Rust repair costs

[DudFunk]

Hello folks, I have been shopping around for quotes to get some rot treated in my 93 GT, unfortunately most places want nothing to do with it, so far I have had 2 quotes from people who came highly recommended and both have quoted as close to 2000euros for the repairs including parts, materials and labour , I just wanted to get more opinions on this.

On one hand I think it sounds very excessive and way more then I was expecting on the other these are highly recommended and the work should be of high quality and of course that specialisation and quality will come at a cost, unsure where to go next.

The rear hatch area I'm told is going to need quite a bit of work to get back to a solid state, some paint bubbling and surface rust is all I could see however both specialists have explained that moisture has gotten into the skin behind the seam sealer so will need quite a bit of labour an most likely quote a bit of fabrication too before it begins to get really bad.

I'm currently on the look out for good shells to get cuts from on the advice of a panel beater friend however anybody with a good shell, whether Ep82 or ep80's, thinks it's worth it's weight in palladium so if anybody knows of any shells for cuts please let me know

The work was quoted for

Remove outer sills
Inspect, clean and repair inner sills
Replace outer sills
Prime and paint sills
Cavity wax treatment to sills and inner rear arches
Strip, Vapour blast rear hatch
Cut and weld rear hatch
Seam sealed rear
Prime and paint rear hatch
Tidy/repair rear pockets after blasting

 

[Jay]

Thats the level of corrosion I'm expecting on my auto GT and that's the sort of money I'll probably end up spending to get it sorted. Totally depends on what is lurking under the skin.

There is a massive amount of work involved and anyone with the skill to fix it will no doubt be worth the expense. Regular body shops aren't interested as their main focus is the easier crash repairs, really takes a specialist to do it right.

If it came to it a bare shell rebuild might be worth considering. Blasting, treating and spraying the whole shell could work out more cost effective and give a better overall result.

You're in the territory of full restoration so brace yourself for the quotes.

Also depends on the car too, if its 'just' a car to you with no sentimental attachment you might be better finding a better base to build on.

 

[SKINY]

At least you have outer sills to remove

 

[Jay]

We haven't seen the sill areas yet lol

One of mine had nothing left between the wheels - open air! Managed to find two sill sections in a breaker to get it sorted.

 

[DudFunk]

Thanks for the input lads, I just wanted opinions from people outside the trade so to speak, any panel beater friends have all laughed, smiled and nodded when I was quoting them the prices, to them it seemed perfectly reasonable but they are used to working on insurance claims on BMW's and the like, not many people pay for repairs out of their own pocket so I thought perhaps the price might have been a little inflated because of this.

Replacement Ford Ka sills just arrived as I was typing this, I'm very curious if it will be as suitable a candidate as people have suggested, they only cost 80 quid delivered though so no great loss if not.

 

[glanzadude]

I have water coming in from around that Section off the car

 

[glanzadude]

In my opinion any sells that will fit will do as they will be covered with the Gt body kit anyways

Would you have a photo off the panel in question from in side the boot?

 

[DudFunk]

In my opinion any sells that will fit will do as they will be covered with the Gt body kit anyways

Would you have a photo off the panel in question from in side the boot?

I'll get one for you

Second and third photos got flipped

 

[glanzadude]

I'll get one for you

Second and third photos got flipped

Wonder where it started to rot from as side I have water coming in from the same place

 

[DudFunk]

Be worth your while getting the back bumper off and having a poke around maybe? Wasn't it a known issue in mk1's for the rear lamps bung to fail and send water streaming down causing paint bubbling and corrosion directly under the lights? Also all of the rubber in these cars are rapidly approaching end of life if they haven't already perished.

It could be related however I also have corrosion along the the same side, where the weather stripping mounts to the rear hatch which has obviously allowed water ingress to sit and get behind the seam sealer, get trapped and cause that hole to develop?

I think all we can do is replace rubbers, plug holes and start leak testing

 

[Jay]

Any sign of damage on that back panel?

