Anyone else had these 80 issues? Rust in roof around backdoor weather strip and busted metal around rear hinge assay

[alby79]

Hi there. Sorry if this is a bit abstract!

So. I've been slowly fixing a very low km UK 12V 80 series - rust and body work is exhausting, and particularly without a garage.

I've attached two images. One is the tailgate hinge. The metal around the left hinge assay has cracked (pic might be a bit too close sorry!). It doesn't appear to be rust related - so presumably a weld will do - but I wonder if anyone else has had this issue and if this is common in 80s - and more importantly if I weld this will this create some unintended issues, or if there is anything else I should look to do!?

The second is rust. I proudly replaced my rusted upper tailgate with a rust free version. But rather counter-productive to the entire operation was rust in the body that I hadn't yet seen [thanks to 4 inch lift]- the lower picture is the upper part of the backdoor weather strip - so rear center of the roof. Its the last place I expected rust after all my reading! Maybe it is my fat fingers not being very articulated with online searches, but are these typical problem spots....very happy to be corrected/informed.

 

[frank rabbets]

Rust is common with the 80 and 100. What you have looks quite mild in comparison to others I've seen. Looks like the hinge at the crack side has seized causing leverage of that part of the hinge welded to the roof. I would have thought a bit of lubrication and movement might return the hinge to normal. Welding is a bit risky if you don't know where all the wiring and piping runs. Rust can be quite common where rubber and body are concerned. The water gets beneath the rubber by capillary action but then cannot get out so once wet its wet all the time.

 

[MGC]

Sorry can’t help with the issues you have but it sounds like a great project and worth the effort. What were the usual areas for rust like out of interest?

 

[chapel gate]

what frank said regarding the hinge..

 

[alby79]

Sorry can’t help with the issues you have but it sounds like a great project and worth the effort. What were the usual areas for rust like out of interest?

Pretty good - far from perfect - but the usual sports for me are generally pretty good (rear sliding windows, sills, front fender arches, wheel arches - I guess everywhere else!).

 

[alby79]

what frank said regarding the hinge..

Many thanks - the upper picture is actually the lower tailgate which I didn't make clear. The crack is the body, where the hinge attaches. There is a fair bit of flexing in the body when you push on the tailgate, so I would want it re-enforced.

 

[Tachycardic]

Part 1:

Part 2:

Part 3:

Rust around the the rear tailgate window is a thing on our roughly 30-year old vehicles. You don't have to do exactly what the person did in the video, but it will give you a good idea on what materials are needed, the general course of action, and what things you may want to improve upon.

 

[Towpack]

When I changed my rear window glass backin 2016 I found one, quite bad rust spot which wasn't visible when the glass was in. I had the glass changed initially by Auto Windscreens but after an abysmal customer service experience and 2 attempts at fitting it still leaked, at which point I just got p*ssed off and removed/refitted it myself which was fortuatus in a way as I was able to treat the rust. The AW fitter never mentioned the rust spot, possibly because it wasn't the cause of the leak.