody hell. That's quality workmanship. Well done.
What year is you motor?
Starting to wonder what I'll find when I remove the front bumper

Ian

 

[macabethiel]

Nice front end repair work Daemo.

Well done looks as good as new!
About 20 years ago there was a bloke who worked out at a Farm near Scropton (Derbys) who did that sort of stuff at sensible prices.
He patched up a Manta GTE for me and did wonders on my Dad's old RWD Kadette with a fancy inert gas welding tool.
Sadly such repairers are getting harder to find.
In the Derby area we also had a mobile gas welder who did a great job of doing a Mini rear Boot panel / floor for me.

Nice to see some of the old skills live on - well done you !

 

[Barrbeast]

Nicely done :thumbs

I see you also suffered from the Trol "factory rust"!

Very few Y61s escape it although I think Russell's Trol is still solid at that crossmember.

I had mine done last year, noticed it as the radiator had sagged on one side. Garage did a good job, they opted to clean up and repare the existing crossmember although mine wasn't as bad as yours.

 

[Daemo]

thanks guys, I really wasn't expecting it to be that bad considering how good the rest of the truck is. however it is a year 2000 and now 15 years old I suppose the lack of factory wax and the salt takes its toll.
I did look at replacing with a factory cross member but at £269 eerr no! will be putting lots of rust protection on the underside in the next few weeks, ive bought a dinitrol kit which includes rust neutraliser. cavity wax and black under body sealer/protector which should look after it for a few years..

 

[Sweety]

Very nice work:thumbs think I would have just passed out if I found mine like that:lol

 

[jims-terrano]

Very nice work:thumbs think I would have just passed out if I found mine like that:lol

Eyup Sweety, maybe nows the time to remove your bumper and treat it before it does get like that:thumb2

 

[supergnome]

That was a nasty case of tin worm but you have made a good job of it. Skills to be proud of. David.

 

[Sweety]

Eyup Sweety, maybe nows the time to remove your bumper and treat it before it does get like that:thumb2

Strangely that's one part of the truck that looks rust free but it has had a clean up & stone chipped:thumbs

 

[Daemo]

Sorry if the first pic is causing hassle on size, I didn't want it that big it was and accident.......can't edit posts on this site after 10 mins, I was in the process of editing but went over the allocated time by about a minute, maybe someone could delete the first image for me please.

 

[solarman216]

Sorry if the first pic is causing hassle on size, I didn't want it that big it was and accident.......can't edit posts on this site after 10 mins, I was in the process of editing but went over the allocated time by about a minute, maybe someone could delete the first image for me please.

do not worry none loaded anyway, so try again but smaller size, Rick