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| Joined: | 09-17-2007 |
| Location: | San Francisco, California USA |
| Posts: | 221 |
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I just spent a bit of time doing a rust prevention on my 73, here is what I learned:
The main areas to really concentrate on are the box sections (semi enclosed structures):
1) One exists inside the passenger footwell and is notorious for trapping water. The front "kick panel" of the footwell is very thin gauge and sits about 1" from the actual main footwell body panel. You can see a small ledge that clearly identifies the "box"
2) The rocker panels- these have several 1/2" holes along the edge of the panel and have a seam weld where all the moisture gets trapped. People always jack the car up and bend the edges which makes the problem worse
3) The under car frame rails that are 2"x3" box sections that run from the front to the rear trailing arm pickup points.
4) A central frame rail of about 3"x4"that sits right in front of the gas tank and connects the back of the floor pan to the back of the interior panel. It has 2 1/2" holes drilled in the bottom as well for venting
5) 2 long 1"2" box sections that connect to the central rail that project backwards and ultimately run under the gas tank and make up the connection to the rear bumper
6) The "box" like section made up by the space in-between the rear passenger compartment and the rear fender (not really accessible)
These are the areas to consider for rot, even if no outward signs of rust appear. I took a fiber optic borescope and looked through these areas and discovered that there was in fact rust in those areas, even if it was just surface.
My solution was to clean it out with a rust cleaning and paint promotion chemical from Eastwood (a green liquid) and then use eastwood's frame rail paint. It's a rust encapsulater paint that comes in a rattle can and a vinyl tube with a special 180 degree spray pattern. I used two cans to coat the entire inside of all the above listed "box" sections.
Of course if rust is too bad it won't work, and that's when cutting, grinding, and re-welding are required. But as long as its surface, this is the way to make sure it will not spread or get any worse. There are many specialists and custom shops that can do it with even better equipment and chemicals but for me it was on a budget as usual. For around $60 you can virtually ensure the rot will not continue- and there is ALWAYS some.
I did have to just a section of the passenger footwell out, just about an inch by four inches and reweld a section in.
Don't ever get these cars wet! Even when washing it's a nightmare, especially electrically. The best thing is to hand wash it with a bucket and control everywhere the water goes.