:mad: Im gonna start doing some body work (or have somebody do it) and since i dont know much about it i figured i would ask you guys. My car's got some pretty bad rust on it, the front end and frame is fine, but the sideskirts beneath the doors are a few millimeters from being completely rusted through on both sides, and behind the rear tires ( where the spare on on the drivers side, and same position on the passenger side) are completley rusted through creating giant holes. Now my question is, What would be the best way to fix that?
Some more...
New (to you) doors, new (to you) fenders (I can almost guarantee you that driver's fender has already had work done to it - the bottom of it isn't shaped right), and new metal in the quarters and rockers would be the easiest and only proper way to fix it. That rust is 10X worse than it looks - as soon as you start removing paint you'll find that the paint was the only thing holding much of it together. I've been there - my '87 Sport looked much like that, which is why I had to sell it and get a rust free '88.
Before making any serious plans I'd recommend putting the car on a lift and giving the frame and floors a really good going over. Take a screwdriver with you, and poke everything that looks soft. Be especially vigilant in the front subframe and strut tower areas, and the part of the rear frame that goes over the rear axle and the gas tank hangers. Take a look at daminc's "Project evolution" thread (http://"http://www.foxtbirdcougarforums.com/showthread.php?t=17304"), and ask yourself if you're prepared to do (or even capable of doing) the same work, because sadly, that's what your car is going to need. If you don't think you could do the work yourself, don't even think of paying somebody because you'd easily be looking at $5k in bodywork.
Might be time to start thinking about another one. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news - like I said, I've been there myself.
Thats what i figured ive been underneath the car with a ser and screwdriver, and the frame and subframe are strong, didnt even have much surface rust surprisingly, (before oil pan gasket was replaced, im guessing the leaked oil that was blown all over the frame and bottom of the car may have saved that part) as far as replacing the fenders, ive done it before and its easy enough, i can get free sheet metal for the rear but i cant weld.... thats really where im stuck.
It's easy enough to learn to mig weld. You could learn by the end of a weekend if you had to. But the price of a decent mig welding setup would cost the same as a replacement car. My welding setup cost about $1200. including helmet, cart, gas cylinder, extra welding tips, etc.
Your quarter panels would need to be replaced, or partially like I did. and probably your rockers
And.....
Unfortunately, the more you take apart, the more your going to find to replace.
I'm fortunate to have had the experience to rebuild other cars and a ford van, before tackling my cougar, which is probably the worst car I've ever seen. And I've seen a lot of bad cars.
There's nothing that says you can't or shouldn't rebuild your car, but remember, there's going to be a lot of work before you even get to rebuilding the body its self.
If you decide to go for it, feel free to ask me any questions. I'll help you in any way I can.
Jerry
Well at the shop where i work we have an electric welder, ( arc welder??) helmet, and all that other stuff, im gonna try to learn how to weld and i am gonna go for it, i went through to much trouble to get this car (including constant nagging from the wife:punchballs: thats worse than anything ) to let rust get in the way. I appreciate the offer for the help, as im sure i will need it.
An arc welder won't work unless it has a stitch welding attachment or spot attachment.
If you use a Mig. You need to use .023 wire with the argon gas mix , or you'll burn through sheet metal.
Either way, learning to weld can't hurt your list of things that you can do.
let us know how things go.
What is a stitch welding attachment?
http://www.eastwoodco.com/shopping/product/detailmain.jsp?itemID=1187&itemType=PRODUCT&RS=1&keyword=stitch+welder (http://"http://www.eastwoodco.com/shopping/product/detailmain.jsp?itemID=1187&itemType=PRODUCT&RS=1&keyword=stitch+welder")
This will give you an idea.
I've heard good and bad about them. Most say it can't replace a MIG, and it doesn't do the same job. But I never used one, so I couldn't tell you.
Do you have any bigger close up pics of the rust on your car?
Thats sorta what the welder at my shop looks like, and no i dont, those pics i posted were the ones that were taken from the lady i bought it from. I dont have a camera yet. What were you wanting to look at? Maybe i could explain it to you
I was just wondering what it looked like where the 1/4 panel meets the rocker, and the floor condition where it meets the rocker
well i know that most of the rust is on the side of the car (except for the rear quarter where the spare goes) the floor is strong, there are no soft spots in it
Looks real bad man,if your not skilled like my man jerry no body shop in your general area will even want to touch that.
If they did the price would be outrageous.
You can pickup another coug in much nicer shape for less than a good paintjob these days.
Might be your best bet.
As an example, the price just to fix both quarter panels on my car, would have been around 4-5 grand. If I had someone do my entire car, I would have to bet on about 15-20 grand. Paint included.