Reason I ask is that my auto was damaged and repaired in Japan and because Japan doesn't do good repairs it's always been noticeable. The shut lines have never been good on the PSR corner and I'm mentally prepared for finding problems lurking in there as a result. Rear panel is definitely rusting as I can see it around the number plate.

Seen quite a few GT's with similar damage from rear-end shunts which would compromise the seams and let moisture in.

 

[Jay]

Just on the water ingress front:

Mk1 tail lamps can develop leaks - seems to usually be the passenger side one for some reason. It's in the actual tail lamp assembly itself.

All EP82 tail lamps will eventually wear the locating grommet in the shell. Very minor part and easily replaced, just pop the lamp out for access.

Tail gate seals will perish over time, they are trapped between the tail gate and the body so road vibration and exposure to the elements will play a part. Seen a few leak as a result.

Rear window latches can weaken and let rain in, one of mine suffers this during washing.

 

[DudFunk]

Any sign of damage on that back panel?

Reason I ask is that my auto was damaged and repaired in Japan and because Japan doesn't do good repairs it's always been noticeable. The shut lines have never been good on the PSR corner and I'm mentally prepared for finding problems lurking in there as a result. Rear panel is definitely rusting as I can see it around the number plate.

Seen quite a few GT's with similar damage from rear-end shunts which would compromise the seams and let moisture in.

There is some corrosion on the same side area, I couldn't find any noticeable issues with shut lines or accident repair except now that I think about the rear bumper did have paint marker like from a breakers hahah

 

[burty]

To be honest I think that's a decent price I'm currently having work done on my ep91 and that's about right although I'm spending more than that as its having a full respray at the same time, new sills arches inner arches il be posting pics up very very soon

 

[Jay]

It could just be the light in that picture but she's maybe had a touch on the passenger side. Bottom edge and the top lip look a bit iffy?

EDIT - here's a half decent one to compare to

 

[glanzadude]

It could just be the light in that picture but she's maybe had a touch on the passenger side. Bottom edge and the top lip look a bit iffy?

EDIT - here's a half decent one to compare to

View attachment 5890

As Jay said looks like it got a hit on the side in question. Nice bit off rust ever the less,would you think off reshelling into a Irish ep80?

 

[DudFunk]

As Jay said looks like it got a hit on the side in question. Nice bit off rust ever the less,would you think off reshelling into a Irish ep80?

I am open to all options really but I think I would have to get the Irish car very, very cheap to justify going that route and that seems very unlikely with the current asking prices for what appear on the surface to be good strong cars, it would also be allot of work to get it to full GT spec, will still end up needing body work and paint and would probably end up being the more expensive option and at the end of the day it wouldn't be a real GT would it? I may be vain but I think in the long run that would bother me a bit although as has already been suggested it would maybe be a better base to start from. Either way all i've managed to find is a red 3 door with a bent chassis leg for cuts, waiting on pics to get a better idea

It could just be the light in that picture but she's maybe had a touch on the passenger side. Bottom edge and the top lip look a bit iffy?

EDIT - here's a half decent one to compare to

Thanks for the ref pic I'll give it a good scope out tomorrow, I'm definitely not a natural photographer though so who knows at this point

 

[SKINY]

I missed a mint ep80 nearly 2 years ago, mate found it tucked up 1 owner from new

 

[Jay]

Any EP80's I've seen up north have been rusty. Dont think you guys use salt on the roads so an Irish spec might be worth considering. I'd be looking at imported soleils too if you were that pushed.

There are also slight differences between the body shells. Rear windows and inner cards spring to mind for some reason.

 

[gorganl2000]

in addtion to what you've planned, i'd suggest you have the entire car looked over and any additional rust sorted the same time...then respray the entire car...you never know what you will find with these type of repair jobs...then the entire car respray will help to keep one color as its sometimes very difficult to match the color with a partial respray

see how the costs compare for all the options