hey guys, i just bought this 1991 Z28 and as you can see, its practically showroom new on the outside. But under the car, the rust is kind of bad...i need help, i want to keep this car for a long time...

heres what it looks like on the outside


and here is the rust, on both sides of the car, right under the doors...





sorry this one is a little blurry


plz help me....what should i do, i just bought this car (80k miles)

thanks!

 

Get new floorpans if you want to keep it. Its going to be alot of work but its the only thing that will really make it last. I don't know if you can get them new or where you could check, but a junkyard may be the most affordable place to look.

 

yeah i kinda got caught too. I have a decent amount of underbody rust and just thinking about selling it but i dont know how much is too much and if it would be repairable. I would have to say that the rust under my car is worse than yours those but i paid 1700. The floorpans def need to be replaced and probably a decent amount of the suspension but i think the frame is mostly surface rust.

 

sh*t im scared

 

YearOne has replacement floorpans... be prepaired to s--- a brick when you see the price though

 

i dont care how much they cost, but i cant find them...do they list them on the net? How much would it cost to get a body shop to replace them? I dont have a welder or a lift so i cant do it...

 

hey, does this work?

http://www.restoreclassics.com/index...44&PID=1507983

EDIT: whoops that link doesn work, but if u do the search on the left side of the screen it says floorpans for 128 bucks

 

been there, done that, not fun at all. check your wheel wells, and behind the fender splash gaurd. its certinally alot of work to fix it.

 

http://www.yearone.com/serverfiles/p...G&hid=G20AC229

234$....thats pretty cheap

 

thanks for the link, im sure it will be lots of trouble, thats why im gonna try to find a bodyshop to do it

 

they'll probably murder you on labor charges

 

is that the worst of it?

get yourself a sanding block and some good sand paper and start flaking off as much rust as you can. if there truly is a hole you'll be able to find out how big and if you really need pans. if it's just surface rust, which it looks like then you can sand off most of the rust and use a product loke por-15 to seal it.

my car looked like that when i bought it in a few small sections, i just did the above and it was fine. 6 years later i stripped off the product to smooth out the underside and paint it body color and it was still fine.

be a good idea to lift the carpet up and see how it's rusting from the inside as well. your pictures so far don't look bad at all. this is bad... i bought this car as a daily driver project and the previous owner just painted over the rust to cover it up.

 

ok, i was kinda over reacting when i said i could poke my figer thru it. I just took the dremel to it and found some grey metal after i grinded ...the rust isnt that deep, so i guess if sanding and treating wont work i have maybe 3 years to go. Have any of you guys used rust converter stuff? Ive heard about it but cant find it...do u guys recommend any brands?


thanks for the help

 

In my experience, any brand of rust converter doesn't work as good as manually removing the rust.

Like Kandied said, take some sandpaper to it and go at it. You said you took a dremel and found metal underneath, so it is surface rust, then just continue to do that and then seal it with POR-15.

Check the floorpan underneath the carpet, as Kandied said again, and check how bad that is. You're lucky you caught this before it rusted through.

Just take care of it before it gets worse.... it's like cancer for cars, the longer you wait to treat it, the worse off your car will be in the end.

 

i guess i will chisel and sand it away, then spray some rust converter on there.

 

Yeh from those pictures you cant even tell if there is a hole or not it might just be surface.

 

as i said it looks like surface rust to me and exactly what i had to deal with on my own car. sand it down good and use some por-15 or something similar. i've tried rust converters that you can buy at local parts stores and they are junk. you might as well just paint over, the picture i showed you has some rust converter on their to give you an example of how well it works.

while it's just my personal experience por-15 has worked very well for me on my cars. take care of it right away though so that you don't have to replace your pans. you get at it now you'll be fine for many years to come. check your floor under the carpet too though and be sure to get that as well. the more you take care of the less you'll spend down the road. no one wants to own or buy a rusted car.

 

I agree rust converters dont help much just get a wire brush for your drill and go at it. The rust converters are only for a very little bit of rust cause it only gets the top layer of rust like that it would convert the top and still be rust underneath.

