can I torch/cut or weld these areas without blowing myself up?






I have patch panels for the first 2

 

yeah...as long as you make sure you know where the fuel lines/tank are and keep the torch flame/sparks AWAY from them...

 

I would use a plasma cutter if avaliable or a cutoff tool. Besides a jagged cut that you will have to grind down and warpage there is always a lot of rubber to melt. If you go the torch route have a lot of water soaked rags around the area to prevent fires and warpage.

 

I can get a cut-off wheel & a sawzall but, I will need to use a torch to cut a chunk of the floorpan out of my parts car to make the patch panel for mine.

I can probably put something over the "hump" behind the seat, & behind the wheel, to block the gastank, what would you suggest?

what about the 3rd picture? what should I do about it?

 

it sure looks like there is a lot of rust there, how much sentimental value does the car have to you? it may be in your best interest to find a car with a good body, they are still quite cheap.

 

it does have a good body, these are the only major rust spots, the rest is either surface rust or stuff that can be replaced/repaired without much of a problem.

 

these should help...

 

that's pretty rough. I'd definitely use a cutoff tool to remove the old metal, and it's far enough from the fuel lines to work there. you may still want to cover them with damp cloths as stated to protect them from sparks. it looks like that's from a t-top leak. have you fixed the leak so it doesn't happen again?

 

Can you get new wheel houses to replace the rusted out ones? My car has this problem, too. If they are available, you could probably patch in the hole.
I'd seriously consider dropping the gas tank and the fuel lines-the smallest explosion is going to ruin your whole day. Who knows where sparks are going to end up.

 

yes the car is a t-top & no I haven't found the leak yet... lucky for me the parts car I have is a hardtop & the section I need of the floorpan is solid.

It's hard to tell how bad it really is because the tire's in the way & I haven't got around to taking it off, I could check the '82 & see if it's any better but I was just going to grind the edges & patch it with sheet metal.

I already have a panel for the wheel lip, but it's going to take some work to get it put on, the patch has a lip on it where the inner fender & quarter skin are put together, so I'll probably have to cut off the lip & cut a chunk out of the inner fender & patch the gap.

 

Well I had to do the same thing basically to my 90 Bird, here is a pic of what it looked like before the repairs were made, I believe this is the exact same spot as your working on. I used nothing but acytalene cutting torch's and a 120 MIG welder. Not a pretty repair, but functional, yours should be much simpler than mine was and should come out looking much nicer. Mine was rusted to the point that I had to fabricate a complete frame system to weld the rear lower control arm mount to cause the entire mount rusted completely away from the unibody. its a good thing you caught yours before the control arm mount seperated, that could spell disaster for an un-suspecting driver.

Oh, and in case your wondering, Yes that upside down paw shaped thing in the first pic is my control arm mount which was completely seperated because of the rust. Sure wish I would have looked at the underside before I paid 1600 for that car. oh well, I got 60K miles out of it anyway, so it wasnt a bad deal, just took a lot of labor. I still got the car and drive it to this very day.

 

My floor pans were so rusted out that I had a PITA of a time getting good welds cause it just wanted to burn through, but here is what I ended up with:

 

Just a few more pics of the work I had to do:

 

the only part that really has to look nice is the wheel lip, the other 2 I could care less -as long as they're sturdy & won't rust for a while.

That's bad for a '90, the previous owner must have followed the plow trucks around during the winter....

 

Yeah it was definitely a winter driven car, I was wanting to kick myself in the *** when I discovered the damage. The body on the car was surprisingly immaculant when I bought it, so I had no clue and didnt suspect. They were probably laughing all the way to the bank with my 1600 bucks, but 60+K miles later, I am laughing at them for giving up on it. For 1600 bucks its been a damn good car. Feb 06 I even drove it cross country from Michigan to Alabama and back at 33mpg with the 305tbi, got 213,500 miles on it and still runs excellent.