Would this be classified as surface rust?

[9 deuce gt]

I am new to posting in this forum, but I have been lurking for a few years. I realize my car does not fall into the "foureyed" category, but I want to ask advice on a problem area for my '92 GT because there are quite a few knowledgable people on here. I am in the process of updating a few things on my car including stainless fuel hard lines, and came across what I think appears to be surface rust in the trunk well/axle housing area. I believe it can easily be blasted or wire wheeled off, but it has me a little nervous. Would any of you consider this to be surface rust, or is this something I should be more concerned about?

http://memimage.cardomain.com/member_images/8/web/512000-512999/512479_173_full.jpg
http://memimage.cardomain.com/member_images/8/web/512000-512999/512479_174_full.jpg
http://memimage.cardomain.com/member_images/8/web/512000-512999/512479_175_full.jpg

In the last pic, you can see where I used a wire wheel to clean some of the loose rust off. This was done a bit ago, but I was able to get that area down to clean metal. Please let me know what you think.

[evlgt85]

I think you're going to want to start treating it now to prevent problems in the future. It doesn't look bad at all, but I'm originally from a rust belt state, so I'm used to seeing really nasty stuff under cars.

There are some guys on here that have done some serious rust repair and rust treatment/prevention who can probably give you some good pointers. If you haven't searched on rust treatment and prevention, you'll likely find threads with the techniques and materials they used.

Good luck!

[kj_80Cobra]

Wire wheel and sand off the rust, use a rust converter such as Ospho or PickleX, or a rust encapsulator such as Por15 or Eastwood brand. Read and heed the safety requirements for those products, some of those have nasty ingredients that can cause cancer. Prime it and top coat paint it and your done.

[negusm]

What rust? I don't see no stinking rust!

Yeah that's barely even surface rust.

-Mike

[9 deuce gt]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I have read almost all of the threads here using the search feature. I just wasn't too sure about my situation because I am not experienced with body work.

I am looking at the Eastwood products, like the rust convertor and encapsulator. I will be giving them a call regarding the use of each product. How well do these types of convertors work? I would like to never see rust like this again on my car, but is that asking too much without professional attention/bodywork?

[tman1257]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I have read almost all of the threads here using the search feature. I just wasn't too sure about my situation because I am not experienced with body work.

I am looking at the Eastwood products, like the rust convertor and encapsulator. I will be giving them a call regarding the use of each product. How well do these types of convertors work? I would like to never see rust like this again on my car, but is that asking too much without professional attention/bodywork?

Those converters will work good as long as the prep work is good. Do what KJ said and you will be fine. Just be prepared to get dirty. If you do this now you will save yourself a real headache later. Good luck.

[9 deuce gt]

Later headaches are what I am trying to avoid. I really want this fixed right, and will make sure the prep work is correct. Just trying to learn how to do it!!!

[86GT2go]

Take it back down to bare shiny metal and seal it with a good primer/metal prep. Do not go cheap here, as if you do the problem will be back before you know it.

[7t9cobra]

Wire wheel and sand off the rust, use a rust converter such as Ospho or PickleX, or a rust encapsulator such as Por15 or Eastwood brand. Read and heed the safety requirements for those products, some of those have nasty ingredients that can cause cancer. Prime it and top coat paint it and your done.

+1

ospho is good stuff. buy the pre-diluted if possible. wire wheel as much as possible, spray ospho on. let it sit overnight. if its not dry, check in a few hours or however long it takes (depending on temp. humidity etc.) then scuff it with some sandpaper, wipe it with acetone really well and shoot some primer/paint or rubberized undercoating on it and call her a day. if you dont use a rust killer (should really be acid based like ospho) then you NEED to take off every bit of infected steel. rust killer is the way to go, when doing the bottom of a car. when you do body work, you really want to get all of the rust out, but i assume looks arent as important to you under your car. (not that it will look ugly, but not a perfectly flawless paint job where a speck of dust can ruin it, ya know?)

BTW, that rust is VERY minor. i would have been so proud if the underside of my stang looked like that, before i tore it down.

[9 deuce gt]

I will be using Ospho. It seems to be everyones choice on here and in an internet search. How much do I need to sand before priming after the Ospho is applied? Does Ospho come in a spray bottle?

