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Spare tire well rust.. repair?

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Old 02-06-2024, 08:09 AM
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Spare tire well rust.. repair?

I am going to buy a 88 iroc 66k miles 2 owner car.. I had him send me pics of the entire car.. the only rust to be found is the spare tire well in the back.. I will have to cut one from a donor car as you cannot buy this patch any longer.. Have you guys fixed one of these? Any pics?
Old 02-06-2024, 08:40 AM
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Re: Spare tire well rust.. repair?

I'm in a similar position with mine, so I'm interested to see the responses
Old 02-06-2024, 10:10 AM
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Re: Spare tire well rust.. repair?

That was one of my first ever body repairs. Used an old flux welder, made a patch then coated the inside with POR15. Not my best work but held for 10 years before I moved to another project. You can see where the POR15 came through the welds. Later I ground it down coated with POR15 and undercoat. Looked decent when done.





Old 02-06-2024, 10:35 AM
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Re: Spare tire well rust.. repair?

Thanks for sharing! So is it possible the quarter isnt rusted? Is the tire well like a panel inside the quarter? I been under these cars a million times never paid attention (see pic.. is the circled part the actual quarter panel?)
Old 02-06-2024, 10:36 AM
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Re: Spare tire well rust.. repair?

It's possible I had to do one vertical strip. Only way to know is start sanding. I had to re weld the spare tire bracket to the lower body
Old 02-06-2024, 07:42 PM
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Re: Spare tire well rust.. repair?

Im pretty sure thats the quarter panel... it could be the outside was fixed with bondo / filler.
Old 02-06-2024, 08:06 PM
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Re: Spare tire well rust.. repair?

There’s a good amount of rust there. You’ll see once you start grinding/stripping/sanding away the undercoating, seam sealer and paint. The quarter panel looks like it’s rusted through behind the ground effects. I had rust in this area that I repaired, but it wasn’t that extensive. Limited to the inner wheel well.

Problem is that if that area has that much rust, all of the other common spots will have rust and rot as well. These cars never rust in just one spot, and the rust spots will be pretty well hidden.

Common spots are front corners of the rocker panels/floorboards where the front fender attaches, passenger side cowl/firewall/toeboard, front shock towers, rear inner wheel wells, rear outer wheel well/quarter panel, rear body panel where impact absorber mounts. All of these spots are tough to find the rust unless you are looking/poking.
Old 02-06-2024, 08:44 PM
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Re: Spare tire well rust.. repair?

That is what I am afraid of rust everywhere..

It’s a low mile car.. going Saturday to look at possibly buy.. hope it’s not eaten up with rust owner swears this is only rust on whole car..




QUOTE=TransamGTA350;6523866]There’s a good amount of rust there. You’ll see once you start grinding/stripping/sanding away the undercoating, seam sealer and paint. The quarter panel looks like it’s rusted through behind the ground effects. I had rust in this area that I repaired, but it wasn’t that extensive. Limited to the inner wheel well.

Problem is that if that area has that much rust, all of the other common spots will have rust and rot as well. These cars never rust in just one spot, and the rust spots will be pretty well hidden.

Common spots are front corners of the rocker panels/floorboards where the front fender attaches, passenger side cowl/firewall/toeboard, front shock towers, rear inner wheel wells, rear outer wheel well/quarter panel, rear body panel where impact absorber mounts. All of these spots are tough to find the rust unless you are looking/poking.[/QUOTE]
Old 02-06-2024, 08:46 PM
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Re: Spare tire well rust.. repair?

If it makes you feel any better my friend had a nearly rust free firebird except for that one area. Everything else the frame the floor it's all perfect.
Old 02-06-2024, 08:51 PM
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Re: Spare tire well rust.. repair?

This guy SWEARS this is only rust on entire car.. find out Saturday.. taking a floor jack to get under it.. he has carpet out and said floor boards are perfect under carpet and under car..






Originally Posted by midias
If it makes you feel any better my friend had a nearly rust free firebird except for that one area. Everything else the frame the floor it's all perfect.
Old 02-06-2024, 09:10 PM
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Re: Spare tire well rust.. repair?

Hopefully that’s the only rust, but verify very carefully. Not impossible, but also not common. The owner may not be aware of other rust since it’s usually very hidden on these cars.

Suggest reading my rebuild thread. This will tell you where to look. Bring a sharp awl to poke through the undercoating and seam sealer. Good luck.

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/memb...ml#post6523753
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Old 02-06-2024, 09:21 PM
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Re: Spare tire well rust.. repair?

Wow very nice.. I will study these and make sure I look really good at these areas
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