Rust hole behind the fuse box and water running down and into footwell

[V8turd]

As the title says, yesterday I washed the car and I could see water on the passenger carpet.

The glove box is all removed as due to the v8 swap I now have the servo living in the footwell and upon inspection I can clearly see that there is indeed a rusty hole root behind the fusebox so when water goes into the scuttle it is coming through the hole and running down the bulkhead and entering via the rubber where my brake lines now route

Can anyone advise how big this repair is in terms of difficulty and cost please ? Can't believe I've not noticed this before and the car is virtually ready for ger forst mot in 7 years. She's been in a garage all this time (thank god.!)

[Cloggy Saint]

It's not the best place to find rust! I think I'm right in saying that the fuse box will have to be removed, which involves stripping the entire interior and removing the in-car loom.

[V8turd]

Yeah i suspected this would be the case

I recently had both floors welded, rear panel cut out and replaced with a new panel, and some other bits welded up. Had a small m6 size hole in the one side of the scuttle which i had done aswel.
The car is really not bad at all and I know some on here would say frag it, if it's rusty there it's dead... It really isn't.
It's a 2 door non sunroof and really decent to he fair. It's just this area that I've obviously missed as the car has spent 7 years in a garage and only now I noticed it

I'm half tempted. Infact 3 quarter tempted to patch it up to stop water getting in so I can enjoy the thing for the spring summer and autumn then rip it appart in the winter to be honest.
I've not driven it in 7 years and just given it a kinda resto mod.
Just my luck this is. Lol

[Dlb26]

I think values have risen to the point that rust in the bulkhead is no longer a definitive reason to scrap an E30.
It would have to be pretty rotten to not warrant a repair now and yours isn't. A big job maybe but totally worth it.
Nothing wrong in doing a quick repair now, enjoy it through the summer and revisit in winter, particularly if it's not your daily and will be parked up anyway.

[V8turd]

I think values have risen to the point that rust in the bulkhead is no longer a definitive reason to scrap an E30.
It would have to be pretty rotten to not warrant a repair now and yours isn't. A big job maybe but totally worth it.

That's a very fair point actually. Gone are the days of 1500 pound 2 doors lol. I've put about 15 into it so no going back now

Anyone know of reputable places to take it to in the winter to have this done? Who know this repair on these cars ?

I have no issue stripping the car down ready and trailering it to them. I'm in south wales bit could travel within reason

[flybynite]

I'm in south wales bit could travel within reason

Maggspower on here is in your neck of the woods, he deals with oily bits but been dealing with E30 long enough to know who could do the tin-bashing. Byron runs The Engine Shed in Abergavenny, dont think he is on here anymore though I have had trouble getting hold of him but worth a try or maybe ask somone like Reddish who they use for bodywork.

[Contours]

This is a major job all right and I had to get it done a couple of years ago. It involves removing the dash as well as the carpet and wiring loom which has to be cut to move the fusebox aside. With all this out you should get the bulkhead sandblasted as there is likely more holes than the one you can see. I had already put two dashboards in the car so was very familiar with the wiring but it makes sense to label everything for reassembly. The bulkhead is a double panel and when water gets in between these panels it rots out. it was also likely the cause of rot in the floors. Removing the carpet can be an eyeopener.

[V8turd]

I have had the car stripped out and removed all the sound insulation from the bulkhead both sides. The bulkhead is fine.
The hole isn't in the bulkhead itself. It's hard to explain but it's basically behind and to the lower left of the fusebox on the upright panel closest to the engine where it meets at the base of the scuttle drain gully. So the water is coming out of this hole instead of draining across the scuttle gully and then it's running down the bulkhead and entering where I have routed my brake pipes and I can clearly see this when running water into the scuttle vent. It's not coming from anywhere else.
It's just a bit of a bitch that I have to pull all the loom just to patch this bit up lol.

It's not actually leaking from any hole in the metal if that makes sense.

[Contours]

There is seam sealer there providing a seal in that channel which is supposed to duct the water out under the wing. Getting access to this channel is a pain as it is hidden under part of the bulkhead. Interesting video on this issue I thought.

[V8turd]

Thanks for that video very interesting. I can confirm I have no nasties like that on my bulkhead thank god. As I've removed all sound deadening material from both inside and outside when fitting the brake servo in the foot well

I've added a picture which kinda shows my issue.

The water enters via the scuttle drain (yellow arrow) and down into the scuttle gulley.

There's a hole about the shape of the red area to the lower left of thr fuse box. This is where the water comes out from the scuttle drain then runs down the bulkhead (engine bay side) blue arrow thrn comes in where there's a small grommet which I've used tp route my brake pipes now that the servo lives in the cabin.

I'm still going to have to remove the fuse box to make this repair though so same procedure really which is shit lol.

And I'll definitely make a cut in the loom where he has and leave the back half in the car and rejoin after

[DanThe]

If you are cutting/joining the loom then stagger the cuts/joints, much neater/less likely to rub together/short

[V8turd]

If you are cutting/joining the loom then stagger the cuts/joints, much neater/less likely to rub together/short

Good point Dan and duly noted mate