Dealing with rust and rot occuring in main body sills (2 Viewers)

[sunrk]

Recently I discovered rot hiding under paint right at the back of the RHS body sill in front of the rear wheel arch, and also part-way along roughly under the B-pillar area.

This is what it was like after I'd fully exposed the rear sill hole:

pic page

and this was the same location after rust-converter treatment prior to filler:

pic page

This is the decay under the B-pillar area after treatment - note how it looks like the metal is really thin almost like the steel has decayed from the inside to become almost like 'steel foil'...

pic page

I've done the best I can do with treating and filling the decay areas, but the amount of rust I could see *inside* that big hole in front of the RHS rear wheel bothers me and it's one of those body cavity spaces that are basically impossible to see into without something like a telescopic inspection camera (that I don't have).

I am thinking I will find the same thing going on with the matching area at the rear of the LHS body sill but haven't investigated that side as yet.

Now my questions are - how can this be inspected from the inside and how can it be treated from the inside if there's anything that can be done. I have no idea how the rot has occured.

Anyone else dealt with this in their 80? I know there are problems with body rot in the front where the firewall panel joins to the front half of the bottom floor panel, but didn't expect to get rot at the rear of the main body sills.

If that bung was taken out it's pretty close to the site but still wouldn't be easy to see inside without a fancy inspection camera gadget.

This is the RHS body sill after I've shaped the filler as best as I can and primed it ready for a final paint coat:

pic page

Is something like Killrust Fishoilene suitable to use inside sills, etc. where access is extremely limited as a way of keeping a lid on the spread of rust?

https://wattyl.com.au/product-details?productId=13126

Another product I've come across is Eastwood internal frame coating.

Eastwood Internal Frame Coating - Black w/Spray Nozzle

Car Restoration Specialist

www.ppcco.com.au

Short of commiting to somewhat major surgery to wholesale cut out and repair the body sills, what other approaches are worth trying to see if I can slow down the progression of the rust inside the sills and any other similar enclosed and very difficult to access body cavity spaces?

Craig.

 

[White Stripe]

The rocker gets moisture in it from a couple ways. Make sure the rocker drains aren't clogged. There are body plugs all along the back side of the rocker. Pull the plugs and u can see inside. I would look to see how bad it is. Cut out the bad, weld in new metal. Then use the plug hole to spray por15 or something with a spray wand. If u pull the inside body panel and tail lamp bucket u can see down in the quarter. Again, cut out, weld in new and protect. Moisture gets into the quarter through bad window seals, bad tail lamp bucket seal, or water crossings. It's also a good idea to look inside your frame

 

[sunrk]

I've left this alone for a while but I've noticed a telltale of rust in the LHS sill as well, so it got me re-thinking.

Clearly the best answer is go major chop-chop which also gives the best access to the internal rusting. I can't really afford that in money or time since I'd prefer to put money into a replacement motor.

To slow down or stop rusting, what would the best product combo be to try?

I was still kind of thinking of Fishoilene, though not sure. It's data sheet does not say what the rust inhibitor portion of the product is, and it's something that (perhaps beneficially?) can and would need to be reapplied to maintain long-term protection.

Besides attempting deal with rust coming to the outside, the stuff not visible or easily accessible still has to be treated somehow. There are a bunch of different rust convert products around as we know. Some are basic phosphoric-acid based, and they are of little or no use in this situation IMHO.

I'm still very keen to adopt the Eastwood internal frame coating with one concern - unless the internal area is properly sealed by the stuff once rust can still come back. It does come in aerosols though so can access internal spacings with bung plugs removed.

There converters like Fertan, plus there is the POR-15 (and mirror range Hirsch miracle paint) metal prep that leaves a zinc chromate layer to help POR-15 and similar moisture-cured coatings penetrate and bond.

 

[80JDM]

When your all done, lather it up with LPS3 using a paint brush or spray wand for internal cavities

 

[BILT4ME]

Can also use Fluid Film or WoolWax to spray internal to all panels, frame, coat the bottom of the truck. Can do it with a garden sprayer if needed.

