I have an 85 camaro with a 305 tpi and t5 out of a 89. Last week i recieved my spohn sfcs and edelbrock stb and brought the car to a very reputable shop here in montreal (Zeke's, Zekeauto.com) to have them installed. They told me i have a lot of rust on the underbody and that i would have to repair at least the floor pans before the sfc's could be welded in safely. They also said the frame was showing some rust. They wouldn't install my stb either and asked that i have the strut towers repaired before putting it on.
I strongly suspect that the smartest thing to do, considering the price of third gens these days, would be to go out and look for another camaro in better condition and swap in my current engine and tranny (they both run very strong). However im very very attached to the car (had it since high school, good memories,etc etc) and scrapping it would make me the saddest man in the world.
I dont intend to build the car for all-out racing, but my goal with this car would be high 12s - low 13s and 1g of lateral grip on street tires (i intend to swap in a complete spohn suspension and eventually 350 and t56).
A few questions:

Should i fix my existing floor or replace it entirely? (I've found a set of aftermarket floorpans for 400usd, everything except the trunk)
Should i be considering the 700usd each frame rails as well? How much work is involved in changing them?
If i do keep my current frame, how do i get it to stop from rusting any further?
Has anyone here had a frame off resto job done or have an idea what that might cost me?

Any other thoughts or comments would be appreciated.
tks guys
farge

 

If you have no holes in the floor pans you may be able to media blast the pans and coat them with fresh paint and undercoat , if there are holes or bad weak spots replacement is probably the best bet ... but if the rails themselves are rusted you probably should start looking for a different body, as taking hard curves will require a solid chassis ...

 

The floor pans definitely have holes in them. I had two gaping holes patched a couple years ago under my seats by the worst bodyshop ever (st-Jaques auto in montreal). So i guess ill be changing those.

How about replacing the frame rails? I found new gm ones for 700usd each. Is it really a huge job changing those? Ballpark estimate anyone?

tks
farge

 

best bet------buy a V-6 car that is clean with a ton of miles

these cars were not twisted buy torque and now SFC's

this way when you so put the connectors in you put them in a still true F-Body

 

Like I said, i dont want to scrap this car im way too attached to it. I know the smartest thing to do is to get another body and start fresh, but i would rather spend the money (more money, i know) towards this one to make my baby solid again.

tks again
farge

 

It is indeed a HUGE job to change out the frame rails I don't know any shops that will even attempt to replace rails on a car that old, I have done it on wrecks when the cars were new with GM parts but just the time drilling out spotwelds and seperating the different layers of metal would cost you more than the car is worth the interior would have to be stripped out and the car supported on a frame mechine with fixtures to hold the alignment of the rails and panels ... its a BIG job I have been a body tech, ASE/GM certified for 25+ years and I won't even do that stuff anymore... It just takes up too much shop time and time is money to a production shop, I hope you can find an alternative to save your car Good luck!

 

the funny thing about rust is you can cut it out and cut it out and it still comes back

go ahead and cut out the entire bottom of your car and the subframe
spend 2 G's and hide the shootgun when you get another rust bubble

I have seen a buddy of mine, a painter, fix rust on his truck over and over again

he knows that it will always come back but doesnt care because hes a painter

if you are not a body man and do not have access to a body shop and all the tools loose the I have to keep this car mentality

why, and I have to hear a good reason, do you have to keep the car

Its my first car and I lost my virginity are about the only reasons to keep a car where the rust is that severe

some pics would help

 

thanks for the imput guys ill try to post some pics asap

farge

 

please post pics as I also have some frame rot and am wondering if its repairable also