Bought it last fall and brought it up from CT; had a great ride up here, turned out to be a real adventure. Have decided to name it 'Rusty', for reasons that will be familiar to all NE old-schoolers.

 

Weather and work conspired to keep me from getting a good look at the undercarriage back in the fall. Wasn't able to do much but dream over the winter, and run the engine a few times to keep things going. Now that it's gotten warm enough and the snow has gone, I've finally had a chance to get under it in daylight to poke and prod and get a really good look at the rust. Not looking good. Serious sag in the frame, particulary where a frame-stiffener was bolted to the rails. Was hoping the problem was limited to floorpan holes, but it looks to be worse than I thought. Gonna have some serious figuring to see if it can be saved. Mulling some ideas, but wouldn't mind some input from the board. If it weren't for the fact that it's a convertible, this one would should have ended up in a boneyard a few years ago by the looks of things. So, any suggestions? :-\

 

On the plus side, the ticket I got the night I parked it was thrown out of court last month.

 

--wd

would it be possible to get some pics? some people around here are running around in seriously rusted soobs and they're doing fine.. my dad's friend had the unibody in one of his old wagons literally snap in half when he was driving down the road though.. pics showing where the rust is particularly bad would help on the judging

Being that its a convertible with no roof structure to stiffen it up... I personally would not deem it safe to drive with cancer.

 

Maybe you could buy a mint coupe carcass and with some cutting and welding transfer all the convertible components over to it???

Maybe you could buy a mint coupe carcass and with some cutting and welding transfer all the convertible components over to it???

 

That was going to be my suggestion.

Do the doors still close easily? that would be my daily test that everything is still good. When the door doesn't want to shut, junk it, don't drive it. Check the spots where the suspension joins the frame, just so bits of the car don't wander away when you're not looking.

It gets my vote for a transplant. If things like the sub frame are sagging, theres serious trouble coming. A EA81 Coupe just sold on Ebay last week (not sure how much, but cheap), I would find a body shop willing to do the work of converting the old top to another car.

I also vote transplant - a neighbor and I restored an MG Midget - came in boxes - rusted about that badly - bent frame and all - it was my first restoration (7th grade) but I have no desire to relive it - a good body and a transplant is the way to go; that is what we should have done- transfer the VINs over too - makes bookkeeping easy

Even if it currently is drivable, (and can open and close the doors) we have all heard the saying 'rust never sleeps'. It would be not be a good idea to put a lot of money or time into a vehicle that is not going to be around in a few years because of rust. I am sure us westcoast guys would be more than happy to look out for a nice coupe for you to move all the convertible parts to. In addition the convertibles were done after the were brought to the US so the VIN of the vehicle does not corrospond to it being a convertible or not. As a fellow convertible owner, I hope you can keep one on the road.

Thanks for the input, guys. Will consider transplant as an option, as the rust is serious enough now that the car isn't safe. Yeah, soon's I get the digital cam working (yet another thing to tinker with), I'll post some pics of just how ugly it looks under there. Shame, really, 'cause it was a real blast to drive.

 

Mantra: 'But the engine still runs!' LOL!