I believe that the heat from the exhaust then cooling has caused this area to rust over time. How does Ospho handle heat? Should I use a primer that is recommended for heated areas?

[9 deuce gt]

I worked on the car today, and everyone here was right. I was able to get down to fresh clean metal, and this project should go well.

But, I decided to take the passenger side fender off today, because I knew there was rust under the top hinge. I wasn't sure just how bad it was, but I can see it clearly now.

How bad is this, and can it be fixed? I know I need to take the door hinges off and grind to fresh metal, but has anyone dealt with this situation or worse?

http://memimage.cardomain.com/member_images/8/web/512000-512999/512479_176_full.jpg

You can see where I was able to pull part of the metal back. After this pic was taken, I was able to chip away at more of this piece and the entire bottom corner is rotted away. I do not think the rust has eaten a hole through to the interior yet, but I will more than likely have to grind the loose stuff away to really be able to tell.

[7t9cobra]

it says to just get the loose rust off, but i personally reccomend getting as much off as possible. make sure the ospho gets in the seams as thats where the real cancer will start

[9 deuce gt]

7t9cobra:

What do you think of the door hinge area? Is this fixable? I keep thinking theres no way to fix it.

[tman1257]

I think it is fixable. There seems to be a fair amount of clean metal arond the area.

[negusm]

If you bang on the rust with a hammer and it goes "BANG BANG BANG", as in you can feel the car reverberate with it, you have plenty of metal.

If the metal bends easily and feels thin, then you have to worry. I would unbolt the braket, take a wire wheel to the whole thing and use your rust coater on it.

Honestly, I've seen FAR worse.

-Mike

[9 deuce gt]

I think it is fixable. There seems to be a fair amount of clean metal arond the area.

Do you think I can clean with a process similar to above, or do you mean cut and patch a new panel?

[9 deuce gt]

If you bang on the rust with a hammer and it goes "BANG BANG BANG", as in you can feel the car reverberate with it, you have plenty of metal.

If the metal bends easily and feels thin, then you have to worry. I would unbolt the braket, take a wire wheel to the whole thing and use your rust coater on it.

Honestly, I've seen FAR worse.

-Mike


I will try this in the morning. I am probably being paranoid, but this has me nervous.

[tman1257]

Do you think I can clean with a process similar to above, or do you mean cut and patch a new panel?

It depends. Do what negusm says and then you can figure out the best way. If the metal is still solid and the rust has not penetrated through, you should be able to clean it and use the rust converter.

[9 deuce gt]

Well, I tried the hammer method today. It's tough to say really, without taking the door off. That will happen soon. When I hit it with the hammer, it sounded the same as when I hit a completely rust free area. It made a nice metal to metal sound, with vibrations throughout the car. I will grind away the loose stuff and see where I am at.

[negusm]

You can also use a metal rod on the area, rather than a hammer.

Sounds like you just need to wire wheel that all off. You still may want to pull the door.

-Mike

[82mustang]

behind the door hinges is unpainted steel from the factory.. damn ford. they did the same with hood hinges, etc.. they install the parts then paint the car... any moisture on bare steel wil rust it. Thats whats happening behind your hinges. I would pull the door off with the hinges and go from there. They also sell rust converters in spray cans, for your rust and ease of use i would do that, i've been using it a lot lately with what seems like great results, it turns rust black and acts as a primer, just paint over the top

[9 deuce gt]

I will definetly be taking the door off to get it cleaned. My main concern is that the top piece that the hinge comes in contact with first is completely rotted away. The second piece of metal that that the hinge bolts to seems to be solid, with just surface rust on it. I will try to clean all of this off to get a better look.

Out of curiosity, does anyone make new patch panels for this area yet?

[churchy1]

Mine looked worse than that (dam snow belt) I removed the door and it turned out not to be as bad as I thought, one of the bolts on the top hindge was rusted through. I wire wheeled it and hit it with some rust converter good as new now. As for surface rust.........
http://i322.photobucket.com/albums/nn430/83caprirs5l/83%20Capri%20RS%20WIP/car130.jpg
and this is after hours of sandblasting
http://i322.photobucket.com/albums/nn430/83caprirs5l/83%20Capri%20RS%20WIP/car159.jpg

[9 deuce gt]

I was able to get over and work on the car a little bit today. I have not been able to get the door off just yet, but the door panel and most of the wiring has been unhooked and ready to go. I will hopefully get the door removed tomorrow. I was able to snap a few pics of the underside, where the surface rust has been removed:

http://memimage.cardomain.com/member_images/8/web/512000-512999/512479_183_full.jpg
http://memimage.cardomain.com/member_images/8/web/512000-512999/512479_182_full.jpg
http://memimage.cardomain.com/member_images/8/web/512000-512999/512479_181_full.jpg

Things look pretty good here, and when I complete the steps above, I feel this area will be taken care of.

