Hello again chaps. It's been a little while since I've been on here and unfortunately in that time my 6 hasn't turned a wheel as other life events have taken priority. I came close to breaking the car a few years ago (apologies to anyone that felt messed around back then) but I never managed to go through with it. Neither did I have the time to sort it, so it's been sat around unloved since then.



After six years or so off the road I took a first look at it over the Easter break. My initial plan was to make sure it was running OK then put it back together and stick it in for an MOT. The good news was that after swapping out a failed fuel pump she started straight up and all sounds good there. Bad news was that after taking off the damaged underseal I discovered the panel that's welded on to the body to form the bottom of the wheel arch is far worse that I expected and has rotten pretty badly.





Bit of work to do before an MOT.

The rot seems to be restricted to only this panel, after chiselling some off the body, it hasn't spread into the floorpan. I'm guessing this panel wasn't as well treated as the main body shell is and where it was jacked up on it in the past the broken underseal has let the water in.

I can't find this panel to buy complete, I found what I thought was it on servicebox but it's NFP so unless anyone knows better I'll have to reconstruct both sides and possibly some of the centre. The plan is to cut /chisel out all the rot and replace with 1mm Mild steel Zintec. Has anyone fabricated this area before? Mine looks like it's been jacked up on both sides but not sure if that's how it was supposed to look.

After seeing how far it had spread I decided that to do a proper job the engine and subframe will need to be removed so I've started stripping the front end down in preparation. Driveshafts and Struts are out



I'm considering whether I need to take the wings/sideskirts off to check behind as well? I cleaned up and treated the boot floor up to the fuel tank before when I rebuilt the rear beam but I'm wondering whether to drop the fuel tank to check up there as well?

I've seen there's been a few quality restorations on here and I'm looking for tips as to what rust treatment/primers etc you guys have had successes with. I've read a lot about POR15/Zinc primers but not sure which is the best way to go?I'm leaning towards the Bilt Hamber stuff.

I should have access to an engine hoist in a couple weeks so plan to get the engine out then. Until then I'll be continuing with the wire wheel and the grinder, Progress will likely be slow as I'll only be working on it over the weekends.

My Initial Todo list:

Remove remaining underseal.

Cut out/replace rotten metal by wheelarches

Clean/deox treat surface rust

Prime/Paint underbody

Remove engine/gearbox

Remove Engine bay fuse box/wiring loom

Clean up/Paint bulkhead/engine bay

Clean/Paint Subframe/Wishbones/Hubs

Derust/Repaint front Eibachs & Bilstiens

Bypass PAS cooling loop

Remove rest of AC

Fit new Cambelt/Alloy bottom crank pulley/Rallye Non AC setup

Cleanup/Paint Engine

Reassemble!

New Windscreen & MOT

Any hints or thoughts gratefully received.

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Pics of my 6
My 6 on Google Video thanks to coxy306Xsi

So chuffed to see this car still about, it was one of my absolute favs when I first got into 306s all them years ago

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CLUB BLACK RALLYE


||B8s||60-70mm drop||Black Partner Steels||P1 VTS Rack||Refurbed Beam||Hybrid ARB||VTS Torsion Bar||

Thanks, I'll be placing an order tomorrow for the rust treatment/protection.

Did a little more this weekend, have taken the wings off, nothing untowards there thankfully, then disconnected the sensors and stripped the engine loom out. I'll drill out the rest of the rivets holding on the side skirts next weekend but I'm not expecting any rot there.

I've already noticed bolts missing and some that were not put back in the right place, certainly won't ever be paying big money for dealership engine work ever again!

I'm also going to have to find new clips for the wiring loom as the ones that aren't broken don't have much hold left in them.

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Pics of my 6
My 6 on Google Video thanks to coxy306Xsi

It's been a while but I'm still trying to make progress when I can with this when I can.

The engine has come out and rust has been cut out/cleaned up in the arches and down as far as the bottom of the engine bay.



It's not too pretty at the moment but the plan is to mask up the seams, keep it blaze on the bulkhead and over the arches. Lower engine bay will be black like under the arches.



I didn't really want to have to remove the dash but there was rust on the bulkhead which needed cutting out. In the end it was just as well that I did as the heater matrix was completely shot so at least I know that's sorted now.



Both the rotten front wheel arch panels have been replaced with new patches made from Zintec sheets. It's not the prettiest but it's solid.

I've bought U-POL Gravitex to spray in the arches and replace the stone chip. I hadn't reckoned on just how difficult the existing stone chip would be to remove.

Hopefully it won't be too long now until I feel like it's going back together which will should be a little more motivating...

I'm considering leaving some of the under carpet and behind dashboard sound deading out when I put the interior back together, possibly cutting it out around the edge of the dash. Also not sure on what the current rules on airbags are. I see a lot of old cars have removed them nowadays and I would like to change the steering wheel and maybe the seats etc but the MOT rules seem to preclude removing airbags and taking the bulb out now??

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Pics of my 6
My 6 on Google Video thanks to coxy306Xsi

Some good work going on there!

And good to hear from you again!

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Proud Member of the ASTOR Owners Club

I've done all the pubs in and around Castle Cary...

Car looks to be getting there with passion.

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Black X Reg PIII.VGTi 6 A4212 pt 1 A4212 pt 2 Searching the streets of Bristol for 1.36p/day.

Joint Kent Leader

Late update with some progress from last year:

Bought new bearings from Rich, rebuilt the wishbones and assembled the subframe:
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Fitted with a bit of progress in the engine bay:


Painted the manifold:


Degreased and painted the block:


Silicone hoses and new cambelt:


Engine back where it belongs:


And back on the ground for the first time in years:


The car is now tucked away safe.


Unfortunately, I've not made any further progress with it so far this year...

I have a large number of various brittle plastic clips which I have either lost or broke whilst dismantling which will need replacement or an alternative, are there any suppliers of generic clips online?

I'm also still debating what to do about the front suspension. I need to replace the dampers and it's tempting to go for coilovers. It seems the KW V2 are no longer available so the choices in my mind are are between BC or KW V1, or do I just stick with the B8's and purchase another set with the eibach springs...

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Pics of my 6
My 6 on Google Video thanks to coxy306Xsi