Alfa 90 - B pillar Rust?

[Beatle]

Got the new 90 today.  I've only had a cursory look over it but it looks to be in exceptional shape body-wise EXCEPT for rust at the base of both B-pillars .   I was really quite surprised to find it because the rest of the body seems to be pristine as far as rust goes.  Panels are all dead straight, panel gaps are excellent and the paint all looks original (evidenced by someone going too hard with a buffer and showing undercoat in a few spots).  I can live with the paint (I always said I'd never own another red car...... )

Has anyone seen this rust area on a 90 (or Alfwetta or 75) before.  I've seen some pretty rusty Alfettas in my time but never witnessed rust in this area.

As it's almost identical both sides, I reckon that counts out a bad crash repair.   I can only surmise it's the result of pooling water on top of the seal after a wash/rain?

[Neil Choi]

Ask Stuart Thomson on B-pillar rust.

Search his shitbox rally 90, I believe there is a picture of his B-pillar rust.

[dehne]

the most common places for a 90 to rust is the B pillar and drivers front guard, have had a few that have rust in the pillar and the guard, bet you can wait to give it a good thrash

[Neil Choi]

go here for Stuart's post

http://www.alfaclubvic.org.au/forum/index.php?topic=7580.0

[Beatle]

Damn, I really didn't need to see something like that...............

[Stuart Thomson]

Also check out

http://www.siriuscybernetics.org.au/Siriuscybernetics/Shitbox_Rally_2012/Entries/2012/2/5_B-pillars_may_now_hold_up_the_roof.html

Cheers
Stuart

[Brad M]

Had significant rust in my drivers side B Pillar as well.

[VeeSix]

Hello Paul

Congratulations on the new Alfa Romeo 90 V6 2.5 litre, at least you know you have a local buyer if you ever change your mind again  !

Should be alot of fun if you have been Alfaless for so long, the 90 may not be the prince in the looks department but damn they are comfortable, fit the kids and great fun for a cruise down the shops or thru the mountains!

How is she mechanically, running, idling no problems?

Interestingly i just repaired that same rust section last month on one of my 90s, it was on the drivers side, the other side was mint and my other 90 is mint both sides so just the luck of the draw i guess, best thing you can do for the 1980s Alfa Romeos is purchase some cans of rust proof spray and spray it into all the sections, just an afternoon job but may save it for the future, keep us updated on your progress with her!

Thankyou VeeSix 

[Beatle]

Thanks veeSix,

I'm fairly well-versed when it comes to the application of rustproofing.  At this stage I'm going to bite the bullet and have the rust repaired 'properly', before stripping the car for a full rustproof, clean, tidy, detail.

Surprisingly, in my pre-buy enquiries, no-one mentioned rusty B pillars.  All i heard was how good 90s are for rust, being galvanised etc etc etc. If I had have been aware of this as an area of concern I would have asked the seller the specific question.  I didn't have a chance to inspect the car, and would probably have missed this area if I did.  But that's the risk you take, and I've been incredibly lucky to date, so at least thuis little surprise was on a cheaper car.  I have the means and skills to fix it myself, but seem to have lost the will somewhere along the way....

I think Alfa galvanised the panels, then welded the things together................

DEHNE:  So where exactly to I look for the now-infamous rusty driver's side guard?  Ande how do I get the sill covers off?

[VeeSix]

Hello Paul

Wow! I did not realise you were going that far with her, full stripdown etc, i thought you were just going to jump in and drive, keep us updated with repair photes along the way, always something to learn

I have had alot of 90s Paul, from my experience the main serious rust areas are the bottom of b pillars, bottom of 1/4 panels door side and the boot outer edge where the weather seal goes around particularly below the rear window, pull up the weather seal and check underneath, quite a bad area if the rust breaks thru as water starts getting into the boot and damaging the carpets

To remove the sill covers Paul you need to realease it from the clips undedrneath, you usually have to break most of these, then slide it off the other clips, if you have rust in the b pillar then there is usually some in that area behind the sill cover, the one that i mentioned i repaired about a month ago actually had two rust holes in this area for being left untreated for so long, but an easy fix and that area is not visible anyway

Thankyou VeeSix  

[Beatle]

When I say 'strip' I really just mean removing seats, carpets, door trims etc.  Maybe bumpers, grille, lights.  One, to give it all a good clean, and two, to keep rustproofing agent off the soft furnishings.

I see the car has neat fairings along the roof gutters.  Probably to reduce noise and improve drag figure, but they really look like a crud-trap just begging to rust out the gutters and through the roof.  Can you get these things off readily without damage?  If you leave them off does it look odd, or just like a normal Alfetta roof gutter?

Also, how do I remove the external plastic trim pieces that run up the C pillars beside the rear window (body coloured)?  I assume they are bolted through the pillars?

[VeeSix]

Hello Paul

The side roof covers require drilling out of the pot rivets and then carefully prising away, if you take your time you can get away with removing them with no damage and replacing, i have removed a few Paul and surpringly i have never found any rust in these sections

The rear vent panels Paul are a different story, they are just a sort of pressed in cilp fit but they are just too easy to bend out of shape, if they have been removed before you may have a chance to get away with it, but if they have never been removed i would not recommend removing them especially if it is your first time, i have found minor rust in these sections, if you bend these panels you will be dong alot of work getting them straight again and then you will most likly have to respray, hard decision to make rust repair versus panel damage

Thankyou VeeSix   

[Beatle]

Thanks for the warnings VeeSix. 

So I'll leave the gutters in place and just give them a good clean, dry out, and squirt in some rustproofing.

For the vent panels it sounds like I need to practice on someone else's car.......   Or maybe the panels can safely be popped off with a ballon and compressed air, or some carefully placed, directed explosives     

[Beatle]

OK, so a failed rego inspection has forced my hand.   Initially I was going to pay a panelbeater but figure I've spent a half a lifetime amassing a shed full of tools (and a shed), so it would be pretty slack not to attempt the repairs myself.

I recently purchased a cheap video scope, and picked up a secondhand laptop for $50.  It's been pretty handy so far for inspecting the inner sills to determine just how much metal I need to cut out to get all the rust, and give me good steel to weld.  Once I'd inspected I cut a largish hole in the inner section of the lower B-pillar, now knowing what was behind the panel.

Today I purchased a cheap Ozito multi-tool and some decent blades, and it's been a godsend for cutting out steel sections up close to curved sections. or on lapped sections where you only want to cut the top sheet.  It doesn't replace a grinder and fine cutting disc (particularly given the price of the blades) but certainly has it's place.

[Beatle]

Practice on this side (LH) then get serious on the right side.  Which looks to be worse externally.

The LH side has had some repairs in the past.  I'm still mystified why people go to the trouble then fail to treat the inner sections and back of bare welds with something like fishoil or lanoline. The welds start rusting before they are cool