rear chassis legs

[pingu_turbo]

Has anyone had to replace theirs? only mine are getting a bit rusty around the spring butts, and the last 12" towards the rear panel :cry: . Is it expensive to have done? possible to do yourself?

Cheers

[burgo]

alot of ppl have to do em ask mel shes just had to do itonly prob is u cant buy them any more you have to make ya own

[Philsutton]

mine had gone on the V8, the angle grinder came out to play. Thing is i cut the whole floor out of it anyway so it doesnt really matter as im making my own floor

[Mel]

Indeed i have.

let me put it this way. My dad (bless him) has been shaping 1.6mm steel with his bare hands (and a couple bits of slabs lol) for the past few months. It is possible to do yourself, but its a hard job. The hardest bit is shaping the metal, so unless you have the tools to do it, its gunna be a very hard, long job.

we've replaced BOTH chassis legs, from under the axel holder (where the bolts go in), to the spring mounts, to the towing hook eye etc. Pics can be arranged, if you want to see before, and during (not quite finished yet, lol).

I got quoted ?450 to get it done professionally, but that included the rear arches (they are shot), but that's the kinda thing you're looking at. oh, btw, the steel was pretty dear for me as well, and we have needed a LOT of it, to shape/replace every bit..plus a lot of welding wire/gas lol

The axel and brake pipes etc have to be removed before you can even think of repairing, plus the wires have to be moved, cause my dad's set fire to a few :lol: so thats something you need to consider.

Chances are, if the chassis legs are rusty, the inner back wheel arches may have a few holes in (thats where the water got into the legs on mine..), the boot may also have a couple holes in, and the rear panel itself may be shot. Just make sure if you do do it urself that you rust proof all that new steel, otherwise you'll need to replace it all again in a year or two time lol

btw, for reference, both sides are different, lol, so that makes it even harder, cause you have to do TWO lots of template :wink:

if you've got any questions of how i done it/how it looks etc, i'm just a pm away. :wink:

[pingu_turbo]

Thx for the replys guys & gals. Pics would be geat mel, gives me a bit of inspiration. I was just wondering, does anyone know if the rear legs off a corsa would fit, how different are they? :?

[burgo]

i came up wiv that idea mate and apparently it wouldnt work

[_JH_]

if you either replace them yourself and mess it up, or make replacements that are squiff, the handling will be shite as the rear will be off balance. just plate them up, measuring from a common point on the axle to the spring seat (shocks on, springs off) to check they are the same

[Mel]

thats the trouble we had. The rear legs were so rotten, there wasnt much left to shape from, and one of the spring mounts had actually rusted so bad, it went up through the leg:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v53/Nova_Mel/DCP02156.jpg

It took a LOT of careful measuring, which took best part of an hour, with a bit of string, from a certain part of the wheel well. (in the middle of the well, to the middle of each spring mount). It did take forever, but i must say, its well worth it.

unless you're wanting to spend a lot of time repairing the nova, or think that you couldnt do it (it IS a large job), then its not advisable to repair. Its prolly best to reshell everything, as it'll be off the road for a long time. (mines been off road since May :lol: )

Pics will follow later of what's been done to that section. It aint pretty, but the repairs gunna be fine for another 10 years lol..