El Camino update 5/30/2010
In the last installment, I reported the discovery of two rust holes under the stainless door trim, and how it was fortunate to repair them before the new windshield was installed, so as not to damage the new glass with the metal temperature from welding.
As part of that repair, I needed to sandblast that area and the area over the door on the driver’s side, to eliminate the pitted surface rust, and determine how far the rust extended. Sandblasting is an unpleasant job. It is hot, dirty, awkward and time consuming. More over, it makes a really big mess in the shop. It does not matter if the hole is small or if blasting a whole fender, it is just a long, messy job with big cleanup at the end. Sand gets everywhere, in light fixtures, on shelves, nooks and crannies of the car, down your pants…everywhere. It is important to get the workshop and the car really clean after, so that specs of sand do not find their way into filler, primer or paint, or in hinges or brake linings.
Blasting the new found rust areas was not a big deal, but it did spray sand all over the shop. With a mess to clean up anyway, I inspected the rest of the body for any other spots that might require a blast.
The seller of the car, told me he had repaired the rusted areas over both rear wheel wells and primered those areas. I have had the car in storage for nearly 20 years, and those contours always looked good. I noticed some bubbling in those areas, and took it as new rust forming under primer overspray. When I sandblasted those areas, I discovered rust alright, blistering up through the ¼ inch of body filler over it. I thought maybe I could just sandblast the “new” surface rust, or if needed, weld a repair to the existing repair. Not so…as I explored the repaired areas under the primer, I found no metal to work with. The rust hole pitted and lacy metal had been pounded in and filled over. In places where the gaps were large, aluminum siding scraps had been wedged in and fastened to the car with roofing nails, then filled over. Some places had large builds of fiberglass to hold the overfill. Ultimately, I cut out all the old repair, cut down to solid metal and conditioned it with phosphate. The metal is now ready for fabrication and welding of strong metal, then skim coat filler over it for final contour.
Certainly, additional work that I had not counted on. Given that the other guy’s work held well, for nearly 20 years, and that the rust would have worked through my new paint soon, and the ultimate fix is more extensive, I have to agree that “the rust holes had been fixed” before he sold me the car.