Patching up my '96 Roadmaster Wagon

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Blake442

Geezer
Apr 24, 2007
6,864
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Minneapolis
Haven't been too active here for a while... Didn't do much of anything this summer but it was time to finally tackle a project that I had to get done before winter.
The rust spot behind the left rear tire had been getting bigger and bigger since I bought the car in January of 2016.
My degree in auto-body repair and nearly a decade of restoration experience have given me all the skills necessary to repair this properly.
I won't be doing it that way... lol
Sure, I could, and I have all the tools at my disposal... but it would drag out over several days, if not weeks while I did everything.
But this car just isn't worth that kind of treatment, and it's my daily driver, so I was looking to knock this project out in a single day.
For what I'm capable of, I should be ashamed lol, but I'm thrilled with how it turned out.
Follow along as I turn about $100 in materials and about 7 hours of my time into exactly what I was hoping for!
Here's my beloved Road Barge!
23316377_10159654852645387_365963700629596769_n.jpg

And here is the nasty 1/4 panel...
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Rust goes up much farther on the inside...
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Rusty metal cut out... inner panels rusty too
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Made my first template out of plastic cardboard
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And made two more templates for the inner parts
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Cut out the rusty inner parts
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Riveted in the patches I made from my templates.
I used a sheet of aluminum I got at Menards... easier to work with than steel
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Goobered it all up with seam-sealer
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And riveted in the outer patch
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Seam sealed the backside
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Undercoated the lower back side
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1st smear of fiberglass filler
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Buzzed it down with the D.A.
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2nd wipe with regular filler
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Buzzed down with the D.A.
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2 coats of rattle can primer
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3 coats of Rustoleum gloss white, with a few runs for good measure...
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Ta-Daaaaa!!!!
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Good as new!!!
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And finally, my helper, Ziggy.
He's the reason some of the pictures are blurry...
Every time I knelt down to take one, he was all over me!
The pics that are good are because I had to throw him in his kennel so I could take them lol
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So there you have it...
The low-buck, low-hour, barge patching!
 
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Nov 4, 2012
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Looks great! I worked in auto body for about 8 years, but I still find it way more fun to do a function-over-form repair, or "inspection sticker specials" as we called them. I've fixed many a rust hole with tiger hair and pop rivets.

Damn I love those 90s b bodies.
 

pontiacgp

blank
Mar 31, 2006
29,270
20,391
113
Kitchener, Ontario
Really nice work and don't blame your dog for nothing or I'll call PETA on you.....:)
 

81cutlass

Comic Book Super Hero
Feb 16, 2009
4,639
13,542
113
Western MN
That's a pro job right there :p

It's tough to justify driving anything nice in the cities, especially during the winter. For as much salt (and worse the other drivers) a beater that your decently OK with is a better option.

How many miles do you have on it these days? I damn near bought a olds custom cruiser when I was 15 for my first car, it was in worse shape 10 years ago than yours is today though haha. Probably good i didnt end up with that.
 

Blake442

Geezer
Apr 24, 2007
6,864
1,996
113
Minneapolis
I'm sure next year I'll be patching the other side again, the band-aid I dropped in the bottom of the spare tire well is looking worse for wear.
Just under 175,000 miles, and yes it's an LT1.
The 4L60E is what I'm worried about, they're typically only good to about 150K or so, so I'm on borrowed time... The one in my Caprice went out at 127K.

The next adventure will be replacing the trans cooler lines, they're all rusty along the bottom of the radiator... yay!
 

DRIVEN

Geezer
Apr 25, 2009
8,062
14,479
113
*CENSORED*
Man, I really feel for you guys in the rust belt.
 
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Nov 4, 2012
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To try and keep the rust at bay you might try coating the underside or at least parts of it with Fluid Film. Runs about $9 a can at Lowe's or you can buy gallons from Advance Auto for around $50 IIRC.
 
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