Body repair possible or not?

[TnT]

I've since discovered that all things Skoda seem to be available, and at a reasonable cost.

However, those who've read my other posts will know that this little green machine tried Skodacide - and it's been knocked out to some sort of shape.

First glance my head first told me new front panel cross member (comes all in one I think?) New bumper, outer wing, inner wing...........still, have a look and tell me if this is possible or not without breaking the bank?



If anyone can tell me what that orange thing, I'd love to know, found it on the floor this morning and haven't a clue where it came from!?!?!



The bracket has been put in a slightly different position to where it once lived, top marks to anyone who noticed that.

This was the damage before I got to play with the hammers.





This was right after I played with it and managed to fit a headlight and indicator to it.



So.......do you think this is possible (on a budget) or maybe just a cut out, weld in job, not that there are any donar cars up here for that - just trying to think of the long term future for this little car, I know for a fact that the rust and bodywork is going to get to this before anything else.

Haven't even got a picture yet of the huge hole in the tailgate that's been eaten away by rust! - Can sort that easily though - any ideas where to get cheap skoda green paint from?

Or......are we better of leaving it as it is - just a little embarrassed with the fact that I've been posting up tatty pictures of a battered ill treated felicia!

Any ideas?

[rigsby]

With almost anything repair is possible, but is it really financialy worth it? try and get another and use it for parts

[harryhill]

Looks costly to me.

The orange thing looks like the rubber stop that slots in the front wing. You could put a new wing and bumper on fairly easy but it is the front crossmember and bonnet that are the issue.

I hate to say it but i think you would be best looking for another car to be honest

[TnT]

Originally Posted by harryhill

I hate to say it but i think you would be best looking for another car to be honest

but but but I've spent the best part of, forever, getting the gearbox out, and over hauling the front brakes, and I've even polished the rocker cover! This car has got to last at least 2 years, which I'm sure it can, but I'm just so tempted to make it look nice for once, still, compared to a lot of cars round here, it's pretty much perfect

If another Skoda comes along (or if a member would like to drive one up) - then all donations greatly received lol

[anewman]

Doesn't look too bad now considering the before shots. Could leave it as it is, maybe some filler, aluminium tape, wire brush the rust and slap some primer and paint over the rust.

Also may be worth getting a can of waxoyl, the aerosols, to spray inside the tailgate to help prevent rust spreading. Some people on other forums say waxoyl isn't great and some other stuff is better though, but can't remember the name.

I guess skoda green paint will be pretty much the same sort of price at Halfords and Skoda Dealers.

[bobob]

Originally Posted by anewman

Some people on other forums say waxoyl isn't great and some other stuff is better though, but can't remember the name.

Dinitrol ?

[richardsfavorit]

My sister has bashed her fiesta around quite a bit - not quite to that extent though! However we have been able to straighten a lot of it out. I used a piece of wood and a hammer to straighten out a lot of her wing when she hit a flower box. A friend of hers straighten out the front when she hit another car by attaching a tow rope around alot of it and pulling it out. And I straightened out the back fender when she reversed into a ditch just with brute strength!

Once yours is staightened, then prehaps add some filler, and paint it over well (sand down the rust etc), and it should be alright. Her car ironically has just sailed through an MOT!

[TnT]

There's hope yet for her then!

Camera is still in the garage, but the hole in the boot is getting sorted (will get pictures on later). So far, until I buy primer and paint - it's cost nothing as I've already got the bits.

I've cut away the rust, got back to metal, especially around the bottom corner of the rear window where it's rusted through, and have used expanding foam to fill the holes. This is just about ready for it's final sanding and then I can apply some filler (car filler, wife has alreay suggested PolyFilla .

All I shall then need to do is get some primer, and paint, Still undecided about the front end, I might in the future have a play with it, but the priorities have to come first, clutch, engine running and serviced - hole in boot, brakes - (done) - a darn good clean inside, stereo from old Pug, Wipers from old Pug, light bulb check, battery charged, and we should have a little green machine back on the road - just very tiring, as everyday, along with animals to look after, land to look after, coal, ash, household stuff, pregnant wife - I'm just living and breathing Skoda.

[KenONeill]

I see where you're coming from, but a concours job will cost £lots. Are the chassic rails straight from the suspension pickups back, and the damper top mounts in the right place? If so, then it's still safe.

[TnT]

Everything is aligned, tracking is good, suspension fine, front side wing bit straight thing is also fine, no idea what to call that bit, it's litterally taken out the crumple area on the wing outter and inner, aligned the bonnet today, so it closes properly, tried getting a few dints out the grill too, but not much luck Also noticed that the bottom casing of the Radiator has rotten away

On the other hand, the boot is filled, sanded, filled (awaiting sanding - primer and paint)

Still can't find the paint code for it though, uncovered the chassis number on the inner wing lip, wire wooled the label on the cross member, but no paint code - any ideas for that green?

