Rusted 1/4 rear frame rail - is it safe to drive ? 280z 76

[9rider]

I inspected my car 1976 280z, and found that frame rail rusted both side 1/4 rear end areas. The front look pretty intact , I used screw driver tried to poke along the rails. 

The question is it safe to drive? I don't plan on any crazy driving not until install the new frame rail from baddog. The reason I don't do it now because I save up to do it once same time when I strip the car complete to do ground up restoration. 

The rust pretty much ate up bottom of the rails, leaving just 2 side wall. I can see the inside of the rails. 

Any prevention methods to delay this " cancer" at least for a year ? Rust converter? Or I have to cut away the cancer parts and prime it ?

Thanks.

[cdscowboy]

Rust can be hard thing to stop entirely. You can slow it down, but unless you take pretty much all the pieces (welded ones as well) off and remove the rust, there will always be some there.

 

Since you plan on doing new frame rails anyways, get what you can with whatever tools you're able to get. Remove as much rust as possible and get something like Rust Mort if you can find it. It brushes on and you wipe it the next day with a wet rag, then blow off the water with an air nozzle. If you can't find that, there's spray paints out there that are designed to go over rusty areas (but not scale). I'm not talking about Rustoleum or any of that - that'll help a little, but not much. Go to an automotive paint supply store and see what they can find for you.

 

...and if your rails are this bad, I wouldn't want to be driving much in the next year. No doubt not having a bottom to your frame rail will affect the structural integrity of the car.

 

Good luck.

[badjuju]

I'd fix it before driving.  You have no idea how far it really goes until you replace it.

 

My car pulled super hard to the right one day under braking, and it turns out the passenger-side frame rail had rusted through.  If I hadn't been in the left lane of an empty freeway, I could have hurt myself, or worse, someone else.  There are some shots on my build thread of how the bit got replaced.

[Pharaohabq]

Sure you can Drive it, But you're taking a risk.  I would keep to the side streets and off the highway.  It's probably fine since it's the rails, but as was mentioned, if the rail breaks free, you could be in for some fun. 

[9rider]

Here is some pictures, I am assume all my responsible when I drive this car, so feel free to give out comments.

One more question, will I mess up car body's structure - alignment when driving around like this?

It will be project car so I will drive her maybe once a month or less than that, however she will make a trip of 300 miles to her new garage since I have no parking right now.

Edited May 7, 2013 by 9rider