Been trying to find new body panels to repair my arches does anybody know if there are any replacement arches available for a gen 1, or is it a case of getting a bodyshop to make a new pair from scratch?

look on ebay for one thats being broke for parts or ring round your local scrap yards, at worst ull have to get em sprayed if you cant find a colour match

im presuming the rear. This is a big one piece jobby, best thing to do if you want it permanently sorted is to cut the rot out completely.

oh thats a horrible job all the bad bits gotta be cut out to do it properly.mega money im afraid

Firstly, Any idea why you have corrosion? - Did you have you're arches rolled or flared at some point? (as that's what killed the arches on my first Hyundai Accent!)

If you grind through the corrosion and end up making holes, there is a simple (and cheap) fix, that if done right will fix the arches and last for ages - Epoxy Putty ... But you'd only need this if you grind out all the corrosion and go through the metal completely ... You can get this stuff in all kinds of forms, and it's meant to be as strong as the metal or plastic material you choose (though possibly a bit more brittle, but not by much).

Basically it comes in a tube, you cut off what you want to use and then mix it up (as the inner and outer layers are different chemicals which when mixed together start off a process which harden's them very quickly!). It's not that expensive to buy a small tube of the stuff and hardens very quickly (I have some "Steel" Epoxy which goes hard in 10 minutes and is fully solid in 2 hours) ... the only real cost with this stuff is time taken to prepare the surface you want to stick it on (i.e. the rear side of a hole) - grinding back any corrosion and fully degreasing the area.

If you don't go right through, it's a simple case of perhaps some bodyfiller and then painting, but remember that primer paint is porous, so protect it from the rain and damp whilst it dries or rust will form quickly underneath.

i had my gen1 done on the cheap and soon learned not a good idea

the one you mean rik?

You tha MAN, Chris!

Was gonna have a look for it, but pan seared Venison fillets caught my eye

Yup that was my Gen 1, Impreza and Fiesta rear arches - Can't tell tho!

You can get the full rear quarter panels but only through Hyundai, they are about £350 each new (Jan-2009 prices) although these require a lot of work to fit - If the rust has got through to the inner wings you can add another £400 per side to that price just for the panels.

Best thing to do is to find a good body shop (I used one that my local Hyundai dealer recommended before their own) and get quotes for cutting out and replacing the metal, I had the arches ground down and filled by another garage previously whilst repairing a dent for £250 and that lasted about 2 months and then bubbled through even quicker than before they repaired it!!

The second repair cost £750, but after speaking to the bodyshop manager it should have cost in the region of £2500-£3000 as they had under-estimated the amount of work involved.