Corrosion of the forward ends of the rear wheel arches seems to have emerged as a serious Felicia killer; my impression is that the Favorit was less subject to this.

My Felicias are starting to show signs of this problem, and I want to nail it as best I can by squirting WaxOyl or similar corrosion inhibitor into the void where the trouble starts. I seem to remember doing this on the Favorit years ago, with easy access via a plug within the body shell.

Is there a suitable access plug within the Felicia body shell, or do I have to go in via the couple of plugs which I can see in the rear wheel enclosure?

Any tips from folks who have already grappled with with this problem would be much appreciated.

I would just get the rust cut out...

Thanks, uma1998. Certainly, that is the counsel of perfection ... but what next? Would you seek to fill the damage, or do you have the supreme tin-bashing skills needed to fabricate a plate with all those double curves to weld into place, and do a 'proper job'? (Umm, I don't!).

Digression: this has reminded me of the old VW Beetle rot-spot at the bottom of the door pillars .... when the Dutch government decided back then that it was a bright idea (for the motor trade, no doubt) to get older cars off the road, two burly cops swinging on the wide-open door could break the pillar joint, and delight in declaring the car 'unroadworthy' .... so a smart firm, in Rotterdam I think, produced an excellent simple steel pressing which - when welded into place at the bottom of the column - would defeat the best efforts of the Rijkspolitie; good job.

Now, 70+ views of this thread in only 3 days would seem to confirm my view that lots of us Felicia people are concerned about this problem, so I wonder .... is there any enterprising outfit out there - like those guys in R'dam - producing, or able to produce, the steel pressings which would fix our arches nicely and keep our Felicias respectable, and on the road for many years to come?

I was at some pains to buy Felicias with minimal arch corrosion, so my own aim is to stop the corrosion rather than launch into major surgery, for now at least. If anyone who has been there can answer my orginal query - about the best way into the void to apply corrosion inhibitor - before I start taking things apart, I'll be most grateful.

You can buy rear arch repair panels from most mainstream auto body shop panel suppliers, mine came from imperial, they were about £20 each

I've never done one of these but on other cars I've done the hardest part has been fabricating a repair to the frayed edge of the inner arch that the outer arch has to weld to. I've usually resorted to a series of smaller patches bent into "U" sections to make up that edge.

 

To get rustproofing in there the best access is probably by removing the plastic trim panels and using a long probe.

Many thanks, TeflonTom, for the lead re. pressings.

Red Studio, yes., I can well imagine that hardest part!

As a matter of interest, would spot welding have been an option on those other jobs you mention?

I'm not planning any major surgery for my Felicias for the time being .... I'll try removing the plastic plugs within the wheel enclosure and investigate the scope for probing that way.

Red Studio, yes., I can well imagine that hardest part!

As a matter of interest, would spot welding have been an option on those other jobs you mention?

 

I was using a mig welder so was using a mix of continuous welds and plug welds ( where you drill through one layer of the two overlapped sheets before welding them in that hole, it sort of mimics a spot weld).