my 87 gl has extensive rot behind the front wheels on the frame underneath.is this repairable?

Everything is repairable... Are you a good welder? if not, it probably isn't worth repairing....

its most likely terminal, post some pics and we should be able to better answer. you are in Michigan, it kills cars around where we are.

How much are you willing to throw at it?

 

GD

question? is it possible to buy replacement"frame" pieces for the bottom underside behind the front wheel for an 87 gl?thank you for any feedback.

No one that I know of makes any chassis replaeable parts. You would have to custom make the parts.

 

Most subaru's end up being scrapped becuse of rust. I'd say it's time to look for a replacement vehicle.

question? is it possible to buy replacement"frame" pieces for the bottom underside behind the front wheel for an 87 gl?thank you for any feedback.

 

 

Not worth the labor charge to replace those unibody supports and firewall , floor , rockers , wheel aprons .....

 

Many of us here on the right coast bucked and whined but finally broke down and paid for shippnig for a car from the west. Worth it!

 

We got lucky here and found one ('78) that was Zeibart rustproofed properly - meaning it didn't hold water - and another from the west that a previous owner brought east. That's my '87 turbo wagon , currently offered along with my '78 or my '92 Legacy if you're interested.

 

http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=115632

 

Here's my gallery: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/album.php?albumid=11

 

Sorry , I know you want to hear that you can fix it but unless its TRUELY minimal .... its terminal. :-\

 

We've logged hundreds of thousands of miles on those GL-DL/Loyales and have had trailing arms rot to the point of the wheel folding , and rear struts pop thru the top mount area of the wheel arch , on top of catching road spray and dirt in the holes of the rear corners , fender tails disappearing , bumpers sagging on one side , the list goes on..

thanx for your cander moosens,a fabricater is indebted to me,labor is moot. i just need to know if these unibody supports are available? thank you,remso4 out.

They are replaceable., but you might have to cut one from a vehicle with a good support and have the fabricator weld it in place of the rotted one.

 

I might wind up doing the same on a "spare" vehicle I"ve got. Haven't decied if it's going to be worth it or not yet.

Correct. They will have to be cut from a good donor vehicle. The main unibody 'frame' rails are double walled, so when you weld them together, you have to grind back the outside wall to get to the inside and then do a double or triple pass on the outside. Before you decide to do this, you really need to know the extent of the rust. Has it gotten into the A pillar or the sill plates or the fire wall. If it has, junk it, or weld in a whole front clip.

thanx skishop.now if i find out where the A pillar + sill plates are,i can give them a gander. thank you

thanx skishop.now if i find out where the A pillar + sill plates are,i can give them a gander. thank you

 

Pilers of the car.

 

 

front windshield pilar = a

behind the front door = b

and so on...

 

Sill plates/rockers are below the the doors.

 

Honestly also check where your suspension mounts, and all driveline supports are as well.

I will try to keep this short.

my knowledge shows, its almost always cheaper to source a rust free western car in the long run and have it shipped, then to try to find someone willing to cut out the rust free patch parts, pay to ship the pach parts, then pay to have them installed, then pay to have the thing painted.

 

buying a cheap rust free rig and shipping it will cost around 1g for car and 900 to ship.

 

Paying someone to cut up one, and ship it, then install and paint is about the same price. And once you have rot, you never really get all of it, its like cancer. It comes back and even faster.

Yep - not worth it. A rusty EA82 is worth basically nothing. It's a sub-$1000 car in mint condition and in rusted-out condition it's worth scrap value - around $250 - and thus not worth putting any real energy into rust repair. They are plentiful here for $500 or less (totally rust free) and can be shipped (as noted above) for about $1k give or take. Just call a car shipping company and arrange for them to pickup and deliver your new rust-free west coast gem. Then use your old rust-ball as a parts car.

 

GD