alright here we go, i bought my 85 GSL and i saw it had bubble rust on it and there was a hole in the wheel well. so i siad i will get started when school comes around. Well school came around and i asked my auto teacher if i can bring in my car to start the rust repair, he said ok. I asked him is this goign to be the frist rotary in the shop? he said ya its going to be the first. I laugh for a bit. well brought it to school and started goign at the bubble rust with a wire brush and a drill. went at it for two straight blocks an dthis is what i found:
This is the driver side rear
http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k3...6/Dsc06140.jpg
http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k3...6/Dsc06141.jpg
http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k3...6/Dsc06142.jpg
http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k3...6/Dsc06149.jpg
http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k3...6/Dsc06145.jpg
http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k3...6/Dsc06147.jpg
http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k3...6/Dsc06146.jpg

Passenger rear
http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k3...6/Dsc06144.jpg
http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k3...6/Dsc06143.jpg

i got a question for the hole in my rocker panel? can I just fiber glass it or should I just hunt for a better looking one? if so anyome got a nice one laying around?

 

None of the links are working for me. I could tell you more once I see pics, but I would shy away from fiberglass, cutting out any bad rusty metal and welding in a patch you've made is a much better approach.

 

Just to let you know, none of the pictures would load for me.

"Sorry, the page you requested was not found
Please check the URL for proper spelling and capitalization. If you're having trouble locating a page on Photobucket, try visiting the home page. Also, you may find what you are looking for using the search below."

But if I can just put in my 2 cents, if its a rusty hole you are worried about, spend the time cutting, welding, and grinding until its perfect. It will be worth it; it always has been in my experience. Since you have access to your school shop you should have a plethora of tools at your disposal.
Good luck!

 

Please post pics on the forum, I hate having to link somewhere else, jump back and forth for each pic and put up with popups. Pet peeve.

 

Not working for me either!!

U should buy one from texas.. There would be no RUST.. LOL

 

Im guessing he uploaded them on photobucket, then placed the link here, then erased the pictures from his photobucket. Happened a lot when my friend first started using photobucket.

 

no, its because the links got abbreviated somewhere. notice the '...' in the middle of every link?

 

sorry i will repost them

 

driver side
http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k3...6/Dsc06141.jpg
http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k3...6/Dsc06140.jpg
http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k3...6/Dsc06142.jpg
http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k3...6/Dsc06149.jpg
http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k3...6/Dsc06147.jpg
http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k3...6/Dsc06146.jpg

passenger
http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k3...6/Dsc06150.jpg
http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k3...6/Dsc06143.jpg
http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k3...6/Dsc06144.jpg

rocker hole
http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k3...6/Dsc06145.jpg

 

Wow, thats pretty bad.

 

I've seen much worse wheel well rust. Look for 82transam's rust pics, I think he had some posted. What I'd wonder about is what the frame rails look like. From one of the pics, it looks like the passenger side rail is pretty rusty.

 

Here ya go!

Driver side:













Passenger:







rocker hole:

 

oh man mine was way bad i had biger holes then that but they are all fixed

 

Thanks for making my rust problem better...

 

Man i thought you had the rock gaurds off at first exposing the rust, i guess not the **** rusted right through, just like my white 83' its shitty man. Break out the cut off wheels, hammers, and MIG and or TIG and fix that **** before it eats its self alive even more. Have fun... I know I did/ didn't.

 

bad I was going to say thats not really that bad...you could fix all that rust in a day...you should have seen mine...replace both rear quarters, bin rust on both sides, had to rebuild sunroof tunnels, rebuild rear hatch lip, and from windshield lip...looks good so far...make sure you clean up that bin rust really good inside and out

 

Not sure about a day, thats a lengthy project especially if you are fabricating all the pieces yourself, but very fixable, like was said earlier, i've been there done that, not sure how many pics I've actually posted on here but I have plenty, I'm no expert, all self taught and I work out of a barn, but I konw what I'm doing, feel free to ask me questions, I'll answer as best I can. Good luck, nice to see someone else fixing a rusty first gen, too many people on here just go for another shell.

 

After living near the beach for a few years I got the wheel arch rust as well, Im going thru the same de-rusting process on mine. Its been sitting in storage, out of the weather for a couple of years and now I finally have time to get to it. My rust is not as bad though.. my doors are gone and probably need to be replaced. Maybe we can do a write up and get it sticky'd or put with the faq for people with the same issue and wanting to know how to fix the rust and what to do, where to buy parts, supplies etc.. Good luck!

 

^not a bad idea

 

I agree, not a bad idea, so many people have rust issues on here, simply getting another shell to start off with isn't so much an option anymore. fixing the rusty ones is. I've got pics if you need them!

 

I thought it was your pics I had seen. Seeing what you fixed ought to inspire anyone with the time to tackle some rust.

 

thats not that bad. i've seen much worse and that my friend is very repairable! i'm glad you are starting in before winter hits in. things could get much worse in a hurry!

 

if you set to it in an 8 hour day with a wire wheel and a welder you can fix those bin and single rocker hole no problem...as per the pitting there is this amazing stuff that I buy but I can't remember the name of it...I'll find it and let you know...anyway what it does is turn rust into an alloy...I have put this stuff on and driven around for months and the spot just doesn't rust...it really is quite amazing stuff

 

I'm in 666cody666's auto class, helped him (a miniscule amount) on the car.

As far as the wheel wells, passenger's side isn't a big deal at all. Driver's side structurally is good, although quite pitted with a small hole. Would it be enough to cut the hole out, put some heavy guage sheet metal in there, grind/bondo/sand it down?

Inside the wheel well, where you can stick you hand into his car, should a sheet metal plate from the inside tacked on then most likely brazed to seal around it be good enough? Otherwise cut it completely out and fabricate the whole new plate.

Rocker platel; I assume this could be found online relatively cheap and therefore better off replaced than repaired. I haven't taken a good look at it and don't know what it would take to remake it.

Our school has an awesome metal shop with everything needed and more to do all necessary fabrication. They don't stock much good heavy sheet metal, so if anything needs to be ordered in, what guage should it be?

Sorry. Awesome smiley

 

Can we get a lil help here? lol. sorry for the thread jack...