Today, as I'm getting ready to start my project car (lift, hubs, D/R, alternator, new suspension) i notice some rust on my rear wheel wells from the inside. It's much more than some rust. On one side there is a hole right through the top and the bracket that the strut mounts to appears to have pushed right through into the body.

 

codswallop! I was just going to lay in some dynamat and now I'm looking at this. Get rid of the car? Fix? What does it cost to fix? I'm going to see if the same area is rusted out on my parts car. I have not put anything into this car yet but I don't want to spend $1000 fixing this either.

 

Any tips, thoughts, condolences?

Photo:

http://imgur.com/6qRzS8i

The other side has minimal rust but definitely a fracture of sorts along the strut bracket. Not nearly as bad as this side though

Get a rust free carcass from Washington or something.... swap all your trouble free mechanicals over to it.  I would sooner do that than fight the rust.

i wouldn't fight the rust either. 

 

but, there may be some hope or in-between solution. the picture is fuzzy but as far as rust belt cars go it looks quite a ways from the end, and salvageable/drivable as a beater.

can you get clearer pic's? 

 

if you can brace it some with some steel plate, etc - that's not a big deal for a couple year daily driver to get some use out of it or couple months while you look for another.  at first glance - i haven't seen the underneath and pic's aren't clear - it doesn't even look like it'll blow through in 2 years to me even if you did nothing.

 

but i wouldn't put much time into it like modifying it....but if you got gobs of time and this is your hobby then that's different.

 

you could cut that out and replace or brace it with metal.  i'd do minimal work on it and only plan on having it 1-3 years, not 5-10.