Qingdao

iTrader: (3)

I see ya'll are talking about electrolosis....

I had this discussion with some of my buddies, and that is the route I'm going with my car eventually. I might even powder coat the frame.

No bs.

I'm gonna strip my SA and drop it in one of those rubber inflatable pools with a few pounds of salt, 8D battery (and a trickle charger, and a shoping cart as the cathode.

and the powder coating might happen, however I might end up just rhino lining the botom and painting it normal wise everywhere else.



At any rate you're coming right along. ROCK ON!

woodmv

iTrader: (8)

THAT, I have to see. I hope you post a picture!!

I'm convinced though that electrolysis is the best method for dealing with rust, aside from cutting it out and welding in new metal... For the parts that you can't simply cut out rusty metal from, this is IMHO the best method for dealing with it. That and a healthy dose of POR-15 metal ready and I would think rust could be conquered for years to come, provided the car wasn't driven on the salty roads of the Northeast any longer!

Qingdao

iTrader: (3)

I've used electrolysis tons of times on motorcycle gas tanks, but never anything as big as a car.

I don't have much rust at all on my 79. Just a little in the nooks and crannies (I sand/grind/paint them when I see them). I figure after I finish college I'll have a lot of free time and I can try this.

Thankfully my 84 is 100% rust free.

rotordogg

iTrader: (4)

Wow, read this entire thread and I am very impressed. You have done a LOT of work on this. I didn't think about dropping the cross member, suspension and refinishing those. But now I think it is a must, they look so much nicer cleaned up and painted.

I think I missed it, but what happened with the engine? Did you get a replacement rotor and housing yet?

And I really don't envy you on the restoration of the rust. You really do have it a lot worse than I do. But it looks like POR15 is helping you out a lot.

Keep up the good work!

woodmv

iTrader: (8)

Thanks rotordogg for the compliments! I was searching for good 12A irons to rebuild with collecting cheap engines and tearing them down when a really good engine came available to me thanks to RotaryHaven (thanks again Jerry!). The engine seems like it should be a really great runner - it has nice sounding compression when turned by hand, apex seals move nicely and seem to be hardly worn. It's one of those Atkins Rotary Specials and came out of an 83 LE with about 38,000 miles on the clock. Although you can't ever really be sure if the odometer was changed, I think the engine has low miles on it, so I paid RotaryHaven for the engine and gave up on finding good 12A irons for a rebuild. I'll put the ARS 12A in the car this summer hopefully.

And yes, I do have quite a bit of rust to deal with. I've been trying to neutralize it and seal it with POR-15, and I hope it lasts. Time will tell. Can't wait to get the floors done so I can put the front end back together with my new Racing Beat springs and struts. GOOD NEWS!! I found that my local AutoZone stocks the swaybar hardware, so I can pick that up when I'm ready too! I couldn't just leave the suspension the way it was - it was really, REALLY nasty. I'll have to do the electrolysis and POR-15 treatment to the Watts linkages sometime down the line, or replace it with rust free stuff. Maybe when I upgrade the rear end. I was in the garage most of the day today removing the dashboard. Here's where I'm at now.





I've taken out the gas pedal since these pictures, and I'm gonna attack it again tomorrow. I have a lot of cleanup to do too. Should have taped off the holes in the firewall when I sandblasted - that stuff is everywhere! I'll be wiping that up forever. I need to read up on how to clean up wiring. DivinDriver gave me some tips a while back (thanks double D!), and I hope to replicate some semblance of what he was able to accomplish with his car, which is pristine to say the least.

I did notice too that the ever important and NLA center console piece was broken sometime before my ownership of the car. Sucks, but I'll be looking out for a replacement down the line some time.

woodmv

iTrader: (8)

Can I just say?.... It sucks. But it's a necessary evil with this project. I FINALLY got the drivers side footwell removed. Good thing - it's seen better days, and in doing so I found lots MORE rust beneath it, but that was to be expected. Glad to have it out - seems like progress! Looks like I'll be doing a bit more cutting. Hopefully I can grind off some of the surface rust in the frame area and inner rockers where it isn't too bad and treat it with POR-15. Funny thing - you can see in the pics the pile of sandblast grit that fell to the floor as I was working on it. Every time the car moves or is hit with a hammer a little bit drops out of the frame. It's EVERYWHERE!

This thing is gonna be 1000% better than it was when I'm finished. I just don't know when that will be!! Here's where I'm at as of tonight:

Qingdao

iTrader: (3)

Call me a novice, but you drilled out the spot welds and cut out the panels with a die grinder (or some other cutting tool)?


Are you gonna get a body alingment done after you finish?


I've said it before but this is a superbly inspiring thread.

woodmv

iTrader: (8)

Thanks Qingdao! Yes, drilled out spot welds and cut the panel from the rocker to the transmission tunnel, and along the transmission tunnel to the point that the footwell pan ends and used a dremel with a cutoff wheel on it (actually several cutoff wheels. )

It really was toast. You can't really tell from the pictures, but there are LOTS of pinholes in it along with several other dime sized holes that were covered by the undercoating on the bottom. The entire bottom of this section on the inside is pitted badly too and the knockouts over the frame section and the drain hole just simply fell off.

