Finally getting down under and getting some issues cleaned up and painted for the coming winter when I found on the Passenger side something I definitely didn't want to find. Visited this side several years ago and had made a patch , so I shouldn't be too surprised to find more damage. There is very heavy factory under-layer here that allows the metal to just completely waste away before it starts to blister and let you know trouble is even there. That stuff must be over 1/8 of inch thick . If you see a blister and rust - there is no metal for sure.

As you can see I made a patch via rivets (steel ones instead of aluminum rivets to minimize rusting). I have a medical condition that can send me into a seizure if exposed to flashing lights , so welding is definitely out of my option list. I used plenty of rust inhibitor and primer in that patch and before riveting it together I slathered as much Gorilla Glue all over everything to make a tight seal. Patch seems ok for now.

I've got a 5 day break coming up on the Holiday so hopefully fair weather will allow me to patch these up too and at least get through the winter season and try to regroup next year.

Anyone got any ideas what a simple weld patch job on the bottom rocker like this might run? As long as they can get the metal in I can take care of the paint part. The sides of the rockers aren't blistering but next year I'm going to need to pop the chrome trim off and have a look-see. I'll need the chrome off to get the patch fixed anyways.

Anyways after a couple doses of Rust Inhibitor and a couple more of heavy Enamel Primer it is already looking a wee bit better....for now.

It pays to keep a watchful eye underneath.... The Rust Worm Never Sleeps!! Also on Hatchbacks and Wagons One needs to Pay particular attention to the Hatch Hinge Pads. After so many years they too can deteriorate. This Wagon has the Rear Defog and is a pain to remove, so I am keeping an eye on that too.





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I trust Rust-Mort. three flash coats with a brush will neutralize it.

sorry Orlen. Glad you are on it though...

Oh just use some paper mache.Just kidding and the steps your taking should improve the issue at hand.I guess to really fix would be find a solid rocker or new rocker metal and weld it in.Granted being on a budget and time are the keys here.I would ramble more but the daily truck driving has worn me down today.Super glad my car stays indoors since 07.

OOH, Kind of reminds me of my mother in-laws 94 Cav back in 2006. Started like that and then 3 years later the front control arm-sub-frame rotted and she called me to say the car was making a funny noise. I looked under and said it's done. Too bad, a 94 Cav sedan sent the bone yard with 101K and nice black interior. Tried selling it for the motor and could not give it away (for $250). The only calls I got were for Derby cars. Well she only drove about 15 miles a week (and never over 30 MPH,,,, not kidding) back in 2009 and she was 79 then and I never really thought the car was that bad. So check your cars for this type of rust. I painted over the rust on the rockers as you can see in the pictures. I filled the rocker rust with bondo and painted the rockers black with a pinstripe tape fade sticker (looked ok). I know that down south you guys probably don't get this type of rust.

Nope no subframe issues here!Maybe a touch greasy but that is ok for now.

Well I patched up my 2 worst areas today . I liked Ron's analogy - so I will officially call my project - Steel Mache!! I honestly think this is more a psychological exercise since I'm really not fixing the problem - but it looks better and I don't worry even though I should.....LoL I keep telling myself the road debris and salt wont get to any of this now when winter comes, but ya know - it was all sealed up to begin with - and wasn't getting any of that stuff and rotted out anyways.....Rust is a really weird concept.



Here is the religious area :




So I start out with a paper template - any good ole cereal box will do - I think this just happen to be one of the kids boxes that their soda pop cans came in.







I'm using pretty thick sheet steel here something like 1/16"






Ok it isn't a perfect cut - but nothing about this project is , so it kinda fits in with everything else....Hehee If anyone is really reading this , sometimes I'll sneak in a Top Tip as lil reward for their persistence. Here is one - I only cut the Shortest length of the sheet metal , and just scribe the metal on the longest side. I can then bend the steel back and forth till it fatigues and breaks off. I only use 3 cutoff wheels on this - probably saved at least 4 or 5 for another project this way!!











After trimming the edges up on a Bench Grinder - my Vise and a a Good Sized Hammer substitute for a metal brake. After a wee bit of pounding I have a fairly good patch.








And now drilling all the holes for the Rivets and don't forget to trim off the rough edges!!







Ok, anyone still here?? Hello??? Here is another Country Boy Top Tip!! I use on of those new fangled can openers that open the top from the sides. I found you can place the top back on the used can. I use these cans to clean my brushes in. Pretty normal stuff. The trick is when I'm done - I put the can off to the side and in a few days all the paint solids settle to the bottom and I just pour the thinner into a fresh can to reuse and toss out the old can with the paint in the bottom. This Really s t r e t c h e s out your paint thinner!!








One would think using steel rivets would be folly - but using aluminum ones creates Galvanic Corrosion and can make matters even worse. No one needs to make something rust any faster than it already is!! ...and yes the Damn things are made in China too :-(




Today I'm gonna use a w h o l e lotta this stuff!!




...and everything is ready for me - time to get on my side and get started!!





We'll start with lots of Goo....I'm betting I'll do a lot of cussing come time to get this mess off to fix this the Right Way!!







...although all that Goo helps keep my patch in place while I get ready to drill the first hole!!




1....2...3 Rivets, Rivets and More Rivets!! Out come excess Goo Too!









Now I have 2 sorry looking Patches on my car!! Joy Joy!!




And to finish up the day I put some more Primer all over the new patch and rivets. Tomorrow it is back in the Garage and up in the air so I can put a pretty coat of Gloss Blue across the whole bottom area and make it look as good as it is going to get. Till then I bring the Pontiac back in for the night. Next Year I want to get a real Good Car Cover for the Coupe so I can leave it out some while I am doing these kind of projects. Hoping Ron can steer me in the right direction with that one!!




..and the tiny patch over the little hole...(little hole for now)




Lastly....... I am very proud of myself that I only used 1 drill bit in all the drilling I did today!! It is pretty common I break one or run one dull while drilling all the sheet metal!!

Yea!!



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Nice work Orlen.

My MOPAR is drooping a lot of metal now - not sure how much time I have left. Jack points are now shot so getting difficult to work on

If it was a little earlier in the process I would try and save it. I will prolly swap out doors, trunk lid, and a hood, but the rest is in God's hands. I am expecting a shock tower collapse will be the final straw some day in the future on that vehicle.

That is improvising for sure.Those patches will work fine.And the car cover thing is cake and hope my info helps.Tired imagine that after yet another 12hr day.I so need to win the lottery last week so I can do my jbody shop idea I have! I will dream and hope in the mean time.Basically it would be like a yearone company but soley for JBODY stuff reproduced by me.In case some may not know yearone reproduces tons of muscle car stuff like a candy store for oldschool cars with well a larger crowd to support it.

wish we could pop rivet here but its illegal and will fail inspections,

Put body filler over the rivets and paint then the inspector won't see them. I don't know how they are illegal when cars come with them from factory. Almost all modern door handles are pop riveted on from the outside. Same with 2nd gen convertible rocker braces. They have about 200 rivits holding them on each side.




On the inside my car looks like a fighter jet.

Final couple of photos. I think the Rockers are Winter Ready at last!!








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