boxsey911

I decided to clean inside a rear wheel arch at the weekend...

....encrusted with many years of grime:



...after lots of elbow grease and dilute Swarfega cleaner:



...looks like a PO wasn't too bothered about correct wheel offsets and tyre widths that they might have had on the car at some point!

I'm aiming to clean it down some more and then coat it with cavity wax for added protection.

jimq

I put 17" wheels on my 91 and didnt add the steering stop thus I also get a bit of rubbing in my right front wheel well. I touch it up with white rustoleum every 6 months or so.

ducnine

I have a similar spot on the front of my car too. No steering stop. I guess I should try the white Rustoleum too.

frankvan

I'm guilty of incorrect offsets on the rear - used 5 mm spacers but now use 10 mm (996 18's - can't remember exact offset). 5 mm cleared all the suspension bits (just) but made rub marks when hitting speed bumps or going in and out of the driveway. Although my rubs aren't as bad as your pic.

boxsey911

Like Jim and Ceby, I get a bit of rub on the front but that's part of running low and hard on track and wider R compound tyres. I think my old rub on the rear though must be the result of running REALLY bad widths and offsets...or maybe the car once had a very bad case of too much toe in (looking at how it's mostly where the leading edge of the tyre would have been)? I don't think I would have liked driving it back then!

All's fine with it now though....and I would have never known if I hadn't got the urge to clean it down

PorscheZen

Anyone know how 5mm (front) spacers may effect alignment?

Unkle

The rubbing I imagine was a bit concerning when you first found it. But it looks really clean without any damage to the paint around the rubbing area, so its a good result TBH. You could always put a bit of Por15 to seal it

madmoog

Mine looks a bit like that too Steve

chfs911

http://www.jackals-forge.com/lotus/9...uspension.html

This how to do it Steve.

Wish I had the time to clean! Off to Spa next weeK! :O)

boxsey911

Thanks Charles, that is really impressive. I don't have Jackal's resolve or patience to go that far but spent another hour at it yesterday and replaced a missing bumper support bar while I was at it.

A bit cleaner:



Corroded bumper bar that went missing in action:



New support tube in place:

Unkle

Looks good, have you got some more cat guards to fit or did you leave them off?

Regarding the cleaning did you notice any change in smells? Sounds weird but after heavy cleaning like yourself and Si77 i noticed a dramatic drop in burnt heat oily smells outside. I think it had an oil leak in the hoses in its life (Northgate invoice 2010) and it covered the drivers arch in a film which obviously gets very hot. Now it smells like a normal car outside after a run.

boxsey911

I still have the heatshields....they're stored away in my ever growing pile of 964 bits. The reason they're no longer fitted is that the cat you see in the pic is a Dansk de-cat. It doesn't get as hot as a normal cat so the shields aren't needed.

Can't say I've noticed any change in smell since the cleaning....however, I noticed the oil small vastly reduced when the engine got rebuilt owing to all the oil on the engine, particularly in the heat exchangers, getting cleaned off.