Rust sucks!

[mark 74 carrera]

Luckily, I only found three or four places with rust. At each location, it looks non-structural. (I hope) Driver's side rear floor pan rusted through at the joint with the body. There is also a hole just in front of the pedal cluster.

Check out the great welding some one has completed on the front tray for the gas tank. Eeeks! Overall, I am relieved.

[Pat S]

I'm cutting out my front pan and cross member today.

I agree RUST SUCKS! And if I ever meet the person who decided PVC coating was a good idea, I'll smack them.

[Jim Sims]

Do you have any deco trim on the rockers? If so, take it off and look underneath it. Rust is like an iceberg; 90% of it one can't see right away. Given the images you've posted I recommend you probe some more. Look up inside the rear wheel arches just behind the rear door posts, check the front fenders at the joints to the trunk and where the front fenders connect to the fins projecting from the body in front of the doors. Check the bottoms of the doors. Recalling poor repair jobs; I have seen a '72T where the gas tank support was repaired with sheet metal pop riveted into place. Good luck, Jim

[mark 74 carrera]

Jim,

I have pictures of the wheel wells. Some flaking of the undercoating and surface rust but so bad. I do also have a place in the front wheel well where the fender mounts to the body. There is a section of pretty bad rust. I may have to replace the whole piece.

The black stuff in the pictures is just grime. They look pretty good.

[Jim Sims]

On my son's '73, we didn't encounter the rust in the fenders to the rear of the doors or in the rockers until he was stripping the old paint/bondo off. Then we started to find rusted through holes where we had to cut out sections and weld in pieces of custom formed and fitted sheet metal. Jim

[Mike Kast]

You'd think they'd have devised a plan for when the battery leaks. Like a plastic pan under the battery! super genius...

[onewhippedpuppy]

But just think how much lighter your car is! Hey, that's what I tell myself.