[QUOTE=davidbir;6650378] I am using Naval Jelly on the driver fender and will report back!

Good man! I had success with Naval Jelly but every situation is different. The main concern I would have is how long you leave it on? The instructions say only about 15 minutes as I recall. This has to be waaaay too little. I left it for 24 hours and it did a great job.

Day 29: I was able to strip the driver fender today. I used 3 applications of Aircraft Stripper but got everything down to bare metal. Looks like I have some rust issues to deal with :( Any advice on how to attack replacing pieces on a fender? I know I will have to spread the heat as it can easily warp.

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I have left the naval jelly on for 24 hours and am hoping to grind into it tomorrow to see how much of the rust was dissolved.

Looks like the Naval Jelly did a pretty good job! I was able to fix the ride height this weekend as well and now have plenty of room to work on scraping the bottoms of the floor pans! Thanks to everyone that helped with ride height questions. Pre-tensioning is definitly the way to go as the front end is now ready for take off!!

Glad it worked out...

Your detailed description and advice did the trick!!

Day 30: Just got done with a crazy two week stretch at work that involved two conferences! Back to working on the Rat! Today I was able to clean up the bottom of the driver side pan ( hours of laying on my back with a wire wheel:mad:), started cutting out the passenger pan, and found some more rust to deal with. I was also able to practice using my new gun to spray primer :D

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Day 30: Primer on driver rocker sprayed with new gun. This was my first time ever using a spray gun so I figured I would start where no one could ever see. One of the screw holes has a bit of a divet but I think I am going to leave it as the wide S trim will cover it all up.



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After having let it sit for a while I am not that happy with the naval jelly. I think I am going to stick with ospho for most of the remaining rust removal. The naval jelly leaves a thick white coating which is a pain to get off. Overall I think ospho works much better and it is easier to apply because I can use a spray bottle!

Day 31: I was able to spray the 3M rubberized undercoating onto the bottom of the driver side pan and painted the inside of the driver pan black. I also was able to clean up the driver fender a bit and weld a few pinholes around the dog leg shut:)

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Looking good! Keep up the good work...

Will be starting my project soon.

Thanks! What did you end up getting for your project?

Day 32: I was able to weld in the front patch piece of the passenger floor pan. Some of the rust in the corner near the tunnel was such a pain to get with a wire wheel or steel brush that I used the sandblaster. I turned the Rat into a real beachmobile:Dhttp://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1334586038.jpg
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An early '73 T Targa basket case. I looked at the car a year ago and walked away from it but the price was right and it is complete with many spares so I came back around. Engine is a non-original '72 T 2.4 w/MFI. I PM'd you a couple of weeks back with pictures, at least I think I did, although there could have been some user error... I am, after all, somewhat of a greenhorn on this forum (newb I think they say). Anyway, I will go temporarily install hubs to make it a roller so that it can be transported. Then the inventorying of parts, dismantling and real assessment of what needs to be done can occur. I'm sure there will be some "Oh $#!%" moments coming up soon.

By the way, I just looked closer at the patch panel you welded in your passenger floor board... Your welds are looking really professional. Sorry if you stated previously but what is your welding setup? Where do you purchase your Ar/CO2?

Thanks!
Jeremy

Hi Jeremy!

Thanks for the compliment. I feel like the welds are getting better but are not quite where I want them. I was welding outside yesterday and the wind messed up a few of the beads. Next time I will weld inside. I did not get any pictures :( Sounds like it is going to be a fun project. If you need any help or have questions let me know as I may have been there and done that on my project. My big Oh $&^% moment was the floor pans to date. I am hoping there are not others in the future! In terms of the welding setup I am using a Mig with gas. I am not exactly sure where my friend got the gas from but I believe it was called Airgas. Best of luck on your project!!:)

Cheers,
Kristoph

re the creation of a sandbox

you might try soda blasting - it might be overly gentle but what is not vac'd up can be wiped away with a damp rag

kkinzli: you're much faster than me! :)http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1334620984.jpg

I think my Rat has very few issues so it makes progress go quickly. Going to be in Budapest starting May 4th so we will have to get together for a beer. I would love to come see your car in person:)

Damn! Wish I would have thought of that before the sandbox debacle! I have a 50 lb bag of soda in the garage:mad: