Hey everyone. I just got some bad news from my body shop. Every few years i take my 83 in to get some rust fixed. Well this year i got the news i didnt want to hear. The rust was too bad to fix and that it wouldnt be worth it anymore. Im not sure where this leaves me. I dont have access to a welder or the skills nessisary to do the panel replacement myself. I want to continue to drive it and enjoy it as the engine and body only have 70,000 miles on them. Problem is is that its a new england car and i DO drive it everyday..meaning rain, snow everything. Its mostly my fault that its in this state but im just not sure what i should do at this point. Should i continue to drive it and enjoy it during its final hours and in the mean time look for a rust free EA81 sedan body to drop my engine and tranny into? Or should i see about finding someone else willing to do the rust work? Or are there any board members that would be interested in helping out with cutting and welding?

Steve,

 

.......back the bus up for just a second.

 

This is far from terminal. If they are saying your car is dead from rust, then mine must be a zombie, cause yours is NEW in comparison.

 

I honestly think you should get a second opinion. Really.

 

Any shop CAN do the work for you. It sounds to me like they are just tired of your vehicle coming there.

 

Your sedan is one of THE NICEST condition ea81s I have seen lately on this coast. I have been underneath your car, and you are YEARS away from "hard to fix" rust ..... and not even CLOSE to "not worth it to fix" rust. Im SERIOUS. I would take that thing off your hands in a second.

 

The only thing Im not sure about is how inspections work in your state....but I got my brat to pass NYS insp. (and they are picky about rusty frames) ...and my brat doesnt even HAVE those front panels anymore that are rusty on your car.

 

If you cant find anyone to help ya, then I would suggest that you need some redneck involvement!

I would be happy to do a welding get-together this spring. Your car will be CAKE to fix.

where is this terminal cancer on the car?

 

nipper

Its all around the wheel wells mainly in front of the rear wheels. Yea i dont think its terminal yet either Jon i agree i think hes just sick of doing work on it. Im not interested in retiring it since its my baby and has been pretty damn good to me and still gets mucho attention when im driving. And thank you very much for the offer to do the welding. I may just have to take you up on it. Welding party at my place one weekend in the spring?

That sounds saveable. When its the front frame rails, and you start poping axles that its terminal.

 

You can always keep your eyes open for another clean shell, it doesnt hurt to look

 

nipper

yea my front frame rails are rot and rust free as far as i kno. Its just the rockers and wheel wells that need attention.

yea my front frame rails are rot and rust free as far as i kno. Its just the rockers and wheel wells that need attention.

I had a quote of $2000 - $3000 to have the rockers on my '83 Brat repaired and they're not even very rusty!

Generally the shop gives a higher quote because they're looking at it as being restoration grade repair. They told me there'd be at least 30 hours labor to make new rockerpanels that match the exact lines of the existing ones.

Trim the fenders so you can fit bigger wheels in, that'll take care of the rust there, grind back the metal on the rockers so you can see the full extent of the rust there and then find someone who'll weld some sheet metal in there OR get some panel adhesive and glue the patch in place.

Look here for wheel arches and rocker panels. Makes repair a lot easier.

http://www.rustrepair.com/app2/onlinecat.htm

Uh, you saw my wagon right? That's what real rust looks like. Holes in the rocker you can fit your hand in.

 

Your sedan is in mint shape. The first step is to start poking with a flathead screwdriver. Use a wire wheel on a grinder to clean the area up some. Then use a rust converter paint, they sell brush on stuff at auto parts stores, it's phosphoric acid and a primer. Rivet or weld in replacement metal, skimcoat the joints with bondo and paint it up.

at least you have shops that are willign to look at rust, there is only on shop i know of in my area that will even take the time to look at rust, even if its easily fixable. they only are willing to fix rust because they do classic car restoration.

I did find another body shop to do the repairs. They are a bit steep but not out of line for restoration work. Not sure yet if this is the path im going to take seeing as how im a college student trying to keep money in his pocket.

 

I have another idea to keep the rust at bay. I have a line on a 83-84 coupe that has some fairly serious rust. Its got 52,000 miles on it and is road worthy already supposedly. Im not sure its still there seeing as how its in Charlies yard and i forget when everything in there was getting sent to the crusher. My thought if its still around is to take my sedan off the road during the winter and drive the coupe seeing as how its got more rust than is worth fixing.

Here's another idea. Get a Waxoyl kit:

 

http://www.minimania.com/web/Item/WAXOYL/AddedFrom/CatBrowse-%20TOOLS/InvDetail.cfm

 

(Google for more dealers)

 

I have used this stuff for almost 20 years. It doesn't get hard and scrape off like the "converter" stuff. (I've had lousy luck with that stuff - it doesn't last, and it's fragile)

 

You can't paint over Waxoyl. BUT If you have some surface rust, it will STOP it for years. With most rust, it is also coming from the inside, so use it on both sides. You don't have to get into fancy prep, just brush off the loose crud. Get it into the seams where rust starts.

 

If you check & keep it coated, you can wait until you have money / time / etc. and it won't be worse.

 

I've put Waxoyl on little dings that I noticed a rust bubble starting from, (chip off the bubbled paint) and it was many years (like 5) before they began to grow again. Places that get "sandblasted" by road dirt will need more frequent recoats.

Steve...all I have to say is look at my XT6...that was a rusty basket case...and how does he look today??? Like a angry bumble bee:lol: . I am not finished but your is no where close to being done..thats for sure. Get some pics of the rusted areas..lets see what we can do here

I did find another body shop to do the repairs. They are a bit steep but not out of line for restoration work. Not sure yet if this is the path im going to take seeing as how im a college student trying to keep money in his pocket.

 

I have another idea to keep the rust at bay. I have a line on a 83-84 coupe that has some fairly serious rust. Its got 52,000 miles on it and is road worthy already supposedly. Im not sure its still there seeing as how its in Charlies yard and i forget when everything in there was getting sent to the crusher. My thought if its still around is to take my sedan off the road during the winter and drive the coupe seeing as how its got more rust than is worth fixing.

 

 

Charlie has a new spot just down the road!! That car will be there for you,or someone else.

 

Your car is certainly worth keeping.

Charlie has a new spot just down the road!! That car will be there for you,or someone else.

 

Your car is certainly worth keeping.

 

Yea i just got off the phone with Charlie this morning and he said its still around. I may just end up with another beater suby so that i can keep the winter junk off of mine. And when it finally does rust out its got a hydro EA81 so out comes that engine and someone on the board here may benfit . Again this is just a thought as i havent made up my mind as to whether or not i want to take on another subaru.

 

As for getting pics of the rusted areas ill shoot some when i get back to campus seeing as how i left my digital camera there.

Well i think ive come up with a solution. Im going to invest in a mig welder and start teaching myself how to do bodywork. Not sure why i didnt try this before.

Yes, that's the spirit! You can never have too many tools. The potential that a welder opens up is amazing.