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So here's the situation... I somewhat didn't inspect the underside of this vehicle thoroughly and I missed this rust spot. It looks like it's on the frame where it joins to that standard curve frame segment that creates the engine bay. I'm brainstorming methods of repair and the one that keeps coming to mind is a method where you basically stick weld 3/8 steel segments on the sides and bottom. I probably didn't explain that very well, but it is a very common repair method via YouTube lol.
Are there any smoother methods of repair out there? Like bending metal to fit the form of the frame and welding that on. This will be my first time welding and repairing the frame of a car. So, any help would be appreciated!
Mr. ToughMedic - I have information to share with you about the patient...
You may want to sit down to hear this. The patient has cancer. It's Stage 4, metastatic, and has spread to neighboring organs. It's a mess down there. Prognosis is not good, and this is an aggressive strain. You should discuss treatment options with family and decide whether the patient would survive treatment and maintain quality of life. The alternative is to let nature run it's course and the patient will gradually slip away over time.
If you pursue aggressive treatment options, know that the further we look, the more cancer we will find. At some point, you'll have to come to the realization that this is a never ending battle with little hope for survival.
I'll leave you to your thoughts and know our prayers are with you in this difficult time,
Take out the rear storage bin and check for rust. What you show can be fixed. I'm not sure I would want to drive this car in fear of causing other damage because of the weakness.
That car is hazardous to drive. The undercoating would be covering up 2 as much rust as you can see.
You say you never welded before? I use to work in shipyards over the summer to pay for college. After 3 months of being a fitter's helper/tacker, my still welding sucked!! I did this for 3 summers. I had great penmanship when I returned to college.
That car is so far gone, you have nothing to lose trying to weld some metal on it. Metal doesn't bent, you should try cutting out pieces from a sheet of 1/8 inch mild steel, and make tiny spot welds to hold them in place, then make the regular welds, alternating positions to let it cool down. 1st make a template/pattern out of cardboard. then cut the steel.
You got a great learning experience there.
ps. we all wished that whoever did all those modifications, spent 1/2 as much effort on the undercarriage preventive maintenance.
Last edited by midnight mechanic; Oct 5, 2019 at 12:06 PM.
You may want to sit down to hear this. The patient has cancer. It's Stage 4, metastatic, and has spread to neighboring organs. It's a mess down there. Prognosis is not good, and this is an aggressive strain. You should discuss treatment options with family and decide whether the patient would survive treatment and maintain quality of life. The alternative is to let nature run it's course and the patient will gradually slip away over time.
If you pursue aggressive treatment options, know that the further we look, the more cancer we will find. At some point, you'll have to come to the realization that this is a never ending battle with little hope for survival.
I'll leave you to your thoughts and know our prayers are with you in this difficult time,
Ooph, that hits pretty hard. I can make it though >..<
I feel for ya bro. I bought a 79 ‘emotionally’ (for cheap, fortunately) and once I got it home I found floors rotted out.
donated to kars for kids, looked for another.. Solid ones are out there, just takes time to find.
I am currently doing some rust repair along with a lot of other modifications to my RX-7. Yours looks a bit worse than mine when I started however the one saying is everything is fixable. Of course I am a welder by trade so cutting, bending, forming and welding new panels into place is "easier" to me than most. But it is a lot of work and if that car is not "special" to you then it might be better to start off with a better one. My car was my first car and I am building it more for track use so things don't have to look factory resto so thats why I am fixing mine. If I wanted to have a perfectly restored car I would have started with a different car because mine was a bit worse than some "dessert cars"
But first you need to ask yourself what your goal is and if it is just a fun car to drive maybe you can use it as a learning project on how to fab and weld? Personally the first thing to do is work on getting some of the under coating off and poke around with a screw driver to see how soft things are.
