Club 80-90 Forums

I took my van into a local garage and asked for a quote to weld on a new jacking point. It as a few days before they got round to looking at it. I propped in and to my surprise saw the van up on the ramp with the trailing arm off and the new point in but looking OK all the work was underneath. I was a bit p'd off because I just wanted a quote.
The following day I got a call to say the van was ready. I was shocked at what I saw, they'd put a patch over two panels. It looks terrible to me but I'd be interested in your comments as the garage are saying its a good job and its the job of the a paintshop to make it look good. I can't see that this can be smoothed overI think the garage should have called me before cutting panels.


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I'm sorry but that is a terrible job!

My word that's horrific.

Going off the panel welds I would be seriously worried about how that suspension arm joint has been secured in place.

They're billing £120 which isn't a lot but this "pooh" is going to cost to put right. Does anyone have a quick pic of how a good weld should look.

Looks a right mess but probably strong enough. More worrying is what appears to be a crack at the front top of the trailing arm in the first pic

Blimey.Did the welder have a guide dog.

windy wrote:Looks a right mess but probably strong enough. More worrying is what appears to be a crack at the front top of the trailing arm in the first pic

FFS. That wasn't there when I looked just after they'd welded the point in. I hope it's just superficial. I feel that the hassle is outweighing the fun now. Just been up to look and it's just flaking black paint.

I's there realistically any way of making this look good, can that weld be ground down? It seems to me that it's been welded on to to the original metal and not butting up to it. I'm gutted at how the van looks now

Have a look at this thread and see some examples of body welding and restoration.
https://club8090.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=38&t=110336

Sir Brixalot wrote:Does anyone have a quick pic of how a good weld should look.

I'm no expert but that looks really shoddy to me. The poor finish also would not leave me with any confidence that they'd actually tackled any of the corrosion that would inevitably have been in behind / above the original jacking point.

I would expect a good repair to be indistinguishable from the original finish, but that may be something that needs a proper body shop / car restorer to undertake. I would definitely expect better from a competent garage.

Whoever did that should not be allowed near any vehicles. If its a new mount how did they align it? what have they done to the hidden welds if they're ok with whats visible.
I'd get it to someone who knows what they're doing to be checked over for safety as soon as you can.

Should that seam have been ground down then? When I asked the garage they said that grinding would remove all strength

This thread will give you an idea as to what repairs in this area entail and how it can come out looking.

you can't turn the clock back, it's a terrible job but in the short term I'd get an MOT station to comment if they would pass it then decide if you will pay them.

You would not want them to 'rectify' this so if it will pass an MOT you may just have to pay and find somebody to do it properly later.

Sir Brixalot wrote:

windy wrote:More worrying is what appears to be a crack at the front top of the trailing arm in the first pic

FFS. That wasn't there when I looked just after they'd welded the point in. I hope it's just superficial. I feel that the hassle is outweighing the fun now. Just been up to look and it's just flaking black paint.

A crack in the trailing arm would have been a long time coming. They tend to collect water and crud within which rusts them from the inside out. So probably not the welders fault, but an unfortunate coincidence you've found two things at the same time to fix and spend your money on. You have my sympathies.
I would not recommend driving it with that crack. I had a trailing arm collapse while I was driving, luckily it was at low speed so no-one hurt. if it happens to you you'll need a flat bed recovery which may not be cheap. My arm had torn at the place that crack is.

windy wrote:Looks a right mess but probably strong enough. More worrying is what appears to be a crack at the front top of the trailing arm in the first pic

My money is on a stringy drip of underseal