Bongo Fury

It would appear as if the old rust bug has bitten some bongo's hard!

Some have suggested in the past that the "old un's" are best at fending off rust, and some newer shapes are pretty shocking at shedding off the old oxide demons.

How about a bit of a yardstick to try to judge if there's anything to the folklore?

Don't vote if your bongo arches were/are rust free yet you've had the arch painted because of scrape/accident damage... We are only looking at rusty rear arches, either repaired, or in need of repair soon.

I'll start the ball rolling. 1995 AFT bongo, imported 2003, (unknown location in Japan). No rust on the rear arches, not needing repairs anytime soon. (wheelarch spats fitted since new as far as i can gather).

Any wheelarch piccies welcome if you have any...

My nearside with spats removed, adhesive cleaned off)

1996 AFT SGL5 - twin battery model. N/S arch repaired with O/S starting to go.

M plate AFT both rears are going but the o/s is defo worse than the n/s

Yes. N plate, in the UK for around 7 years. Repairs done (badly) on both sides. Both will need doing better in the near future.

Thanks for the contributions thus far... Lets see if we can get a bit of a definitive impression from this poll....

bigdaddycain wrote:Thanks for the contributions thus far... Lets see if we can get a bit of a definitive impression from this poll....

You have seen mine buddy.... imported 2007....waxoyled on import topped up in 2009 and will be again this autumn....

It would be interesting to know whether there is a causal relationship with slight damage to the rear end.


Frank

my old green tintop reg number N211MCL no rust at all arches and bodywork were like just left the factory someone has bought a decent bongo

Hi I think you know my story but here goes .Cant wait to get them done and get the whole lot painted. Mine is a 95 SGL5.

1st Bongo M reg,bought 2006 from Wheelquick,didnt get it waxoiled.....now owned by son in law and in need of 1 wheel arch after 80000 miles

2nd Bongo N reg ,bought in 2008,waxoiled on purchase from Wheelquick and no sign of any rust on arches after 125000 miles

3rd Bongo T reg apparently waxoiled in Japan (including cills and engine compartment) and re-waxoiled on purchase from Wheelquick. No sign of any problems on arches but only done 40000 miles.

Brian

Mines a real oldie. N reg 4th October 1995. Built like a tank and still immaculate all round. The wheel arches are unmarked - touch wood.

The beast is from Shikouku island in the extreme south of Japan. Hot dry climate and original owner lived in a little town up a mountain, no idea if the altitude helped.

I bought it as a new import in May 2008. No under seal on import, just green paint underneath but rust free. Absolutely no protection at all, but I doubt if it had ever seen bad weather. I had it undersealed by Rustbusters in Poole. £650, expensive but absolutely thorough. Box sections filled and a thick coat of dinitrol underneath. Worth every penny as I now have a sixteen old Bongo that still seems rust free. Without the under seal it would have deteriorated fast and I could be looking at spending a lot more than that for arches and rust all round by now.

Every time it goes in for a MOT I get invited to admire the rust free underneath. Last time there was a newer Bongo in, 98, awaiting welding which had failed on cross member and cils.

Hiya,

Mines a 97 SGL3 2.5TD - both rear arches are going and evidence of it being fillered before export - I got it 18 months ago as a new import and they looked fine. Why oh why didnt I take a magnet when looking? Front wings also a bit crusty on the seam, also has a few crusty bits on the sills and already had some welding done on the front crossmember. I'm saving up the pennies for some new wings and some new arches from Discount Trucks next year.

Its a northern japanese model so in the cruel light of hindsight I'm not surprised I have a crusty Bongo. I've got myself a waxoil sprayer, gallons of the stuff and one dirty weekend ahead...

Mine Bongo was supposedly undersealed by the importer ... he did such an excellent job he couldnt be a*sed to take the spare off so I have a a nice round non-undersealed patch at the back - which is why I'm doing it myself. Luckily I like the smell of the stuff..

cheers,

Steve

1995 unconverted AFT virtually rust free arches. A couple of stone chips showing staining on the silver paint near the sill and on the drip of the sill. Only waxoiled last year, had some light surface rust on the chassis.

97 AFT, 63k. No Wheel arch problems or repairs since purchase (4 years). If they were done before it is a very good job

No not had any done yet Ste~but one arch is bubbling & it started about 6 months ago,& to be honest it is getting slowly worse ~97P 2.5 diesel.

If i run a magnet around my arches theres no tell tail signs of previous filling,the magnet holds strongly even on the bit's that are bubbling
Anyway heres a pic