My rear wheel arches on my S14a are beginning to rust. Told that replacement arches are not available, I've been quoted £240 by a local bodyshop to have a plate welded and respray to the worst side. Is this the best way to proceed? Ideas gratefully received.
arches used to be available
Did you ask Nissan about the arches or just the local motor factors?
Not asked Nissan. I'll try.
Did they?Originally Posted by archenemy.co.uk
arches used to be available
If they're goin to weld and spray one side for £240, I'd say thats pretty cheap. I'd want £400plus to even entertain it.
I see plenty of cars with replacement panels fitted, people tell me they buy them from Nissan
seems like a logical place to start the search
Sirius, if you get some just make sure they fit them well, not just with bluetak, or two welds in place of 20, or whatever most people seem to think is cool, and seal them up good and then underseal the lot, because they rot real good
You can buy replacement rear quarters from Nissan for around £500 a side (give or take) but Nissan definitely dont sell repair sections. I dont know of anyone who does replacement rear arches, one of the pattern panel manufacturers was "thinking" about producing some, but I dont think its happened yet.
As the Arch man said, make sure it gets welded properly, ideally seam welded all the way round, after cutting away the old rot and there needs to be some quality cavity wax applied to the inside.
post some pics of the rust sounds pricey but depends of how bad it is
There just aren't any pattern parts for the 200sx, you have to get them from Nissan.
Jon_H had his rear arches rebuilt by a local vompany, in Leamington, could be worth dropping him a PM as to how much it cost. Your quote seems very cheap though.
Get some cut out of a clean breaker,cheapest option
you 100% cannot get the repair sections from Nissan, have just checked the catalogue..
To give you an idea on costs, I cut out a couple of areas on one of my arches, I made some plates and welded them in, I then lead loaded the repaired sections and the whole length of the return lip under the arch. I leaded a small section the other side and all of the return lip. Then filled & painted it. This was about 3 or 4 years ago and there's a small bubble appearing in a different place to where I welded it, so its held up pretty good. TBH, it was only meant to be a temporary repair until I either made some arches, or found something from another car to fit.
I'd say (from memory) I spent 20 hours or so on both sides (I actually did the arches after damaging the car at the Nurburgring, but thats another story!), so if you want to estimate a minimum of £30 an hour labour plus £75 welding/lead/filler, £100 paint and £100 booth time, that'll give you an indication of costs.
I think you'd be very lucky to get a pair of good arches from a scrap car, factor in the damage caused by unpicking them, and the extra cost for labour...
Sounds about right. Local bodyshop charged my brother £800 to repair a rusty arch on his E46 M3 2 years ago. Did a top notch job tho.
Generally with bodyshops you get what you pay for. If you want it to be 100% perfect, expect to pay a lot. If you just want it done any old way, then yeah it will be cheaper.
also make sure you pick a good bodyshop that guarantee their work for a fair few years, some smaller ones dont give you any comeback guarantee so if the rot comes back through the repair you're on your own!
Bigger bodyshops like the Exway group guarantee their repairs for the life of the vehicle, but that costs.
if the rear arches are rotting out, take the rear "door card" off... take a good look in there with a torch.....
Might work out cheaper to have the arches tubbed and fit overfenders?
They wont rust again
But they'll look shit...Might work out cheaper to have the arches tubbed and fit overfenders?
They wont rust again
+1
the man knows what he's talking about you will be amazed what will be under there
or how you now have a new road inspection hole
my inspection hole
Last edited by work2drift; 06-11-2010 at 01:45.
Have recently had some rust repaired around the o/s rear wheelarch where it meets the sill. The bodyshop told me that they had plated the damage the best they could but could't guarantee how long the repair would last because the rust had gone quite a way. The next time it goes it will need a new arch.
Ive been looking round and found this site (from an old post by Andy083).
http://www.courtesyparts.com/240sx-p...3826_3827.html
Not sure if the parts you need (or I need) are available. I'm OK for now, - £500 just spent and I hope it lasts a little while, but would be curious how much it would cost to ship the items you need over here and whether it would be cheaper than having the arch fabricated from scratch.
Reply With Quote
