Rust removal?

[Guest Cronic]

I have many places of rust on my car, some large and hard to get to on the body and underneath the car... what's the best way to go about removing and replacing the damaged areas?

[waynekarnes]

there are many replacement panels available from commercial retailers. a good body shop ( a true body shop with craftsmen working there, as opposed to bondo slappers ), anyway, a good body shop can hand build new panels. there are new rails available, from under the seats to the headlights. floor panels are available. lower body replacement panels are available to repair doors, 1/4 panels, fenders, doors. ect.

 

you must determine if you have the money to pay $50/hour and upward for a shop to custom bend for you, especially for the parts that aren't available. you need to seriously look at what you can do at home, what you will need to farm out, whether you have the space, tools, and friends to help you.

 

but, 1st you need to find out if the Z is worth saving.

 

if you aren't a car guy, rubbing elbows with people in the hobby and industry, ask around, go to a few swap meets, VW meets, hot rod meets, ect. find a body shop with a good reputation. take your Z there for them to check it out. most shops will give a free estimate, i don't expect to pay for an estimate, unless the shop repairs rolls royces and such. a good shop will be truthful with you, let you know if the Z is safe to drive or repair.

 

imagine that the Z car body is an egg shell. not that it's fragile, rather ... it gets it's strength from the way the body is made, called a unibody. like an egg, vibrations, bangs, ect. are distributed around the shell, gives it exceptional strength.

 

 

 

interweave your fingers, left hand to right hand, have a friend put one point of a chicken egg against one palm, the other end of the egg against the other palm, slowly squeeze down on that egg, again keeping the points of the egg in the center of your palms. man you can really squeeze on that egg, can't you. as long as it stays straight, in the center of your palms, it's damn difficult to break.

 

what the hell does your question have to do with eggs ??? well, hold on ...

 

while your squeezing on that egg, have a friend tap it with a knife blade, just a little tap, enough to weaken the shell, not even a crack. keep squeezing, in a few minutes, that egg is going to give way at the weak spot, and collapse.

 

 

unfortunately, the same thing that gives the egg it's strength, is also it's down fall, as long as the structure is sound, the design of the package works. weaken it and, it falls apart.

 

now, you see the relationship ?? the Z car's unibody is like that egg. a good solid rust free Z car, can flex and twist, able to take the normal daily abuse of being driven.

 

a badly rusted Z car is a weakened egg, it could collapse on you while you are driving down the road. if your Z is a rusty as you suggest it is, i strongly suggest that you get it in to a qualified body shop and have it checked out.

 

also, any rusty car allows exhaust gases into the passenger compartment and could possibly poison you and your passengers.

 

i hope that the rust is just on the surface, and your Z is an easy save for you.

 

run a search, on this site in the body section of the forum, there should be a fair amount of info there for you.

 

on google, search rust repair, also look up POR-15.

 

sorry if i sound negative, don't mean to be ! just can't stress enough, how badly rust affects the safety of the Z cars.

 

best of luck with your project, wayne