Hi, James -
The "dogleg" area is a notorious Healey rust trap. When the cars were
everyday drivers, the doglegs collected mud and crap and rusted out not only
the fender bottoms but the rear of the outer sills as well. Following that,
the outer sills filled up with debris and rusted out the inner sills. My car
was in this shape, and I replaced the inner and outer sills and the dogleg
part of the rear fenders. Since I planned to use my car almost as a daily
driver, I rustproofed this area as much as possible with Corroless primer,
body sealant and several coats of undercoating. Each time I wash the car, I
take special care to flush out all the rocks and dirt that has collected with
the garden hose, both in front of and behind the rear wheels. That has worked
for me for 20 years with no further rusting.
Cars that are not driven much probably don't need the sealing/undercoating
treatment. Washing out of the blind pockets of the dogleg occasionally should
be sufficient, with perhaps annually unfastening the lower edge of the fender
and cleaning out the faying surfaces.
Steve Byers
HBJ8L/36666
BJ8 Registry
Havelock, NC USA
----- Original Message -----
From: James Lea
To: List Healeys
Sent: Monday, May 10, 2004 12:22 PM
Subject: To seal or not to seal?
At the bottom front of the rear wheel arches on my BT7 there is a slot
between
the outer fender and the inner body panel that looks like it was designed
to
catch debris. As of now it is clean but I am wondering if it should be
sealed
with black body sealer and painted or left open to the air so it can dry?
If
it is left open there is no way to keep stuff from collecting in there and
causing moisture to stand. Thanks for any advice. cheers, JL
James Lea
Rockport Maine
1962 BT7 II
|