I have some lacquer peel on my front bumper too. I'm not sure if it's been badly repaired in the past.  My front wings are also rusting at the bottom near the sills. I think it's where all the muck gets trapped behind the arch liner from the scuttle drains. When I first got the car there was loads of crap trapped behind there and it was damp.

 

 

 

Edited 24 March, 20224 yr by TMB

Just now, TMB said:

I have some lacquer peel on my front bumper too. I'm not sure if it's been badly repaired in the past.  My front wings are also rusting at the bottom near the sills. I think it's where all the muck gets trapped behind the arch liner from the scuttle drains. When I first got the car there was loads of crap trapped behind there and it was damp.

 

My fronts are actually quite good, I had the arch liner off and it seems very clean. The side I have the rust on is where the liner is damaged at the rear. 

 

The lacquer peel is fairly minimal on mine but my front bumper is definitely quite rough. Might be time to get a Pre-FL replacement. Now just to get the GT bumper add-on...

1 minute ago, AnnoyingPentium said:

My fronts are actually quite good, I had the arch liner off and it seems very clean. The side I have the rust on is where the liner is damaged at the rear. 

 

Yes I noticed your plastic has a chunk missing.

Just now, TMB said:

 

Yes I noticed your plastic has a chunk missing.

 

It was hanging off but must have disappeared when I may have accidentally stumbled through flood waters outside of Mauchline at about 45mph in the dark. Would be just as well fixing the dodgy bit and then replacing the entire plastic arch liner thing.

Just now, AnnoyingPentium said:

Would be just as well fixing the dodgy bit and then replacing the entire plastic arch liner thing.

 

Yeah

At least it's not like the old days where a car would barely make it to five years old without terminal chassis rot

2 minutes ago, TMB said:

At least it's not like the old days where a car would barely make it to five years old without terminal chassis rot

 

Definitely. My Granda had a colleague that bought a Lancia Delta. It was about three years old, he went over the speedbump at the work's car park and the thing sheared the mounts for the engine...

Yeah, old Lancias were utter rot boxes 😁

I checked the other side later on just before we lost daylight...

 

 

Thankfully not as bad but will deal with it as well. Surprisingly my fronts are still quite good, except for the wing bubbling on the passenger side on the little lip beside the arch liner. The car has a fair share of battle scars as was outlined very far back on this thread and given how cheaply I can maybe get some decent quality panels, I may start swapping further in the future but that can wait until I have to.

 

I really do like this car even if I slag hell out it at times, so I can justify the effort needed to keep it in decent enough nick for now. Nothing like a full-body respray or anything, I'm not made of money.

Just do what they did back in the old days and paint black underseal half way up the sides of the car

Just now, TMB said:

Just do what they did back in the old days and paint black underseal half way up the sides of the car

 

Could stick with that and also apply some black/grey plastic trim... call it the only Mk1 Fabia Scout.

On 24/03/2022 at 23:21, AnnoyingPentium said:

 

Could stick with that and also apply some black/grey plastic trim... call it the only Mk1 Fabia Scout.

As a serious mod to @TMB suggestion, my Dad and I used to Hammerite the sills right up to the door shuts, sometimes more than once.

4 minutes ago, KenONeill said:

As a serious mod to @TMB suggestion, my Dad and I used to Hammerite the sills right up to the door shuts, sometimes more than once.

Good to hear hammerites good to keep rust at bay.

3 hours ago, KenONeill said:

As a serious mod to @TMB suggestion, my Dad and I used to Hammerite the sills right up to the door shuts, sometimes more than once.

 

I'm getting rid of the car this year so will just drive it until then.

It’s obviously a Fabia thing as my passenger front sill is really bad and needs my attention this summer 😞 
 

It’s so bad that I actively try not to wash my car that often as it makes it more obvious when she’s clean. Funnily enough, the drivers side is much less than this

3 minutes ago, jars said:

It’s obviously a Fabia thing as my passenger front sill is really bad and needs my attention this summer 😞 
 

It’s so bad that I actively try not to wash my car that often as it makes it more obvious when she’s clean. Funnily enough, the drivers side is much less than this

 

Must be. I've only ever seen one or two that are really much worse than any here as well. Mine and the other local ones suffer a lot since the council seem to have blown their budget on gritters so they get used nearly all the bloody time. My neighbour's old 06 was rotting a the wings, and the 2003 one I saw the other day was going in the same place as @TMB's. 

 

Mine has went like this in a matter of months as there was no rust or bubbling on it around November last year. The bodywork was rust-free on mine at the time that I bought it a year ago. It had originally came from West End Skoda, Broxburn but spent some time in Blantyre with the previous owner but only doing abour 2,500 miles a year. It's only since I took it South West that it's received a hell of a beating, with me doing about 10,000 miles a year at the moment.

 

My plan at the moment is just to sand it back, then whack some "rust curing" stuff and maybe some primer on it after I get a quote from the bodywork place that did my mirror.

Conversely the sills on my mk1 don't seem to have any rot, they're just dented in a ridiculous amount.

Mine is also rusting around the number plate lights in the tailgate but it's been like that ever since I've had it and hasn't got much worse. I think it's a common spot for them to rust. I seem to remember some even had to have it fixed under warranty.

Edited 27 March, 20224 yr by TMB

2 minutes ago, TMB said:

Mine is also rusting around the number plate lights in the tailgate but it's been like that ever since I've had and hasn't got much worse. I think it's a common spot for them to rust. I seem to remember some even had to have it fixed under warranty.

 

Ah yes mine has been doing that for ages. Especially behind the registration plate etc. Couple of bubbles but honestly there's worse parts on it, such as the keyed parts etc. If I cared enough I'd just swap it, but only if it has the vRS spoiler lip, ya know.

Just now, AnnoyingPentium said:

If I cared enough I'd just swap it, but only if it has the vRS spoiler lip, ya know.

 

😁

2 hours ago, TMB said:

Mine is also rusting around the number plate lights in the tailgate but it's been like that ever since I've had it and hasn't got much worse. I think it's a common spot for them to rust. I seem to remember some even had to have it fixed under warranty.

Yup. I’m on my second tailgate as the rust could not be stopped in that exact place on the original  😞 

 

Lowered, innit. ^^

 

Turns out there's a cheaper way.

 

Spoiler

 

My cars horrid with carrying weight too, this pic is exactly why I'll be swapping in my big stiff springs for road trips. Made it over to galway and back like this though!

2 minutes ago, DieselMonte said:

My cars horrid with carrying weight too, this pic is exactly why I'll be swapping in my big stiff springs for road trips. Made it over to galway and back like this though!

 

Glad it's not just mine. I've driven five up and by Christ it gets a bit bouncy under load, thinking shocks are getting past it too. Plus the springs are pretty soft.

 

I've got some other mysterious goings on... going on such as the cutting out rearing its ugly head again, and a clunk coming from the front driver's side - suspecting a CV joint or a drop link. So those are more of a priority at the moment. It would definitely benefit from a lot of suspension work to get it feeling a bit less jelly and a bit more fresh, but it can wait the now as I'm not entirely sure as to what I want to do with the car at the moment. It's got Friday to behave itself as I'm going up to Stirling with four of us in it and if it decides to be fussy in running then that may play a part in my decision making.

When I have my Stiff springs in, 5 up in mine and it sits the same as my car does now on the short springs I got with my coilovers.

Do drop links and arb bushes together and rule them out. Your shocks even though they're low mileage are still quite old so no chance they're working at their best. And of course better wishbone bushes will make a difference. At this rate I might have my wishbone bushes on before you