Rust

In message , Doctor D. writes

I had one of them from new (89 G plater) and I did have some rust where the B pillar joined the sill. This was fixed by Rover under the anti-corrosion warranty.

At an early stage I applied a protective coating to the protruding rear wheel arches because I had noticed older Montegos rusting there. They really are flared out quite a bit and pick up a lot of stone chips which can't help. I sold it after five years when it was still rust free and looking in good condition. I saw it again almost a year later when it looked a mess with rust everywhere.

I thought the TD engine was fantastic. Mine didn't miss a beat in 80k miles.

The message from "ivan" contains these words:

Vastly. I once patched a Fiat with a bit of Mini roof and after grinding it all smooth left the bare bright steel overnight before painting it. Next morning the surrounding Fiat was red all over with surface rust but the Mini steel was still bright and unmarked.

The message from Paul Giverin contains these words:

Mine's still going strong after 160k - and so it should be - it's a diesel.

It was somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember Guy King saying something like:

That'd be the Russian steel Fiat used as part of some deal they arranged. Istr they gave the Russians old Fiat technology and got paid in kind.

During the1960s I owned a Fiat 600D, unfortunately the floor pan rusted out (surprise surprise!)

A mate of mine cut me a sound one from a scrapped vehicle, and with a bit of persuasion I literally fitted it over the top of the old one, and then pop riveted it in place with hundreds of rivets.

I then coated the whole effort with black underseal, as I recall it was pre-MoT days, or if not the then test only covered brakes lights and steering, as it certainly wouldn't pass a modern test.

That it was in the days when tyres had a built in maximum wear indicator, I believe it was called white canvas!

Mine was my 'first car'. I used to polish the rusty wheel arches.. Sad but true!