Has been a little disheartening today though, not had much time to spend with her, and keep seeing lots of things I'd love to sort out. Most gutted about the fact they've lost spot blanking cover and badge - how on earth do you lose them?

Will chear up when parts are ordered and I can start playing with the engine and getting it running again.

[anewman]

Could be "carribean green" possibly. That's just a guess. On my car it states the colour on a sticky label on the bulk head. Apparently the code may be under the carpet somewhere in the boot.

[TnT]

Thanks for that - I shall look in the boot, there's not a lot of sticky stuff left on the bulk head, but I'll have a look in the boot tomorrow and see if there is a code somewhere. It's a popular Skoda colour, as all the Felicia's I've ever seen close up have been that green, until I came across this place and now I've seen lots of colours

[harryhill]

I think the paint colour of your car is atlantic green code C5C5

The code to confirm this should be on a sticker on the front crossmember that you have been prising back into shape.

I have been looking at your other posts and it seems you got the car given to you so on that note spending a couple of hundred isn't that much of an issue if it gives you a reliable car. Looking at the photos here is my suggestion on what to do:

1. bend fold out of bonnet (the one half way up) as much as you can. Try putting on a pair of soft soled trainers and stand on crease to get weight on it. Be careful though not to make it worse!! Get it as good as you can and live with it as it will be a minimal issue.

2. For the other dent on the bonnet that is a filler and spray job. If the car is out of the weather prepare this now and prime it ready for paint.

3. source a s/h bumper if you can or buy new non original from JHM BUTT for £40

4. Replace the front grille (underneath the bonnet) with second hand one. Don't worry about colour as you can flatten paint, prime and spray

5. As for the wing this will be the tricky job and on observing this i would say you are looking at a replacement. £30-50 from JHM Butt. Along with paint you will need a tub of underseal or hammerite to paint the inside of the wing to prevent rust. You will also need a tub of body sealant to fill in the gap between the inner and outer wing. U POL sealant is good but is around £12 a tin.

6. Painting of the front grille can be done off the car, the bonnet and wing are more crucial to paint on the car to get a paint blend. This requires a bit of skill to not go overboard and bled too much paint in, especially if we are talking about going for it with tins. However as you car is a solid colour and not metallic you have a good chance of making a pretty decent job of it so long as you do preperations properly.

7. Front crossmember is a case of making good also with whatever you have to hand to bend back into place.

I made a post on spraying cars a while back but can't find it so hang on and i'll have a look!

[surprising_skod]

if you're close to a halfords, they'll have the paint code handy in their big book - under 'cariabic green'.

thing is, right, i did the exact same kind of crash as you, except on the opposite side. smashed and crumpled the exact same bits.

it is NOT financially worth trying to fix that. although mines a favorit and worth slightly less, at this stage i've spent half a grand on bits and chopped up a £100 doner car... doing all the labour myself or gratis by others... and then another half grand to paint, on mates rates!

but make sure your light sits straight - ie the pitch is still ok!

[surprising_skod]

Originally Posted by harryhill

5. As for the wing this will be the tricky job and on observing this i would say you are looking at a replacement. £30-50 from JHM Butt. Along with paint you will need a tub of underseal or hammerite to paint the inside of the wing to prevent rust. You will also need a tub of body sealant to fill in the gap between the inner and outer wing. U POL sealant is good but is around £12 a tin.

a new wing wont fit whent eh inner wing and slam panel are bent

6. Painting of the front grille can be done off the car, the bonnet and wing are more crucial to paint on the car to get a paint blend. This requires a bit of skill to not go overboard and bled too much paint in, especially if we are talking about going for it with tins. However as you car is a solid colour and not metallic you have a good chance of making a pretty decent job of it so long as you do preperations properly.

skoda green fades too much - much like vauxhall red - to ever get a blend! just spray edge to edge

7. Front crossmember is a case of making good also with whatever you have to hand to bend back into place.

will NEVER, EVER bend back!
if the slam panel is bent, the whol front of the car will need cut apart, and basically, this is a job too complicated for all but the most dedicated of accident repair centres. it is VERY well ingrained into the shell of the car. the bumper support bar is a bolt-in affair and if bent, replace.

[harryhill]

Originally Posted by surprising_skod

a new wing wont fit whent eh inner wing and slam panel are bent

skoda green fades too much - much like vauxhall red - to ever get a blend! just spray edge to edge


will NEVER, EVER bend back!
if the slam panel is bent, the whol front of the car will need cut apart, and basically, this is a job too complicated for all but the most dedicated of accident repair centres. it is VERY well ingrained into the shell of the car. the bumper support bar is a bolt-in affair and if bent, replace.

