Rust

[marc3152]

Are there any problems with rust on early nobles?

I.ve seen some pic,s of the front and rears badly rusted and wondered
If the tubes under the floors are an issue?

[art411y]

Just bought a noble 2.5 myself .Very standard and used for what it was built for(its the car Clarkson used on top gear and the Stig used to record a very wet lap time ,burgandy met red hot761).In the last 4 years it has been stood in a metal clad shed with grass as its floor so most things including the interior was quite damp.I have just taken the floor off and was expecting to have at least 2 days welding but,what a relief its near perfect due to noble using an oil based silicone .Mind you every nut ,bolt etc on the rest of the car has snapped testing my usual horizontal outlook.My previous 2.5 was a different story!!.Caught that one just in time.Hardly any silicone and tubing full of water.had to put drain holes in to clear it out.Then ive seen images of Noble chassis stood out in the rain before build.Expect the worst and be happy like i was as its a gamble if the floor is still in oem shape

[marc3152]

Thanks for that. Any pictures? I have know idea what it looks like under all that aluminium.

[art411y]

[marc3152]

thanks for that art411y very helpful but I'm guessing it's just a leap of faith
because I can't take the floor off. Any tell tell signs?

[art411y]

A little clue is the alloy sheets covering the frame.More prominent at the front and down the sides were the panels meet.white furry bits and rot to the alloy panel is the usual sign

[art411y]

[url]|http://thumbsnap.com/RhG84aUb[/url

[art411y]

if you look at the really dirty panel on the floor you will see rot at the edges of it.I had to make 3 new panels but, the chassis was ok

[marc3152]

Is the chassis generally OK and the aluminium panels the bit that knackers because I can live with
making a few new panels?

[art411y]

if your lucky.I would think even if the chassis is a bit rotten in places its not difficult to weld them up.(like welding your wrought iron front gate)

[marc3152]

It,s just the idea of buying a 30 grand car that might need welding.

[art411y]

maybe 40k next year??

[art411y]

Lots of money spent on it though.Imo worth a punt

[andygtt]

My experience is they rust around the rear above the diffuser as water from the wheels can sit on the GF diffuser and rust the chassis rails.... I cut the lot out and welded in new when i bought my car years ago as its a very easy bit to replace and hardly a disaster and I could have just cleaned them up.

They do not suffer from rusty chassis in the same way as some TVR for example, you would be unlucky to have major rust issues with a car you buy if it looks clean.

[bernhund]

andygtt said:

My experience is they rust around the rear above the diffuser as water from the wheels can sit on the GF diffuser and rust the chassis rails.... I cut the lot out and welded in new when i bought my car years ago as its a very easy bit to replace and hardly a disaster and I could have just cleaned them up.

They do not suffer from rusty chassis in the same way as some TVR for example, you would be unlucky to have major rust issues with a car you buy if it looks clean.

Agreed. My 2.5 had the same rust that Andy describes. I had it all renewed too. I also had the aluminium floor off and the main chassis just needed a bit of a clean up and some Hammerite!