78 monte rust repair questions

[AxiumVlor]

Was under my 78 monte today and decided to take a detailed look at the extent of the rust damage on the frame and body and some of it seemed far worse than i remembered before parking it in a storage unit 5 years ago passenger side is in the best shape as i found nothing beyond surface rust on the frame and small rust holes on the body

The driver side got the worst of it including a large rust spot in the body infront of rear tire and bottom of the frame rusted out starting about 6 inches behind the rear axle

My question is having never done rust repair before i have been told i can use plate and angle steel to patch the rusted out frame. Is this true and recommended or would it be better to cut and weld anothe piece of frame in its place? Was also told could do something similar wit the rust holes in the body by cutting out around them and welding a piece over them then grinding down the welds as flush as possible then paint. Also meantioned a set of chrome "runners" to cover the kick panels. So suggestions? Tips?

 

[malibujustin]

Hmmmm...Looks like mine a little. Well my roof and floors. Rest of my body pretty good. Very minor stuff. My rails in good shape. As far as fenders, look for some decent used replacement ones. (I am going to check those on the monte for you). They may make fender patches for those not sure. Or you can fabricate some if you are skilled with that and cut out rust and weld them on. They may also make quarters that you can replace or find some used ones. Take them off at factory seams and spot welds and reverse procedure to put back on. You just want to make sure you get rid of all the rust and use good filler and primer during install of quarters or patch panels. As far as the frame rot, I guess you could use the angle iron etc to fabricate one up, but imo I would find a good donor and cut out what you need and cut bad part off and weld good part on. Butt weld. Just remember to measure twice cut once. Maybe someone else will chime in

 

[bob64]

For the amount of welding you would have to do to repair frame l would just replace that section, cleaner an less welding.
As for the bottom of your car, you have chrome trim running on it so best to buy the skirts an run them to that chrome hiding the joint.

 

[79 USA 1]

Could check this guy out of Woodstock, Ontario. He may still have some replacement rails in stock.
http://www3.sympatico.ca/conradlozier/

 

[Clone TIE Pilot]

Your frame is so rusted out your car is currently unsafe to drive, that rear axle hump looks ready to snap. At this point, you are probably looking at a frame swap in a best case scenario. At a minimum to repair the fame, the body is going to need to be lifted off, but you are probably better off looking for a better shape frame to swap.

 

[TURNA]

OOOOFA You should have let them steal it!!!!!!

Frame swap would probability be the cheapest fix.

 

[Texas82GP]

I would look for a cleaner car if it were me but we don't see as much rust down here. Can you weld? Do you have the tools/equipment? 8 years ago I didn't/couldn't but bought the tools and learned. It just depends on how much time/money you want to spend. I would look for a clean replacement frame at the least. Also, patch panels are a lot tougher to do well rather than replacing entire panels, be they bolt on or weld on. You will likely have some unwelcome surprises once you dig into that body. I don't mean to discourage you, it can be done. This thread will provide inspiration......
https://gbodyforum.com/threads/81-oldsmopile-g-body-rust-repair.55800/

 

[L.A.X-RATED]

ya'll good folks already know my remedy "sales pitch"...take your gbody seriously,life is to short to restore a maverick!

 

[AxiumVlor]

I would look for a cleaner car if it were me but we don't see as much rust down here. Can you weld? Do you have the tools/equipment? 8 years ago I didn't/couldn't but bought the tools and learned. It just depends on how much time/money you want to spend. I would look for a clean replacement frame at the least. Also, patch panels are a lot tougher to do well rather than replacing entire panels, be they bolt on or weld on. You will likely have some unwelcome surprises once you dig into that body. I don't mean to discourage you, it can be done. This thread will provide inspiration......
https://gbodyforum.com/threads/81-oldsmopile-g-body-rust-repair.55800/

No i dont have the tools but i have friends that can weld and own the right tools only thing i dont have access to is a way to lift the body from the frame its only on the drivers side though the passenger side is fine finding a good shape frame is going to be difficult here unless i can use a mid to late 80s frame illinois isnt kind on cars its all the salt they put on the roads i was really hoping i could just fix it using a good section or making my own i mean its worse than i remembered when i stored it but ive seen worse

 

[Texas82GP]

No i dont have the tools but i have friends that can weld and own the right tools only thing i dont have access to is a way to lift the body from the frame its only on the drivers side though the passenger side is fine finding a good shape frame is going to be difficult here unless i can use a mid to late 80s frame illinois isnt kind on cars its all the salt they put on the roads i was really hoping i could just fix it using a good section or making my own i mean its worse than i remembered when i stored it but ive seen worse

The rails are still reproduced. I've seen them on here recently. Just be prepared for body bolts to break off, to find rotten body mounts and rust in the inner structure of the body. I promise you can't see all of the rust with the car put together. I hope you save it. I hate to see them crushed. There are fewer of them every day. Just be prepared for what you are getting into. It will be costly and labor intensive. lilbowtie has a very clean V-6 Monte that he would sell for around $3k. All it needs is a V8 swap and to be driven. He's in Metro Detroit. You could drive the car home.
https://gbodyforum.com/threads/81-monte-landau.63171/