Four years with Z4M -UPDATE

[Z4MO]

Plenty of mods in year 1 & 2 and driving.
I haven't driven it in the last couple of years really, from memory to and from servicing and MOT station.
It's with the Indy and has been since late December, dropped it off as it was due an oil service in Jan even though it hadn't done three hundred miles since it's Insp 2 a year earlier.
I demolished my garage with the intention of rebuilding it shortly thereafter however due to work I didn't.
As a result I left the car under cover outside approximately 8 weeks late October to late December and that's the first time I'd done that.
When the guys at the garage put it up on the ramp I got a call from them asking what I'd done to the car as she was now being attacked by rust all over the underside albeit surface rust it was no longer mint as they would say.
I have been and had a look and although it doesn't look too bad there are signs of rust on bolt heads, threads, exhaust pipes etc.
I've got two choices;

1. Brush off all accessible surface rust and oxidisation then waxoil

OR

2. Drop sub frames and Engine to access all areas as necessary. Remove old parts and seal new parts.

Option one is obviously the easiest whereas option two would be the best returning it to how it was and maybe better but costly in terms of labour etc.

That's where it's at as we speak.

I didn't realise leaving the car out would cause such an issue but as the guys said I don't even drive it regularly so that exacerbates the situation.

I will put some pics up shortly.

I'm leaning towards option 2 , Any thoughts ?

 

[mr wilks]

Id get it filled with fuel , book 2 nights in North Wales & enjoy it :wink: its not a ornament welcome back Mo

 

[Bing]

f**k me Mo, I thought you'd finally triggered the rucksack

Welcome back

I'm with Mr W - fuel it and drive it. A bit of underside blemish isn't a bad thing. Mines on 65k now, haven't looked under it in ages. It's a car, drive it

 

[Machine monkey]

As Andy says no one builds a car to sit still! Get it fixed up taken care of and get out and drive it. It looks better than I bet 90% of the cars on hear underneath. Most people only care about the shiny bits they can see!

 

[Havard]

Jesus. That is no where near as bad as I was expecting as I read the text. Looks like Mo is a perfectionist...!!

H.

 

[Marlon]

I'm thinking they may all look like that underneath - bet few of us get to see our underbellies

 

[maxman]

I would go with option one,then get some miles on the clock

 

[Z4MO]

Id get it filled with fuel , book 2 nights in North Wales & enjoy it :wink: its not a ornament welcome back Mo

Always talking sense buddy thanks, I wish I got the time but as you say 'make time'

f**k me Mo, I thought you'd finally triggered the rucksack

Welcome back

I'm with Mr W - fuel it and drive it. A bit of underside blemish isn't a bad thing. Mines on 65k now, haven't looked under it in ages. It's a car, drive it

No mate, I wouldn't dare wear a rucksack looking like I do, they'd be ducking for cover mate

Sound advice from the forum as usual I have told him to go with option 2 mainly because I can't bear the thought of rust. I think they are going to record the stages so I might be able to load it up in a couple of weeks time.

 

[buzyg]

Id get it filled with fuel , book 2 nights in North Wales & enjoy it :wink: its not a ornament welcome back Mo

My thoughts entirely. Get driving it.

 

[srhutch]

Welcome back Mo. I'd echo the other comments, get out and drive it

 

[Beedub]

it actually looks very good underneath for a decade old car... very good. i do however HATE it when i see the garages not lifting the cars correctly via the lifting pucks in the sills, in your case on the front , they most likely have damaged the seam between the sill and the floor as it gets flattened and crushed not terrible but it looks really rough and rusts over time, its just lazy , bad practices.

 

[Buckz]

That's nothing.. all exposed metal will rust a little, nothing you can do! Mine has the same but it's nothing compared to other cars I've had of this age. My Mazda 3 for e.g. nearly failed it's mot for rust underneath. And it was 5 months older and same mileage as my Z4.

 

[Steve84N]

Appears to be lifted on those nice bendy chassis strengthening bars at the rear on one side!

