Rust above pedals - action plan..!

Lawis · Feb 26, 2016

Hi all -

I've found a spot of rust above the pedals, that has caused a small hole.
Not I n ow it's not tooooo bad, but I want to act sooner rather than later.

I have no experience wielding, but know how to use a wire brush and paint, will that suffice for this?

Tips and advice most welcome!

Thanks

Lewis

IamRobbie · Feb 26, 2016

That needs cutting out and welding up. You'll find that it goes much further than that. Goodluck

109inches · Feb 26, 2016

That will unfortunately be about 4/5 times that size when it's cleaned up. You can rub it to good metal and paint it as its not structural and wait until you learn to weld or have funds to get someone else to do it. You will end up with a wet right foot though.

Discokids · Feb 26, 2016

That is too close (within 30cm) to a major component (brake master cylinder/pedal) to pass an MOT.

Lawis · Feb 29, 2016

I've already had the wet foot ahha! - Not quite the answers I wanted to read in here, but I appreciate your time and honesty guys!

As a ballpark figure, if I turned up at Mr Smiths garage / bodyshop, what would it cost me to have it sorted?

MOT is August time - can I assume it was missed at the last MOT, or can it develop that quickly?

Thanks

Al2O3 · Feb 29, 2016

The big flakes of rust that finally fell off to reveal the hole could well have done since last August. The rust would have started before then I reckon. Easily missed there unless mats are taken out as in pic, tricky to see from engine bay or underneath.
Difficult to give ball park from the picture. You can't see how far the corrosion goes and the extent will affect what needs to be taken off the bulkhead, such as brake servo, clutch master etc, which are bolted on there. Removing these will take time.

Lawis · Mar 1, 2016

Cheers - I'll further investigate when I get a chance!

Also - this: http://www.yrm-metal-solutions.co.uk/epages/BT4822.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/BT4822/Products/005B
Makes it look like a more manageable job for someone such as myself!

lynall · Mar 1, 2016

Bet its leaking from the screen rubber seal or the screen to bulkhead seal, so that needs fixing first.
I would fix water leak and clean it up then pop rivet a neat patch on.

Lighthouse · Mar 1, 2016

looks good

Lawis · Mar 1, 2016

lynall said:
Bet its leaking from the screen rubber seal or the screen to bulkhead seal, so that needs fixing first.
I would fix water leak and clean it up then pop rivet a neat patch on.

Good shout!

Lighthouse said:
looks good

Al2O3 · Mar 1, 2016

Lawis said:
Cheers - I'll further investigate when I get a chance!

Also - this: http://www.yrm-metal-solutions.co.uk/epages/BT4822.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/BT4822/Products/005B
Makes it look like a more manageable job for someone such as myself!

The YRM panels are very good, I've used a lot of YRM stuff myself.
It's a hell of a lot of work to put that full repair panel in though. The rest of your footwell looks ok and the door post looks ok too. You would probably get away with a patch along the upper section of the footwell. As I say, hard to tell exactly what's gone by the picture.

Lawis · Mar 13, 2016

Thanks for the replied chaps!

I did a bit more investigating today, and found the attached... included is a picture from the bay into the footwells.

As said by a few people - it goes further than first appears..

I took the speaker out, and noticed the back of that was a little wet and so (as mentioned by someone above) the seal must be worn and is letting water through. I assume it's best to fix the root cause first, then the rust second...

Could always be worse!

Lawis · Mar 28, 2016

Hello!

Does anyone have any suggestions following the pictures above?

Thanks in advance!

Ian Maycock · Mar 28, 2016

My project had the same problem but the bottom of the foot well had started to go as well, have you pulled the mats out completely and looked beneath them ? you might find more if you haven't already looked. I replaced both foot wells as they had already been repaired was time consuming but not to bad a job but I'm a welder fabricating by trade. It appears from the photos that the lip of the bottom of the bulkhead that the foot well attaches to is going as well. I'd suggest scraping the area and gently proding the area to see whether the rusty steel is still solid and just surface rust or totally gone ? Then work out a plan from there , the big question is can you weld ? and are you confident enough to have a go and to do it yourself ?
cheers Ian

Lawis · Mar 28, 2016

Hi Ian,
Firstly, can I weld, no. - well not yet anyway!
I would be happy to give it a go though - what's the best was to practice / learn?
I've had the rear cover off completely, but not the bottom part - I shall do this, (Now that it's light as I get home from work I'll be able to get s**t done!)

Lawis · Mar 28, 2016

The bottom looks OK, but not great... the bolt heads are rusted and there is a few mm of rust where the piece right under the pedals joins onto the floor...

Ian Maycock · Mar 28, 2016

firstly you need a mig welder and some argo shield gas if you've got a steel stockists or a steel fabricators near you pop down and get some thin plate off cuts and have a go. Make a t shape with the sheet and practice welding the join. Have you got access to a welder or have you got to buy one ? As for the foot well I would take the stance that its gone rusty and into holes in places, the foot well is re-inforced if you look and its gone round the mounting holes for the brake servo and possibly all the way along so a would replace the foot well completely as patching never really gets rid of all the damaged steel but that's my opinion. I brought my foot wells off ebay from classic bulkhead restorations in Birmingham they were heavy duty and fitted ok and were re-inforced already, I have just searched ebay and they've only got the passenger side on at the minute but I'm sure if you contact them they'd make one for you if you wanted one of there's.

Lawis · Mar 28, 2016

Thanks for getting back to us Ian,

I don't have access to wielder, so I'll have to buy one!
Is that something similar to this: http://www.yrm-metal-solutions.co.uk/epages/BT4822.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/BT4822/Products/005B

Ian Maycock · Mar 28, 2016

yes similar but the one I bought had a re-inforced panel on the front and it didn't have the top panel bit were the steering column goes as that's part of the bulk head. If you do a search on ebay for item number 111885732224 you will see what I mean, this is the passenger one but if you email them I am sure they will do you a drivers side one as they do make them and they are solid , it requires less cutting as if yours is like my defender the bottom part of the bulkhead was rusty but a sand up and it was ok. As for welding I would search you tube there's sure to be a tutorial on there to give you some pointers. As for a welder Clarke welders from machine mart aren't bad for what you want, it all depends what you want to spend. But I would recommend buying a descent welder as some of the cheap ones are really dire and wouldn't weld anything properly. I gladly give you any help I can on how I did it with photos and such if you decide to do it your self. I would recommend learning to weld as you can repair most of the steel work yourself saves a lot of money paying someone plus gives you the satisfaction of knowing that you did that, but you need to remember that aluminium needs different wire and gas to weld.

Lawis · Mar 29, 2016

Ian, thanks again!

I've found the bulkhead from that sellers own website: http://shop.classicbulkheads.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=62_67&product_id=120
It looks pretty good to me!

At the moment I don't know much about welding but I'll get reading and on YouTube and that should help me out!
How much do I need to be thinking for the least expensive, yet good enough welder?
I'll scoff my dinner and then get watching! Cheers for the offer of pictures and that, that would be really helpful!

Thanks
Lewis

Rust above pedals - action plan..!

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