Greetings...my car is finally at the paint shop and now the real work is beginning...as the old paint layers are being stripped away the areas needing repair are being revealed...I have an section at the bottom of the hatch window that has rusted the lip underneath the rubber seal there. My paint/body guy says he can cut/shape and weld in a new section of metal there or replace the entire hatch itself...not sure yet what the cost differential would be but I'd have to pay for the part (probably from a parts Z)...anyone have to fix this area on their ride? What did you do? As always, thanks for any info... :beard:

grind it and see what you have left

Good point, this was just the first round of stripping to get the top coats of paint/primer off and the windows out...I'm sure by next visit he'll have a cleaner view of the body and amount of rust there...we looked at it from inside the hatch access holes(covered by the panel) and could see that rust was also on the underside of that seam in picture...would adding in a new piece of sheet metal there be any less strong than an original part?

A good body man (or woman) should be able to weld that up so that it is every bit as strong as an original. But at what cost? How many hours of labor will it take? Since that hatch is the non-vented one, a good used hatch shouldn't be too hard to find affordably. Might be cheaper to replace than to repair.

Since any 240-280 hatch will work it might be easier to find a replacement.

Thanks for the input...I'll talk it over with my paint guy and see what's the best approach...being that he's in the auto body business I'm sure he has contacts that can source parts for him...part of my thinking is to keep as much of the original car intact as feasible, but I've already swapped in a 5-speed trans. and my right rear suspension arm is from a '73...so much for "originality"...

:beard:

I'd replace the hatch. It would take quite a bit of new metal, welding & fabrication to cut out ALL of the rusty metal and replace it. Anything less and you'd be left with a wavy panel & rust eating through and bubbling the finish around the hatch glass seal.

Btw my car just had surface rust there so when i was done i used por 15 in there to prevent future rust. You may want to do that when u get a new one or get that one fixed.

Thanks, I hear you...but I'm thinking the replacement may be the better way to go because of the amount of "pre"-perforation rust forming on the underside of that seam...at least I'll know that the shape/spacing of the seal lip will be factory on the replacement...

Thanks for input folks...