Rust, not that kind!`

[JohnB]

I'm trying to determine if I have a rust condition that's serious or just needs some attention. The rust is coming through at the corner of the body just above the door latches (both sides of the car). The sails are in pretty decent shape with some subsurface rust starting to bubble, but I want to know if the body rust is a major problem or not.

[michel richard]

John,

Hate to speak this kind of news, but my experience is that rust is often (well, I first wrote "always", but corrected) worse than it looks. This could be because I am in Canada where roads are salted a lot.

The standard is called the "but"test. Get a couple of big guys to sit in the car with the top off and see how well the doors close. if they jam at all, you have a problem. Also, a variant of this test is to examine the door catches carefully and look for excessive wear. If the body has begun to sag, the alignment will be different and this will usually cause excess wear on the catches.

I would suspect that if you have rust on the sails and and near the door latches, you should very carefully examine the rest of the car.

Standard rust places are under the battery tray, along the floors and under the rocker panels etc . . .

This site has a guide to buying which should be helpful in figuring out the places to watch.

Still, good luck.

[JohnB]

Thanks for the info, I had checked the "usual" spots and found all in good shape. The doors don't bind and the gap around the doors is pretty even all the way around. My prior car had some of the symptoms you mentioned and some like those mentioned on the PP web site but this car looks pretty good except for these areas. Hmmm, what to do?

[Paul914]

When you say some "subsurface rust that is starting to bubble" (sail panels), do you mean in the seam between the sail and quarter? Also, do you still have the vinyl covering the sail or has it been stripped off and painted? The reason I ask is because the seam always seems to rust out - and the tell tale sign is the "slight paint bubbling". Trust me, if its bubbling there, its only going to get worse (probably soon). The original chrome piece that went below the vinyl popped into a series of little holes that are typically filled and painted over when the vinyl is removed - usually leads to probs.

I guess the only answer is (a) live with it for now or (b) start stripping the entire area and see exactly what you're dealing with. If any kind of body work or rust repair was previously done there, it could be time to re-do it (especially if it wasn't done right the first time). I've done the repair before using the replacement sail panel (full one that comes down to the door handle) and door post (where the latch goes). I didn't replace the whole thing, just cut out the pieces I needed and welded them in - you may even be able to just fabricate your own pieces depending on what you find and where exactly the rust is (and how good you are - the curves can be tricky to fabricate).

I know - "strip it and see" aint much help, but that's what it usually comes to sooner or later when you're talking about rust/paint bubbles. Good luck!

-Paul

[JohnB]

Paul,

The sails do have bubbles in them. As of yesterday the issue is somewhat moot, the guy sold the car to someone else. Your pointers seem like the possible cause and solution I was hoping to avoid. Looks like I did, although only by inaction... I'll close this thread.