January 7, 200917 yr It's been a hellacious past month, lost my job on Dec 1st and have been scraping to make ends meet. Finally got some time to take the carpet out of the BRAT so I can assess the damage to the floor thanks to 26 years of midwest winters. Found out why I'm hearing road noises from the passenger side floor area Edited January 7, 200917 yr by cobcob
January 7, 200917 yr Boy does that bring back memories! It looks a lot like my Brat did. I think mine were actually a little worse. But they are all solid now:grin:. Sorry to hear about the job:-\I know how it is, I've been out of work for several months now and haven't been able to find anything! I'm starting to wonder whats gonna happen! But keep us updated on your progress! Are you gonna weld patches in? Are there any other rusty areas?
January 7, 200917 yr Author Are you gonna weld patches in? Are there any other rusty areas? Yeah, I don't really like the ventilated floor look in the winter time... your Brat was maroon yes... yes it was... way before I got ahold of it though.
January 7, 200917 yr Yeah, I don't really like the ventilated floor look in the winter time... yes... yes it was... way before I got a hold of it though. Yeah Luckily I never drove mine in the winter so it wouldn't rust. But yeah that sucks! Hows the rest of the body?
January 7, 200917 yr Yup I recognize all that too! I actually bent up rocker panels for mine, just like the factory two piece. So my rockers are solid now too. I never had anything near the tail light though. Yeah rust works pretty fast, once it starts it goes fast:-\ I've always said "Rust never sleeps"
January 8, 200917 yr Author Yup I recognize all that too! I actually bent up rocker panels for mine, just like the factory two piece. So my rockers are solid now too. I never had anything near the tail light though. Yeah rust works pretty fast, once it starts it goes fast:-\ I've always said "Rust never sleeps" Yup yup... the passenger side subframe right under the floor is pretty well shot so I've got a fair amount of reinforcing and fabrication to do in the near future... a LOT more than I'm capable of on my own but I'll muddle through. Was planning on shovelling an EJ22 into this thing but I think that's a little ways off yet, don't think she'd hold up too well in her current state. Very interested in what you did on your rockers there, if you've got pics or any tips please let 'em fly. I've got access to press brakes and shears through a guy at church...
January 8, 200917 yr Well jeez I wish I were closer I'd give you a hand! But anyways for the rockers I cut about a 1/4" below the door sill and then pealed off the sheet metal down where the rocker meets the inner support. I then used that as a rough estimate for measurements. Then I cut out new sheet metal(actually used Subaru Loyale roof) and bent them with a homemade break where they needed to be bent. Before I welded them back on I replaced most of the inner support and made sure to reenforce anything that needed it and then welded the new rocker on. Of course then you have to grind down the welds and pretty them etc. It was quite involved! Also my passenger side floor panel was terrible, so I had to do some frame rail rebuilding too. It's really not that hard. If I can do it I know you can! But feel free to ask questions! I'll help if I can. I don't have any pics of the process but I can probably take pics of the floor patches I did.
January 8, 200917 yr Author Cheers!! I've got access to an old GL wagon that we're going to cut up and crush. I've already cut the rear fenders off it to salvage some good metal from. The roof will probably make it's way into the BRAT as rockers too ;-) Project's on hold till Saturday, will plan on spending most of the day out in the unheated garage doing clean up so I can get a good handle on just how bad things are under there.
January 8, 200917 yr Cheers!!I've got access to an old GL wagon that we're going to cut up and crush. I've already cut the rear fenders off it to salvage some good metal from. The roof will probably make it's way into the BRAT as rockers too ;-) Project's on hold till Saturday, will plan on spending most of the day out in the unheated garage doing clean up so I can get a good handle on just how bad things are under there. cool! where are you located?
January 8, 200917 yr SW corner of MO, about 1 hour from the OK/KS state line... Hmmm, So I bet it is pretty cold huh? Its supposed to be in the low twenties for highs here!
January 10, 200917 yr Author We're supposed to be getting a high of 28 tomorrow... might be putting stuff off till Sunday when it's going to top 40.
January 10, 200917 yr We're supposed to be getting a high of 28 tomorrow... might be putting stuff off till Sunday when it's going to top 40. Sweet! It's actually supposed to be getting colder and colder here. Next week highs are in the single digits! So good luck and enjoy the high temps!
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