Rocker Panel Rust

Cool Wheels · Feb 16, 2004

Not sure if this is the best forum to bring this up but has anyone dealt with this successfully and what did you do?

The rust is limited to the rocker panel and the driver side floor pan. I could attempt to fiberglass the rockerpanel and cut&weld a piece of regular sheet metal for the floorpan.

I would prefer replacing the entire affected area with a suitable replacement body piece. I'm wondering if they have something like a prefabricated replacement somewhere or do I need to find a scrap car and have the piece cut out.

Any experienced insight (or just plain ol' friendly banter) is appreciated

dmoody · Feb 16, 2004

You'll probably have to find a donor car for anything like a floor pan or rocker panel. Floor pans are difficult but do-able for an average welder.. the rocker panel is very hard to replace. I'd recommend finding another car if the rocker panel is beyond repair and must be replaced.

d

mustang_mattie · Feb 16, 2004

my rocker panels are shot as well. But I did find out that www.mustangsunlimited.com sells replacement panels for under 40.00 per side.

-Mattie

Sheetmetal GURU · Feb 16, 2004

How big of an area is damaged? If it is small then you could cut it out and weld in a new section. If the pan is bad a new pan would probably be the way to go.

Cool Wheels · Feb 17, 2004

thanks. The area affected is about 1 ft sq. but the holes are only about half an inch or so scattered here and there. I could use a rust converter and try to fiberglass but I figure it's best to do new sheet metal. Thx for the Mustangs Unlimited info. I'll have to get around to ordering their catalog one of these days. Maybe I'll find a scrap car somewhere that can donate the part.

Well it's only Monday but what the hell

Sheetmetal GURU · Feb 17, 2004

With an area that size you could have a shop or yourself, if you have the time and know-how, custom fab a piece that could be welded in place. I'm an aircraft sheet metal mechanic so I don't know how critical the pan is to the unibody's structural integrity. If structural integrity is not an issue then fiberglass is definitely an option to consider pursuing because of time and budget.

chaka · Feb 17, 2004

Well the car is a unibody. You would want steel depending on the severity of the holes IMO.

Do you want originality or just a quick fix. Most of my beater cars have sheetmetal floors with zip screws and tar. haha. it isn't pretty fromthe underside, but works wonders. But that is probably not what you want.

Try naval jelly (nasty stuff) to get rid of the rust. And then cover up all bare metal with a good primer to prevent anymore rust. once it starts it is hard to stop.

75stang302 · Feb 18, 2004

where exactly are the holes? i am getting ready to repair mine.i could probably take some pics and show you if that would help

Cool Wheels · Feb 18, 2004

75stang302 said:
where exactly are the holes? i am getting ready to repair mine.i could probably take some pics and show you if that would help

The holes are below the door weatherstrip (exterior side) on the top facing part and also on the floor pan - the rust has made the metal pretty thin on the floorpan so I don't even want to try fiberglass there; also the floor pan will continue to receive doses of rainwater, road salt, etc so a fresh piece of sheet metal is my only option I think.

75stang302 · Feb 19, 2004

i will be starting on mine this weekend probably and i will take some photos along the way to show you how i do it.what kind of tools do you have access to? welder,grinder cut off tools ect...

Cool Wheels · Feb 19, 2004

I'll have a grinder and mini rotary tool. I'm sure my fiancee's cousin's husband has an arc welder, maybe even a cutting torch, that I can use. My main problem is having a dry place to do it. I just moved to a new town and have no covered parking. So hopefully I'll have a house with a decent working area this spring/summer.

Any pictures you have would be awesome, and since sometimes I swear like a sailor while I'm working, the kids in the neighborhood won't learn any new words

Turbo II · Feb 19, 2004

I think the handiest tool for you will be the angle grinder. I use mine now for a lot of my sheetmetal work including some cutting. The dremel will work but boy they eat up cutting discs fast when working on our cars. I found buying a thin cutting wheel for the grinder was more economical in the long run although you can't use it everywhere (get's too messy in the tight spaces ). I would shy away from the torch, too much heat transfer to the metal you want to keep...same goes for the stick welder.

Are there any car clubs in Nelson? I would join a local club if possible, car guys are car guys and I'm sure you could find someone with a mig welder, garage space and experience. In exchange you can help them with their projects. I found this to be a great way to make new friends and to get out and enjoy your car. A guy in my club does aluminum welding for me and in exchange I help him out with his house (I do renovations for a living) Same thing goes with our other members, we have peiople experienced with paint, engines, upholstery, etc... everybody wins!

I'll likely be doing the floor pans in one of my cars this summer, I'll post pics when I get to it.

Francis

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