Door to Sill rust area ?.

[Guest]

Went out to-day to look at a couple of Stags, ended up looking at three. One concern was I noticed all to a greater or lesser extent had what looked like rust in one area. This was even on Stags that looked in good condition in all the other areas. This area was where the front door pillar meets the sill. i.e. with the Door open follow the door pillar down from the hinges and as it curves into the top of the sill there was what looks like rust under the paint mainly on the sill top area. The only way to prove would have been to remove the paint to see what was underneath and obviously I did not want to do this as I am sure the owners would not have been too pleased. Any comments appreciated.



Many thanks, Don Kennedy



http://www.donkennedy.co.uk/

[redstag]

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Hi Don

It is quite common to find rust in this area at the base of the A-post. I found mine had rotted quite badly when I removed the paint and I had to make up and weld in a repair panel.

You can also find rot on the inside of the A-post which can also be quite bad.

[DJT]

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Bit like this Don?

This picture is one of a Stag currently on eBay.

Quite a common problem, unfortunately and not easy to repair properly due to the meeting of several panels.

Dave

[redstag]

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Quite a common problem, unfortunately and not easy to repair properly due to the meeting of several panels.

That's just how mine looked. I had to replace the metal up to the bottom hinge.

When I repaired it I had already removed the door, front wing and outer sill so it was a reasonably straightforward job.

With all the panels in place though, as Dave said it would be difficult to make a tidy repair and if my car was anything to go by if it is anything worse than surface rust it would indicate worse horrors waiting to be found.


Pete

[Guest]

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Hi Guys.



Many thanks for your time with the replies. The A post area is where all of the Stags I have looked at seem to be suspect. To have a better look allI need to do is to peel back the door seal in this corner and peel back the carpet, is this correct ?. Is this carpet etc stuck down as one of my concerns is causing damage to the car although if the seller objects maybe they have something to hide ?. Although any Stag that I would seriously consider buying would get a more detailed investigation before purchase without fear of lifting carpets more than I have done. It is possible that that some of the Stags I have seen could just be surface rust but what I have seen make me suspect more. Slightly strange as one of the Cars I looked at was very good in all areas except for this A post area. Looks like more investigation required. One of the other Stags I looked at was very “interesting� had a complete restoration a few years ago, that was what the seller said, all I can say is the restoration was done by Stevie Wonder and checked afterwards by Ray Charles.





Many thanks, Don Kennedy.

[stustag]

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The rust area you are talking about is normally due to 2 reasons.

The sills have rusted from the inside out due to poor rust preventive measures (Waxoyl) and blocked drainage holes.

Second is due to windscreen leakage (Very common) which leaks in the corners then water drips down causing rotting of the foot well beneath and the inner sill area. It can also cause the water to leaking into the rain gutter on the A post which then proceeds to rot the inner wing and adjacent panels.

Water is big problem on the stag especially if the original seals (like mine) are tired and leak causing moisture build up in the car!

If you are inspecting cars Don get a watering can and check the windscreen and door seals throughly!

My windscreen seal was leaking under the seal and over the seal by this I mean under the seal where it joins the metal windscreen surround and under the glass itself!

I still haven't rectified the under glass bit as it means the windscreen coming out and therefore a dry day, as this seems to be a non event the leak continues to my annoyance!

Stuart

[Gresley]

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DJT wrote:

Bit like this Don?

This picture is one of a Stag currently on eBay.

Quite a common problem, unfortunately and not easy to repair properly due to the meeting of several panels.

Dave

Mine has a few bubbles appearing in this area tooI plan to strip the paint off and see what's there in the near future...

Brian

[stustag]

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Brian

I had some bubbles on my wifes Rover 2 months ago on the 3 year ol rear arches, this is what they look like now!:shock:

Never ever ignore bubbles not unless you want to waste huge amounts of money on panels and paint!

Stuart

[Gresley]

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Hi Stuart

Now I AM worried!!! Thanks for the pic, I'd better sort this out sooner rather than laterThe area feels very solid so I hope it has not gone too far.

Brian

[ethel]

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Don2138 wrote:

To have a better look allI need to do is to peel back the door seal in this corner and peel back the carpet,..... It is possible that that some of the Stags I have seen could just be surface rust but what I have seen make me suspect more.

While you're at it pull the carpet back a bit further and check the floor pan where it forms the top of the front outrigger box section, don't be fooled by one that's still covered by the black sound deadening compound.

If you had got to the stage where you were about to buy the car, then the seller shouldn't really object to a more detailed carpet lifting inspection, after all if it's all ok then as the new owner you'd be the one having to stick it back down!

John.

[martin]

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RUSTY *A* POST ? RUN AWAY AS FAST AS YOU CAN ! No further inspection is needed ! Martin.

[Guest]

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RUSTY *A* POST ? RUN AWAY AS FAST AS YOU CAN ! No further inspection is needed ! Martin.



Hi Martin, I totaly agree.



Don Kennedy



http://www.donkennedy.co.uk/

[richardthestag]

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martin wrote:

RUSTY *A* POST ? RUN AWAY AS FAST AS YOU CAN ! No further inspection is needed ! Martin.

what! like this? :P

Pay particular attention to the kwalitee of the bodged in patches :shock:






in both cases rust was actually to bodged panel and metalwork around a-post was fine. Must admit that I was anticipating a nightmare with o/s top a post :shock:





If only all rust were as simple!!!

But I doubt that you would be looking at cars with such obvious patching - One of Ruperts PO's or their welder had cut out rust, treated metal behind, welded metal in probably while beating it into shape and then completely forgotten to treat the back of the so called repair panel!! hense 14 years down the line and they have gone rusty but the hidden metal work was still sound :?

bodgedy bodgdy bodge eh


p.s. I partly agree with Martin that a-post rust should make you wary as repairs can be complicated and thus expensive if shopped out. However if the rest of the car is good and the price is right - I probably would NOT run away but hang around and haggle .

[martin]

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Eeeeee - ya can't beat a good pop rivet. The big prob with the "A" post, is a space between it and the inner wing, that can only beaccessed for rustproofing by removing the kick panel carpet, or through the doorhinge bolt holes, you can't get to it via the underbonnet triangles. Martin.

[Guest]

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Hi RichardtheStag.

While I would not run away from a Stag that had corrosion in this area ( depending upon how bad the corrosion was ) I am continuing to look for " My Stag " and hope to find it without any corrosion in this area. I accept that any car of this age will have some corrosion ( To a greater or lesser extent ). As I have found in the past, some owners always seem to think their car is better than it is, this is quite understandable but if I am going to pay what some are asking I do not expect something like corrosion in this area at the prices asked. There are some Stags that are in very good condition but I do not want to go as high as the pricesbeing askedfor those Cars. I accept that it becomes a compromise between what I am willing to pay and what is available and the condition of the car reflects the asking price. My search continues, it took me many months and very many miles to find my last Car but as soon as I saw it I knew it was the Car for me. Difficult to explain but there are some cars that as soon as you first see than you know this is the one. I am sure you know what I mean.

Many thanks, Don Kennedy

http://www.donkennedy.co.uk/