The Rocker Rust Removal Begins Post (1 Viewer)

[CPACruiser]

And so it continues...after a few months of putting off this spot in the corner in front of the rear driver side wheel well ...

There was also a spot eaten through the inner wheel well that was attached to this...if you live in the north east us and have factory mudflaps and running boards on your 80 still...beware lol, they hold all kinds of junk.

This was about 30% of what I removed yesterday, more photos to come ...


Last week I started on the axles and frame surface rust removal as well....

 

[Kernal]

Does the rust go into the wheel well also?

 

[CPACruiser]

Does the rust go into the wheel well also?

It did yes, this is the spot I patched in the wheel well. From the inside of the vehicle if you remove the plastic "step plate," fold the seat forward, pull back the plastic trim and carpet there is a reservoir that mates up with the wheel well, inner rocker and floor tub...it's a harbor for moisture, mainly due to the hole in the inner rocker which on my truck has no grommet or anything to prevent moisture from getting in there. Toyota caulks the seam inside but in my truck there must have been moisture in there for a while and it basically ate through the wheel well. I cut it all out, patched and plan to recoat the wheel well once cured.

I'll try to post pictures of the inside once I get a chance. Here is the spot on the wheel well that I removed and patched. I also removed the old caulking on the inside and plan to seal it again. I think also what may have happened is the factory liner spray failed above at the bolt and water was seeping behind it for years unbeknownst to me and apparently the PO as well.

 

[Kernal]

From your knowledge of how those panels all fit together, does the area that rusts into the front section of the wheel well communicate with the quarter panel cavity?? Or does it communicate from the rocker panel cavity, or both, or what rusted out in your 80 a totally blind box??

 

[CPACruiser]

Slow progress on this part, lots of shapes going on in this area lol. My 12 year old helped with the welding, his first time and he did quite well actually. Great experience together for sure.

Rust reformer to protect the innerds.

Patch panel hand formed, used a paper template of pass side for size and shape, and a cardboard template of the passenger side radius for the bend radius. With some more metalwork and some body filler this should blend in well once done.

 

[JettaGLi16v]

Thanks for the detailed write up!
I'll be following closely, as my rear left rocker is in a pretty bad state as well. Thanks for the photos, so I can see what I'll find once I peek behind the curtain.

Nice job on the filler panels too! For a first timer, you're doing great.

I have done a fair bit of rust repair on old cars, and for forming it all by hand, you're doing great! I'll probably cheat and try to buy a piece cut out of a good donor

 

[CPACruiser]

Thanks for the detailed write up!
I'll be following closely, as my rear left rocker is in a pretty bad state as well. Thanks for the photos, so I can see what I'll find once I peek behind the curtain.

Nice job on the filler panels too! For a first timer, you're doing great.

I have done a fair bit of rust repair on old cars, and for forming it all by hand, you're doing great! I'll probably cheat and try to buy a piece cut out of a good donor

Thanks man, yeah it's tough to find a clean donor here in the north east so it's just easier to make it by hand, plus I like a challenge haha

 

[gummycarbs]

Rust reformer to protect the innerds

Mustie1 on YouTube has done a lot of rust repair videos. People ask why he doesn't use weld-through primer and his answer is that he prefers to spray the innards with a waxy concoction. If you seal the rust, it won't progress. Probably a good idea to spray something like that in your rockers when you're done with the repairs.

 

[JettaGLi16v]

Thanks man, yeah it's tough to find a clean donor here in the north east so it's just easier to make it by hand, plus I like a challenge haha

It's a great way to learn!
I bought a rusty 1974 VW Thing, and figured out how to weld by removing rotten metal one piece at a time!

After all, it's not rocket surgery!

 

[CPACruiser]

Mustie1 on YouTube has done a lot of rust repair videos. People ask why he doesn't use weld-through primer and his answer is that he prefers to spray the innards with a waxy concoction. If you seal the rust, it won't progress. Probably a good idea to spray something like that in your rockers when you're done with the repairs.

Yeah I have started using PB Surface Shield on the undercarriage and internals of the frame this summer. The stuff is amazing

 

[CPACruiser]

It's a great way to learn!
I bought a rusty 1974 VW Thing, and figured out how to weld by removing rotten metal one piece at a time!

After all, it's not rocket surgery!

Agreed, it's actually quite simple if you take your time making nicely fitting patches.

 

[Kernal]

Great job with the metal work.

 

[kw90surf]

Fellow northeaster here, this is awesome to see. I tackled some significant floor and rocker rust on a BMW convertible earlier this summer. Was my first crack at any sort of rust repair, and once I put my inner perfectionist to bed and started cutting, it wasn't so bad. Bit of a fun challenge honestly, lots of converging structural elements in there to tie back together. Keep it up!

 

[trevor philipps]

I did some similar work on my 80, posted it in the what did you do this weekend thread. If you check my posts you can see some of the work there.

Rocker work

Take a look at where your seat belt bolts in. You may be in for a surprise. If so fix that too! I think only one side was bad in mine. My rust was a bit worse.

Nice work!