Pictures of my car which I need help with

[ashesh]

1988 Subaru GL-10 turbo 169000km's

Everything in my car is like new, seats and all, and the outside is ok except for the wheel wells which I could probably easly put my foot through. My question is, how would you guys fix this if you wanted it to look nice? Has anyone here ever used bondo? What would be the best way to repair this? And if I were to replace the fenders which might be the only choice to do. How would I do it. Should I get a proffessional to do it because when you replace fenders it looks like there is some cutting involved and weilding.

does anyone know of a website that shows you how to use bondo?

any help is appreciated. oh yes and the car is so low because the suspension is getting put in on thursday.

[subusolo2nut]

Bondo puts a patch on the outside of a repair--if you bondo over rust--you will only get more rust----find a guy who is good with welding, remove the "cancer" & get some new/old bodyparts.

 

As for low--A lot of us LIKE low--My car has 5 1/2 inch ground clearance--There are two "groups" (well, maybe three--)--some of us go to great length to lower our cars--some of us go to great lengths to raise our cars & the rest of us like them just the way they are---So welcome--we are all Subie crazy here---

[GeneralDisorder]

And some of us do all three!!

 

GD

[bushbasher]

Its a big task, one that I am undergoing on my wagon, only I'm not going for original appearance which makes it easier.

 

Youll need a MIG welder, a grinder with grinding discs and cutting discs, aircraft shears (both left and right hand), vice grips and c-clamps to hold pieces still while you weld, POR rust paint to coat bare metal areas or areas with surfast rust inside the fender. There are lots of other tools like dremel tools or die grinders etc that will make the job easier.

 

The best way to do it is to cut out the outer skin of a non-rusty rear fender. In the fender area the wagons, coupes, sedans are all the same. Also when you cut out the fender area, take some of the inner fender with it when you cut it out.

 

Now you have to graft the fender in by cutting out all rust in the area, then trimming the cutout fender to fit, or you could trim the car, or a combination. It is a good idea to make all joints close to creased areas to reduce warping when welding. An easy way to do the joints is to fold down the edges of the sheetmetal of the car to make a lip that the replacement piece can be welded on top of, to leave an even joint.

 

Then for the spots that are still open, like on the inside of the fender, use cardstock to make templates for patch pieces, then once you get the shape right replicate in sheetmetal and weld in. You'll also need a grinder to grind down welds, and bondo skills afterwards to make it all look smooth.

 

I think that your car is too far gone in the rear fenders to consider bondo, because the rust is to the point where the shape of the rear fender is lost. You might be able to cut out the rust and use fiberglass to create a new fender lip and inner fender, thats tons of work but doesnt require a MIG welder.

[MorganM]

Cut what you can off, bondo it up, sand it down and paint it over.

 

This isnt a show car

[subyrally]

why does this ring a bell, oh wiat, i just finished this work on my car. i had a hole under the trunk that ,when i cut out the rust, i could fit my fist through. hours or grinding with a dremel (which died as a result), bondo, some aluminum siding left overs, some rivets,self drilling screws and lots and lots of rubber undercoating. needless to say, there arent anymore rust holes that i know of. now i just need to get the line-x or rhino ling spray on liner sprayed under the whould body of the car, the only problem ive come across is that there are some soft spots around the lift points which leaves me using the rear diff and front x-mamber to lift the car.

[bushbasher]

Youve got nothing to "fill" with bondo, so you'd be making your fenders out of it. Thats the way my fenders were when I bought the car. I bumped the fender with my shoulder and the whole fender lip broke off in a big lump. Thats why bondo isnt the answer, not to mention it'll only be a few months before the rust underneath comes back and cracks the bondo from underneath, creating a place where water gets trapped, accelerating the process even more

[MilesFox]

on some of the areas, say a hole a few inches, but has metal all around it, you can use fiberglass. i used a bondo brand fiberglass cloth kit, with resin inclused, for a hole in the arch of the fender, and from where the rear fender arch wad rusting out.

 

but from your pictures the entire arch is missing, which you will need some kind of metal welded or riveted on, the n use bondo(try the fiberglass reinforced) to fill in and get the shape and smothness right

[subyrally]

part of the arch was gone on mine, i cut out the rust and made a patch from the aluminum siding material, really thin stuff too, i had to use two layers. rivited it all in and went to town with the rubber spray

[desertsubaru]

If you r going to use bondo try to find tiger hair it dosent hold moisture like plastic bondo does. Gota love our southwest subes no rust!!! Its really sad to see some of the subes hear in jukyards, allmost all the bodys r good but the engines go and people junk them.by the way if anyone is looking for a good xt 6 engine i know where one is.