When i am talking about the crossmember i am talking about the panel above the lights shown in the picture which is pretty flimsy anyway. As for the wing and inner wing i am assuming the damage is localised to allow a wing to be offered up but would need to see car. From the pictures it looks very much like this could be done. I am sure that TNT can make this judgement

As for the paint fading this may not be the case and spraying along panel lines makes new paint stand out like a traffic light. I would always try to feather in as i have brought faded paint back to life many a time. Faded paint can try to be cut in before making any final decision on how to paint.

[TnT]

Originally Posted by harryhill

I think the paint colour of your car is atlantic green code C5C5

The code to confirm this should be on a sticker on the front crossmember that you have been prising back into shape.

No sticker, have looked, and looked, but that code rings a bell So thank you for that!

Originally Posted by harryhill

I have been looking at your other posts and it seems you got the car given to you so on that note spending a couple of hundred isn't that much of an issue if it gives you a reliable car. Looking at the photos here is my suggestion on what to do:

1. bend fold out of bonnet (the one half way up) as much as you can. Try putting on a pair of soft soled trainers and stand on crease to get weight on it. Be careful though not to make it worse!! Get it as good as you can and live with it as it will be a minimal issue.

Problem with the bonnet is the kink in the middle, also the edge of bonnet is creased underneath, as it is double skinned, I can't do much to prise that dint out, also the front underside of the bonnet is just about rusted through

Originally Posted by harryhill

2. For the other dent on the bonnet that is a filler and spray job. If the car is out of the weather prepare this now and prime it ready for paint.

3. source a s/h bumper if you can or buy new non original from JHM BUTT for £40

4. Replace the front grille (underneath the bonnet) with second hand one. Don't worry about colour as you can flatten paint, prime and spray

I've also been recently told that Butt's no longer 'so skoda' and only have what they have, and not many Felicia parts at that. Also postage will kill the cost as for some reason, people like to charge excesive postage prices up here, when apart from delays there is no extra cost!

Originally Posted by harryhill

5. As for the wing this will be the tricky job and on observing this i would say you are looking at a replacement. £30-50 from JHM Butt. Along with paint you will need a tub of underseal or hammerite to paint the inside of the wing to prevent rust. You will also need a tub of body sealant to fill in the gap between the inner and outer wing. U POL sealant is good but is around £12 a tin.

6. Painting of the front grille can be done off the car, the bonnet and wing are more crucial to paint on the car to get a paint blend. This requires a bit of skill to not go overboard and bled too much paint in, especially if we are talking about going for it with tins. However as you car is a solid colour and not metallic you have a good chance of making a pretty decent job of it so long as you do preperations properly.

7. Front crossmember is a case of making good also with whatever you have to hand to bend back into place.

I made a post on spraying cars a while back but can't find it so hang on and i'll have a look!

The wing is rotten, the passenger wing is also rotten, I actually used the rest of the filler I had on that just to stop drainage water dripping down onto the spring! The more I poke and prod round this car, the more I see it falling apart, it's really gutting, and today whilst I've been filling the boot and sanding it down, it seems like a losing battle and a futile attempt. However, I am still very determined to get this car on the road, and going for a year or 3, I just hate to see cars go to waste, and in my younger days, I'd buy donar cars, and then spend the rest of the time making them all nice and pretty and ending up with two decent cars although I was young, had more money than sense, and way too much time as I never slept!

The front grill is also a lost cause, as is the bumper, because the front panel at the bottom has totally rusted through, the brackets are just dead, to replace and refit the grill, it would be a front end job, otherwise it'll be bodging on two decent parts for no real reason. This car hasn't been looked after or serviced for near on 10 years it's lived in sea salt air, has never been washed, or looked after, and hasn't needed an MOT for at 6 years. Before it's crash the previous owners spent 4 months and almost 300 pounds on it, and apart from badly fitted pads, and new drums, I can't see anything else that been spent on it. Just after that it was crashed into the wall Noticed today that the bottom of the radiator has rusted through, in fact most of it has gone, and the rad fan is only held up by the top bracket - got to try and sort that out.

I've adjusted the bonnet hinge which now helps the bonnet sit better, and close properly, and have rebent the cross member down level, although the creased end is still a little low for my liking.

if you're close to a halfords, they'll have the paint code handy in their big book - under 'cariabic green'.

thing is, right, i did the exact same kind of crash as you, except on the opposite side. smashed and crumpled the exact same bits.

it is NOT financially worth trying to fix that. although mines a favorit and worth slightly less, at this stage i've spent half a grand on bits and chopped up a £100 doner car... doing all the labour myself or gratis by others... and then another half grand to paint, on mates rates!

but make sure your light sits straight - ie the pitch is still ok!

