Coyote Paws

Thanks for the replies. Great to get some opinions on in, especially about the structural issues. From what I've poked at, the rust is pretty flaky and I probably can't sand and cover it. The parts on the frame I might be able to grind out though. I haven't welded anything before so it will be a good learning experience and a good excuse too, been wanting to learn for a while. The car is my daily driver, so I'll have to tackle one section at a time as I have the time. Definitely want to get the rockers and frame patched up first.

I just picked up an 84' Hatchback from Pennsylvania and while the majority of the body is pretty clean, it does have some pretty serious rust along the rockers. I would really like to repair this as the car itself is pretty nice (nice interior, un-cracked dash, 127k miles). I will put up a members ride thread soon once I start working on it, but for now I'd like to hear some opinions on the rust and get a bit of information. Here are some photos. You can click on the photo to see a larger one. Drivers Rocker Drivers Front Drivers Rear Passenger Rocker Passenger Front Passenger Rear Frame Rail - Drivers Front Frame Rail - Drivers Engine Bay Frame Rail - Passenger Front Frame Rail - Passenger Engine Bay If you'd like to see any other areas, just let me know and I'll take more photos. But apart from a few small spots, frame rails look pretty good. The majority of the rust is around the rockers. Opinions on the fix-ability of this? Anyone done something similar? How much structural integrity is in the rockers? As you can see in the photos, most of the rocker is completely gone as well part of the floor next to the rocker (you can actually see the carpet through the holes), so I'm going to have to fabricate that entire area. Would it be fine to just cut out and replace the floor section, and then weld on a new rocker directly to the new floor, or should I attempt to recreate the pinch weld? And is there any support/cross sections I should be putting inside the rocker so there's enough support for a jack. The sections I'm most concerned about is the support that connects the frame rail to the rocker at the front. What gauge of steel should I use there? I'm thinking 20 for the rockers and floor. And I know this is a long shot, but is there anywhere that sells body panels for these? The floor shouldn't be much of a hassle to fix, but the idea of fabricating a new rocker panel doesn't sound very fun. Thanks for any help ^^ I'm really hoping I can fix this up and give it many more years. I have plans to move out of the salt belt within the year or so to somewhere in the midwest. So if I can fix it's current rust abuse, it should last. Here's the car itself.

Are you checking the drive line while the car is raised or rolling across the ground? When in 2wd, I imagine the drive shaft is disengaged from the transmission but is still connected to the rear wheels. If the car is moving, the rear wheels will turn the shaft freely. But when you enable the 4wd, the drive shaft will engage and the transmission will be turning the wheels.

That's definitely a Loyale in the photo =P Even says so on the trim on the back door.

That sucks to hear it have all those problems, it was looking like a really nice car. But I would agree that it's worth fixing, or at least investigating the problems more. It may not be leaking any more than what is common for these engines. But if it comes down to it, pulling the engine is not a big as deal as it sounds. These Subarus are easy to work on, and the engines are fairly lightweight. Two people could do a complete swap in an afternoon. Did the mechanic give you an estimate to what it would cost to fix? I would definitely get a 2nd opinion too, take it to l75eya if you can. For those who asked for more info (I helped him find the car): It's a 1994 with about 104k miles on it. Definitely a clean looking car too:

No problem =) I hope you find a good car.

Here you go. http://img17.imageshack.us/img17/8035/01sebring.png Two major accidents, salvage-rebuilt title, and potential odometer problems.

Quite a journey, sounds like it was a lot of fun. Except for the window though, that's a real bummer. Only consolation is, the broken window probably saved your tools and money, perhaps even the car. The bloke was probably trying to pry the door open and the glass shattered and scared him off. Darn frame-less window =P A good adventure though. And an awesome buy, definitely a car worth the trip. I really like the bumpers and trim. I would love to do the same thing. I'm looking for a car right now and I may just end up out west. All the nicer cars are out that way, and it really is a good excuse for road trip. Thanks for sharing, and some great photos =)

I really like the houseboat, it has great looks. And it's pretty cool that it can double as a camper. It even looks a lot like an old airstream camper. It's awesome. Have you taken it out on the water yet? Looks like it would be a lot of fun. I'd love to float down a river with it =) From what I can find, they're pretty rare. I can barely find any information about them, except for a 70's Popular Science magazine article. Where did you find yours?

Ha, should have known this would end up with a member on here (or a soon-to-be member). I saw this ad and have been trying to get into contact with the seller for the past few days (really liked this one). I see why he didn't return my messages =P I think that was a good buy for $1300. Looked like a very clean, rust-free car. Would love to see how it currently looks without the mud =)