StuntmanMike

iTrader: (2)

I posted a thread about this a few weeks ago, https://ls1tech.com/forums/paint-bod...s-rotting.html

Here's an update with pics. This past weekend I finally got a chance to get it on the ramps and take some pics.
Sorry, seems like I can't link the pics.

Here's the Flikr page they're on:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/phoenix...7627591939785/

I didn't have a chance to get under the driver's side rear carpet with a light, but there def feels like there's corrosion there. It feels worse than the pass side, other than that one spot in the pic, the pass side feels nice and smooth and corrosion free. I took a pic of the pass side floor under the rug, you can see the one spot of corrosion. It's wierd, it's raised about the rest of the sheet metal, it feel like a big scab. I pressed on it, but my fingerdidn't go through. Still, I'm afraid it goes all the way through.

I plan on pulling theseat and carpet to get a good look at everything.

Till then, anyone have any thoughts/suggestions?

Wire brush and POR 15 (or Rust Bullet) seems to be the best bet for now.

chaman

iTrader: (5)

You know the complete history of the car? Did at some time had the floors or part of them replaced?

StuntmanMike

iTrader: (2)

No idea. I had bought it in '07 from a small dealer. It was one of his personal cars, but the wife said some "toys" had to go. He said he liked the Bird, but he liked his Vette more. As the story goes, anyway.

I'll find out more when I can get the rug out I guess. Although at least from underneath it doesn't look like any patch panels were ever installed, but then again I'm no pro at spotting stuff like that.

Speedy

That looks like stock to me. You just have some salt water rust. I would tape it off and sandblast it. Then I would apply some automotive seam sealer (like Dominion Sure-seal that they use at GM plants) and seal the panels inside and outside. After that just paint it and spray the underside with oil.

SilverV6Camaro

Had the same thing on my 98 TA. I cleaned the floors up with a wire brush on a drill, then used the Eastwood 3 part system...rust converter, rust encapsulator, and extreme chassis black. After 2 years (and stored winters) it is holding up well. Mine was not rusted through at all, just bubbled up, which is what yours looks like too. I did not look under the carpet though...need to look at that.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvgkQK0g-n8

SSInnovations

iTrader: (8)

Have you pulled all the carpet yet?

I am dealing with the same thing in the exact same spots. When I pulled my carpet I saw about three quarter sized spots where it was popping through. It will get worse when you start grinding on it.

My $.02, the only real way to fix rust is sand off and cut out/replace metal if needed. POR15 or an encapsulation is simply a bandaid, it will not stop it.

Ballinonabudget

iTrader: (12)

Cut the rusted sections out and weld in patches. Sheet metal is cheap. Clean up the weld points with a wire wheel, weld a tab to your patch, pull the patch tight by the tab, tack, and weld into place. Finish with some undercoating or rust tough enamel. should be a pretty easy fix.

Snake_Skinner

iTrader: (12)

This thread sucks, it's what we all get to look forward to.

SSInnovations

iTrader: (8)

Yes it does. My car was only driven two winters and washed religiously. If I could go back in time I would hit that spot with some seam sealer, the way the floor and frame come together under there is just asking for it.

SilverV6Camaro

Ok after seeing this I am going to seal the **** out of that seam. It's all painted with the encapsulator now, but the gaps between those pieces of sheet metal are still there. Sealing them up ought to put a halt to this....as well as keeping it stored winters. Damn it, eventually a car gets old enough that sort of thing will pop up.

SSInnovations

iTrader: (8)

I am just surprised there is not more in the forums about it, I looked everywhere and there is almost nothing. I imagine people see slight rust underneath and don't think of pulling the carpet. I might make a how-to thread when I cut that crap out and replace it, if it's not a southern car or a garage queen it's going to rust in that spot, I guarantee it.

One more thing to mention, finding replacement floor pans is damn near impossible. The car is too new for the repo market and as far as I know dealers can't get them anymore from GM. If it's really bad our only option is cutting the floors from a donor car which is a major pita. Fparts in PA told me it's not worth their time..

SteelCityYaga

Thanks for putting a thread up about this issue, I'm sure more people have this problem.

My Car, fortunately, is Southern and a Garage Queen, but I'll be sealing up that area just in case.

Good Luck!

chrysler kid

iTrader: (14)

might just want to call a few yards out here in dallas and houston and ask about that area of the car.

Out here you cant walk through a field without finding atleast one 93-97 v6 fbody with 0 rust. taking a plasma cutter to that area of a stripped shell should only take 3-5 minutes

Optispark Prime

The trouble with this area is that it's part of an attachment point for the rear LCA and frame rail. Judging by the OP's pics, the rust is through the actual floor pan.

I just got finished yanking the carpet in mine, and it is rough. I am definitely all the way through the floor pan, so I'm going to have to build patches or cut sections of pans from a southern car. I've read a few things online that suggest the floors are the same between 3rd and 4th gens, but that doesn't appear to be the case from what I've observed.

I really wish the restoration companies would start producing sheetmetal for our cars.

sixvi6-camaro

iTrader: (9)

130K on my car driven for the past 6 years in the snow in Chicago. I cut out the rust in those areas and used some sheet metal from another car floorpan, welded in new pieces, sealed and painted. FYI.. also check the rear wheel wells by pulling off the spare tire cover and taking out the spare. Look for rust bubbles or tiny areas of rust stains. Mine rusted through there and found a couple more spots in the wells underneath the 1/2" thick undercoating. the Undercoating cracks lets water in against the panel and holds it there.

Edit.. now that I think of it I should have cut the back seat buckets out and replaced them flat to make space for Mufflers for True duals... hmmm.

Metal Muscle

This is why I'm glad to have a Florida car.

SuperSport01

Looks like minor surface rust in the pics to me. Wire wheel the rust and POR15 it.

StuntmanMike

iTrader: (2)

I haven't had a chance to do anything yet.

The plan for now is to wire wheel it down to see how bad it is, then paint it with Rust Bullet, Chassis Saver, or POR-15, inside and out. I'm pretty sure that I'm going to find that it's going through, so this will just be a temp fix till next spring when I can have it cut out and welded. Then I'll add some seam sealer and maybe undercoat.

My cousin and her husband just bought a house with a nice garage, and he's been getting into stuff like that with their cars, so I figure he'll be pretty good at it by the spring, haha. Hopefully all it'll cost me is some pizza and beer.

This is nothing compared to my '97 Jeep though, the driver's side rocker is rotting from the inside out, and there's a big hole in it that gets bigger everytime I touch it. I think all that's holding the rest of it together is the bedliner I sprayed on the rockers 2 years ago. Same thing with the bottom of the driver's side front fender, I stuck my fingers in the hole today, and found that the bottom of the fender is basically just a shell made from bedliner.