FC_fan

iTrader: (2)

okay, I have rust/rot on the side frame right behind the rocker near the rear of the drivers side (around 5-6" long) and under my passenger side fender. it looks really bad but I want to fix it. I was already planning on POR-15-ing the whole underneath and welding in some braces for the frame. my gf's dad is a welder and is willing to help me but take a look at these pics. they aren't great and hard to tell where it is as I did not jack up the car yet. more pics with the car up soon. from these, what do you say? these first 4 pics are the front under-fender area.

FC_fan

iTrader: (2)

these are the pics from the back drivers side rocker area.

clokker

iTrader: (2)

First of all, any amount of rust damage can be fixed.
The question becomes whether or not it's worth it to do so.

By the time you see external rot it must be assumed that the damage is far more widespread than it appears.
This is especially bad on a unibody/frameless car where the structure as a whole determines the chassis integrity and strength.

Given the apparent extent and severity of the damage you have and the relative cheapness of a better chassis, rescuing this car would seem an exercise in futility.

Secondly, those pictures suck.

87 t-66

iTrader: (133)

^ agreed.

i wouldn't bother but its not hard to get ahold of FC shells around here...

FC_fan

iTrader: (2)

ya, I know the pics suck. I haven't gotten the car in the air yet to take some good, non shaky pics. so you think I should just try and find a roller huh? that sucks but I am thinking that it would be easier. the engine in this one runs really strong and the tranny is good too. I will try and take better pics with it in the air and try and show some of the more complex areas to fix.

my bro is getting an fc that was a race car. maybe I can get that chasis off of him as he is just using it as a parts car. needs interior,windows, and a fual tank (was converted to fuel cell) but he said the chasis is great. maybe I can take my stuff out of my car and put it on that chasis and swap in my motor for now as I am sure the motor in there has been beat to death. I am working on a t2 rebuild as well so I may as well start with a good chasis in the first place. anyone else got opinions based on these useless pics?

FC_fan

iTrader: (2)

its hard to get any in VT. not a lot of em up here, but my bro is getting that race one so maybe that will work if he agrees and it is indeed better then mine.

clokker

iTrader: (2)

Look beyond the obvious rust damage.
I'll bet every single nut and bolt under that car (and probably most of the others) is frozen solid.

Now think about how difficult even the most basic maintenance is going to be when you have to fight every fastener you touch.

My scarred knuckles sympathize with yours.

FC_fan

iTrader: (2)

you have a point. I searched in the classifieds and craigslist but there don't seem to be any rollers in my area that are in better condition. I guess I will hope my bro can trade me that 7 he's getting if its good, like I said before. as I have also said, my gf's dad is a master welder and decent metal fabricator. maybe, even though I know it looks disasterous, we can save her with a full weekend of work. If I spray metal ready all over everything we work on, weld in some new panels, and then coat everything with POR-15 which nullifies rust, it might be okay. I'd hate to send another 7 to the junk yard.

like clocker origionally said, any rust is fixable. It's on the thin line between salvage and junk for me. it will be quite a bit of work to fix it the right way but I love this car and I think that maybe fixing the frame would take less time then putting all my stuff into a roller. the frame is still quite solid still, there are just those 2 main small section that are shitty to repair. well, I'll still post more pics. I am having some other people look at it tomorrow so I will most likely have it in the air and take some better pics.

wow, I didn't think it would be this hard to abandon this car. I guess thats how sentimental value works though.lol

clokker

iTrader: (2)

Make sure you have lots of welding wire, argon and meth.

FC_fan

iTrader: (2)

lol, I will be sure to have everything I need. I'm not decided yet though, I wanna get down there with it in the air to see the extent on everything. If I do fix the rot, I will do a full overhaul of the entire underneath with metal ready and POR-15 and then some truck bed liner over that. should help her last a long time that way. Currently undecided, but I saw a convertible stripped on a rottiserie (sp?) and it looked like the side frame rail (right behind the rocker) isn't attached to the main frame rail by anything except the floor pan. I'm starting to think that its not actually part of the frame but I'm sure it is just as important to rigidity. but I really am concerned about the main frame rails, I hope they are just surface rusted if anything. that would be an easy fix. we'll see.

jarcher

iTrader: (1)

i've got the same kinda rust problems as you do... tho maybe not quite to that extent... but ya i'm a little wary of what its done to the strength of my chassis

rx7_FREAKKK

iTrader: (1)

I have never seen rust on an FC like that... Was this car driven on the salt water beach alot or something ? I had a 69 olds that had a little rust but not this bad even... But they lived near the bay and saltwater...

FC_fan

iTrader: (2)

jarcher- the rust on mine is located after the rails that connect the side frame to the main/middle frame so I think if I get rid of the rust with metal ready, weld in some braces for the rails, and coat with POR-15, I think the integrity of the frame will mostly be okay. I might through in some more perpendicular braces to the main/middle frame on the braces I make for the side frame just to make sure it doesn't flex too much.

rx7 FREAKKK- I purchased the car here in vermont with 130k so I assume it was left sitting a lot and maybe driven through the winter. I had to drive it for a month this past winter (semi-wrecked my suburu 2.5RS but fixed it eventually) which made the rust way worse then it was. also, I had to put snow tires on it so my step dad and I put his crappy hydrolic jack under the rear diff to take both wheels off at once but it got stuck in the up position.lol. we ended up taking 2 scissor jacks and jacking it up off the hydrolic one but my step dad put his scissor jack in the wrong place and jammed it up through that rear section of the rocker and now its all rusty from the winter driving.

