Footwell repair.

[heinkeljb]

So poor old Lurch having not had any real use for the several months now, I have been looking at various bits of rust. Most important one was the double skin section of the footwell, so have been dealing with it.

More photos to come.

John

[AustHaflinger]

Yes that is another of the design gems in the Haflinger. While not as bad as yours, I had similar issues when i got my Haflinger and was one of the first jobs I had to do. I decided that it was too hard to take the thick outer panel so cut out the rust spots in the inner thinner panel and welded in new metal.

I then drilled two holes at the top of the double skin and two holes at the bottom and then filled the gap between with Penetrol (rust preventative) - put two rubber bungs in the bottom holes, topped the gap back up with penetrol and put rubber bungs in the top holes - logic being I can top it up from time to time.

7 years later not topped it up but is all good with no new rust.

Good luck - is not a good job to do.

Garry

[heinkeljb]

Quite a lot of views, but only one comment from you Gary, I suppose that means that what I am doing is only of interest to one person... Oh well, for that one person, here are some more pictures of my ongoing repair. Only get time to do anything at a weekend, so will only finish this repair next weekend.

Having cut out the "perforated" outer layer of the double skin area under the steering box. I then had to cut out and replace the bottom edge of the inner skin.

Then make up a repair template for the hole.

Weld that in place.

Inner layer painter in weld through primer.


More in next post
John

[heinkeljb]

Make up a repair section for the outer layer and paint with weld through primer. I am also going to put some high temperature seam sealer on all the welds on the inner repair panel before I weld the outer repair section in place. I thought about doing your mod Gary, but opted for what I have on hand rather than go out and buy yet more stuff. Could still do it in the the future if I think my version isn't working.

Repair section just held in place with the two nuts from the bottom of the steering box.

Next job will be to weld this repair section in place.

Pictures of that when it happens.

John

[AustHaflinger]

Looks like you had a lot to do - and the result looks quite serviceable. The issue you will have in the future will be as you have identified - rust developing between the panels in the future - more a problem for you with your winter roads and damp conditions than me here in a relatively dry climate - nevertheless I am sure rust has started again on mine as brown stains are appearing in some spots.

You have still to weld the panel in - in doing so, think about what if you have to remove it in a few years to do similar repairs - for me this would be to mimic spot welds by drilling holes around the edge in the outer panel and then plug welding the outer panel to the inner - this way in the future you can just drill out the welds with a spot weld drill bit - do your repairs and weld it back - saves lots of grinding if you completely weld the edges. Downside is there is more chance of water getting in between the panels - but weld through sealer will help here.

When I bought my Haflinger site unseen I was led to believe it was rust free but there was rust in the areas you could not see - eg this reinforcing panel, under the seats, the body reinforcing braces in the front wheel arches are still pop rivetted to the body, and the rear foot wells - I am sure you have found all of yours.

I am surprised no else has chimed in as most Haflingers will have the issue of corrosion behind this reinforcing panel - but then I suppose they are following how you have done yours.

Garry

[ogdenenterprise]

I think I must have been lucky with my Haf when I purchased it, the previous owner was a car painter/ mechanic. It didnt need painting but it was a green colour, so I changed it to Beige RAL7032 on the rebuild.

Dave

[AustHaflinger]

so I changed it to Beige RAL7032 on the rebuild.

Dave

That is what I would do if doing a full repaint - RAL7032 is a little different to the original beige (RAL is paler and less green) and is noticeable if used together but with a full repaint you would never know the difference and the RAL7032 can be obtained anywhere straight off the chart.

Garry

[heinkeljb]

I have now finished that particular repair - I am sure there are others that will need looking at shortly!!! Actually , thinking about it I think the bottoms of the rear footwells are probably next in line for welding work.
So here a picture of the repair done bar the top coat of paint, but as I have to wait for the paint and sealer to harden and I had the opportunity to go and play recovery for a group of nutters doing an Automud day. (Automud involves stripping a small saloon car of everything bar the windscreen and front seats with full harnesses and then driving round basically an off road track for as long as you can make your car last). When it gets to the point of people playing bumper cars, some recovery of said not running vehicles is called for. The Haf actually does quite well at pulling them out of the track, not so much when you have to pull them up a slope, but there were a couple of heavier 4x4's there as well to help with recovery. Best car ran for 5 hours before expiring.

and the inside of the footwell.
John

[AustHaflinger]

Glad you finished it - is one of those jobs that keeps on coming back.

Garry