13 replies to this topic

[More&Faster]

well i have several holes in my floor. i purchased the car just two months ago, so dont blame me . my dad recommended taking pieces of aluminum flashing and screwing em into the bottom and putting roofing tar around the edges to patch the holes. im thinking of something a little more permanent though. is it possible to replace the floor panels with new ones? that would be preferable. if not, i was thinking maybe i could fab some nicely fitting patches out of fiber glass. just cut a bigger hole from the existing one so i have solid metal to attach to and put a nice fiberglass patch inside and out.

anyone ever done this stuff before? whats the best technique? i need as much info as you can give me. thanks for your help!

[racerx]

If you're talking about rust holes, cut out the rusted areas. Rust is like cancer. If you don't get rid of it completely, it'll come back. Then theres one of 2 ways to fix the holes. 1) cover with fiberglass mat, or 2) weld in new sheet metal. Supposedly, both last about the same. Welding in new sheet metal is the most permanent and the most correct.

[calmoc9]

check out the link in my signature. alot off people seem to be fixing this lately. good luck.

scott

[RedSIBaron]

well, what i would suggest is try to weld in some steel, because you have to remember that it is a unibody and you will be sacrificing strength if you are not careful. after that i would suggest that you fiberglass it in, top and bottom, bondo it and re undercoat and seal it on the top...

[CRX8Grand]

POR-15 to protect it no matter what you use...

I gave up on my because the rockers were eaten from the front jackstop all the way to the rear... the firewall metal that comes down underneath the body was fine, but once I really saw what was wrong I gave up and stripped teh car...

If your rockers are eaten then have fun.. ove seen ppl fix them.. I just bought a wrecked 1g with minor suspension damage and no floor rot for 150 bucks... of coarse I havent had time to even touch that car.

[JDN14]

the area around the jack points on my 85 is rotted.....but i wont give up!!!! Im going on an all out campaign against rust this summer, even if it means cutting up half the car. i WONT let this car die.

[CyniKal.MindSet]

I used fiberglass cloth 6layers for the floor 3 inside the car and 3 under the car...it was super stong and lasted as long as I had the car...the floors were rotted out all along the rockers and even up into the front wheel well...the fiberglass rebuild withstood the impact from getting T-Boned better than the metal around it!

here is an old page I did when I was 16 on my rebuild

http://www.hypedogg2...d.com/mycar.htm <--before
http://www.hypedogg2...om/car pics.htm <---after

I apologize now for any pop-ups

[More&Faster]

so Cynikal, how did you bond the fiberglass to the metal? ive only worked with fiberglass on wood so forgive me if this is a dumb question. seems like fiberglass wouldnt want to bond right to metal. will it work just to sand it so its nice and rough and then just stick it on?

[racerx]

will it work just to sand it so its nice and rough and then just stick it on?

Pretty much. I just use an angle grinder with some 24 or 80 grit.

[I are Corey]

i had that same problem. All i really did was sand out the rust, apply this non rust gooy stuff (sorry i dont have the name). Then i bolted on some sheet metal and sealed along the sides and edges with bondo.

Edited by I are Corey, 12 April 2004 - 09:42 PM.

[CyniKal.MindSet]

so Cynikal, how did you bond the fiberglass to the metal?  ive only worked with fiberglass on wood so forgive me if this is a dumb question.  seems like fiberglass wouldnt want to bond right to metal.  will it work just to sand it so its nice and rough and then just stick it on?

yea we just basically had a wire brush wheel on the grinder, brought it down to bare metal and applied the fiberglass cloth/resin and let it set up...it bonds just fine to metal...and the bonus is that it seals the bare metal underneath so it dont rust

[pack23]

Quick question for you cynical, so where did you get this fiberglass from? Pep Boys or a place like that, or does it have to be a body shop? Sorry never worked with fiberglass.

jv

[CyniKal.MindSet]

they sell it at your local automotive/tool shop like pep boys I would assume has it, in the body repair aisle, you can either buy it by-the-foot or in 3m packages. The you buy the resin/hardener that comes in a can (kinda looks like maple syrup)

I'm from Canada and Canadian Tire sells all of this stuff in the body repair aisle and its cheap too, a package of fiberglass cloth is 10bucks and the can of resin is about 10 bucks and buy a couple extra tubes of hardener at 4bucks a pop!

cheap, simple to use and strong like bull!

[pack23]

thanks man, I appreciate the feedback.
jorge