today when changing my oil i noticed a decent sized rust hole on the driver side wheel well near the strut tower.





I was really surprised how large it is, assuming it happened since the last time i changed the oil. It doesnt look like something i would have missed. But it seems big for something that happened in the last 4000 miles. You cant tell from the pic, but I can see the tires through the hole, and it goes over toward the fender too.

Anyway, is this something a body shop could fix, and would anyone know a rough estimate of what it might cost

 

it could definitely be fixed. what my dad would probably do (he used to own a repair shop/body shop) is grind down all the rust and tack weld a peice of metal on it then sand down the welded tabs.. assuming you want it to look like no rust was there he would have painted it. i'm sure a body shop could fix it easily, but anything that has to do with body work is pretty costly.

 

at this point though, the cost doesnt matter much at all.

If i don't fix it. its gonna destroy the inside of the fender and eventually the strut tower... and then i can throw the car away

So, I guess ill be calling body shops tommorow

 

I'm fighting some rust too- I have a similar spot on my 84 z28

If you don't care about how it looks and just want to stop it and seal it up, try Por-15. www.por15.com
They have some stuff that can patch that. I plan on using Por15 paint, spanning the hole with fiberglass cloth, and coating the cloth with the Por15 - a couple coats. It worked ok on the floor of my '67 Cutlass. If you can, do the same for the underside of the hole.
I'm finding lots of little spots of rust all over the car-just got it a month ago. It seema like a lot of the damage could have been prevented if the previous owner had taken more care and washed out the crap that collected in the hard-to-get-at places.

 

that stuff might work on surface rust as it shows.. but he is dealing with an actual hole. i guess you have some options, take it to the body shop, try to fix it yourself (better know how to weld and do some body work) or if you do them, get ready to strip it soon and buy another body

 

You can fix holes- I've done it. But I agree, welding in a patch is the best way especially if you need to restore the strength of the repair. Cosmetically and waterproofing wise you can patch it with the POR15 and fiberglass cloth. They have some good tips on their site.
Welding is definitely the best way. If you have a $250-500 to spend, get a MIG welder and practice. A good skill to learn.

 

I really wish i had noticed this before i had the SFC's and LCA reocation brackets welded in... I could have gotten and 88 body for like $300 last week, it was in the paper, not running at all but body in good condition