Rust on chassis member of 1995 bongo

[FakeName]

Hi There,

I am looking at buying a Bongo. Its generally in good condition, but has a fair bit of rust at the rear under the car. Pictures below.

I would plan to get these rusted areas fixed up... my only concern is that the rust might be too deep and therefore cost a lot to fix. I am budgeting around £1.5K to get the rust sorted. I poked the rusted areas with a screwdriver - it felt solid enough beyond the surface rust - even if it was quite thick. Any advice on the rust from the pictures below?

Note: the top/bottom pics are of the main chassis members









The Van is a 1995 Ford Freda (bongo)

Edited by FakeName on Sunday 12th February 15:57

[Trevor555]

Not many workshops actually do welding nowadays.

Take it to one that does and let them have a look/poke, can't really assess from pics.

But the underside of that chassis member looks pretty crusty.

[mike13]

I looked at them over 10 years ago before buying a newer different make, it's nearly 30 years old, it'll be a money pit I'm afraid, they were also prone to coolant/overheating issues.

[helix402]

It’s scrap.

[TonyRPH]

The floor pan looks rather crusty too?

What does the MOT history say?

To my inexperienced eye, it looks as though a lot of work is required there.

[swisstoni]

I’d hang on to the £1.5k and put it towards a better vehicle to start with.

[FakeName]

thanks all... we were pretty much just about to buy this beasty.... but have been convinced not to.

The MOT history: https://www.check-mot.service.gov.uk/results?regis...

Looks like all bongos that I have looked at so far all have the same rusty history unless you pay >£7k or so... so that is our new plan!

[economicpygmy]

The history appears to show they've already repaired structural areas and looking at the pics more required.

Unless you want the hassle or its dirt cheap...

[cptsideways]

Run, very fast in the other direction

[SimonTheSailor]

13 years of lurking - that's impressive !!

[Smint]

You have to feel a certain sympathy for a vehicle to have spent so many years giving service, and in all that time not one person has paid the slightest attention to the undersides.

Even if only every 5 years someone had thought to get the underside and chassis cavities oil sprayed it would have been fine.

I know Landcruiser chassis can rust badly, but i see Toyota Hiace vans running round many years old, might be interesting to have a poke nose under a Hiace or similar camper conversion and see what lurks, i mention Hiace in particular because they are basically a 2WD Hilux with a van body so pretty well indestructible mechanically.

[Pete54]

The majority of Japanese market vehicles have minimal corrosion protection. If you're importing one - treat it before you put it on the road! I had a 300zx tt, really liked it and kept it for 12 years - but it did get looked after.

Amazingly my near new Hilux had a thin black primer and little else. That got fixed but it is a messy business. However if it is not done then it does not matter how it looks, if it is rotten underneath it is scrap......