My body repair progress

[cozye]

well I started some repairs of some rusty area's on my car. I decided to tackle the rear hatch area, as I already had the interior disassembled and dropped the tank etc.. to remove the rear bumper mounts and am shaving the rear. Figured I'd post some pics and share my experience.

Today I cut out the rusty section on my hatch jam, its only rusted on the drivers side. I figure this might be one of the more complicated repairs. I made pretty good progress today since I only had about 5 hours to work on it. I'll finish it up tomorrow.

before

got the rust cut out and ground out

new bottom piece welded in

I cut and bent the replacement piece on a metal brake I have. Took a while to get it fit. When I cut the old piece out I went along with the seam that had a recess for the overlap so its in the factory location. I'll make the top piece tomorrow which will be a lot easier and finish it out. After the pic I coated with eastwood rust encapsulator.

I think the main reason why these pieces rust out is that the seam sealer on the bottom that seals the top and bottom piece didn't go all the way across and it looked like water got between the two pieces of metal.

I'll also put a little filler around the seam on the flat panel behind the tail light assembly just to smooth it out a touch, even though you can't see it anyway.

[grantf]

Nicely done looks clean.

[cozye]

Thanks. Still getting used to welding sheet metal. Getting pretty decent at it. Some of my tacks are not as hot as I'd like, but when I turn the voltage up it burns through. It takes time I reckon.

[ajmcforester]

Looks good, nice bending. To help get better penetration for a stronger weld try beveling the edges you will find it helps. Also round the corners more nothing like welding right angles, then having to grind them down.

[cozye]

Looks good, nice bending. To help get better penetration for a stronger weld try beveling the edges you will find it helps. Also round the corners more nothing like welding right angles, then having to grind them down.

Yeah, I do the beveled edges and preheat on thicker stuff. That works good. In my experience practicing on scrap sheet metal though, beveling edges gets it too thin and it's easier to burn holes in it.

[ajmcforester]

Yeah, I do the beveled edges and preheat on thicker stuff. That works good. In my experience practicing on scrap sheet metal though, beveling edges gets it too thin and it's easier to burn holes in it.

Ya I've heard that I learned originally welding with gas and TIG is very close so I usually just TIG when I welded and when I used a MIG it was 1" steel, wich is a big difference.

[cozye]

Finished the hatch jamb repair. I made this top piece by hand from sheet metal. Pretty happy with how it turned out. All it needs is a touch of filler to smooth out and a bit of seam sealer on the edges.. I also coated the metal underneath from the first layer repair with eastwood rust encapsulator, and primed the back of my finish piece with weld thru primer. I don't want any unfinished metal hiding to start rusting.

On to filling rear holes and finish shaving the rear apron from my park bench removal

Edited January 2, 2011 by cozye

[geezer]

Nice work! That repair turned out very well indeed! That is one of the most common rust problem areas on these cars. You are a good fabricator and make it look easy.

[FastWoman]

Very nice! I might need to learn this black art! I have rust repairs to do in the same area, both left and right, but mine aren't as extensive. I *might* be able just to clean up what I have, primer/fill, paint, and be done.

FAIW, someone on this board filled the bottom part of the hatch area to create a smooth run-off slope, so that water wouldn't pool in that area. I thought it was a pretty good idea, although it leaves the area rather thick in bondo. I'm wondering whether an even better solution would be to weld a sloping metal piece over the top of the existing metal. Any thoughts???

[ajmcforester]

Just keep it clean, don't let stuff build up and make sure the paint isn't cracked, and make a point to wipe that area all the time.

[cozye]

Very nice! I might need to learn this black art! I have rust repairs to do in the same area, both left and right, but mine aren't as extensive. I *might* be able just to clean up what I have, primer/fill, paint, and be done.

FAIW, someone on this board filled the bottom part of the hatch area to create a smooth run-off slope, so that water wouldn't pool in that area. I thought it was a pretty good idea, although it leaves the area rather thick in bondo. I'm wondering whether an even better solution would be to weld a sloping metal piece over the top of the existing metal. Any thoughts???

It's not hard if you are good with your hands. It's a bit tricky to weld sheet metal, but if you practice on some scrap you can get it dialed in enough to start on the body, and the more tack welds you do the better you get at it. Mine didn't look as bad until I started to cut it out, you might have more rot than you can see, you never know. If you can't get rust ground off, you have to cut it out.

After cutting this section apart, I can see how these areas rust. There is sheet metal stacked on top of sheet metal. The area underneath by the license plate didn't have sealer, so moisture could get it. The seems in the corners are just sealed with body sealer. I think a little air/moisture gets in from underneath and over time a small crack or pin hole is all it takes for it to start, then the water just its in there and seeps through the hole making it worse. it sits between the sheet metal sandwich and rots away. I'd say the most inportant thing would be to keep it all sealed and dry. If it's sealed water could sit on that hatch jamb for a long time without causing any issue.

[cozye]

Today's progress. A bit of hole filling on the rear apron. Still have a bit of smoothing to do with the grinder. Once I get the other side done I'll go over it with some filler and slick it out.

I made some headway with my welding as well, my wire spool was a bit tight giving me some occasional sporadic wire feed, and I changed my nozzle angle a bit and turned up the voltage just a smidgen. Much better.. I knew a little more heat would help, but it's a fine line between hot tack welds and blowing holes. I think the spool being a little tight contributed to burning holes when my voltage was up previously.