 

I agree with Kandied. My 91 GTA had the same thing when i got it. I actually had to repai a small hole on the passenger side. I wire wheeled the underneath of the car. Used POR 15 and a rubberised under coating and I have not had any problems what so ever for 4 years. I also installed subframe connectors to help take the stress off that area. I had my carpet pulled up last week and there are no signs of rust. So I would not freak out. I personally think you are nowhere near floorpan replacement. I would get your favorite fifteen pack of dust masks, a cheap drill, a supply of wire wheels, brake clean, POR 15, and some undercoating.

 

Yes use a dust mask I just patched a small spot on a floor pan didnt wear my mask for some reason usually dont bother me much but i been sick over a week.

 

I think ther is something in the factory undercoating, because I felt like crude after the first day also. That is what prompted me to suggest the mask.

 

tetanus!?

 

Nah im gettin better now .

 

ok, i started working on it today and its a b*tch.....lol. The good thing is that i checked under the carpet and it was nice red solid metal (my car is red ) I was using a drill with one of those rust/paint strippers on it and it removed most of the flakes and chips but only smoothed down the rust... So im gonna try some 40 grit snadpaper tomorrow. Wish me luck

 

I do not know what the others did, but once I was sure that most of the loose stuff was off. I cleaned with brake clean and surface prep and started to paint.

I think trying to get it down to bare metal may get you in more trouble, than it does you good. If you accidently get part of the floor paper thin it will tear. Unfortuneatly I know from experience.

What do the others think?

I don't know if it makes you feel any better, but I thought I would post a link to my car. I know I am partial, but I do not think it looks like a half a** effort.

https://www.thirdgen.org/techbb2/sho...73#post2369773

 

maybe i should do that...what will por15 do if there is just some smoothed down rust on the floorpans? Maybe i can do that and then get new floorpans 5 years from now Btw, does anyone have any tips on how to lift these cars with jacks...so far i havent found a good accessible point to lift it. I currently have to back it up on ramps which doesnt give me too much working room and can be scary as hell when i dont have anyone to guide me on (the first time i did it, i was near the top and gave it too much gas and burned out on the ramps and one wheel fell off so i dont wanna do that again )

 

double post, sorry

 

Drive the car up on a couple of boards and get a floor jack under the cross member then put it up on some stands. As far as the rust stripper they are ok but i like a wire brush better just have to rescuff when your done cause a wire brush gets it too smooth. Those rust strippers will get it to bare metal just have to push real hard. As far as the floor getting to thin im sure its fine unless there is a hole and if it got that thin you would want to replace the whole floor anyway cause that would weaken the chassis. Once you got it down to do metal and looking pretty clean i would wipre it down with some paint thinner and sray some paint or por 15 on.

 

my Z28 has rust like the pic above, tho I did put a screwdriver thu the rear bumper support .. (in one area), but it aslo has rust on the body ...

those rust converters are a joke ...

knowing if its a keeper or a goner depends on its condition (expert opinion), and your budget/time.

those cars ('91-'92) are getting real rare .. so when i see some nice ones going for 10-12k here .. it brings hope for my resto project.

 

His car looks like a definite keeper hell ill take it if you dont want it make a few patches and be happy thats if it is through. Hows the engine compartment look by the way?

 

i love this car...im so lucky to have this at 19 years old...ive worked for over 4 years and about 6th months ago decided to spend my money on a camaro. I spent $5450 on this car and wont be able to do anything fun untill i can make more money...this is the first car i have the title to in my name. I cant even pick up chicks in the car because i know i cant afford them with insurance being $1228 a year (and then theres gas). Every time i look at this car i just think im not good enough for it and that its too good to be true lol...i have a feeling some old lady will hit me and ruin my frame ...i better enjoy it while i have it. Ive never had a car that chirps the tires when it shifts out of first...

here are some engine bay pics, i just took them so its dark and doesnt do justice:

 

Geeze i cant stop speeding almost got my third ticket in a yr today my license would of been gone sooo glad he let me go. Freaks me out lol cause i have to drive to college and work to pay bills. So just drive the speed limit lol its not worth it to speed.