About 375 miles away from Halfords, that's if there is one in Inverness, not to mention the £400 or so it would cost to get there Just to point out, I didn't crash the car, the previous owner did that, they have a very steep track, and down hill you can easily pick up speed, you go from sandy gravel to rough gravel to tarmac, and then it's a very sharp 90 degree bend to park, try doing this whilst tired, pissed, with glass of booze in car, after taking bin bags up to the top, and well for a driver who also hasn't passed their test yet, well stone wall, car, speed, drink = damaged Skoda. (just to point out, this is private property and not public roads).

I think any donar car I would source up here, would be a far better example than this one, the more mud I clear off, the worse is looks, I really think it's terminal, I could of course if I had a spare car for my wife, just strip it down, grind and weld away to my hearts content, but for us, summer is soon to be over, the arrival of our first child is in weeks, and winter will be upon us and very soon my wife will be singing "3 wheels on her Pug" or asking me why she has steam coming out her engine or why she's just rolled over her front wheels and suspension

What I do know, is that this Skoda has good brakes, will have a nice engine, a new clutch, decent tyres and suspension, it'll look very clean inside when I've finished with it, and the Kenwood head unit will be plugged in!

As for the alignment of the headlight, as long as we can see the road, it's not going to matter too much, the car is running MOT exempt.

I will get some primer and paint though, I will at least sand prime and paint the paintless areas, along with boot hole I've just filled and wing, I think the rest will just have to have some t-cut and wax, if anything to make it easier to wash clean, and I may just waxoil what I can, and repaint the sills black again.

It's very disheartening when aims and intentions are to make this little car as nice possible, running, stopping, clean and tidy and safety of course comes first, but I thought at first glance I may have been able to achieve that little bit more for it. My wife's not even driven it yet, let alone sat in it! She towed me back helped navigate it into the garage, and has poked her head in the odd time asking me why my parts list keeps getting longer, and what I was doing with the expanding foam on the car and why I was smelling of a strange smell (gearbox oil, engine oil, body filler = heaven - for me anyway) why I was always filthy, etc.

If it wasn't for the fact that I wasn't very well, I had full use of my right arm and wrist (most of this work has been done one armed), our money wasn't being drained on a leaking rayburn (about to be fixed when new boiler arrives) and the fact that I have a nursery room to start, and finish, new outer shed roofs to replace before the wind rips any more off and decapitates someone, then project Flick (new name for the car) could be a full on go-ahead. We live in a wonderful place, but it's tough, and time consuming especially when you have to wait a long time for bits to arrive normally 5-9 days, 4 if we're lucky. Oh, the salt air soon kills cars if you don't look after them properly. I've seen 1 - 2 year old cars here rust through because they live very close to the sandy beaches and they just get sand blasted, paintwork fades up here too because of the high UV levels and lack of Ozone above us.

I shall just try and make the best I can with what I've got, I shall clean what I can, paint what I can, and just make the car the best it can be, at least it'll look clean and tidy from one side, and the back!

Sorry to whinge, just been living and breathing this little Skoda, and feeling rather down in the dumps about it all because I can't make it all better + I want one for myself now!

edit add.
You've both posted whislt I've been typing this the paint on this comes up a treat with a little t-cut, and wax - it looks like new, the little tester I did just made me want to get the whole car looking as good. This car would normally be a written off, however, the damage that has been done, has left the two struts straight, the chassis bars straight, albeit kinked the bumper bar - however, up here traffic doesn't exist, the last car accident up here was a drunk driver who drove into a parked car lost her wheel and drove home! My wife will be in this, and if I didn't think it was safe, she wouldn't be - saying that, the PUG is worse - although it has a nice body! Can't win with cars up here! Some horses required will swap Pug 306 for two

[harryhill]

Best thing to do is just get it up and running then.

It is a shame you are so isolated from getting bits and bobs up there in Orkney isles. Mind the salt air isn't to good down he
here in Newcastle. I work on the coast in a town called Blyth and my offices are on the harbour. There is a always a layer of salt on the car when i finish work!!

Out of interest a fair bit of crusty bits on my car have been dabbed with Hammerite as the blue paint is a great match for Nautic Blue! I wonder how the green would fair with yours?

Hammerite UK - Metal Paint: Direct To Rust Metal Paint Colour Range

[TnT]

The greens a little dark, but we could always have two tone green

[anewman]

If a Halfords anywhere has old stock they *may* have a lighter green. I found a darker red than the Hammerite red (Red Wine) that I am hoping is a close match to my car as the red is faded (apparently very common with red). Have painted on a bit of paper and doesn't seem too bad, next stage is the car

Bought a tin of reduced coach paint from halfrauds and that's too light a red (lighter red double stripes down the car? )

It says on the hammerite not to mix the colours, don't know why. I wonder if mixing is ok and they just don't want you to try, or would cause some sort of reaction.... Suppose they have no reason to advise against it as it would help them sell more paint.