Rust Repair?

[Tanj!]

I posted this up on the other forum but wanted it over here as well.

I'm in the process of trying to get a Mariah wide body SA back on the road after sitting for an extended period of time. The shell is dry except for some rust due to a battery leak when it had been relocated to behind the passenger seat. I don't really have any experience with rust and wanted to know what everyone thought about the difficulty in repairing the damage. I've attached some photos but the entire gallery can be seen here.



Overview shot of the rust from the underside. I managed to not get almost any photos of the huge hole on the left below the exhaust hanger. :doh: So this and only one or two other pics even show it.



Photo of said large hole. This looks up into the void under the piece of metal that runs B pillar to B pillar on the floor in the passenger compartment behind the seats. This is largest of the two holes.



In the passenger compartment on the passenger side. Lots of surface rust. You can also see the weld for the support member eaten away. The rust is primarily located under that support member.



A look into the inside of that support member. I vacuumed up what felt like tons of loose rust from inside of there.


Not knowing to much about rust repair is it possible to cut out that cross member, either the whole piece or only to the transmission tunnel, and weld in a replacement from another car? Obviously while I have it out we would treat and address the rust in that area to include welding in a replacement piece for the large hole visible from the bottom. Can the same be also done to end of the "frame rail" in the unibody that also shows rust through? How extensive are the repairs associated with fixing this and what would one expect for cost? Thanks.

[project86]

do you want to do the repair yourself or have someone else do it?

[jgrewe]

To pay somebody for that extensive of a job would be cost prohibitive unless you REALLY love this car. Figure at least $600-700 and thats just a WAG.

What you can do is make the parts using cardboard templates and bend things to shape, then take the car to a welder. Cutting the cancer out first will also save you money. Be sure the person can tell what needs to go where with plenty of pictures of the car before you started cutting.

Parts from an organ donor car are even better but more time consuming to get.

[Tanj!]

I was thinking of doing all the prep work. i.e. cutting out the rust and cutting out new bits from a donor car and then taking it to the welder. The only thing making this a consideration is the fact that the car is a wide body Mariah that was installed very well. And other than this rust from battery acid corrosion the car is dry inside and out. Donor cars in this part of the country are available for next to nothing and the only difficult part would be trimming as needed.

[JShiz]

That is some nasty rust.... Good luck, I wouldn't be able to do it.

[$100T2]

Originally Posted by Tanj!

I was thinking of doing all the prep work. i.e. cutting out the rust and cutting out new bits from a donor car and then taking it to the welder. The only thing making this a consideration is the fact that the car is a wide body Mariah that was installed very well. And other than this rust from battery acid corrosion the car is dry inside and out. Donor cars in this part of the country are available for next to nothing and the only difficult part would be trimming as needed.

Do what the old Camaro hot rodders do: Buy a donor car, cut out the piece you need, and take it to be welded in. Make your cuts as straight and clean as possible so the welding is easy, and take it to a muffler shop. They should weld in the patch panel cheap for you.

At least, that's how I'd do it.

I'm more concerned about the hole in the frame rail than the hole in the bin. Best bet is to take it somewhere to get an estimate and see what a professional thinks.

[classicauto]

Do you have any welding experience?

If not - you'll create a bigger mess then you have trying it yourself. Although its not the worst place to start learning because a little warpage on the floor isn't the end of the world - you may want to pass on this one.

That rust is pretty extensive and going to need alot of surgery. There's probably the better part of $1000 worth of metal work under that car if you dropped it off as is and picked it up completed.

[project86]

agreed ^^^^ welding on sheet metal can be difficult if you dont have the experience welding. its VERY easy to warp and if you leave the gaps too big between the patch panel and the car body you will just blow holes in it all day. wish you luck though

[Whizbang]

1. uninstall driver.
2. Replace Rx7
3. Reinstall driver.

[project86]

lol

[Tanj!]

That's for all the various bits of input guys. I personally don't plan on doing the welding. I know enough people that I can find someone who does that for a living to do the welding for me. I can do the various cutting and trimming bits. If it wasn't for the widebody on the car I'd dump it no hesitation. I suspect the cost to transfer the widebody from this chassis to another clean one would end up running the same cost as the rust repairs. I'll take it by a local shop and get them to give me a professional opinion on it. Worst case I pick their brain on how to remove the epoxied rear fenders so I can sell the widebody before sending her to the scrap heap.

[project86]

if you take that car to a body shop and ask them how much its gonna cost to take the wide body off your gonna puke