Hi Folks,

I'm fairly new to the forum and equally new to my 1980 124. As with everyone else, I have rust. It's mostly in the wheel arch areas. There are some other spots, but it's the wheel arches I'm concerned about.

I'm a mechanic, and have been for over 20 years. There is nothing mechanically about this car that is even slightly intimidating to me. I'm going to take it completely apart and have my way with it this winter. My concern is, I am not a body man. I fabricate, machine, mill and weld as part of my daily (or at least weekly) routine, but making body panels look good is a slightly different endeavor then welding buckets on skid steers.

These wheel arches are compound curves, and as such present a problem for me. Especially when I consider there is an inner part to it, as well. The rust penetrates both the inner and outer parts, so there's going to be lots of cutting and welding. So, really my question to the Fiat Mavens out there is, do you make your own wheel arches or buy repair panels (if they're even available)? I'm really tempted to go repair panel here, just due to the complexity of the curves.

Finally (for this thready anyway), once I open the body, is there a particularly good product I can use to maybe spray inside to add a layer of rust prevention, or just weld - through primer?

Thanks for any tips!

I like the corrosion protection stuff sold by www.frost.co.uk

I'm not a fan of Waxoyl. I used it under the mudguards of a 1970s Suzuki motorbike which was then dry stored for years. The coating seems to have evaporated over time and there was still surface rust under the remaining coating. Ordinary grease would have done a better job. Cavities need plenty of access holes for internal treatment.