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-   -   Underbody Rust - Is it permanently fixable? (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/technical-stuff/138357-underbody-rust-permanently-fixable-2.html)

Thank you all for your valuable suggestions.
I checked with few tinkerers and to my surprise I came to know that this is a common issue in almost all Indicas.
Both left and right side underbody Panels need to be replaced which are readly available in the market and since these panels support engine mount and suspension member, complete engine and suspension parts must to be removed.:Frustrati
cost is approx. 15-18K. time- 4-7 working days.

Wow, that sounds quite a lot of money - what is the hourly rate and how much are the repair sections? Undoing the engine mounting and suspension mounting isn't such a big job, is it? Perhaps those with experience of this particular car may be able to help.

Today i visited TASC- KHT moters near Brookfield Bangalore, and they estimated 30K and 5 days for this work. :Shockked:

My Ikon has developed rust on her body for the past 14 years, and now I am planning to do it up, the car runs perfect. The area where the rust has developed is the doors , roof , floorpan , around the rear windshield and the boot area, the majority of the rust is in the rear portion of the car. The reason for the rust is the Mumbai weather, it has been submerged in 26/7 Mumbai floods and the car washer used to do a bad cleaning job. Now another guy washes the car. Is there any place in Mumbai where they do a good job on the body . Attaching the rust pics

That looks too far gone, to be fair, from what can be seen. Lots of through and through, in quite a few places. A lot of cutting and welding would be necessary.
Do you have some shots from a little bit of a distance?

Hi!
This rust is very easily repairable.
Some sections would have to be cut out and replaced though.
If you stay in/ around vashi or are open to getting it done here, i know a very good body work guy.

Way too difficult to source the body shell from any of the dealership/ASCs. I have seen cases at a Maruti Dealership where they had to let go a Swift for Total Loss as Maruti did not manufacture body shell for the first Gen Swift (this is what I was told at the ASC).

Secondly, I am not sure if cutting rusted parts and then installing new ones by welding would be a good idea especially for some of the crucial sections like the Pillars, Roof & Floors.

You can visit the scrap market (Kurla 'et al) and check if you can get hold of healthy shells and visit a good Body shop to accomplish things with best and reliable results.

The only area where cutting and welding will be needed is the floor pan and some places in the boot area.

restoration of old cars involves a lot of such cutting / welding. But yes, the pillars would be key parts. I guess he will need to look around for a scrap car to get such sections.

Hey, why don't you make an entry for this guy in the directory section . It'll help all the members and readers.

My in laws are into restoration business in Gujarat and have seen and experienced umpteen Amby's and Padmini's getting treated during restoration what otherwise is famously known with the term "General". Of course now this has almost diminished due to lower demands.

So I am aware of the cutting and welding part. In fact they even mould Door Handles and few cryptic pieces too.

Here we are referring to a highway worthy car like the Ikon where structural rigidity/integrity matters more than aesthetics and appeal in that crowd. Hence like I and you too mention, few vital parts better not be cut and welded.

So repairing the Ikon body shell is going to be a expensive affair , how much it will cost to do it , any idea .

You should be able to get the endura/rocam Ikon for less than the half of the amount you would spent for the works. Just change the body, plastics, etc,, and save the electricals, sensors, and all of those mechanical components for later use. And that is, if you are so keen to keep the car.

Car from a distance.

On second thoughts, you may be able to get this fixed. Get a new door. The floor pan could be cut and welded. But you'll need someone very skilled to fabricate the portions in the boot and other places.
Someone got his safari fixed with the local mechanic here, similar amount of damage on floor and a rusted rear hatch held together mostly by paint. But he knew exactly what was to be done, and got the fabrication and welding done exactly as per his instructions.