Inner Wheelhouse Rust
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From: Cincinnati, OH
Inner Wheelhouse Rust I'm in the process of getting my fbody back to being road worthy after getting a GTO and letting it sit for a year and a half. While I'm redoing the suspension I noticed some big cracks in the inner wheelhouse so I poked at it with a screwdriver and this is what I found.
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What are my options from here? and about how much would it cost to repair this? The drivers side looks fine.
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[/IMG]What are my options from here? and about how much would it cost to repair this? The drivers side looks fine.
I re-sprayed my wheel wells with a nice dark black rubberized undercoating to prevent this... it didn't help cause rust was already starting underneath the coating. Anyway if you get it patched then I recommend covering metal with a rust encapsulator then rubberized undercoat.
Thread Starter
TECH Fanatic
iTrader: (5)
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 1,300
Likes: 1
From: Cincinnati, OH
Yup it's me. Once I get my front suspension back together I'll be taking it to a shop and getting a quote. If it's too expensive I can always just patch it up here at work in the fab shop.
Cut out the bad rust where the metal is paper thin and grind the rest free of rust.
Cut a patch panel out of sheet metal to go on the inside of the car and make sure it covers the previously rusted area.
Bend and shape the metal to look as original as possible and then you can use panel bond to adhere it to the car.
Inside the car paint the patch panel to prevent rust.
In the inner fender well you can use seam sealer around the edges where the cut out rust meets with the new patch panel. You can use the seam sealer as a build up to level across the patch panel instead of just at the over lap. This would be better then bondo.
Then texture coat the inside of the fender. With a heavy texture it should be hardly noticeable and the rust should not come back since the panel bond and seam sealer will cut off the air supply and most of the rust has been removed.
Cut a patch panel out of sheet metal to go on the inside of the car and make sure it covers the previously rusted area.
Bend and shape the metal to look as original as possible and then you can use panel bond to adhere it to the car.
Inside the car paint the patch panel to prevent rust.
In the inner fender well you can use seam sealer around the edges where the cut out rust meets with the new patch panel. You can use the seam sealer as a build up to level across the patch panel instead of just at the over lap. This would be better then bondo.
Then texture coat the inside of the fender. With a heavy texture it should be hardly noticeable and the rust should not come back since the panel bond and seam sealer will cut off the air supply and most of the rust has been removed.
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^ Pretty much what jaycenk said.
This is exactly how my right rear wheel well looked before the restoration. I cut out the rusted area, and used a wire wheel to get off any surface rust from the metal that was still salvageable (a torch and wire brush works well to remove the factory wheel well undercoating stuff). Then welded a patch piece to cover the hole. Next I used seam sealer on both sides, then painted both sides, and finally recoated both wheel wells. I highly recommend 3M Body Schutz (you use a siphon gun and air compressor to spray it). If you like, you can find start to finish pics here: https://ls1tech.com/forums/lt1-lt4-m...y-my-94-z.html
This is exactly how my right rear wheel well looked before the restoration. I cut out the rusted area, and used a wire wheel to get off any surface rust from the metal that was still salvageable (a torch and wire brush works well to remove the factory wheel well undercoating stuff). Then welded a patch piece to cover the hole. Next I used seam sealer on both sides, then painted both sides, and finally recoated both wheel wells. I highly recommend 3M Body Schutz (you use a siphon gun and air compressor to spray it). If you like, you can find start to finish pics here: https://ls1tech.com/forums/lt1-lt4-m...y-my-94-z.html
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^^^ what they said is going to be your cheapest option. patch it. to do it right is to cut the outer and inner quarter off and weld in a new one, if you can find one. if its that bad in that area, it's probably spreading pretty good around it too. mini tubs might be a good option at this point too.
I re-sprayed my wheel wells with a nice dark black rubberized undercoating to prevent this... it didn't help cause rust was already starting underneath the coating. Anyway if you get it patched then I recommend covering metal with a rust encapsulator then rubberized undercoat.
At the minimum, coat the rust with 'POR15', or 'Rust Bullet', to preventit from spreading, then get estimates on fixing it properly.
If you want to really make sure they dont rust clean all that rubber crap off and prep it for a rhino liner or linex coating. We use that stuff in just about all the trunks when we replace them. We have one (68 Firebird convert) that the guy wanted the entire bottom of the car coated and then we also coated the inside of the car.
If you spray the wheelwells with rubber undercoater, OVER THE RUST, the rust will spread faster, as it seals in the moisture, giving it a better chance to work!!
At the minimum, coat the rust with 'POR15', or 'Rust Bullet', to preventit from spreading, then get estimates on fixing it properly.
At the minimum, coat the rust with 'POR15', or 'Rust Bullet', to preventit from spreading, then get estimates on fixing it properly.
If you spray the wheelwells with rubber undercoater, OVER THE RUST, the rust will spread faster, as it seals in the moisture, giving it a better chance to work!!
At the minimum, coat the rust with 'POR15', or 'Rust Bullet', to preventit from spreading, then get estimates on fixing it properly.
At the minimum, coat the rust with 'POR15', or 'Rust Bullet', to preventit from spreading, then get estimates on fixing it properly.
Also I've worked at a Line-X shop and the same idea applies with that. Also it's hard for a Line-X gun to be able to cover the outer lip where it meets the fender
