Uberoo Posted September 26, 2013 Share Posted September 26, 2013 I have a 78 brat and the driver side rocker,floor board, and some areas near the rear fender arches are rotted out.What is a good sheetmetal thickness to fix it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted September 26, 2013 Share Posted September 26, 2013 got any Subaru body parts/sheet metal around to cut up? didn't you just total one of your rides...maybe it's all mangled? i've cut rust repair panels out of subaru parts i've got on hand before and they worked fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turbosubarubrat Posted September 26, 2013 Share Posted September 26, 2013 some where around 18 gauge is what i use or if you have a old dryer/washer use that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uberoo Posted October 3, 2013 Author Share Posted October 3, 2013 What is the best disk for my angle grinder to remove the rust so I can find the good metal around the rust holes/spots? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Kamm Posted October 3, 2013 Share Posted October 3, 2013 I use the 3" diameter 80 grit discs in my pneumatic angle grinder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uberoo Posted October 3, 2013 Author Share Posted October 3, 2013 80 grit flap disK? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turbosubarubrat Posted October 3, 2013 Share Posted October 3, 2013 80 grit leaves some deep scratches in the metal so i use 120 grit. Harbor freight has these packs so you can find the one you like the best, theres this one http://www.harborfreight.com/10-piece-4-1-2-half-inch-grinding-and-cutting-wheel-assortment-47572.html and this one http://www.harborfreight.com/10-piece-4-inch-grinding-and-cutting-wheel-assortment-47571.html. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uberoo Posted October 9, 2013 Author Share Posted October 9, 2013 So I cut out the rusty metal with my torch,and I only had 5 or six small fires . Now before I get some new steel to put in there I have a few questions being that this my first rot repair surgery. 1. I cut out most of the floor around the main support tube,Its mostly solid except for a few areas where the floor was welded to it,but it its rusty,maybe not terminal rust,but rust non the less.I am wondering if I should remove as much rust as I can get off it and then hit it with a rust preventor or if it would be better to cut the entire thing out and rebuild it with steel? 2.I didn't actually cut out all of the rust.The structural boxed channel at the leading edge of the door is rotting out at the bottom below the door hinges.Currently the front jack stand is right under it.I don't know if I can cut it out without causing the car to bend or bow in the middle.So can I cut it out or should I weld in a floorpan and the inner edge of the rocker panel for a bit more support before attempting it?Currently the jackstand is resting on the crossmember that tied into that structure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uberoo Posted October 12, 2013 Author Share Posted October 12, 2013 good lord rust repair SUCKS.So I found out it would have been 1000x better to just cut out the subframe in the floor and add in new steel.The top was very thin and welding to it sucked hard. The second question about cutting out that structure in the second pic was a non issue.I have some pics of my progress but first I have to go get some more steel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uberoo Posted October 13, 2013 Author Share Posted October 13, 2013 So the steel shop doesn't cut sheet steel on saturday for whatever reason so no new steel. Yesterday I welded in the inner rocker panel under where the door is as well as some steel in floor to tie everything together. I actually bent the edge of the floor down to meet the inner sill so I can work on rebuilding the seam line. Today with the car a bit more structurally sound I relocated the rear jack stand and cut the remainder of the rocker panel rust out.More or less I cut out the ENTIRE driver side rocker panel. Current plan once I get some steel is to weld in a patch panel for the rear inner rocker.Then run a piece of steel that is angles from just under the door to roughly the weld line on the inner sill,then bend that down to join with the rocker panel seam.Then weld in the rest of the floor.After that I will see what I want to do for the outer skin.Once I am done that rocker seam should have 4 layers of sheetmetal under the door and three under the bed.Then I will pinch everything together and weld that seam solid,through in a few plug/spot welds tieing the pieces together and it should be strong. Another idea is to add in a section of tube where the rocker would be and incorporate rock sliders into the body, it is going to be a wheeler after all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turbosubarubrat Posted October 13, 2013 Share Posted October 13, 2013 I have a friend that was a autobody man and he says its better just to cut out all the rust even a couple inches past to prevent the rust from reapearing a year or so later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uberoo Posted October 13, 2013 Author Share Posted October 13, 2013 Yea, I spray painted that surface rust on the subframe, so when that rust comes back I will just cut that section out.At least the rockers should be solid for a while... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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