I’ve recently bought this NC to replace my current car in about 3-4 months & just took a look under it & unfortunately it has a lot of surface rust which I couldn’t see at first inspection as its so ■■■■■■■ low to the ground, it has a list of things I’m going to be replacing for brand new parts, though I still absolutely love the car as its my baby & I want to spend the time doing it all right,
Would I be able to get some pointers on how to deal with the surface rust we see in the photos myself? Also these are some of the things Ill be doing to it before It becomes my main driving car, please fill in the blanks for me if I’ve missed anything important
Changing engine oil
Transmission oil
Diff oil
Power steering oil
Coolant
Brake fluid bleed
Shifter turret oil
New brake discs front & rear & pads
New antiroll bar links front & rear - was MOT advisory
New front & rear coilovers as these look like theyre about to die
I want 4 new summer tyres with optimal grip in the rain (if i could get some recommendations)
Maybe a new diff? looks quite corroded not sure if its structurally sound, looks like some sort of coating is whats coming off at the moment
The diffs do corrode like that although that one on yours does look extra crusty than most. A good clean down and check over and slap some paint over it. As for the rest of the corrosion, clean/ grind as much off as you can, apply rust converter then underbody paint. Do check the bottoms of the inner rear arches to sill area (arch lining off) it can catch the rust pretty badly there and maybe hole. A general going over the whole of the underneath needed really.
You’ve about covered the basics re servicing, replace the stat whilst doing a coolant change and I can recommend Kumho PS71 as a good all round tyre, had/have them on both my NC’s and my daily driver.
Thanks for the info mate, Ill check the Kumho’s out
I’m mentally preparing myself for spending my entire next weekend under the car, Ill go through all of the panels that are accessible to me, I want to sand & scrub them all down with wire brushes & then apply rust converter, would you be able to recommend what type / brand of paint to use at the end, the arches & sills actually looked ok surprisingly
I used Bilt Hamber Hydrate 80 rust converter and also their black two part epoxy mastic. Follow the instructions, it stinks so do it outside and wear a mask and gloves, old clothes too when applying.
For good measure put two coats on the worse areas that catch the weather under there and I put a third coat of black Hammerite around under the rear wheel arches and rear sub frames, that’s the parts that the exhaust back box hangs off.
Yes you could say the whole of the rear end, bumper off, exhaust back box off plus the heat shield for that too and treat the lot. I did that to mine, have pictures somewhere of that.
Ian I think you mean, whilst the rear bumper is off take the crash bar off too, behind the plates holding it to the body it can rust there too.
meister zeta crd coilovers £800
underseal anything from 400 to 800 depending on where you go and how bad your car is.
tyres. michelin pilot sport 4 expensive but worth it.
rollbar links, mx5 parts
to be honest your looking at doing everything iv pretty much done (except for brake pads) since i got my mark 3 back in september.
here is a link to my project thread. the thread is a bit untidy but stick with it and you will find most of what you seek.
Front of the rear wheel areches is where it can rust.
Usually starts from inside though.
Take off the carpet like liner inside the wheel arch to look see.
Search for info on scuttle grommets. Defo replace them, and their caps OR just squidge loads of silicone over the screw head and area…
Hi, welcome …
I’ve used products from ‘Buzzweld’ for rust protection.
Also Dinitrol was applied.
Spent quite some time on preparation of surfaces to be treated.
I’m not very tech savvy on forum but I have posted pics in various stages of work on forum.
Maybe if you search my profile name it will show my posts ?
I’ve just bought a 2009 NC and the Pre purchase RAC report suggests the suspension components are a little “crusty” , I’ve only had it a few weeks and I’m still trying to work out how to work on them since I’ll be working outside and at 60+ I’m a little stiff when it comes to working at ground level!
The good news is that the underlying structure seems to be good nick but I’m not taking anything for granted
