Wheel Arch Rust

[crossland007]

Hi, Thinking of buying an E30 with some light rust around the rear wheel arches - is this a sensible move and if so how and what might it cost to get that fixed?

Any help much appreciated.

James

[oakey]

Hi, Thinking of buying an E30 with some light rust around the rear wheel arches - is this a sensible move and if so how and what might it cost to get that fixed?

Any help much appreciated.

James

Would be better to buy one without rusty arches
I had mine replaced on my old car for £600+ vat (both sides). But, there will probably be more lurking other places. The inner arches are probably going aswell. It can all add up to alot.

[rossmc88]

depends how cheap the car is, if the car is cheap then buy a mig for £100 and have a go yourself. e30s without rust are expensive

[crossland007]

Full of rust when I went to see it - left it well alone! Thanks for the advice!

[keiserwill]

An E30 without rust is a very rare thing in the uk, unless you find can find one thats been kept dry/ been restored, (sweet 320iSE on pistonheads - £15000.) Even if it looks tidy on the outside, you'll be suprised when you start digging. generally speaking the sports seem to be worse as they're lower to the ground and have been driven harder (so far more damage to the waxoil on the underside) SE models origionally bought by more conservative drivers/ladies & have had less owners and from what i've seen are in much better nik underneath. i own an '88 320iSE (£700, low miler, only a few owners and very tidy - not sure a stone's ever hit the underside) and a '91 325iS (£3800) which looks super tidy outside, but is an iron mine underneath. Its very difficult to tell without digging.
the inner arches on my sport looked great when i got her up. but when i started pulling waxoil off i've found that its rusted though, (rust sandwiched between thick layers of seam sealer and waxoil, which holds its shape- but when you press on this stuff theres give, wheras a good metal sandwich won't give) i'm expecting to find alot more of this rust sandwich throughout the car , next time i buy i'll take a picking hammer along.
I'm currently replacing the inner arches and its quite a big job for an inexperienced person like me. inner arches from BMW £81 each including VAT. but the fuel filler system has to come apart on the right side to gain access and you'll find yourself replacing parts that have rusted on that too. my neighbours are gettin used to me screamin like a redneck "we've struck iron!!!" as red clouds burst into the air from under my dremel.

[Speedtouch]

Welcome to the Zone! Can you post up some pics of the inner/outer arch repair work? Mine needs some also...

Thanks,

[keiserwill]

Will Certainly do, although its been slow going over the last few weeks, maybe posting my pics will speed me up a bit. Although the arches were the first area of concern, i started by replacing the top half of the rear panel and boot seal first as water was filling the boot wells and the access is easier there so i was a bit more confident to attack that job first. I put some pics up later of the arch repair. As i said the fuel filler system is a distraction as its not in great shape either so i've started looking at how i might refurb the fuel system as a whole, listing parts and sundries that i'll have to order in. Taylor325i has a post which is very impressive and he's giving me ideas, i'll be bombarding him with Q's tonight, as the investment in time/ money and effort really does warrant a full restore . With regard to my outers, I'm hoping to keep these as not too much rust is visible and i think they can be worked from the inside and thickened up if necessary (although we'll see as access to the inner is made more difficult if the outers stay, and i haven't yet finished carving the inner out, so i'm not fully aware how good/bad the outers are. and the car will get a respray anyway so they may be worth including regardless)