 

[Z4MO]

it actually looks very good underneath for a decade old car... very good. i do however HATE it when i see the garages not lifting the cars correctly via the lifting pucks in the sills, in your case on the front , they most likely have damaged the seam between the sill and the floor as it gets flattened and crushed not terrible but it looks really rough and rusts over time, its just lazy , bad practices.

Appears to be lifted on those nice bendy chassis strengthening bars at the rear on one side!

I will make sure to mention this and glad you brought the observation up guys

 

[GuidoK]

i do however HATE it when i see the garages not lifting the cars correctly via the lifting pucks in the sills

100% true.
On old cars this is very often the cause of the first major rust repairs

As for keeping the underbody in good condition, having it garaged all the time is the first thing (as you've discovered) especially in a damp climate as the UK. And parking it outside on gras, sand or gravel will accelerate this because moisture gets evaporated out of that (especially gras). Parking it on pavement/concrete on a high spot is the best place apart from a garage. (and never under a tree obviously)

However its virtually impossible to keep the aluminium from corroding at all if you drive it.
I bought my car in general good condition in 2010 and do a lot of mechanical stuff on the car.
Every aluminium part that comes of the car, I beadblast so it gets a new like condition.
And my car is garaged, and I never drive it in the rain except when it happens to rain on meetings or on vacation (I tour the alps etc with my car).
And even then I see that little white aluminium corrosion specs get back after a few years (it takes a really long time to get dull gray covored, but tiny white powdery specs can come back after a few years). And the cast iron trailing arms are almost impossible to keep rustfree as they get a load of stones and grime from the tyres at certain points.

The only thing that will completey get rid of rust etc, are those fantastic underbody restaurations from Redish motorsports where they sometimes also powdercoat all the aluminium (and steel parts of course). I can watch these video's for hours :lol:
https://www.youtube.com/user/RedishMotorsport

But even then these cars will get spots at certain points over time if they're driven often.
So the only real solution is not driving your car, but than it isnt any good anyway...

Maybe you can get the aluminium parts on the underside sodablasted or plasticblasted without having to remove all the components.
I'm the kind of guy that removes everything (front axle, rear axle, diffs, gearbox, mounts, steering rack etc, I've it all taken off over the years), but I have my own lift and do it in my own time. Having to pay someone doing that....


I dont know if waxoyl would be the ideal product. I certainly wouldnt use black sticky products. They will certainly rustproof, but it wont look great and it will attrackt a lot of dirt. This is great for a daily outside car but a garaged car ususally benefits from a hard smooth layer of protection (so either paint or just the base material kept clean.

That said, there's nothing more satisfying than beadblasting away the corrosion on your carparts.
Quick little vid from me beadblasting my sump. You can see I've previously tried to scuff away some corrosion with a scotchbrite pad, but without taking the sump completely off, most parts are impossible to reach:
[youtube]mgW-nEE5VNA[/youtube]
It just fits in my little sandblasting cabinet. The steeringrack I had to do outside in the open with protective gear.

 

[abar121]

Looks lovely underneath tbh! Have a look at a two year old MX5 !

 

[Z4MO]

The stripping process is underway and they have asked me to go in this coming Tuesday for a peek. I believe they are recording the stages so I will be able to add them to the thread. Thank you for all the comments

 

[Z4MO]

As a refresher I had sent the car in for an oil service and when they put it on the ramp they discovered the oxidisation and surface rust underneath that being Jan 2017. I was given a seriously heavy bill for the works but I decided to get it fully stripped and refurbished.
Well I wasn't expecting it to be this long before I was able to update this thread but thats life and busy technicians who know I don't use this car.
I got these two pics yesterday and it may soon be back on the road. Its been in dry storage there since Christmas 2016 when I dropped it off for the oil service that was due in Jan 2017.
They completed the oil service and an INSP 1 service a year later in jan 2018. Its probably done less than 200 miles since 2016.
Im going to get the 19s back on and get it detailed.
Will put some pics up when its all done.
I've had the car 5 years in September this year and added 5000 miles mostly in the first 2 years and the rest of the time its been parked up.
I have literally spent thousands on it and don't now have time or the passion for driving it. I will most likely sell it but lets see when it's back in my hands.