Technical plastic arch guards

[Jai]

anyone removed them from the front arches? i'm finding it almost impossible to refit the arch covers with them in the way, and maintain a decent clearance to the edge of the tyre.

i'm thinking an alternative is take them both out, and spray that tetraseal stuff in there to protect what's left. will mean a bit more noise from stuff being thrown up, but hopefully, will alleviate the clearance issues.

 

[Chas Uno]

anyone removed them from the front arches? i'm finding it almost impossible to refit the arch covers with them in the way, and maintain a decent clearance to the edge of the tyre.

i'm thinking an alternative is take them both out, and spray that tetraseal stuff in there to protect what's left. will mean a bit more noise from stuff being thrown up, but hopefully, will alleviate the clearance issues.

Jai - no, no, no and NO! The whole point of the arch liners is to stop muck collecting on the inside of the inner and outer wing plus suspension and the subsequent rusting that will result. You must remember those 70's cars we grew up with that seemingly rusted to bits from the inside out, especially the front wings that seemed to rust on every car going after a few years?!!! If it were a summer toy that didn't get taken out in bad weather I'd say yes, but if you're going to drive it all year round and in all weathers don't even think of leaving them off unless you want to turn the front end of Tippex into a pile of rust!

 

[Jai]

:bang:i know what you mean, but the damned things just wont sit right in there, and allow the covers to go on:bang:

only other option, raise the suspension back up, fight the covers back on, and hope there is clearance

 

[Gav F]

im not using my inner arches things
unless i cant be bothered to modify them to allow my arches to take up the lip they sit on

 

[Chas Uno]

im not using my inner arches things
unless i cant be bothered to modify them to allow my arches to take up the lip they sit on

You never grew up with 70's cars else you'd put your arch liners back Gav!

And Jai, I can probably have a look at your arches on Sunday. We can compare with my 70SX as those fit with no problem.

 

[oldskoolmk1unoturbo]

jai i've re fitted my front inner arch liners and front plastic arch trim,

the way you do it is bolt the plastic arch trims on first then fit the inner arch liners,

you should have bought 195/45/15 tyres and then your tyres wouldnt rub!

 

[Dunc Uno Turbo]

jai, sod that. get weight saving and bin them

mine are long gone on the UT! mind u, i sprayed the inside of the aches with paint so it should last

Dunc

 

[Chas Uno]

jai, sod that. get weight saving and bin them

mine are long gone on the UT! mind u, i sprayed the inside of the aches with paint so it should last

Dunc

And how rusty was your last UT, eh Dunc?!!!

 

[Jai]

thing is there are no guards at the back......hows that work then?

 

[Hellcat]

No rusting away before the track day!

 

[Chas Uno]

thing is there are no guards at the back......hows that work then?

Far less nooks and crannies for muck to collect and sit unnoticed Then again, look at what happend to your red UT's rear turrets Jai.

 

[Chas Uno]

Those front plastic arch liners are a pain in the ****ing arse! Well, the n/s one was as both me and Jai spent the better part of two hours trying to get it to fit properly with the turbo arches. Then we worked out that because it wasn't the original liner the holes to secure it were in different places compared with the original :bang: The o/s arch liner by comparison was removed, turbo wheel arch put on and then the liner put back all in about 10 minutes. And I think the circulation is only just starting to come back into my feet and hands after spending three hours working in the cold...

Unos. You curse them, despise them and swear at them when you have to deal with Italian 'workmanship'. You say 'never again' and 'stupid piece of Italian s**t' as bits don't fit and fall apart if you so much as look at them. Then you start it up, go for a drive and all is forgiven as the Italian beasty's charm works you over again.

 

[Louie Bee]

Why would you want to up rate the arch liners Were the old ones wearing a bit thin

The ones on my Base Uno don't match up to the SX bumper I fitted, but I didn't realise you were fitting diferent ones

 

[Chas Uno]

Why would you want to up rate the arch liners Were the old ones wearing a bit thin

The n/s front wing was replaced (rust ) and the o/s front wing was cleaned and tidied up. Both had the plastic wheel arches removed to do this. However, to refit the plastic wheel arches it seems to be much easier with the arch liners removed. Once the arches are on then the liners can be put back. In theory...

The ones on my Base Uno don't match up to the SX bumper I fitted, but I didn't realise you were fitting diferent ones

Jai had a collection of them in various states. We chose the least worn of them thinking it would have the same mounting holes (the three holes that mount it to the inner wing with screws). Only after swearing and freezing our nuts off did we compare it with the original liner to find the holes were in different places

One quick session with a drill and we had a new hole in the liner that matched the hole on the inner wing. :slayer:

 

[Dunc Uno Turbo]

thing is, when u need to get the front bumper off, its a pain removing the arch linings. my last UT rusted so much as it was a daily driver, and didnt get washed that oftern lol! plus, once rust set in, then theres no turning back really!

my 1.0 has em in...................for now until i need to get the front bumper off or i lower it and they start catching

Dunc

 

[alexGS]

Mine are off at the moment, as the 185/60 13 race tyres on original wheels rubbed through the lip.

I reckon the rust at the back end is just as bad as the rust at the front end would be without the liners. You know how the steel under the rear bumper rusts away?

Without the liners, on gravel rallies there would be a problem with dings in the front wing top surface. Otherwise I'm going to just try and keep mine dry. Meanwhile the front of one sill has rusted through behind the plastic Found this out when the front wing came off the sill as I removed the liner... the liner was holding the wing bottom in place...

-Alex

 

[Unoturbo'd]

jai, sod that. get weight saving and bin them

mine are long gone on the UT! mind u, i sprayed the inside of the aches with paint so it should last

Dunc

as with what dunc suggests LAUNCH THEM!

if any thing they premote rusting because no1 ever takes them out to clean behind.

i like the look of the nicely painted inner arches anyway

 

[Chas Uno]

if any thing they premote rusting because no1 ever takes them out to clean behind.

You'll find the arch liners STOP the need for cleaning out the inner arches. With the arch liners in place muck/ salt/ grime etc. wouldn't collect in the nooks and crannys of the inner wheel arch. This is the whole reason nearly all modern car manufacturers started to fit them to cars - to reduce the rusting caused by not having them. Why else do you think they are fitted?

The UT body kit/ arch covers can, however, promote rusting because they allow water to collect and then sit on the lip of the outer wings. Jai found out just how much they can cause rusting in this area on his white UT. As I drive my Unos all year round I wouldn't even think about not keeping the liners in place and I also always hose all the inner arches whenever I wash my car.

As for weight saving, the arch liners weigh about as much as a bag of sugar. If you really want to save that kind of weight then go on a diet

 

[alexGS]

I think there's something to be said for both points of view here

When I take plastic wheelarch liners out on any car, I find mountains of dirt behind them, no doubt trapping water and accelerating any rusting that's already taking place.

However, the purpose of the liners is probably to prevent stones/spray from the wheels chipping off the paint and coatings, which would (of course) lead to rust.

I think the best approach here is to thoroughly clean/de-rust the metalwork especially at the back of the wheelarch/front of the sill, and apply a stone-chip coating, then re-fit the plastic liner if possible. This is the sort of job that needs to be done every now and then to keep the Uno alive.

This also goes for the plastic trim on the Uno Turbo. I wish I'd removed the sill covers and flares years ago on mine, de-rusted and refitted... as that might have prevented some of the awful rust I've got now, which will need major reconstructive surgery to the rear arches and right-hand sill.

-Alex