For the hinge area, I still need to do a little more work to be able to diagnose the situation. Here is what I have so far. After a little bit of grinding, I think that there is saveable metal under neath the hinge. I will have to remove the door and hinge and see if I can grind this area down to fresh, clean metal.

http://memimage.cardomain.com/member_images/8/web/512000-512999/512479_177_full.jpg
http://memimage.cardomain.com/member_images/8/web/512000-512999/512479_178_full.jpg
http://memimage.cardomain.com/member_images/8/web/512000-512999/512479_179_full.jpg

You can see where the bottom corner of the steel piece tac-welded to the top just under the hinge has rotted away. I was disgusted to see this. I was able to bend back certain parts with a screw driver with little pressure. The rest just flaked away. It just crumbled when I poked at it. Is this normal?

[churchy1]

Here is what mine looks like now with the door removed as you can see the metal is quite thick under the piece that is spot welded on. I think once you pull the door it will not look as bad wire wheel it hit it with a rust converter if you can't get to all of the rust then shoot some paint.
http://i322.photobucket.com/albums/nn430/83caprirs5l/83%20Capri%20RS%20WIP/car169.jpg
http://i322.photobucket.com/albums/nn430/83caprirs5l/83%20Capri%20RS%20WIP/car171.jpg
http://i322.photobucket.com/albums/nn430/83caprirs5l/83%20Capri%20RS%20WIP/car172.jpg
http://i322.photobucket.com/albums/nn430/83caprirs5l/83%20Capri%20RS%20WIP/car177.jpg

[churchy1]

As for the rust underneath here is mine after hours of sand blasting, the white residue is from the Rust Blast I used to protect the bare metal untill I can paint it with POR15. Yours looks great keep on updateing with progress.
http://i322.photobucket.com/albums/nn430/83caprirs5l/83%20Capri%20RS%20WIP/car174.jpg

[9 deuce gt]

Update!!!!!! (anyone seen tourettesguy.com?? LOL)

I was able to work on the car today. And although I still do not have the door off, due to my inexperience in ripping apart my Mustang, I was able to look behind the hinges. I was unaware that the door lock and window buttons came off like they do, and thought that the wiring harness would not be able to be removed from the door without major disassembly of the door components. I figured this out, and the wiring harness is now removed from the door. In the mean time, I removed the hinge bolts, one hinge at a time and looked behind the hinges. I broke 2 bolts that hold the hinges to the body. Does anyone have a good source for new bolts? Does Ford still stock these, or have they been discontinued like most everything else for these cars?

Here are a few pics of the top hinge:
http://memimage.cardomain.com/member_images/8/web/512000-512999/512479_184_full.jpg
http://memimage.cardomain.com/member_images/8/web/512000-512999/512479_185_full.jpg

Other than the piece that is welded to the top being completely shot, I think this is fixable. If this is not, can some one please tell me what else should be done? I really expected to find this area totally rusted through. There seems to be quite a bit of solid metal under there. I will grind/blast/wire wheel this rust off, and coat the piss out of it with Ospho.

The back of the top hinge doesn't look too bad. I will clean this up and prep it correctly:

http://memimage.cardomain.com/member_images/8/web/512000-512999/512479_188_full.jpg

The bottom hinge area looks to be pretty good. I think a good cleaning, coating with Ospho, and paint should do the trick for now.

A few pics:

http://memimage.cardomain.com/member_images/8/web/512000-512999/512479_186_full.jpg
http://memimage.cardomain.com/member_images/8/web/512000-512999/512479_187_full.jpg

What do you guy's think? Is this workable? I contacted Mustang parts specialties in Georgia about used patch panels yesterday because I was thinking this area would need to be cut out and new welded in. But now I am thinking this is fixable. For now at least. I imagine in another 10 years of ownership, I will need to take a different route.