Body alignment? Hmmmm.... Dunno. Hadn't thought about that. I hope that I don't need one. Sounds complicated AND expensive. Dang. ..... (thinking) .... (pondering) .... CRAP! That's gonna SUCK if I do ... (pondering some more) ... I should think that the firewall piece spot welded to the transmission tunnel section and to the rocker will keep it all in place. Now, if I remove much more (like that toasted inner rocker forward near the firewall), then maybe I'll have to weld in a stiffener. Gonna have to really think on this one before I go much further. DANGIT! I wonder how much I'd have to cut out to really worry about that or if I've already passed that point??? Crap.

I guess as you can see from my trials and tribulations that there is more rust in my SA than what is just lurking in the nooks and crannies like yours!

Rotaryhaven

iTrader: (17)

I think you will be alright if you don't go too far ahead as far as cutting too much/ removing panels. I would start getting that floor put back in....Start prepping the new floor to weld back in....

Qingdao

iTrader: (3)

The local Maaco guy said $90 to get it on the rack and $35/hour to straiten it.

I'm deffinetly gonna do it after I go through mine with a fine tooth comb, but I've also got a tweeked body due to my accidental meeting with the curb.

woodmv

iTrader: (8)

Yeah, the more I think of it and talk it over, I doubt I'll have to do that. The frame isn't gonna move from anything I'm replacing. At least it shouldn't. It's still welded to the firewall and the inner fender. It kinda looks a little crooked in the one picture, but it's straight. I'm confident that nothing I take from the front inner rocker should affect it either after inspecting it closely. I have about 18 inches there to deal with, the first 10 inches being truly rotten. I also have to replace about 6 inches of the outer rocker in that area as well. You can see the bullet shaped outer rocker section I'm talking about in the earlier pictures of what the sandblasting uncovered. If I replace it in small sections I don't think the inner structure should move at all as long as I keep the firewall section secured to the transmission tunnel and inner wall. And if I need to I can weld in a temporary brace to be sure.

I will need to straighten the rocker aft of where I'm working now, nearer the center of the car, because a PO had tried jacking up the car there and pushed it upward. I remember Aaron Cake welded a tool there and hit it with a hammer to pull it down on his Cosmo videos. I also want to beef up the bottom of the frame at the jack point too like 82transam did.

Yep, I started removing the gunk from the bottom of the donor section yesterday using some old adhesive remover I had laying around and an old toothbrush. I also need to remove the soundproofing on the inside but I'm gonna get ahold of some dry ice from the grocery store. That stuff is on there like glue because it hasn't come unbonded from rust like it did in my car!

Thanks everyone for the thoughts, input, well wishes and comments! Keeps me inspired to press on and input (good and bad) is always welcome!

Mazda RX-7 EFINI TYPE

If you have a compressor, an air chisel makes quick work of sound deadening .

82transam

iTrader: (18)

Don't worry about getting the body straightened, you haven't affected anything. If you had removed more of the trans tunnel, or the rocker area or something then maybe, but it's all plenty strong enough as it sits. Keep in mind, for a budget 80's car, the bodies on these are actually incredibly strong, don't fret it

Also, I haven't checked this thread in a month or so, and just wanted to say you're making great progress. Sandblast out that frame section (it's nasty work as you found out, but it's the only way to fly) and get that rocker area patched and you'll be ready for the new floor piece.

The 1/8" steel plate I made to replace my frame section is really the way to go for strength. That'll never bend from a jack again! Granted it doesn't look stock if you really care about that (I don't) but who's looking under your car other than you anyway...

One thing I found the hard way with sandblasting inside the car - remove the ignition switch (and basically any other switch that's there) cause if they get filled with sand (they will) it'll be a real bitch to clean them out and get them working smoothly again...

Keep at it, you'll be done soon!

woodmv

iTrader: (8)

An air chisel would be GREAT! I remember Aaron Cake used one on his videos. Wish I had one, but I don't.... BUT, I needed NO dry ice thanks to Mother Nature providing me with this phenomenon the weather people are calling a POLAR VORTEX!! Yep. That's what they're calling it. It cooled down my garage enough that I could remove all of the sound deadening with a hammer and a teeny tiny (yet sharp) wood chisel. I did the drivers footwell on the donor car section, then thought WTF?!? Why don't I smack the crap out of this stuff with the hammer all over and vibrate the metal? It should snap the bond between the cold metal and the brittle sound deadening material. Huh! Who'd have thunk? It WORKED. That stuff just about fell off everywhere when I took a paint scraper to it after that. Took about an hour to chisel the drivers footwell area and another hour to do the transmission tunnel and passenger footwell area on the donor car and all the passenger side and rear drivers side of MY car after that, INCLUDING cleanup. No dry ice necessary!

After I cleaned it all up I was pretty stoked to see that the passenger side floor is not NEARLY as bad as the drivers side is! SCORE! That was great to see! I did find a small section in the passenger side floor that was rotten, but that area is just a couple of square inches in area, which is nothing compared to the hole I have in the drivers side. I also found and removed a mouse/rats nest in the passenger rocker near the rear tire that rotted out the rocker from the inside. Good news is that I have the donor pieces for that too!

