Rear wheel well rust - Repair advise needed

[Andres G]

Hello All,

I guess the time is coming for me to address the rust problem in the rear wheel wells on my 67 250 SL. I have done some digging into this without much success, and forum searches on the topic only yielded the already known advise: Buy the replacement panels from K&K.

I can tell that both rear wheel wells are severely rusted, and that if I were to poke on them with a screw driver, I'd likely punch right thru. If I slide my hand on top of the inside of the wheel housings (accessing from the trunk) I can feel the bubbling on both sides, although the passenger side seems to be a bit more intense.

My question is the following:

I know I have to repair this, but I am unclear as to what exactly it is I need to order from K&K, as their catalog shows an inner wheel arch as well as an outer one (for each side, and they don't come cheap! = $800 or more for both, per side). I read an old post from Waqas who mentioned that K&K made patches for this particular aplication, but was not able to determine if they exist through the K&K website.

What is the general consensus on this? I would like to do the repair as clean and tidy as possible, and I will use a professional for this work. If I can tackle this one, I'm likely going to go on and replace the floor panels on both sides which had been very poorly repaired by the previous owner.

Thanks in advance!
Andres G

[JamesL]

Andres

Check my thread in the General (need a hug)

Sounds like we have similar issues and I was told that replacing the whole panel/arch is "major surgery" so I am being patched....

[114015]

...and I was told that replacing the whole panel/arch is "major surgery" so I am being patched....

Hello Andres,

Yes, James is right here. A very unappreciative job.
Either way, if you choose to buy the complete quater panels or only the K&K's 3/4 repair sections, the inner wheel arches need to be repaired or replaced as well - and that is "major surgery".
But sadly it's the best solution to get this area straight :'(

Good luck,

Achim

[Jonny B]

You may also want to contact K&K directly. While they are in the business of selling parts, they are also quite knowledgeable about repairs, based on Tim Kidders presentation at PUB a few years back.

[waqas]

I know I have to repair this, but I am unclear as to what exactly it is I need to order from K&K, as their catalog shows an inner wheel arch as well as an outer one (for each side, and they don't come cheap! = $800 or more for both, per side). I read an old post from Waqas who mentioned that K&K made patches for this particular aplication, but was not able to determine if they exist through the K&K website.

Andres,

The K&K website is not very well designed, and they carry more parts than are shown there. The patch pieces you need are shown on the SLS website on this page. As Jonny B has already mentioned, Tim Kidder is very knowledgable and can probably get you the piece you need if you call them up and refer to the SLS web-page. I've also heard that K&K are a supplier to SLS.

[dseretakis]

Depending on your fabrication skills you could fashion patches for the inner fender areas and save your money for the purchase of the outer fender panel which is more important.

[Shvegel]

Basically there is a seam running close to the inner side of the wheel well. Anything you see would almost certainly be in the outer wheel well.