SC rust question

[1980SC]

I've got a bit of rust poking through the passenger side front wheel well. Wondering if anyone has seen this before, or knows what's going on.



There are two visible lines of rust coming through the undercoating. One is perfectly vertical, the other horizontal, and they meet forming a 90* angle.

I can see these exact two lines on the other side of the car. They can be seen very faintly underneath the undercoating, which leads be to think they are a factory joint of some sort.

Is something rusting internally? Ever seen this before?

Thanks,
-Rob
1980sc

[OldTee]

I don't think it is rust. Mine was a weld seam. I scraped it clean and put grey POR 15 on it and covered it with Rustoluem (spl).

[TimT]

What you are seeing is where the inner rocker is rusting...

for lack of better terms and diagrams the inner rockers welds to the front wheel well...you have some corrosion that is prying the joint apart.... and has broken throught the undercoating...

[TimT]

Oh dont mean to carry doom and gloom.........if you see rust there... I would think there are other worse areas on the car..

[palle7688]

TimT, you are right it's rust and it's where inner sills meets front fenderwell.
Clean the area and repaint and cover it with undercoating.

[targa80]

Here is a photo of my 80SC targa stripped in that area. What are the two wires for in your photo of the wheel well? Don't have that on my car. At least that I can remember.

[1980SC]

Thanks for the responses !

There's actually no other visible rust on the car. This is all I've been able to find.

So if it's rusting from inside the rocker, how do I deal with that? I can certainly put some POR15 on this seam, but if it's coming from the inside, uh, what do I do?

Pat -

Thanks for the photo. That shows the exact seam I've got rusting. Those wires are for my power antennae.

-Rob
1980sc

[targa80]

Here are some more rust spots. Any place where the undercoating integrity has be compromised you can expect to see rust. Any place where water can puddle you will find rust eventually. I also found rust right where the fender /doorjamb/front window cowling /front hood meet. On my passenger side it was rusted through and required welding and some lead solder work.

Road crud gets captured in the troft above the front bumper shock mount. moisture sits in the crud and eats away at the galvanized steel eventually.


Mating surface between front fenders and wheel well. Crud builds up on top of air conditioning hoses on drivers side and causes a rust area.


Front windshield on my Targa water catches under rubber seal and eats away at window frame. This was due to moisture leaking from the targa top.?


Targa rear window seal area. Moisture gets under seal and just eats away at the quaterpanel.



right rear bumper shock mount area.

[OldTee]

Pat Henry response was very good but I hope someone will answer who has seen this and can answer your (and now my) question about how to go about repairing or rust protecting behind the fender well. I have a inspection hole above where I did my repair on the right side but it would take a tiny head to peer down to get a good look. The fuel tank filler is in a simular hole on the left side.

[jaxon]

targa80-

WOW! Those are impressive Pics. Are more pics of your project (and completion) in the archives?

btw-My wife would divorce me if I had that in my garage.

Don't want to hijack the thread, and am interested in how this is dealt with as well.

Jaxon

[targa80]

Originally posted by jaxon
targa80-

WOW! Those are impressive Pics. Are more pics of your project (and completion) in the archives?

btw-My wife would divorce me if I had that in my garage.

Don't want to hijack the thread, and am interested in how this is dealt with as well.

Jaxon

I have owned 4 homes in my life time and my present house is the first with a garage. Many a cold winter I have spent outside doing repair work in a wet/snowy/freezing driveway. When it comes to the garage my wife has no say in the matter. I don't tell her what she can do in her kitchen. Actually she is happy for me because she knows that this is what makes me happy. Besides she always knows where I am.

I have posted a few threads on the restoration project and periodically I update my web page when I accomplish something of significance.