When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Hey everyone, I'm back after a few week hiatus (had to square away titling and taxes on the car) and wanted to ask what to do about the rust on my 80s frame. When I bought the car it seemed like mostly surface rust, no pitting was visible and all looked fine. However, I want to be sure before sinking money into this project by asking you guys, the experts (this is my first restoration), if this car is able to be restored relatively easily so I can move on to some modifications. I plan on starting an official build thread soon, given no one sees anything wrong with the content of the pictures below (took pictures of the worst areas). Thanks in advance, excited to be back and building.
Bonus question: Can anyone point me in the direction of some solid sidepipes? I had heard Hooker was the way to go, but they seem to have fallen out of favor recently. Was considering OBX racing sidepipes, but am unsure if they are street legal
Dang, should I apply the paint myself or just grind off what I can and have an experienced shop do the painting? I would normally go the do it yourself route, but I am a pretty terrible painter and am working in a friends garage.
Dang, should I apply the paint myself or just grind off what I can and have an experienced shop do the painting? I would normally go the do it yourself route, but I am a pretty terrible painter and am working in a friends garage.
I suck at painting too, but I did my undercarriage with POR 15. Was easy for me being that the entire rear (trailing arms, spring, etc.) were off. Besides that it's only the under belly, thus no one will see it up close. I did use a wire brush/wheel to remove all of the loose crap.
One of the nice things about POR 15 is that it’s self leveling. Tends to leave a nice, smooth finish. One challenge that you’ll have is you can only clean and paint what you can see.
Some of your pics are a little hard to judge, but the ones that clearly show the frame don’t look too bad. Pull the kick panel covers at either side of the foot wells and take pics of the #2 body mount pocket. A good indicator of your rust situation.
In my admittedly very limited experience I have seen more issues with windshield frame and birdcage rust on these cars than frames. Although they can certainly be a problem. Seems like the ones I have seen with serious frame rust have much worse things going on in the other places. I agree with CA-Legal-Vette. That #2 can tell a story for sure.
Rust Analysis
