Well, these shots show just how involved this project has become! The car is gutted and is being de-rusted to the best of my abilities.
Here's the car as it basically sits today-except it is now up on ramps for floor repairs
Rust on underside of roof. I used Eastwood's Corroless on it last time....Guess it doesn't work well. I ground it all off and etched it with acid before treating it to cold galvanizing primer this time. It has zinc in it and should do a better job, but will be covered with Rustoleum too. No matter what you do to protect your car, if it is exposed to the elements outside it will rust. Mine sat outside for a few years as an abandoned project and rusted everywhere inside! I had even drilled drainage holes in the rear floors and had no interior in it, but the rust still killed the floor underneath the support braces. I haven't had the windows sealed to the body in so many years I can't remember, so I am now paying the price for my neglect.
Here's the right rear corner of the car. You can see that I ran the wiring for the RCA cables and front speakers in the factory positions. I eliminated the GM wiring and ran it all behind the dash with the dash out, running it on the HVAC box where GM ran it's wires when the car was new.
My infamous JB Weld rust repair. I removed every spec of rust and cleaned the pits down to shiny metal. Then this side I sprayed with etching primer followed by the JB weld. I also peeled up the edges of the seam and removed all of the rust there as well. Then I put the JB weld in the seam and smashed the seam flat with a hammer and dolly. The bottom seam was also stripped and sealed in a similar way, then everything was painted with the galvanizing primer to seal out any moisture.
The one roof patch I had to do this time around. I am not a good welder, so I had to spend a bit of time with the flapper disc on the angle grinder!
My messy trunk, full of cardboard for mixing filler, spare parts and some tools. I have great plans for this space in the future though...
Here's the car as it basically sits today-except it is now up on ramps for floor repairs
Rust on underside of roof. I used Eastwood's Corroless on it last time....Guess it doesn't work well. I ground it all off and etched it with acid before treating it to cold galvanizing primer this time. It has zinc in it and should do a better job, but will be covered with Rustoleum too. No matter what you do to protect your car, if it is exposed to the elements outside it will rust. Mine sat outside for a few years as an abandoned project and rusted everywhere inside! I had even drilled drainage holes in the rear floors and had no interior in it, but the rust still killed the floor underneath the support braces. I haven't had the windows sealed to the body in so many years I can't remember, so I am now paying the price for my neglect.
Here's the right rear corner of the car. You can see that I ran the wiring for the RCA cables and front speakers in the factory positions. I eliminated the GM wiring and ran it all behind the dash with the dash out, running it on the HVAC box where GM ran it's wires when the car was new.
My infamous JB Weld rust repair. I removed every spec of rust and cleaned the pits down to shiny metal. Then this side I sprayed with etching primer followed by the JB weld. I also peeled up the edges of the seam and removed all of the rust there as well. Then I put the JB weld in the seam and smashed the seam flat with a hammer and dolly. The bottom seam was also stripped and sealed in a similar way, then everything was painted with the galvanizing primer to seal out any moisture.
The one roof patch I had to do this time around. I am not a good welder, so I had to spend a bit of time with the flapper disc on the angle grinder!
My messy trunk, full of cardboard for mixing filler, spare parts and some tools. I have great plans for this space in the future though...