How do the plates that the hinge bolts thread into come out? I need to get these out to get the rest of the bolts removed. I would also like to clean and treat these as well.

[negusm]

The bottom one is fine. The top one does have some bad scale but you need to wire wheel that away to find out how bad that area is.

BTW, the area that you are working with won't have a specific "patch panel" for something that small. The technical term for the patch panel they manufacture for your situation is called a "sheet of metal" or "old road signage", cut to fit and welded in place. FWIW, road signage is great stuff! Good thickness!

Patch panels are for much larger areas where bending or fitting metal is too much trouble to be cost effective.

If this car is not going to see much rain in the future, any rust you see here will really never get much worse. Trust me, I've driven rust buckets, your rust is absolutely nothing to lose any sleep over. I haven't seen a spot where you can poke your hand let alone your finger through. That's when I start worrying.

-Mike

[9 deuce gt]

negusm:

Here's the reason why I am worried about this, and please to not take this as whinning, I am only trying to see the errors of my ways.

I have owned this car since July of '97. It has seen rain a total of 3 times in my 11 years of ownership. The only water it see's, is litteraly when I wash it. This area has had to have getten worse over the years, as I did not have this issue before. I kick myself for not inspecting different areas of the car during this time for these types of things. The car is garage kept, never seeing rain/snow/salt, you name it. I have only put just over 20,000 miles on the car in those 11 years. When I see this type of deterioration, I get a little nervous. I do not know where I am going wrong. There must be something that I am not doing when the car is in storage that is causing moisture to attack it. I am unsure of the treatment this car recieved prior to my ownership, but it really bugs me that these things are happening. I guess I just need to come to terms with it and figure out solutions.

[kj_80Cobra]

The inside piece that attaches to the hinge can be knocked loose with with a hammer. It is just stuck there with the rust. It will fall down inside the car but if you have the inside kick panel off you can reach in and remove it.

[9 deuce gt]

That piece is actually free, but there must be a lip or something holding it up. Looking at churchy1's pics, it appears that there are some sort of prongs there to hold it in place to get the door bolted up.

I will remove the kick panel cover and see if I can reach up there to get them out. I still have the dash and full interior in the car. Is it possible to reach up there to get the top piece out with the dash in there?

[churchy1]

Yes there are 3 prongs that hold the plate in you have to manuver it around I believe I went forward and then turned the rear of the plate down and twisted it out.

[9 deuce gt]

I will try that tomorrow.

[churchy1]

Good Luck I snaped a bolt too, there is more than enuf thread on the other side to remove it, I put mine in a vise and turned it.

[9 deuce gt]

I figured that I would be able to get the rest of the bolt out. THose are some long ass bolts. LOL.

Is it possible to reach up there with the dash in?

[Blainer]

I dont know if you saw my car but yours is a dream compared to the mess I had to deal with.

http://memimage.cardomain.com/member_images/4/web/2056000-2056999/2056221_53_full.jpg

http://memimage.cardomain.com/member_images/4/web/2056000-2056999/2056221_51_full.jpg

http://memimage.cardomain.com/member_images/4/web/2056000-2056999/2056221_131_full.jpg

[roush235]

I'm far from an expert on rust repair, car preservation, etc. but I think you are being too hard on yourself. Obviously you have taken very good care of your car over many years. Yet you see rust getting worse (though in the big picture it still appears to be minor).

I attribute this to a couple things: 1) the rust preventive measures employed "back then" are not as good as today, as evidenced by the various nooks and crannies where bare metal had no primer, paint, or anything when it left the factory, and 2) humidity. So unless your car left the factory with no bare metal showing, and it lived its life in air-conditioned comfort, some rust will happen.

Come to think about it, I've seen cars which the owner tried to "time-capsule", and they still show tarnish etc.

Keep us posted on your progress, we enjoy watching your efforts.