Here's some pics of the floors:











Thanks 82transam! I'm pretty confident that I can replace what I need to. I dread the thought of sandblasting any more of this car though.... I may investigate alternate methods like a wire wheel or a sander attachment on my dremel before I drag that sandblaster out again. What a pain that was, but I hear ya' - it IS quick. I definitely will cut the bottom frame section from the donor car and weld it to mine to double the thickness of the bottom of the frame in the jacking points. Definitely worth it I think.

More to follow as I learn to use my welder - never done it before and will practice on a few scrap pieces before I start on the car. Wish me luck!

rotordogg

iTrader: (4)

Nicely done. It's funny but I did the same thing. Actually I started using dry ice and then by accident found out that since it was only 20 degrees in my garage, the rest of it broke loose without the dry ice. I guess it just had to be below freezing.

Can't wait to see your results with the welder. I'm going to head to HF to pick one up this weekend. It would be great to hear your opinion of it first.

Mazda RX-7 EFINI TYPE

Use a knotted wire wheel. Lasts a long time, does a great job, and a lot less 'wires' flying at you. I used an angle grinder for the most part, but a drill should work fine also, was definitely useful in some awkward spots.

Qingdao

iTrader: (3)

Not to knock on HF (I own a bunch of sockets from them), but I can't advise that MIG they sell.

I had a HF MIG a while back. After I got my Lincoln 180; I soon realized that I'm not bad at welding... My MIG was bad.

The chicago electric MIG doesn't give a very good low speed operation. It studders. Also, the torch hose kept getting kinked. The hose is made out of plastic not metal.


In my oppinion getting 2nd hand name brand welder that will serve you better for many years is a better choice than HF new.




At the same time I bought the HF chicago electric MIG when people I know to be experienced told me to buy a Lincoln.

Mazda RX-7 EFINI TYPE

A metal chisel & hammer actually works really well too, that's what we used when we started building our integra race car, went pretty quick & it wasn't very cold outside. I used the air hammer just recently on a customer CRX race car we are building...and it was heaven, lol. But you're done! So that's awesome! .

Also, if you're looking into a welder, there are a lot of youtube videos on the 'eBay' welders, and some of them seem to perform pretty well...just something to consider .

woodmv

iTrader: (8)

I don't know if I'll be welding on this before this weekend and will have a personal opinion about it before you buy, but from the research I did, the HF one (obviously) wasn't the best choice quality-wise compared to other name brands, but for the money it should be a good starter welder. Got it on sale and used a coupon, so the money was right - 90 bucks.

Ahhhh! I'll pick one of those up and try it, thanks for the tip!

I trolled CL for a few weeks at least before I pulled the trigger on the HF welder. There wasn't a lot in my price range that was available and the reviews of the HF one were 50/50. Seems like everyone on CL wanted $400 or more for what looked like well used units. I mean, like only about 30% less than retail for them. I'm usually always keeping an eye out for stuff like that and depending on how this HF welder works out I may be back in the market. Hopefully not, but we'll see. I have low expectations - that way I can keep the disappointment to a minimum!

rotordogg

iTrader: (4)

Yeah, I know. But like WoodMV, I'm in the same boat. I can get a 170amp HF welder with gas, tank, regulator, helmet, gloves, cart and wire for less than $500. A name brand welder along will cost me $500+. But I will take your advice and check CL to see if I can find any good deals there first.

woodmv

iTrader: (8)

This weekend I cut out the inner and outer rocker on the forward drivers side. It was challenging to get all those spot welds out and I'll need a couple new drill bits, but I'm proud to say that it's out and I have the new piece prepped. Need to trim it to size, but I got it cut out of the donor car. The last pic is of the new piece just sitting in place - still have to trim it to fit and get in it's final place. I left it a little big so I can trim it to the proper size and weld in place.

Rotaryhaven

iTrader: (17)

cool.

cfamilyfix

iTrader: (15)

Very ambitious project...there is such a thing as a spot weld drill bit that makes the job an absolute breeze. I too not that long ago took possession of a silver 79 SA so I look to you for inspiration. I dont even have the heart to lift the carpet on mine lol. Good luck!

woodmv

iTrader: (8)

Yeah, one busted knuckle and three or four fried drill bits later and I realized I should have bought one of those spot weld drill bits - SMH....

Awesome that you have a silver 79! Did you see the other thread - Project Naomi (I think)? The silver looks pretty fantabulous in his thread and I've made up my mind to keep it.

I was absolutely MORTIFIED when I lifted the carpet. As soon as I lifted it I knew. There were stains of rust on the padding underneath the carpet. Then I lifted the padding and it was horrible. The sound deadening stuff just popped right off - it had become unbonded from the floor because the water had wicked from the front to the back beneath it. No way I could have left it like that. Hopefully yours isn't as bad. Weird thing about mine is that the drivers side is 100 times worse than the passenger side, so maybe there's hope!

82transam

iTrader: (18)

You're making great progress, I'm really enjoying seeing someone else tackle rust like this.