BTW, what kind of car do you have??? If we knew we might have some doors or be able to help you find some...only saying 8)
Should I replace my doors?
- Thread starter alphamale
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Sorry, I should have mentioned that before. I have an 85' cutlass supreme with a 72' Buick 350 and T350 transmission (V6 spun a main bearing). I just got back from Iraq for a year so she has been neglected. This was my first car and I have had her since February or 2002. Over the years I have been collecting parts, doing everything on my own in the garage (or parking lot of an apartment for most of my adult life.) For the last 2 and a half years I have had the funds to get the tools and equipment I need to do what I want with my car, just not the time. Unfortunately all that time sitting in a driveway or parking lot was not kind to her and now she has rotted doors and a fist size rust hole under the passengers seat from a leaking sunroof. (I will never get a car with a sunroof again) Here are some pictures, I want to get a fresh paint job same color without the pinstripe. I just put on a tubular cross member and a pypes exhaust system. Now it sounds great, but transmission is sticking in 2nd gear....FML... I also put in a hurst ratchet shifter (they left out the trans arm), because the column shifter was hanging up on the downpipe. I love working on my car, but sometimes it is like watching a Vin Diesel movie. Starts out exciting and half way through I want my money back.
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While it still looks solid without any rust-thru, just blasting and priming the lower door area will look good for a while, but the rust will come back...
To fix it properly, you'd need to drill out all the spot welds along the bottom edge of the door, and peel back the lip of the door skin. That way you can get behind it and REALLY get it clean. Then you can hammer back the lower edge, replace the welds and go from there.
To fix it properly, you'd need to drill out all the spot welds along the bottom edge of the door, and peel back the lip of the door skin. That way you can get behind it and REALLY get it clean. Then you can hammer back the lower edge, replace the welds and go from there.
Blake,
Wouldn't you be able to run some type of rust neutralizer inside the doors to penetrate the door edges. Years ago I had a set of doors dipped in an acid bath. It strips all the paint, undercoating, and most of the bondo, if there is any. It's not a cheap process. Besides, many of these businesses had been shutdown due to strict EPA regulations.
You could actually have an entire car body dipped.
But I agree that there probably is rust starting inside the edges. I've been cleaning up my wagon doors, scraping all the seam sealer..and lo and behold, there was rust starting under the seam sealer. It's alittle disheartening to see that.
Wouldn't you be able to run some type of rust neutralizer inside the doors to penetrate the door edges. Years ago I had a set of doors dipped in an acid bath. It strips all the paint, undercoating, and most of the bondo, if there is any. It's not a cheap process. Besides, many of these businesses had been shutdown due to strict EPA regulations.
You could actually have an entire car body dipped.
But I agree that there probably is rust starting inside the edges. I've been cleaning up my wagon doors, scraping all the seam sealer..and lo and behold, there was rust starting under the seam sealer. It's alittle disheartening to see that.
My old Malibu wagon had that "Rusty Jones" rustproofing treatment. Yellow goo was sprayed everywhere. Still rusted badly, especially the doors.
What about POR-15? Couldn't you wire wheel or blast as much of that rust off as you could and paint it up with POR-15? Then do your body filler over it if need be, prime and paint! I plan on doing as much of my frame as I can with it this summer. My doors look similar to the OP's....maybe a bit better. I have to take off the chrome panels to see how bad it really might be.
Longroof79 said:
You could try it, but I guarantee that it won't get rid of all the corrosion.
If you want it fixed permanently, the only way is to peel back the lower lip, blast it clean, treat it, and put it back together. Otherwise the rust WILL come back. It might take 5 years, it might take 5 months, but the rust will come back.
You might even find that while it looked solid from the outside, you may still need to replace some of the metal...
The only way to find out for sure is to dig in...
I must be lucky. My GP doors are not rusted out at all.
I've heard one suggestion on these forums: You may consider putting some drain holes at the bottom so the water is able to drain out.
I've heard one suggestion on these forums: You may consider putting some drain holes at the bottom so the water is able to drain out.
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