Dan_s_young

iTrader: (1)

Well guys I have been having nothing but troubles with getting my car ready for paint. Whenever I attempt to get started prepping I just find out more and more that there is a ton that needs to be done with my car. I have known I had wheel well rust but today I took a autobody hammer to the outside of the car and low and behold look at the pictures of what "oh theres a little surface rust" turned out to be.

Right now I am a student taking a mechanics program at my local college. I also have a job, so I am very busy. I love the crap out of this car, but Im at the point where im wondering if I should continue working endlessly on the body of this car or should I transfer alot of the drive train over to a rust free car (pain in the *** to get because it would probally need to come from the states...)

As you can see the drivers side has dents in the door panel down the whole side of the car... This pisses me off cause its my fault and im a idiot, instead of taking my time removing the trim with a knife I started prying with a screwdriver.... Yes im an idiot but whats done is done and I need to choose on whether to prevail and fix it or transfer everything over to a new body.

Simpily put I love the first generation RX-7 no matter what im going to want one. The fact of the matter is there is a ton of body work that needs to be done on my car and I can't justify spending 4000-5000 on a body shop doing the work for me. I am not afraid to do the work myself but I don't have a welder (the bin holes suck...) and im only 18 and have honestly very little (to none) autobody experience...

Dan_s_young

iTrader: (1)

And the rest of the pictures... It brings me pain to see my car in this kind of condition...

'85GSL-SE

iTrader: (2)

I hear you on Rust , I am in the midst of getting my step dad who is a sheet metal fabricator to help me fabricate new wheel wells, whole front valance, new Gas cap door and roof hatch for my '78 RX-7. We are also thinking of fabricating a new hood for the car since it has rust bubbles on it.

But if you stick with it you will love her even more in the end especially with a "T2" or "REW" engine under the hood. my plans are a 12A Turbo Motor from Japan in the '78 .

Think Positraction or is that positive, oh well whats the difference they are both the same

-Dan

Dan_s_young

iTrader: (1)

the problem is I don't have any in's, if I new someone in the autobody industry it wouldn't be so bad but the amount that some of the places want to charge me is insane and they aren't even promising a good finished product...

680RWHP12A

the rust is too much when............. your driving down the road and your *** falls out of the car and starts dragging the pavement.......................................... .............

get a car from california.... no rust ever!!!!!! i have a few rust free rollers if you want one, clean body's too

look on the bright side, the more cancer you have the lighter your car will be!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! yyyyyeeeeaaahhhhh

RustyRotary

iTrader: (2)

Rust sucks. Check my avatar, I definitely know.

From what I see, your car looks quite fixable. Now would be a fine time to spend 300 on a mig welder and get some experience that will help you the rest of your life. Go to a junk yard and get a bunch of metal and practice welding things together, making patches, etc. It's really not too hard. Since the parts of your car that are rusted are mostly out of view, they don't have to be perfect anyway.

For the dents, that's a bit tougher. Dents on creases in metal are pretty hard to get out.

Dan_s_young

iTrader: (1)

its not just the rust at this point its also all the body work that is ahead of me, im really considering if its all worth it. I know it will be awesome looking at my car and being able to say "I did that myself..." But the fact of the matter is there is ALOT of work to be done and I don't have the slightest idea of where to even start...

Midwest 7's

iTrader: (4)

looks like my car.
i am buying another and sending her to the scrapper.
rust is a bitch.

EonBlue

I was in a situation similar to yours not too long ago. After doing some mechanical work on my 83 I started to realize the surface rust wasn't just on the surface. A couple of jabs with a screwdriver and I ended up with holes in the wheel wells exactly like you have. Further investigation dug up even more holes, most of them due to shitty rust repair by a PO. So much for my smart purchase.

For most people the car was too far gone to spend money and time on to save, but a couple of things did work out in my favour. I was enrolled in the automotive course of a local technical college and because of that I got quite a bit of practice doing MIG/Oxy-Acetylene welding. I was also able to borrow a wire-feed type arc welder from my dad's friend over the summer. Couple that with the fact that I'm a dirt poor student who doesn't have enough time and money to find/strip/paint/swap a new shell I ended up doing the body work and welding.

From my viewpoint I was going to dump the chassis and find a new body eventually so why not spend some time now and hone a new skill. If it goes well, great, I can drive it for a little while longer. If it doesn't, fine, I learn what not to do and it still rusts out like before.

