Rust problem, early car, rear seat & deck

[Shuie]

These are not reposted pics of thrown_hammer's car. Even after reading and re-reading his posts, I went out and bought a 73E coupe with a similar problem in the rear seat and deck area.

Here are some pics:




Believe it or not, the rest of the car is in pretty decent shape.

Here's the question:
will a late 70's SC targa work as a donor for a new seating area and rear deck for my 73E?

I understand the targa deck is probably bigger than my coupe. Can it easily be trimmed and fit to my car, or should I just get a sheet metal shop to fab something up? Retaining the back seat would be a plus, but its not a necessity to me at the moment. I just want to make sure the car is OK structurally, and more than anything, I want to get it back on the road.

Any help is appreciated.

[dtw]

I don't think the targa sheetmetal will fit without some moderate work. Not "easy".

Please note the rust back there is not a structural concern. See the pics on this page:

http://www.pelicanparts.com/MotorCity/WintersRS/garage/projectrea2a.htm

...to see where the "bones" of the car are. That's just a firewall and seat stamping with little/no load. If you aren't worried about seats, just patch it up. If you want the "right" repair, call around to all the salvage yards.

[Jim Sims]

Originally posted by Shuie

Believe it or not, the rest of the car is in pretty decent shape.

Have you taken the fenders off plus looked under the door sill trim plates? If not, you may find additional unpleasant rusty surprises; the door sills are important structural elements and rust from the inside outward. Good luck, Jim

[nick-moss]

Look for a panel from a coupe, it will make the job much easier. It took me some time to find a parcel shelf, but just 1 day to replace it when I did find one, it was from an earlier coupe than mine, but fitted fine.

Jim is right.

I can't beleive there is not rust in the rest of the car if the rear bulkhead is that bad. The rear floorpan, kidney bowls, rockers and front pan will almost certainly be corroded as well. Have a look at the resto pictures of my 2,2E!

[thrown_hammer]

My firewall and seat buckets are from a '74 coupe and the deck is from a '75 targa. Get some snips and it is like butter! I talked to Restoration Design in MI. He said those panels will be available by the end of this year and quite reasonable if I remember right.



Contrary to popular beleif a targa rear deck will work if you have about 2 inches of good steel in the back. Sorry to see that. Mine is rock solid elsewhere too. Stupid window seals!!

[marc weintraub]

I would definitly look for more rust, but rust in other areas is not always an issue. If the rear seal went on the window, water could have been sitting on the shelf for quite a while creating the rust out situation that you showed us. It certainly doesn't mean that there is rust in the pan or in the floor boards. Regardless, look closely for more problem spots and pray that this is it.

Also, if you are going to fix it properly, get a good rear shelf or section with the rear seat area, from a good junker. Makes the job a whole lot easier.

Marc

[Shuie]

Originally posted by thrown_hammer
Stupid window seals!!

Im pretty sure thats what the problem is here also. The carpet was still wet when I pulled it out of the car and the rear window seal is definitely loose.

The torsion bar area, floor pans, & trunk look pretty clean. Dont get me wrong, there are dime and quarter size patches of rust here an there on the car. This is the most serious problem area Ive been able to find though. I'm going to drop the car off with my mechanic to get a good evaluation of the whole situation and a list of things that need to be done ASAP.

That is good news about restoration-design. I will give them a call later on for specifics.

Thanks for the quick responses.

[Shuie]

OK, I spoke with Restoration Design earlier today. Sounds like a great shop, I wont hesiate to deal with them if I need door skins, floor pans, or a gas tank support, etc.

The spokesman I talked with told me that they will indeed make the rear seat, heel kick, and shelf panels, but that they have not tooled up for production yet. It is definitely good news that they are going to make the panels, but I was unable to get an estimate on a timeframe for the production phase of the panels.

So Im back where I started for the time being:
Will the rear seatback area & trimmed shelf from the 79 targa work, or will it be out of proportion with the coupe seat area due to the larger rear shelf area of the Targa? Should I just delete the rear seat area have a sheet metal guy fab up some replacement panels instead?

Any help is appreciated

[JCR]

Just put some fiberglass mat over it until you can get a replacement panel and fix it right.

It won't be pretty, but it'll keep the fumes/noise out for a while.

The mess will be covered by trim panel anyway.

[thrown_hammer]

A Targa panel will work. I used a targa panel for my rear deck. (see pic above) I had to trim a little and had about 2 good inches of metal in the very back.