At what point would you say a Brat is not worth saving?  

So I picked up my 83 on Friday, knowing it had some rust.  The body looked pretty good.  The rocker panels pretty decent.  Floor boards were perfect and it didn't leak at all.  It runs great after a tune-up, shifts well, has a decent interior...  All in all, everything seemed solid.  Until...

The subframe is actually a horrid rusted mess.  The rear crossmember is barely being held on by the thinnest and rustiest piece of Titanic scrap metal that it could be, and only on one side, and all in all it's just a rusted mess.  Like I said, this is surprising since the body itself was good.  Even the rear wheel wells aren't too bad.  

My local mechanic's shop sincerely think it's unsalvageable.  It's well beyond anything I could hope to tackle.  Is it something that could even be tackled period or should I use it as a parts Brat?  

I'll take some pictures tomorrow to post to get more opinions.  Just curious at this point where you guys call it quits.  

 

 

You're really going to need some pictures to get some opinions on it. I don't think anything is beyond repair really, you just gotta have the money and somebody with the skill to do it.

On my way out to Pennsylvania this weekend just to get a bit of cancer cut out of my framerail in the front and patched up.

Certainly fixable but must be done properly which means using a rotisserie so you have proper access to do the work then when all said and done no big deal, After all they don't make em like that anymore.

Just have a look at some of the basket cases the english and others tackle without a second thought,When in places where salt is not used on roads like the southern and Western States, Australia, Mexico etc we tend to over react when it comes to rust because we have it so easy in general.

 

Much harder to make bodywork pretty than to replace chassis rails,I once had a perfect Toyota Corolla Levin 1972 Factory 1600 Twin cam TE27, Same problem rusty Chassis Rails and replaced both the Chassis Rails and Sills all Tig Welded and no issues till a Decade later the guy who bought it off me crashed into a Truck and stuffed the body, Repaired sections caused no issues whatsoever and held up to the accident perfectly.

Here are some pictures of the work that needs done.  Probably a good 2k of work at least.  The rear crossmember, holding the rear diff, is being held up by a wire hanger on one side, and completely rusted away sub-frame.  The frame rail just ahead of that doesn't look much better.  The front looks pretty good, and even the floor boards aren't too bad.  Rockers will need replaced as well.  These pictures don't do it much justice.  She's a beauty otherwise, though.  

Here are some pictures of the work that needs done.  Probably a good 2k of work at least.  The rear crossmember, holding the rear diff, is being held up by a wire hanger on one side, and completely rusted away sub-frame.  The frame rail just ahead of that doesn't look much better.  The front looks pretty good, and even the floor boards aren't too bad.  Rockers will need replaced as well.  These pictures don't do it much justice.  She's a beauty otherwise, though.  

Very nice Brat The above post is the way to go.  Get a fab guy to help you with the frame rails.

Get a good fab guy. Somebody you know does quality work or somebody who vouches for him. If it's through a friend you can probably get the work done for cheap/free depending.

That car is too nice to part out or junk IMO.

I agree.  I'm just going to do what I'm not very good at, which is be patient.  I do know a good welder, but fabrication is 'a whole nother' (bringing out some Pittsburghese) ballgame.  I'm going to start saving some money.  It runs and drives sooooo well.  And only one owner?  Can't let it go.