 

[Pin_Head]

It is a waste of time trying to stop rust like that. 80s aren’t that expensive, so just look for a rust-free one.

 

[80JDM]

It is a waste of time trying to stop rust like that. 80s aren’t that expensive, so just look for a rust-free one.

If only we all could live in California... Hmm, maybe not after all and I'll just fix my rust. Though I would happily buy a 'cheap 80' with no rust, but have never seen one listed.

 

[80JDM]

Can also use Fluid Film or WoolWax to spray internal to all panels, frame, coat the bottom of the truck. Can do it with a garden sprayer if needed.

Ny Newfie buddy calls this stuff 'sheep squishins' because its lanolin based. The guys on the rock swear by this stuff and from the land of salt air, salt water and salt roads, they know what they're talking about.

 

[sunrk]

It is a waste of time trying to stop rust like that. 80s aren’t that expensive, so just look for a rust-free one.

You're kidding right? To get even a good mostly rust-free base model one like mine started out as before I did lots of changes and mods over the years would cost me at least A$5k (my 80 cost me that in 2011 and they've not gone down much in value). To get a good turbo diesel (not non-turbo like mine) would cost me A$10k. That sounds easy to get, but it's not. Besides, I've invested a lot of time and effort fixing mine up, so it's a lot more than market value in it's 'worth' to me.

You are correct though there comes a time when the value-judgement of continuing to invest time/money eventually outweighs the benefit of stepping back and looking for something else.

 

[sunrk]

Ny Newfie buddy calls this stuff 'sheep squishins' because its lanolin based. The guys on the rock swear by this stuff and from the land of salt air, salt water and salt roads, they know what they're talking about.

I've heard of those but haven't come across them here. Might be available though - there's a specialist automotive paint/bodywork supplies place in an industrial area close to the route I drive to/from work.

How would those products compare to the Eastwood internal frame coating? Do lanolin-based rust-preventive coatings act similar to stuff such as Fishoilene which never actually fully-dry/cure?

BTW, found a thread here on ih8mud (here in the 80 series forum) about wool wax:

Anyone try WoolWax yet?

Kellsport came out with a new product called WoolWax that is supposedly odor free and comes in two colors. As most of you know, I am an old fashioned grease monkey and I am always slathering either bar chain oil or Fluid Film on my undergarments as the first stages of my rust reversal school...

forum.ih8mud.com

Craig.

 

[80JDM]

I've heard of those but haven't come across them here. Might be available though - there's a specialist automotive paint/bodywork supplies place in an industrial area close to the route I drive to/from work.

How would those products compare to the Eastwood internal frame coating? Do lanolin-based rust-preventive coatings act similar to stuff such as Fishoilene which never actually fully-dry/cure?

BTW, found a thread here on ih8mud (here in the 80 series forum) about wool wax:

Anyone try WoolWax yet?

Kellsport came out with a new product called WoolWax that is supposedly odor free and comes in two colors. As most of you know, I am an old fashioned grease monkey and I am always slathering either bar chain oil or Fluid Film on my undergarments as the first stages of my rust reversal school...

forum.ih8mud.com

Craig.

There are plenty of youtubes out there comparing this stuff. Pretty informative. From what I remember the eastwood stuff is paint. Not the same as the products listed above.

 

[sunrk]

Update - haven't been able to address any of this to date with family, work, etc. issues and just not having funds to chuck at the problem (took 6 months to save money for the chassis cracking repair).

Chatting to mechanic the other day when booking 80 in for it's rego/mechnical full inspection and he's thinking like me the only answer might be to actually cut the body sills out (the other facing curved panel part) on each side to get a proper look at the rest of the insides, deal with it as much as possible, and fit new metal where the cutaways were made.

 

[sunrk]

Since I had one of the flare pieces (tjm aftermarket but fitted over 20 yrs ago) over the left wheel arch fall off and I found rust quite bad hidden by it I took off the one on the other side and same thing is happening. At present I can't afford any body shop work to try and fix it. The sheet metal seems to be very thin and I'm guessing never got a lot of attention when the bodies of the early 80's were made since all the original paint coating esp what I can when inspecting the inside of the wheel arch space seems minimal at best.