Well I guess I need to find some one local to help me weld it up, and I need to start working on removing some of my carpet to get these fixed!

I’m trying to think what would have coused this, back in high school and college I did have a few accidents but I’m surprised that I have damage there. I’m the second owner and bought it when it was only 7 years old and was not told of any previous accidents so I only have myself to blame!
The acidents were minor front end and one rear ending, the only one that it was hit hard enough would have been when it got backed into (I wasn’t in it), got hit in front of the front wheel pretty hard. The rest were a dog, a coyote and a construction sign, nothing besides fender and bumper replacement!

Not that I have seen, but it was a such a light hit that, the bumper cover was not replaced, just repainted. There is some slight misalignment in the fitting of the bumper, I wish I forced them to fix that, but at 20 I didn’t know better, and was being nice!

Anyone have any suggestions as to what would be the best undercoating/paint? I’m thinking of painting any rust spots with a good rust converter, then paint everything with some rustoliom, and then some sort of rubberized coating for some sound and heat insulation. But want make sure that doesn’t case issues, I have heard that sometimes the rubberized coating can cause issues with trapping water, but that is why I was thinking a good coat of paint first will help prevent that.

Also my rear end looks pretty rusty, it’s only surface rust, so I was thinking of painting that, any suggestions as to what kind of paint? Was thinking just black for the axle, then a gray or red for the cover since I have to pull it off anyway (it started to leak after I cleaned it off, was covered in a pretty thick layer of road grime).

Hmmm, now you’re making wonder more about what I should do. The car is on jack stands/ramps now while I have been rebuilding the transmission (I pulled it out over a year ago), I’m cleaning things up and seeing what else needs to get done before I put everything back together. I may lift the engine a little before I finish up to replace the oil pan gasket since I had an oil leak back when I was driving it. I was hoping to wait on dealing with the interior until I get it on the road again, but pulling out the center console and the passenger seat is not that much work, then shove a welding blanket under the carpet since they are just behind the shifter opening. If I have to pull out the carpet I will need to replace it since it would likely get ripped up being as dried up as it is, I do plan on replacing it at some point but don’t have the money now. One of my coworkers has a small welder so I can weld it if that is the permanent fix, I’ve had the car 25 years and my kids are saying they would never sell it so I’m in it for the long term!

As far as the paint, there is one part of the floor pan that got cooked (around where the heat shields came together), and is a little corroded and rusty then there is only a little rust at the edges (likely from gravel and rock chips). I was planning on cleaning, wire brushing and a little sanding before any paint, but want to still coat with rust converter to make sure I get it all. It sounds like I may just paint and wait till I replace the carpet to deal with sound deading and insulation, since it sounds like anything underneath would not do much good.

unfortunately it’s been a lot more than a year (it’s been 14!) so I’m okay to just do it right, since it maybe a few years before I do the interior, I don’t want things to get worse by waiting. But I do appreciate your sediment and with I could have done that in the first place, but kids and money made it a garage fixture!

The fun I have to deal with, was not leaking until I cleaned off the dirt and grease about a year ago.

Well it’s not from too much torque, it’s only a V6! But when I pulled the transmission 3 out of 4 of the bolts that held the transmission to the bell housing were missing, it did quite a number on the internals. So the one near the mount could have been from this issue. The one near the shifter opening is surprising. This car is on the slow road to getting back on the road, so I will take the time required to get done right, even though I was hoping to wait on messing with the interior until I could afford to replace the worn out carpet.

Thanks for your input.