dubman 39 Report post Posted January 13, 2022 (edited) Basically went overseas for 4 years & car sat outside for 4 years (terrible, I know). The repaired rust spots all came back + some new ones. Fortunately, I've got a garage now, so I'll be repairing this myself in next few months & keep it dry in future. Full strip of interior, sound deadening & panels, so I can find it all so left over rust can't keep eating away at the fresh patches. Edited January 13, 2022 by dubman 5 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Eagle 1514 Report post Posted January 14, 2022 Well it least it still looks exactly how i remember it with the RS's 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dubman 39 Report post Posted January 24, 2022 Bought an Ozito 100amp gasless MIG using flux core for $200 from Bunnings, easily burns through so been playing around with it (not gonna get any weld porn from it on thin metal 🤣). Got decent penetration & it is holding well; will try sticking piece of copper pipe behind these for future panels. Overall, does the job & will be improving as I go. Will likely stick with spot welds & using KBS rust seal to fill in the small gaps & prevent future rusting. These aren't structural so not too fussed about getting perfect butt welds (more like I don't have enough talent for that). Nothing a grinding disk & various Dremel bits can't tidy up 🤪 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Navin 180 Report post Posted January 24, 2022 Whoa this is a blast from the past! Good to see it still kicking about 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Michael. 2312 Report post Posted January 25, 2022 Awesome, this will be a great project with plenty of learning on the way. 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dirtydoogle 383 Report post Posted January 25, 2022 Use some thin copper behind the butt welds, makes life easier with heat dissipation You can achieve results as good as any with a crappy flux core set up on panel steel. Just takes practice and a huge amount of patience 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dubman 39 Report post Posted May 7, 2022 Very slow progress but it’s getting cleaner - cutting out rust out of tight spots isn’t very motivating. started cleaning up interior upholstery to procrastinate doing the body work (shame modern euros don’t make headliners like they used to!) 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dubman 39 Report post Posted October 2, 2022 Very slow but steady progress - got the LHS firewall & wiper area drains to do for rust repairs & will be ready for new carpets (getting fresh set made). Cleaned up very small things that you won't even see (prevent future corrosion) & painted with KBS RustSeal (recommend over POR15 as it's more flexible). Also bought some cosmetic goodies to keep me motivated to finish this thing up before Xmas & get it back on the road. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dubman 39 Report post Posted October 2, 2022 (edited) ....and painted the rank looking parcel tray with some Duplicolour Vinyl & Fabric paint (very easy to use) Edited October 2, 2022 by dubman 4 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dubman 39 Report post Posted October 23, 2022 Took me a few weekends to get this done; removed the previous lap weld rust repairs & redid the repair. Tried my best to protect the wiring from heat & the grinder so I don’t have to bust out the soldering iron 😂 Will tidy up all the flash & surface rust before KBS rust seal top coat. 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dubman 39 Report post Posted January 9, 2023 Wrapping up most of the rust repairs this month after putting in a lot of time over the Xmas break. Starting to re-assemble including DIY resprayed guard, bumper & lip ECU & tune next after going for a WOF.... 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sammo 2476 Report post Posted January 10, 2023 On 10/23/2022 at 3:02 PM, dubman said: Took me a few weekends to get this done; removed the previous lap weld rust repairs & redid the repair. Tried my best to protect the wiring from heat & the grinder so I don’t have to bust out the soldering iron 😂 Will tidy up all the flash & surface rust before KBS rust seal top coat. Was the motor out to weld in this area? got some rust there too (under glovebox / firewall skin) that I've done a temp patch on but will need doing properly eventually... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dubman 39 Report post Posted January 10, 2023 2 hours ago, Sammo said: Was the motor out to weld in this area? got some rust there too (under glovebox / firewall skin) that I've done a temp patch on but will need doing properly eventually... Motor was left in - I had to take out dash as I had to redo the whole area under the wipers & its drainage area. I was lucky the rust didn’t reach the brake booster so it saved me from taking that out. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dubman 39 Report post Posted January 15, 2023 finished with 99% of rust-oration & just need to tidy up some areas with prime & top coat. patched up the cracked dash & went for matte black finish (will be two tone interior with navy door cards & centre ); will see how the dash ages/lasts over time (just don't look at is closely & without dash mat 🤣) got new carpets & mats to go before interior goes back in. 3 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sammo 2476 Report post Posted January 16, 2023 Nice man, what did you use to patch the dash? I have a fantastic matte clear finish product used for refinishing leather that leaves a great silky matte soft finish - want to use it on my dash if I ever re-do it at some point (only one crack at this point). Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dubman 39 Report post Posted January 16, 2023 18 hours ago, Sammo said: Nice man, what did you use to patch the dash? I have a fantastic matte clear finish product used for refinishing leather that leaves a great silky matte soft finish - want to use it on my dash if I ever re-do it at some point (only one crack at this point). lucky with one crack! I just used polyurethane from Bunnings & levelled it down with mineral turps. When/if I could be bothered to try to make it perfect, I won't level it down with turps & source a textured "stamp" to mimic the OEM pattern from a vinyl repair kit. Most creative one & most OEM looking one I've seen that still had a soft finish, was using shredded cleaning sponge, super glue & baking powder mixture then finished off with vinyl repair kit before respray. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dubman 39 Report post Posted January 18, 2023 New carpets after loom & floor pan tidy up. Fitment wasn't perfect but decent all things considered (easy to cut & trim). The underlay is pretty thick felt; hopefully better than OEM sound insulation (degraded 35 year old foam). 3 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dubman 39 Report post Posted January 25, 2023 Put 99% of interior back together (just need to replace front component speakers, speaker panel & carpet trim) Went for WOF....failed 4 tyres due to 10 yr old rotted tyres - easy fix! New tyres next week & car will legally be back on the road. WOF inspectors spent more time looking at engine bay than the rest of the car. Thanks to Aliexpress & Bunnings for having most of the tools, clips & other little loose bits to fix everything 🤣 Rod from @euroitalian has been awesome for parts! 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
325iRod 129 Report post Posted January 25, 2023 The carpet looks great 👍 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dubman 39 Report post Posted January 25, 2023 12 hours ago, 325iRod said: The carpet looks great 👍 nothing floor mats can't fix hide 😂love your work on the alpineweiss e30; looking clean! 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