I'm sure it will take me less time to fix this then to dump everything into a roller. the integrity I think will be fine with braces as the sections are small and behind the rails that connect it to the main/middle frame. I wanted to take this car down to Hot Import Nights in epping, NH on the 9th but I won't be able to start work until monday or tuesday and then its if the welder has time to do it. also what sucks is that I can't get it inspected because of this rust. normally it wouldn't matter but my usual mechanic ran out of stickers. I will be calling hime mid-week though so I can hopefully take this car down to HIN as it gets better gas mileage then my subie.

So, I guess I have decided to repair it. also, I will get pics up tomorrow, been busy.

j9fd3s

iTrader: (3)

idea 3 might be to get those sections out of a rust free car, and fix yours with it?

lot of work!

FC_fan

iTrader: (2)

As I have stated before, my bro is getting a FC race car for parts. it runs but it needs a gas tank, and glass. he siad the chasis is good. I could cut it out of that car when he gets it. I think fixing it with metal braces would be just as easy though. the rear section is going to end up being 8-10" at most to replace and the front is pretty much a 6x6 square to replace. the rest is just starting surface rust. These cars are becoming rare so to junk another one for such a fixable problem would be a waste. I plan on keeping an FC for a long time so I wanna fix the chasis before I do my t2 swap and start my fiberglass wide body.

Dltreezan

iTrader: (3)

why dont you post more pics of the rest of the car.

FC_fan

iTrader: (2)

ya, I totally spaced on the pics today guys, sorry. All I have at my disposal is a hydrolic jack with like a 2 foot height so the pics will still be kinda close up and hard to make out.

by "rest of the car" do you mean just outer pics? the paint is faded and nicked all over the place, couple small dents but I am doing a custom wide body eventually anyway so theres no point in painting it unless its just the doors.lol. I guess I can post outer pics for now. I'll call some freinds and see if I can get a hold of some wheel ramps to take better pics of the bottom.

FC_fan

iTrader: (2)

rest of my heap right now. needs some tlc. fixing the rust and rockers is step one.

FC_fan

iTrader: (2)

here are (hopefully) a little better diagonal pics of the rust concern areas. will post more when I get the wheel ramps over here. first 2 pics of rear drivers rocker area, last 2 are front passenger fender area.

YaNi

iTrader: (2)

Find another shell. I had an S5 in similar condition that I was repairing; it's just not worth the effort. As many S4's as there were produced, they will never be worth the time you put into it.

The rust starts at the pinch weld and works its way outward. You are going to need to replace the outer rocker panel, the outer frame rail (inside the rocker), and atleast part of the floor pan. I would expect the rear wheel wells and the inner frame rails (under the car) to be in a similar condition. You are looking at a few hundred hours of labor.

FC_fan

iTrader: (2)

the inner frame rails only have surface rust, very minor at that. the rear wheel wells are okay from the outside but I will be checking the inside sometime soon. Basically, I have a welder who will help for free (and teach me how to weld better in the process), I can get most of the metal free, between me and a friend we can fabricate for free, and the welding gas and wire is free. alls I got is time since I am currently unemployed and my welder has been cut back to 1 week a month (minus nat'l guard time).

eventually, I plan on cutting away the rocker and trying to get another one from a different car and repairing the side frame rails. I will fabricate new rockers if I have to but I will be building some custom fiberglass side skirts that will cover the rockers so looks aren't too much of a concern to me.

right now I am just taking care of the visible hole in the side frame rail and the holes in the rockers with tiger hair as it will be fixed properly later this summer. I need to get it inspected so I can sell my other car and get one with better gas mileage and that is safe for my gf and daughter.

FC_fan

iTrader: (2)

alright, change of plans. My brother said that the race rx7 has a mint frame/underside so I'm trading cars with him as he was just getting it for parts (traded an mx-3 for that 7). only things are that the doors are welded shut so I have to use my doors and we have to cut those. the roll cage might also need to be removed because I have the 2+2 seats for my 5 month old daughter. also needs a lot of parts from my current 7 including the gas tank (was fuel cell), tail lights, head lights, side marker lights. I also want to switch roofs as mine does not have a sunroof and this one does. I don't like the look of a sunroof and it is purely a cosmetic choice but I think we can get away with just cutting about 1/8" of metal all around the outer seal and then doing the same on my roof and weld that back in on both. I will be waiting until my t2 rebuild is done so I can just drop that in this new 7. then I will put in my whole interior and glass and be good to go I think. I can also start fabbing up my fiber glass plugs of the bumper and fenders I want to make while it is sitting around waiting for all these parts so I can get a head start on that.