WTF - when does it end.

DelPico · 05-02-2007, 07:06 PM

Finally thought I was getting ahead of the curve. Car is running great, looks good from the outside. Finally get around to totally pulling all the carpet and glue and am thinking I will just paint black to pretty up a bit. Not even planning on doing the floors yet but thought I would remove the guck where the sides meeet the floor. Now this.

I checked the other side, looks good. I also poked around the rest of the floor boards which seem fine for now.

Can I have a welder just patch for now. What type of money am I looking at.

Any suggestions/thoughts?

I am so bumbed, this was suppose to be the first year after long five years of fixing previous owner's neglect, I was going to get to drive a bit.

Thanks,

David

Shaun @ Tru6 · 05-02-2007, 07:09 PM

that sucks David, sorry to see it, but, ummm, you are a welder.

I can bring the Miller and some nice 16 gauge sheetmetal down this weekend if you like.

aigel · aigel's Garage

That's an easy job for a MIG. A sixpack should fix that ok. And yes, rust never ends, it's our worst enemy.

George

MattAlpha · MattAlpha's Garage

Its good you found it now before it could grow and cause major problems. A patch should be perfect.

Good timing that you found it now too since you were going to preserve the floor anyway.

-Matt

aigel · aigel's Garage

And to answer when it will end? The day you sell it and buy a newer car. I have owned my share of rusty classic car rides. They are fun but right now I am a recovering rusty car owner ...

George

DelPico · 05-12-2007, 01:53 PM

I spoke to a local race car fabricator and I am now weighing my options. It doesn't look good. I can't afford the time he is stating it will probably take. I am now weighing my options. Learn to weld better, sell as is or part. I love a challenge but with the time is what will kill me.

Thanks,

David

Zeke · 05-12-2007, 02:06 PM

Only thing about that is bothering me is what you can't see. Your race car buddy knows better. I'd treat it now and maybe not even start a repair until this winter when your car is put away. It's not going to fall apart from that.

If you don't know what I mean by treating it, you might want to do some reading. Basically getting any mud and debris out of there, shooting the acid in, and then neutralizing. If you don't think there's much damage below where that rust is, then dope it up with some POR 15 until you can get at it.

DUK · 05-12-2007, 02:12 PM

I second what milt says. It's not that big of an area and you can neutralize it easy enough to get through the year and fix this winter.

EarlyPorsche · 05-12-2007, 02:23 PM

Just wire wheel it and weld in a proper patch. Shouldn't take more than an afternoon. Nothing wrong with a patch if it is done well.

Joe Bob · Joe Bob's Garage

Dude....I'm doing a up a 58 356.....that's nothing.....it's perspective....

Zeke · 05-12-2007, 03:23 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by EarlyPorsche
Just wire wheel it and weld in a proper patch. Shouldn't take more than an afternoon. Nothing wrong with a patch if it is done well.

Yeah, but one doesn't want to cover up any active rust. Most of this rust starts from inside blind cavities. You can still treat it. I have a graduated vacuum hose that I can snake into as little as a 3/4" hole. With that and some compressed air from either or both ends, most of the crud that holds water is removed. Then, the phosphoric acid is shot inside with anything from a trigger spray to a hose filled with acid. More air will drive it way up inside. Some acids don't require rinsing or neutralizing. Be sure to read the destructions. To hold things to a static state, POR should do the trick. Again, I will use any method available to drive the paint as far up there as I can.

The only disadvantage to this is coating what you may be welding in the future. You will have to be able to get at both sides of the metal to clean it bright silver prior to welding. Otherwise it will be crappy looking and crappy weld.

The worst rust I have found on cars is where previous work had been done using heat to weld or just pull out wrinkles. The metal rusts twice as fast and twice as bad. So, make sure you have a plan to coat the backside of any welds. I don't like weld-thru primer, so I won't mention it further.

gtihop · gtihop's Garage

on a 20 plus year old porsche, it never ends !!

haycait911 · haycait911's Garage

por15 is good for sealing in moisture/rust so it can really get down to business. only put it where you can see that you are starting with a clean, dry, rust-free surface. epoxy the patch metal only and waxoil everything else you can imagine. you can spray it into cavities and it does a good job of holding rust in check. and ventilate! don't be afraid of drilling 3/4 inch hole into cavities to allow moisture to escape. even bare steel steel can't rust without moisture. long term moisture is the enemy. after my annual spring waxoil application my cars drips from everywhere for a couple of weeks. I'm a bodyman, I REALLY hate rust because when it needs repair it's yours truly doing it. Don.

DelPico · 05-13-2007, 04:17 AM

Thanks for all the advice. I guess maybe I'll need to get in there and clean up the area to see what I am really dealing with but I think in the end, it may be easier to sell and give the problem to someone else with better know how, more time or more cash.

Thanks again,

David

Ferrariguyma · Ferrariguyma's Garage

As others mentioned rough the area up, neutralize and then a light coat of por-15. It does not look structural from the pictures. Let me know if you need any help. With all of the work you put into that car this can not mark the end of the relationship. Pick up any British Car magazine and look at some of the rust buckets people in the UK repair and you will see this is merely a blemish to them.

DelPico · 05-13-2007, 06:42 AM

Hi Andrew, Up early this morning.

I will probably just drive and get fixing come winter. It will give me some time to plan and get educated.

David

DelPico · 05-13-2007, 05:13 PM

Alright, I thought about it for a day. I have decided to ring the bell and go for it, I am buying a saw for my compressor and firing up the MIG. Everything I have welded so far has not fallen apart. Call me juvenile but I am thinking about that famous scene in Rocky when Adrian says "Win" and Mickey yells, "then what are be waiting for". This sh%T ain't rocket science so screw it, let's get cutting and see what we have. Well, after the summer anyways. I have been cleared to drive so might as well enjoy the summer. I have the compressor, a MIG, and a sand blaster. Other than the saw and some sheet metal, i should be all set. Stay tuned for lots of questions. I am actually in a sick, twisted way looking forward to it. Hope my heater is working.

David

911SCfanatic · 911SCfanatic's Garage

Milt, what acid would you shoot into the cavity that you can leave? Eastwood appears to have a product or two that might work.