78280z Posted May 23, 2008 Share Posted May 23, 2008 I'm not quite sure, so could someone help me out a bit? Just to familiarize you, this is a picture of the area behind the (left) driver's side front wheel. I am wondering whether the rusted area in these pictures is the frame rail? (but hoping that it is just the inner fender well) Thanks for your help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Six_Shooter Posted May 23, 2008 Share Posted May 23, 2008 That was the frame rail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rturbo 930 Posted May 23, 2008 Share Posted May 23, 2008 That was the frame rail.haha, that's exactly what I was gonna say. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Challenger Posted May 23, 2008 Share Posted May 23, 2008 Cut it out strip off the rubberized coating and weld in a new piece of 1/8 inch sheet metal. And undercoat over it. Its dirty but when it was clean you could hardly tell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rturbo 930 Posted May 23, 2008 Share Posted May 23, 2008 Cut it out strip off the rubberized coating and weld in a new piece of 1/8 inch sheet metal. And undercoat over it.IMO, 1/8" would be a bit over kill, since the rest is still the stock thickness... why do you suggest 1/8"? Also, if it were me, I'd just replace the frame rails entirely with some 10ga square tubing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Challenger Posted May 23, 2008 Share Posted May 23, 2008 Maybe it wasnt 1/8th inch, overestimated. Ill have to go look at some of the scrap to see what it was.. Edit- Just looked at a ruler, dont know what I was thinking... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
78280z Posted May 23, 2008 Author Share Posted May 23, 2008 Thanks for the confirmation, I figured I was screwed. Well I guess I should start looking into options to replace that section. I will probably go with a patch as Challenger suggested since it will be a street car. So 1/8" is overkill? What would you suggest? 12ga or 14ga maybe? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rturbo 930 Posted May 23, 2008 Share Posted May 23, 2008 Thanks for the confirmation, I figured I was screwed. Well I guess I should start looking into options to replace that section. I will probably go with a patch as Challenger suggested since it will be a street car. So 1/8" is overkill? What would you suggest? 12ga or 14ga maybe?I'd probably just go with some 16ga or 18ga honestly. I think stock rails are around that thickness, but I don't know for sure. I'm probably not the one to ask either, as I have no experience, but that seems like a good idea to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EMWHYR0HEN Posted May 23, 2008 Share Posted May 23, 2008 Thanks for the confirmation, I figured I was screwed. Well I guess I should start looking into options to replace that section. I will probably go with a patch as Challenger suggested since it will be a street car. So 1/8" is overkill? What would you suggest? 12ga or 14ga maybe? My guess is that there's other places that look like that too. If your looking for a quick fix just patch it. The 240Zs were built with somewhere around 20 guage steel. Most people repair/replace with 16 gauge which is more than enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roostmonkey Posted May 23, 2008 Share Posted May 23, 2008 That rust is actually above the rail and is what ties the rail to the body. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
78280z Posted May 23, 2008 Author Share Posted May 23, 2008 That rust is actually above the rail and is what ties the rail to the body. That's what I was thinking (hoping) initally. But, either way, it's got to be cut out and patched. The rust battle continues... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
palosfv3 Posted May 23, 2008 Share Posted May 23, 2008 The panel that is rusted is called the inner fender apron. It is was serviced as a complete assy with the rail and tower. There is no replacement part available for this piece so fabricating a new one is the best option. The pic posted of the patched panel is not the prefered way of repair. This area had a small metal section the was lapped over the inner apron as a reinforcing part. The inner apron should be repaired and then a new reinforcement plate plug welded in place as originally fitted. While this was a poor design that was prone to the rusting issue at hand, replicating the original as made is the best method of repair. The reinforcing plate and the apron both were made with a 90 degree flange at the bottom of the part . Its best to incorporate these flanges into the patch panels , apply a weld thru primer, and plug weld at the flange instead of butt welding into the apron. Undercoating over the bare metal is only going to accelerate the rerusting of the repair . The area should be epoxy primed and top caopted for best long erm results. Check the rest of the frame rail carefully if you havethis condition at the rear of the rear , the rest is just as bad . I've attached a couple of pics on a 260 were currently restoring that shows the typical extent of rusting on the inner sections of the unibody rails exhibiting this type of condition. Larry www.wgmauto.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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