To do it myself, I've spent about $1500 including the parts bird. That includes all my motor upgrades, doors, hood, quarters, fenders, mods, interior upgrades, SFCs, Turbine wheels, and everything Chuck has to offer for our cars.
When I'm done, I should have a almost a fully optioned XR7. With a HO motor.
It's gonna be a tank.
Its coming out great too man. Im still debating on what to do...Im thinking maybe ill find a good body and make like a 20th anny clone lol
Wonder if anyone has done that
It's pretty much an LS. I say go for it.
The interior is what says it's a 20th. Any one can paint the car to look like one. The cool interior is what makes it stand out.
I remember someone putting a 20th interior in their car a long time ago.
Thats probably what im gonna do around tax time, should be able to pick up a shell at a reasonable price at the boneyard - hopefully
Well i took a better look at the car, the rockers, floor pans, and frame are good, if i replace the doors, and 1/4 panels the only rust that would be left is the rear 1/4's. The rust i thought was on the rockers was actually on the bottom of the doors. Maybe i can still salvage the car, then again maybe not.
post some pics if you can
yea im gonna try and borrow a camera tommorow, take some pics and let you guys tell me what you think
some more
Sorry, they're coming. Have to make the filesizes smaller....:mad:
You can get a free photobucket account, and link them from there.
Thats what im in the process of doing be just another minute
http://s364.photobucket.com/albums/oo90/20thanniver-ls/?action=view¤t=028.jpg (http://"http://s364.photobucket.com/albums/oo90/20thanniver-ls/?action=view¤t=028.jpg")
http://s364.photobucket.com/albums/oo90/20thanniver-ls/?action=view¤t=027.jpg (http://"http://s364.photobucket.com/albums/oo90/20thanniver-ls/?action=view¤t=027.jpg")
http://s364.photobucket.com/albums/oo90/20thanniver-ls/?action=view¤t=029.jpg (http://"http://s364.photobucket.com/albums/oo90/20thanniver-ls/?action=view¤t=029.jpg")
Working on some more...
http://s364.photobucket.com/albums/oo90/20thanniver-ls/?action=view¤t=026.jpg (http://"http://s364.photobucket.com/albums/oo90/20thanniver-ls/?action=view¤t=026.jpg")
http://s364.photobucket.com/albums/oo90/20thanniver-ls/?action=view¤t=030.jpg (http://"http://s364.photobucket.com/albums/oo90/20thanniver-ls/?action=view¤t=030.jpg")
http://s364.photobucket.com/albums/oo90/20thanniver-ls/?action=view¤t=032.jpg (http://"http://s364.photobucket.com/albums/oo90/20thanniver-ls/?action=view¤t=032.jpg")
http://s364.photobucket.com/albums/oo90/20thanniver-ls/?action=view¤t=038.jpg (http://"http://s364.photobucket.com/albums/oo90/20thanniver-ls/?action=view¤t=038.jpg")
http://s364.photobucket.com/albums/oo90/20thanniver-ls/?action=view¤t=041-1.jpg (http://"http://s364.photobucket.com/albums/oo90/20thanniver-ls/?action=view¤t=041-1.jpg")
sorry theres so many
This one, you won't know if the rocker id rusted out on top until you cut the quarter off. I put money on, that it is rusted out inside.
(http://i364.photobucket.com/albums/oo90/20thanniver-ls/028.jpg)
It looks like your wheel wells are rusted out from the inside out, like mine were. the inner wells are probably rotted out under the undercoating.
(http://i364.photobucket.com/albums/oo90/20thanniver-ls/032.jpg)
the doors can be repaired (in the worst case) with new lower panels if you can't find replacements doors. I assume the door bottoms are rusted out too.
Looking at it all, you probably looking at the same replacements as my car. not sure about the rockers though. If you open the door and squeeze the rocker as hard as you can from inside the door jamb to under the rocker, does it flex at all anywhere along the rocker?
It dosent flex anywhere along the rockers on either side, however, while checking that out i did notice where the door jambs connect to the rockers is starting to rust out also...
Thats a very common place for rust. newer cars don't have a weld joint there anymore. It's usually a 1 piece jamb now.
If your planning on doing it, you should start looking for some un-rusted quarter panels and doors. or a parts car with the parts you need.(Mabe A front ended cougar would be almost free I would imagine)
You can make your own repairs to the 1/4 panels, but you'll need a brake and shrinker/stretcher to form the inner and outer wheel wells. along with a Mig welder. You might have that at work.
Well im pretty sure im gonna go to the yard and try to find a decent cougar/bird body and frame and transplant most of my cougar stuff and rebuild the engine while i have it pulled. sounds like the easiest way to go since my work is 65 miles from my house and the cougar isnt streetworthy yet. Thanks for advice and taking the time to look over my rustbucket daminc.