Today I started restoring the driver side quarter panel. I ground down all the rust and only have a few small holes in two places. The holes are approximately the size of finishing nails, maybe slightly larger. The metal is very thin is these two areas of the QP...

Should I cut the metal in these areas out and weld or do you think (considering the holes are so small) that it would be fine to bondo these areas?

The drivers door is a different story. It has a hole the size of a dollar bill on the outside bottom front of the door, So I'll be replacing it entirely. Just for infos sake the car is currently white but going to be painted black with a matte finish.

I've had good luck with fiberglass repair jobs before. Give that a shot, and if it turns out crappy, you can always buzz it off and try something else.

Post up some pics of your 85!

if the holes are small, just weld them up. once welded, cover the area in a rust converter product (i like to use rust mort myself), then prime the area.

I found a product at auto zone that is a combonation primer rust eliminator in a spray can for about 6$. Is this legit or do you think it's a gimmick?

Ok So now I've ground off the passenger front and rear door, and passenger quarter panel. I also used that rust convertor I bought and it seems to do exactly what is says, but only time will tell. I'll wait for some signs before I paint it.

I had a heck of a time trying to eliminate the rust spots under the doors. The spots where it connects to the body when you close the door were in pretty bad shape. But I went ahead and took the rust off and sprayed it down. It left a few large gaps but these gaps are still smaller than the one I have on the bottom of the drivers door.

I think I'm going to go ahead and finish the driver door even though I am planning on eventually replacing it. It just looks too ghetto not to fix. hahaha

The hood, roof and trunk are perfect. What I have remaining now is the drivers door, gas tank area (i'm replacing the gas door itself) and a small couple spots on the rear sides. So I'm close to completing the prep work.

Any suggestions for how to work on the gas door area without starting a fire???

OK so no suggestions. I'm going to go ahead and disconnect the gas door drain pipe to the tank and keep it out of the way till I'm down.

The project is coming along very well. So far I have eliminated all the rust with exception of the gas door which I will finish tommorrow. Then it will get it's first layer of primer across the whole body within the month.

I'm going to post pics this week as soon as I get that door finished.

unless you're welding...you should be fine working around the gas filler door.

The door itself should be plastic, too. Is there rust on the rear quarter near there?

Yeah the entire area (8x8 inch app) is rusted. So I need to have the door open in order to get the rust that has made it's way just inside the opening.

No I'm not welding. If any is needed a friend's much older and experienced father will be doing it and I'm sure he knows what he's supposed to do there.

Alright I finished removing the rust from the gas door a few days ago. This is all of the rust completely removed from the car... assuming of course that I did it right * crossing my fingers with a nervous look *

To remove the rust around the door I first kept it closed and used the grinder to remove the larger areas, then when I opened the door I simply used 60GR paper and eliminated all the flaky or thick areas. After applying the rust convertor to this area it seems to have done the job.

This part of the project, removing the rust, has taken me approximately 5 to 6 hours of time and $15. Not to bad if the rust convertor works properly and truly eliminated what rust I could not see with my eye.

When you step back the car currently looks like a milk cow. So I assume the convertor worked, because the car is white and all the old rust patches, I ground off, are now black.

The next step for me is to prep the weak areas with fiberglass, sand the entire car down and use a rust prevention primer. After that it'll be a breeze, tape her down and paint.

I am doing some body work on my 4 door 1986 Chevrolet Cavalier 2.0L OHV. I have all ready upgraded the stereo, rebuilt the head gasket, added new rims and tires 1 inch bigger than stock (14 inch motegi racing rims) and will in the future replace the worn suspension components that I originally replaced four years ago. The car was garage stored until a few of my family members had to use for a few months during the winter because the regular car's engine blew a piston through the bottom of the motor. The car drove great and while I was at college I had no idea. I came home and the car was in the garage but the some of the surface rust had rusted through. I was a little angry but knew the car needed some work anyway. I will put some pictures up in a few days. The passenger and drivers front doors are rusted at the bottom, but only surface rust and a little rust on the inner bead line of the bottom of the door. The frame is in great condition but both the inner and outer rocker panels need to be replaced. I already took care of removing part of the rocker panel on the right side and will probably use a compressor cutoff tool for the rest. I am looking for replacement steel inner and outer rocker panels for a 1986 four door cavalier. I looked underneath the car and it does not look that bad except for the broken brake line and rusted brake lines. I am just going to replace all the lines. I am thinking about just taking the whole thing apart and media baslting it but that requires al ot of money. The underneath of the car could stand to be media blasted or sand blasted. When you get a chance if you could give me some replies that would be awesome. Thanks again.

Well That sounds similar to what I've had to do as well. Granted I didn't have to blast it but then again the underside of my car is literally perfect. I have no idea why but hey whatever...

My rocker panels are bad too. My approach is a bit different though. I cut off the bad stuff, ground off the rust and applied the convertor. So I assume that so far the rust is 'dead'. My approach on this particular area now is going to covering it with side skirts. I MIGHT weld in a little metal before but I don't think that the structural integrity is being compromised from the rocker panels. I realize that there are no side skirts available for this generation but I'm planning on designing and constructing some, probably a very simple design to keep with the 'blockish' look of the car.

I too plan on posting a few pics. In fact I'll probably do that today but trust me it's nothing to look at right now. haha

you should use some side skirts of a 2nd gen z24 i got some at a scrap yard for 40 bucks for the pair ans they fit perfect.

Dang I didn't realize that. I imagine it's not the same with the front and rear though... I'll probably have alot of little mods to do to get it all to look right.

well to my dismay I am posting this... As you all know I used that rust convertor which did it's job partially but there are spots that are bleeding. No bubbling since I never covered it with paint... I mean the May rains are almost over but I wanted to see if it would last before I painted it.

My question is should I throw primer on it or what??? Will this rust come back?

It's not BAD but you can definetely see it bleeding through the rust convertor in places.