Rust problems on my new MR2

[croak3r]

Hi everyone,
ever since I was a teenager I wanted an MR2 and after finally being in a situation where it's not such a bad idea I decided to buy one yesterday. I drove it straight to the MOT station (only legal way to drive it home really) and found that the sills are quite rotten and the chassis that hold the front bumper on is totally rotten through. I of course expected some work, but I guess naively I thought it wouldnt be so bad.


I dont have forum permissions to post pictures yet unfortunately. The area effected is the part of the chassis sticking out from the frunk, that holds the radiator on and the bumper. The left side looks pretty good from what I can see underneath, but there is hardly anything left of the right side bottom part.


I'm not too worried about the sills as I can get new ones and weld them in, although where they join to the chassis is also rusty. What worries me is attempting to weld in a replacement front chasis area. I have some experience welding with my cheap £100 ish gassless MIG, but i'm no pro.
Do you guys think it would be feasible for me to buy a replacement off a scrap car and weld it in myself? Are there even any rules against doing so for the MOT?

I will try and get some actually pictures once I get the bumper off. Already spent a few hours fighting rusted bolts.

Any help is appreciated

[toxo]

Welcome

Whatever you do, don't get the car towed or recovered by a breakdown company. First thing they'll do is try and pull it by the front towing eye which will pull the entire front end off - I've watched this happen and it's not pretty.

You'll get the ability to post photos after 10 posts or becoming a premium member, whichever happens first.

[aussieGT]

you may find that the car you get parts from is better than the one you have - it could work out cheaper to find a less rusty car and sell the one you currently have.

[wilkie senior]

Hello & welcome

do more posts, to get to the amount to allow you to post

so describe it for us colour etc then when you can post pics folks can come back with some more help

Regards

[croak3r]

Thanks guys, will try and make a few posts later so I can post pictures.

[wilkie senior]

so where are you based?

[croak3r]

I'm in South Wales, near Abergavenny.

[croak3r]

And the car is white

[markstevieandmads]

Did you not check underneath before buying?

[croak3r]

Did you not check underneath before buying?

I did have a look, but didnt jack it up or anything to have a proper dig into it. It's quite hard to see without getting it up on a ramp. Really should have been more thorough though...

[croak3r]

So spent another few hours trying to get some of the bumper off for a better look but it's proving a lot trickier than I expected. Almost have all the bolts off now, just got to remove a screw that was already stripped on the grill.

[croak3r]

Oh and I also had a better look at the sills. It's not actually as bad as I remember in the MOT. The worst part is the lip where it joins the chasis.

[croak3r]

I took some photos of the rust. i'll post them once I get enough posts.

[croak3r]

Only need 2 more posts! Did i mention the car is a t-bar?

[croak3r]

Last post and I can put some pictures up

[croak3r]

Hmm still think I need more posts....

[croak3r]

Does anyone know how many posts I need to put pictures up?

[Tiger Tim]

Thought it was 10

[rossonza]

i think it was 10 for me. it may take a while for the forum to realise you've gone over 10 posts.

[Lauren]

Pretty sure it's 15.