 

yeah i know....its actually funny when Geo Metros tail you
i accelerate like a semi when im not alone on the road

 

That is a very nice car. Just a little rust shouldnt be a problem. I know how you feel about not thinking you are good enough for it. I have enjoyed my car every single day since a got it. Now I have 2 3rd gens, and chirping the tires going into 2nd on a good TPI car and knowing it is yours is a feeling I love (my first car/daily driver is a 2.8 bird). Treat your car right and it will do the same for you. That has at least worked for me.

 

Beautifull car, you should have seen the car I owned when I was 19 *86 camaro* it was a 305tpi but I bought it for 600 bucks.


I literally paid 600 dollars for a set of wheels, and engine, seats, and a giant piece of rust.

I now own an 84 camaro with a 350 thats in 300x better shape than my 86. and im only 20 now.


Congradulations on your car man, be proud of it. Its beautifull

 

Also check the wheel wells for rust inspect the outer lip and the inner lip where the inner wheel well attaches to the body.

 

www.por-15.com

 

thanks guys

 

That is how my engine compartment looked when I got it. EXCEPT the cruise control on your car is missing. I was under the impression all 91-92 TPI cars had cruise. I am by no means an expert though. SpdFrk is correct on the wheel wells. I had to clean those out also. I went as far as welding in a new plate underneath, but when I got into doing the job I realized that the sheetmetal underneath has no structural purpose, it is jut a great place for moisture to collect. I put some plates in drilled some drain holes and POR15 the whole time consuming mess.

 

it has cruise control on the steering column, i guess it was removed by the previous owner I havent tried it yet...

 

good to see other young guys like me (19 as well) getting into third gens... I've had my 84 TA since I was 15... it's not a daily driver at all... I drive an 05 mazda 3 to college everyday and take the TA on cruises on the weekends and to the track... nice car you got there man, take care of that rust, car's worth all the work

 

That's a sweet ride man, the rust is very fixable. I was freaked out when I bought my '92 RS through Ebay. I had only seen pics of it, and they looked good, but still, it was sight unseen. It was a Florida/Alabama car and it only had 67K, hardtop, v8, 5-speed and I scored it for $3,700. Needless to say, it had been sitting more than driving and I did a lot of work to it. I was so relieved when I looked under the car and the floor pans had no rust. The inside of the pans were still factory black. The weird thing was, it had two rust holes in the top corners of roof around the hatch weather stripping. Pure holes the size of quarters! Water poured in when it rained! I got them fixed recently by cutting the rust out and putting in little metal plates. It looks like there was never a problem now. Bottom line, that rust isn't bad, scrape it, POR-15 it, and keep that sweet Z goin!

 

Well check it out. If you do have cruise I want to switch to the system your car is using it is cleaner. At anyrate here is a shot of my engine bay. It is a little dirty I got caught in the rain this weekend. You can see the vacuume diaphram by the windoe wash bottle and a small control box by the wipers.

 

thanks for the comments guys!

about the cruise control, i still havent used it yet, but whenever i pull the throttle cable (when the engine is off) i hear a ticking noise right here:



im pretty sure somone deleted it...bastards!

 

No, I think it is there! That diaphram to the left is for cruise. That is were my battery is located. I still cannot find the cruise module though.

 

Thats where the cruise diaphram is on my 90 also but i thought tpi cars thats where the battery was hmm.

 

ok, does a light come on when the cruise control is turned on? It was dark tonite when i tried to use the crusie control, so i never ended up setting a speed, i couldnt read the controls

 

no light or anything, just push and hold it for a second. mine was mounted with the washer res., and my battery is where your cruise is. batteries in camaros are on the passenger side, birds on the drivers

 

where did you guys get your por-15. did you all buy it off the net?

 

maybe the previous owner(s) f**ed with the car and relocated stuff....


about the por15, i am also wondering if its sold in stores, i'd rather not wait and pay shipping for por15....