General Rot on Wheel Arch.

[gholian]

Hi,

I have some nasty rot on the passenger rear inner wheel arch on an Uno I am in the process of trying to restoring. I am starting to wish I had never started this as initially the panels seemed to be available but when I went to order nearly everything is discontinued. The rot is just under the wheel arch lip. I am sure this is a common problem on these cars. The quarter panel lip above the wheel is savable with some welding of the rust holes. I would like to replace part of the inner wheel arch that is spot welded to the
quarter panel lip. It will not be easy to remove the piece but I think it is do-able. Looks too hard and awkward to weld in a plate as the whole thing is curved.

I was wondering does anyone know if a repair piece is available anywhere or any idea how I could repair this, maybe with a piece from a Punto or other vehicle. I am sure this is a common rot area on the Uno so someone must have come up with a fix.

Any help appreciated.

 

[panda1408]

The best way to do a repair like this is to cut away the outer wheel arch panel to give you access to the inner. The cutting and welding can then be done from outside rather than trying to get at it from inside the wheelarch.

The inner arch panel should not be too hard to fabricate with abit of trail and error and some paitence you should be able to make something somewhere near the original shape, remember that no one will ever see it so it doesn't need to be perfect.

If you cut the outer panel off neatly you should be able to reuse it, although if it has some holes in it the remaining sound metal will probably be quite thin, in which case you will need to replace more than you think. If an outer panel is not available you could visit a breakers yard and see if you can find a car with a similar arch shape and use that.

 

[gholian]

Thanks for that. I think the outer panel is still available but it is a different story when you go to order. Will have a look in the scrap yards to find an inner panel. Hopefully the Punto has something similar.

 

[deltadeano]

try this site for your panels I have used them for my Uno http://www.tarostrade.com/body-parts/car/fiat-uno/page/1
Deano

 

[gholian]

try this site for your panels I have used them for my Uno http://www.tarostrade.com/body-parts/car/fiat-uno/page/1
Deano

I have come across there site when I was searching for panels. Did you find them good to deal with.

Thanks.

 

[deltadeano]

I found them to be ok i got what i needed which was two rear wheel arch repair panles. It was the only place i could get them and they arrived in about a week so ye ok from me buddy.

 

[Lucoudev]

Get some good steel, and keep cutting until every little piece of rust is gone. You can weld the inner and outer sill together, but be sure to use 2mm thick steel to preserve structural integrity. If it is a lot of rust, or the suspension turret is gone, get a replacement sill. Be sure to seal everything properly afterwards

Here are some pictures to the repairs my Uno had, just for inspiration. Good luck!