Hidden rust trap

[Doug G]

Having read Mark V's article in Moking is suggest that the holes to be drilled are drilled inside the side box sections.

This way the holes will be 'protected' inside a closed area rather than being exposed as shown in the article.

They may be inconvenient to gain access to drill but it would be a 'one-off' exercise.

Apologies for not giving more detail.
This was deliberate on my part.
If you wish more please buy a copy of 'Moking' issue # 121, or better still - join the Club and get an issue every month.

[Steve]

#0000BF]Sounds like Doug has his mag ... [/color]

[Doug G]

[Nigel(no top)Sykes]

Re your tip Doug, to do it your way, you'd have to take the tank out surely

[Tim]

I'm pretty sure that the rust trap doesn't exist beside the tank, on that side of the car it starts in front of the tank and runs forward.

Tim

[Nigel(no top)Sykes]

Does too exist !!

It's formed by the outer edges of the floor pan meeting the inner hull sides and runs the full length of the body... Least I'm sure it did when I welded a new floor in my Moke

[Tim]

I stand corrected (just went and crawled around in the carpark). BUT, you still wouldn't have to take the tank out to vandalise your car, there is enough clearance under the tank to get a drill in there.

Personally I'm not a fan of drilling holes anywhere. That waxy stuff that you guys need isn't used here. I got rid of the rust trap on my old moke by filling it with expanding foam from a can. I just squirted it in through the seatbelt bolt hole and it expanded and filled up the whole cavity. When I cut the car in half a few years later it looked really good inside, it had definitely sealed the water out.

Tim

[PJ]

Tim,

you refer to drilling a few discrete holes for rust protection purposes as 'vandalising' but then go on to casually refer to sawing a (presumably rust-free) Moke in half, as if it's a perfectly normal, everyday occurance!

If the foam filling bonds to the steel inside the box section, not allowing damp to get to the steel, this would be a very effective rust protection but how can you be sure this is the case? I would think that there is a risk that dusty contamination could prevent such a bond and allow moisture to spread between the steel and foam by capillary action - at least with a wax spray visual inspection is possible with a suitable probe. Also, what happens if you do need to weld - say for accident repair, even in you have eliminated the rust problem? Aren't these foams highly flamable?

PJ

[Nigel(no top)Sykes]

PJ, if you read between the lines you'll see Tim is just marvelling at our beautiful weather/boasting about his
Either way, just remember it'll be our summer soon....................... All that lovely warm(er) rain

[Tim]

Tim,
you refer to drilling a few discrete holes for rust protection purposes as 'vandalising' but then go on to casually refer to sawing a (presumably rust-free) Moke in half, as if it's a perfectly normal, everyday occurance!

Yep, my first Moke, it was pretty rough but I was very fond of it. It survived being torched by vandals, stolen three times, three engine transplants, two soft tops, rust repairs...but not a head on collision with a fast moving stoned teenager in a bigger car. Once I could walk again I decided that it wasn't a viable repair, but the back half was too good to get rid of. So I cut it across-ways just behind the seats and converted the rear into a trailer (which still isn't finished). I reasoned that I might need to repair the back half of another Moke one day and that was the best way to keep the good bits.

If the foam filling bonds to the steel inside the box section, not allowing damp to get to the steel, this would be a very effective rust protection but how can you be sure this is the case?

You cut it in half after a couple of years?

I would think that there is a risk that dusty contamination could prevent such a bond and allow moisture to spread between the steel and foam by capillary action - at least with a wax spray visual inspection is possible with a suitable probe.

Yes you are correct, and it would be much better to apply the foam onto new bright metal rather than rusty old metal. Although there are a couple of things in the favour of foam. Firstly it sticks like you wouldn't believe to any surface you can think of. You cannot peel it off. The other thing about it is that in order to harden it has to absorb moisture. When you spray waxoyl into a cavity the water is still there, but the foam actually absorbs it.

Also, what happens if you do need to weld - say for accident repair, even in you have eliminated the rust problem? Aren't these foams highly flamable?
PJ

Not sure about this one. I welded the 'trailer' after cutting away the mangled front half, and I did get a bit of smoke, but it didn't catch fire. If you had a big patch to weld it would be a simple matter to dig the worst of the foam out before welding. Obviously things like old paint, underseal and grease burn too and they are often on the other side of steel that we have to weld for rust repairs.

Apparently BMC filled the sills of some early Minis with foam to try to keep the water out. I remember reading that they bought some old bodies several years later and cut them open to see if it worked, and they were still bright inside. The repair manuals from that period tell you to dig it out before welding.

Re: Nigel's comment regarding climate, its true our cars don't rust as fast as yours but they certainly do rust, especially where I live. There are some protective sprays available, but as far as I can tell waxoyl doesn't work here, it melts in summer and drains away. Deodorised fish oil or lanotec, made from lanolin (cue sheep joke) seem to be most widely used.

Yesterday, when I was crawling around under my petrol tank failing to prove Nigel wrong, I noticed that the underside of my car is looking really bad. There was a period around '77 and '78 that Leyland seemed to have been mucking around with different rust proofing techniques. Mine must have been in the 'none what-so-ever" group. It will have to come off the road and be properly done in a couple of years. No problem with water buildup at the moment though, plenty of drain holes.

Tim