[9 deuce gt]

Another update:

I removed the door, (finally) and took a look. I was not really impressed with what I saw, but it should be expected. There was more scale behind the top plate where the hinge bolts. It doesn't appear to be thru anywhere, but this sucks. I will have to remove the top plate and really see what's under there.

http://memimage.cardomain.com/member_images/8/web/512000-512999/512479_189_full.jpg
http://memimage.cardomain.com/member_images/8/web/512000-512999/512479_190_full.jpg
http://memimage.cardomain.com/member_images/8/web/512000-512999/512479_191_full.jpg
http://memimage.cardomain.com/member_images/8/web/512000-512999/512479_192_full.jpg
http://memimage.cardomain.com/member_images/8/web/512000-512999/512479_193_full.jpg

After I ground down a little, I noticed that there seemed to be a crack along the front of where the hinge was. I took a closer look, and it is a crack. It is where I found even more scale.

http://memimage.cardomain.com/member_images/8/web/512000-512999/512479_194_full.jpg
http://memimage.cardomain.com/member_images/8/web/512000-512999/512479_195_full.jpg

I am really thinking this is worse than I originally thought. I keep thinking to myself that I have a parts car on my hands, and this is major structural damage. Is this fixable by grinding down to clean metal? Will I need to get a donor piece like Blainer has?

[9 deuce gt]

Blainer:

Do you have any pics of the car when you were completing this project? I am interested in work in progress pics and shots of the final product for the door hinge area, (or any pics for that matter).


EDIT:

I saw the link at the bottom of your sig. Nice work. Car looks great.

[churchy1]

I would say that it is salvageable it is a flat area just cut any real deep nastyness out and weld in a new piece of metal.

[9 deuce gt]

I really think that is the way to go. I will see what is underneath it.

But here's my question:

If the back piece of metal is solid and only needs a cleaning and coating with rust killer, can I cover it with fresh metal? Would this be a recipie for death, leaving the back piece to rust to oblivion? It would be impossible to see the back piece in that case.


Or, is the only way to get a donor piece?

ie: a whole door post like Blainer did?

[churchy1]

There is a weldable primer that you can apply before covering up old metal, here in Canada you can get it at Canadian Tire I believe that Dominion is the manufacture of it. If you cut the whole piller out you will end up with a lot of problems if it is not lined up correctly, your best bet is to repair what you have. T top cars like the one Blainer has tend to have a whole lot of areas where water can get in and sit whitch is why his piller was so rotten.

[9 deuce gt]

What is the best way to cut the top piece off? I do not want to cut into the back piece, correct? I know that I will have to cut back enough material from the top piece to get into good solid metal. Can I use a cut off wheel?

[hsean]

i wonder what can be sprayed on there when your done fixing that so that it don't return.mine are fairly clean and i am thinking of por 15 the area.i hope someone on here can chime in with any product that maybe better.good luck with your car don't give up your headed in the right direction.

[churchy1]

Just use a grinder with a cutoff wheel take your time and slowly cut away at metal, if it was my car though I would use my favorite tool the air chisel and just giver, BRRRRRAAAAPPPPP BRRRRRRRRRRAAAPPPPPPPP.

[9 deuce gt]

I am getting ready to use a cut off wheel and cut back as much as needed to get to clean metal. I will definetely be going slowly here, as I do not want to remove too much material. I plan to get this cut back, blast or wire wheel the area clean, and then treat the surrounding areas for future rust prevention. Can this be done properly to stop this area from rusting again if the car will not see rain or snow? I am hesitant to cover this area in fear of future rust issues.

I have a good family friend that is a professional welder that can weld in a new top piece. I would like this to be as close to factory as possible.

My question is this:

After the back piece is completely clean, (down to fresh, clean metal) and treated using a product like Ospho, can I safely weld a new piece on the top without burning the Ospho or whatever primer and paint I apply? Does Ospho have the ability to withstand heat like a weldable primer?

I am affraid that if I weld a new piece on the top, it will burn off whatever treatment I put on there, and let rust creep back in there.

[83rsturbo]

http://lh3.ggpht.com/2p3capri/SAuob0e4W1I/AAAAAAAAAr4/kxnAe3Pb2fI/DSCN0247.jpg?imgmax=512

[83rsturbo]

http://lh3.ggpht.com/2p3capri/SAuoh0e4W3I/AAAAAAAAAsI/ZKBSKAOn948/DSCN0249.jpg?imgmax=512

[83rsturbo]

That's how my son fixed the rust on the 83

[churchy1]

The area that was treated between the two pieces of metal will be fine as long as it is closed off from the elements, use some seam sealer to fill in the gaps if any after the welding is done.