I know your situation's different but I can understand what you're feeling. Have you asked your instructor if he know's anyone/any place that can do the work? Does your college offer an autobody course, perhaps you could talk to them. Hope everything works out for you.

rbf41182gt

finish it up

the payoff is well worth it, and when you're done, you can step back, and say, "i did that"

Dan_s_young

iTrader: (1)

and heres another question for you guys, how on earth should I get these dents out or should I just buy new panels?

snakemon

(For the dents)coat the entire area with body filler,at least 8 inches out and block.Then if you you use a polyester primer surfacer you should be good, i have done alot of door skins this way.

Dan_s_young

iTrader: (1)

if I do it this way will I ever have problems with the paint bubbling?

85rotarypower

The only way to get those dents out is to use bondo. Dents and dings that small are VERY hard to remove without removing the sheetmetal from the car.

I'll be diving into the same kind of thing this fall hopefully. I plan to get my car bondoed and primed for painting next spring, I hope. I don't have a heated garage, so I can't prime in the winter. It has to happen before it gets too cold, which is going to be hard between work, school and other things.

As for my car's underbody, its just got some surface rust where old metal is. Any holes that were present were fixed by putting in mostly new drivers and passenger floors (driver side went half way up the wheel well!) and my wheelwells were totally reconstructed and the upper link mounts for the rear axle were reinforced with 1/4" plate. Take a look at my cardomain site for inspiration. I was a beginner welder when I started on this, now I'm starting to get real good, as far as I'm concerned.

web777

Unless you like alot down time and money. I would just get another chassis and start over. I had mistakenly bought a Canadian GSL-SE before realized it had rust. It was cheaper to sell it and get another one then to fix it.

Mechy

Start at the library, get books on body work, its the best way to learn what you need to learn. also check DIY.com for some how to's on body work. Video rocks. My car has a lot of rust also. I can see the driveway from inside the car, but no matter what it takes I am going to finish it, and you shouldnt give up either. Besides if you junk it they will turn it into a pepsi can, no 7 deserves that. Hang in there man

'85GSL-SE

iTrader: (2)

So true, I was on my way to the junkyard to pull a few parts off a junked T2 FC for my '78's upgrades, such as T2 brakes all around, T2 motor and Tranny. I went over to the GSL-SE I had staked out in there and it was gone. I asked the manager where the "SE" went. He told me, "We crushed it "yesterday"!" I was restraining myself from reaching over the counter and bit** slapping that guy. I was going to convert my '78 to SE suspension but now that is a gone idea. I will call Mazda Recycling to get the rear end and front suspension.

But my '78 is a rust bucket too but I still love her and she is so rare. She was manufactured in Early '78 and on March of 1978 she was shipped to Hawaii. I still have the papers on her from when she was bought. BTW she is still running on her original engine with over 500,000 miles on her. The odometer has been flipped over 5 times and is still climbing .

Myself and my '78 are like bonded glue, I would sell off my '85 FB, and FD for the sake of my '78 RX-7. Don't put it past me either. If you bond to your car like that, when you get her back to show room condition new you will be saying to yourself, "The hell did I want to sell her for" .

But for the love of God I don't want to see another 7 go the way of "Mechy's" Pepsi can route. Please!

pratch

Judging from what I see of the rust - you're due to replace the "big part".

Not sure about Canucks, but down here you can usually find people who are giving away rolling chassis FREE to a good home. From there it's just swapping everything you're attached to over to the new frame. Sucks, but sometimes the big part replacement is all you can do.

YMMV SPSFD

PATZ

I've been there before, yeah it sucks. But think of it as a learning experience and the knowledge you gain will be of value later.

snakemon

You sould not have any problem with paint bubbling. Bubbing is solvent raising to the top coat and busting thruogh a flashed paint (solvent pop). If the undercaot is dry it wont bubble. Do not use any fillers with out a catylst(bondo spot puddy)they are laquer based and can cause solvent pop. Infact dont use any bondo, buy a good plastic filler from a autopaint jobber.

Glazedham42

iTrader: (4)

Yours doesn't look much worse than mine did. I took my time welding in all the new metal, and it is good as new now. Just make sure that you get ALL of the rust cut out. It probably took me close to a month just to patch all of the holes that were left behind from the rust. It is a long process, but it isn't really all that hard. Good welding practice too, plus you save a 7 from going to the boneyard. Then again, you could always just buy a cheap shell and put all your parts into it. There comes a point when it is just easier to do this sometimes. I definitely considered it....