v8nate92RS

Well, I was adjusting my rear hatch today so I had to take off the back plastic piece that covers the end of the head liner and this is what I found!

v8nate92RS

This is the driver's side of the car, the other side has a little bit in the same spot, all the panels around it are perfect...is this a common area to rust?? Should I be worried...the rest of the car looks like new, but I hate rust anywhere!

demicon

I'd be a little worried. I don't know if that is a common place to rust, but based on how the hatch area is designed, I would imagine it is.

It looks like deep rust too.

Ouch man.

v8nate92RS

It has gone through a couple layers, but the picture makes it look bigger than it really is, it is just in the corner and is maybe 1 and 1/2 inches long. Still sucks...I guess I could work it out and bondo it, just so it doesn't spread.

Poncho Villa

Totally, just grind out the loose stuff, and there's this rust stop stuff that will turn rust into a hard black and inert material. Auto parts places should have it. Then just bondo, and maybe throw in a little mesh for strength. I've got a tiny set of bubbles on my A-pillar, by the windshield, but I'm not going to mess with it until I'm ready to paint the whole car. Plus I live in Cali, so rust doesn't grow too fast. As far as I know, there's no rust anywhere else. That's minor dude.

Not to worry, even if you had rust everywhere, you could just swap in fiberglass panels, losing about 200 lbs in the process for quicker ET's.

v8nate92RS

Thanks Poncho, I was pretty suprised to find that rust spot...The car has lived out its 12 years in Florida and Alabama and just last year I bought it and moved it up to Maryland. I don't drive it in the rain, and it will be garaged for the salty winter months. The car has 72K original miles, and I pulled up the carpet and checked the floor boards and it all looks like new, so I was suprised when I uncovered those spots! Oh well, I'll take your advise and work those spots out. Thanks for the reply!

Poncho Villa

Wow, low miles. Sounds like it will be well taken care of. I want to get a garage going one of these days. Will get a car cover for now. I've been told that having a garage is huge for saving your exterior. The elements can really beat on it, no matter how much you wash and wax. Too much washing ain't good either, because it gets water everywhere. Post pic of whole car if you get the chance.

By the way, I've got 155,000 miles, with a fairly recent cobalt blue paint job. Interior is pretty close to mint, and the motor runs like a dream, doesn't use any oil. I've heard these things will go forever if you take care of them. Glad to know your car has a good home.

Maverick_82

My T/A has a t top and i dont even have rust there!?!

Maverick_82

v8nate92RS, you may want to remove your rear hatch and inspect the area surrounding the hinge bolts it may not be water tight.

v8nate92RS

Thanks, yeah I know its not completely water tight, cause when I took it through the touch free power wash a little water seeped out. OH well, I'll get it taken care of as soon as I can.

Maverick_82

remove the bolts and equip them with washers. If this doesn't work drop me a line.

Gr89RS

iTrader: (5)

Hmm i wonder how this happened.....I just took off the same peice yesterday doing some sound proofing, it was in absolute perfect shape , bad weatherstripping may be your case, just a shot in the dark though...

Mr_Metal

Dang, that's NOT just a "little rust spot"... that's ROTT.

You've got a leak somewhere, and I'd tend to think that that's going to be the first in a long line of "little rust spots" on the horizon.

Definitely get that ROTT out of there, before it eats the hatch alive.

** I had a cherry '84 Buick Regal T-Type (Turbo 3.8) back in the day... and I had to junk it due to "little rust spots" above the doors.
Basically, the whole roof rusted off the car... I couldn't stop the rust... bad leak was the issue.

Good Luck man... hope you pin this down.

devianb

Wow, I didn't think that part of the car could rust like that, ouch.

eric17422001

That my friends is rust from being near the ocean with salt air settling on the vehicle and salt humidity. Plus not washing the car frequently.

I have a friend with an '89 IROC that spent it's life in the Florida Keys. There are holes with rust bubbled through the edges of the roof by the rain gutters . The bases of the windshield pillars are rusted through.

There is no underbody rust at all like the rest of us are famaliar with, the car is very clean otherwise.

He knows a guy who says he can "fix it" to which I asked "how?" as I think this guy is going to fiberglas and bondo it, that isn't "fixed" and in fact there is a spot on the roof where that's been done already and it's rusting under it!

I am trying to talk him into bringing me the car up here in Savannah and leaving it with me for some time- I will clip and entire roof off a junkyard car onto it- weld it on the factory seams in the rear on the pillars and weld the front at the base of the windsheild posts. I'll have to remove the interior and windsheild to do this, but it'll be "done right".

Eric

Maverick_82

Mine in mint condition as well.

Belker

I'm a poor man and sometimes have to take shortcuts to get by ... so I'd remove the worst of the rust with a dremel (or all of it if I could), paint what is remaining with POR-15, and rivot in a sheetmetal patch, then POR-15 again ... and then hope for some luck.