[9 deuce gt]

churchy1:

What sort of treatment do you suggest for this area? I was thinking clean and treat with Ospho. Do I need to go a step further and prime this area as well? Or will the Ospho be enough to cover the clean metal?

[churchy1]

Ospho is a pickeling agent so it should technically be enuf, but as always its better to paint what you can. I have done many patch panels with the overlaps treated with Rustblast (simular to Ospho) with no problems. Good luck!!!

[hsean]

Ospho is a pickeling agent so it should technically be enuf, but as always its better to paint what you can. I have done many patch panels with the overlaps treated with Rustblast (simular to Ospho) with no problems. Good luck!!!

is this stuff better than por 15?

[churchy1]

Ospho it is a surface treatment, POR15 is a coating it will encapsulate what ever you put it on, it will also to some extent seal the rust in and not allow it to grow. So if you can it is always better to finish with POR15, but if the surface will see UV light you will have to coat the POR15 with some sort of paint, POR15 and UV light do not get along.

[hsean]

Ospho it is a surface treatment, POR15 is a coating it will encapsulate what ever you put it on, it will also to some extent seal the rust in and not allow it to grow. So if you can it is always better to finish with POR15, but if the surface will see UV light you will have to coat the POR15 with some sort of paint, POR15 and UV light do not get along.so ospho will take care of whatever surface rust is left and then i can use por 15.i plan on using por15 on the bottom of the floors and the interior floorpans.i want to make sure that it never rusts there ever again.i will be putting this car up for the winter every year and only drive it on nice days.

[9 deuce gt]

When welding in a patch, what type of metal should be used? Galvanized or regular steel?

[churchy1]

Regular steel will be fine galvanized metal does not weld well (it sputters and makes a real mess) you have to grind where the welds will be if you are going to use it.

[9 deuce gt]

I would like to thank everyone for the help they have given me with thyis project. I will be moving forward with everything discussed here, but I have decided to take this car down for a complete restoration. I have wanted to smooth the engine bay for a long time, and now have my motivation. While inspecting the car for further rust issues, I have discovered that the slight surface rust at the bottom of the shock towers has grown to a point that I do not like seeing. I will be pulling the engine and transmition and completely sanding/grinding the bay. I do have a question first, though. With the rust that I have on the frame rail/shock tower, how do I proceeed to fix this. Obviously I want this area to look really good after I weld all of the existing holes in the bay. Can I just sand blast the area/grind to good mteal and then just weld up any issues that I see? The area doesn't have any holes that Ic an see. I will know though when I blast. But can I weld over a cleanly blasted area and then grind smooth? Here is a pic of the area of concern, (not my car, though):

http://i489.photobucket.com/albums/rr251/9deucegt/Dudecopy.jpg?t=1219627248

And here is a shot of the infected area:

http://i489.photobucket.com/albums/rr251/9deucegt/IMG_1995.jpg?t=1219627336

I think I have found my problem. There is a white residue on a few areas of the car, where rust has appeared. I believe this is salt residue. I know the car was driven in the winter for a period of 3 months prior to my ownership. I can't believe it was driven more than that in the wither, or I would think this thing would be a total bucket by now. I was anal about cleaning this car to ensure nothing would happen later on, but I have apparently missed a few areas. I believe this is my problem, along with sitting in a moist garage come spring. Any help on this one would be appreciated.

[churchy1]

Grind or blast until you find good metal weld it all up. Here is what mine looked like!!!!

here is what it looked like before
http://i322.photobucket.com/albums/nn430/83caprirs5l/83%20Capri%20RS%20WIP/car043.jpg
http://i322.photobucket.com/albums/nn430/83caprirs5l/83%20Capri%20RS%20WIP/car078.jpg
after
http://i322.photobucket.com/albums/nn430/83caprirs5l/83%20Capri%20RS%20WIP/car083.jpg
a shot of the drivers side before I welded the tubing in.
http://i322.photobucket.com/albums/nn430/83caprirs5l/83%20Capri%20RS%20WIP/car064.jpg

[lx500]

What kind of wire wheel is recommended for rust removal? Anything special?

[churchy1]

You can buy a kit that has multiple sizes and roughness its your best bet there is no one wheel that does it all.

[9 deuce gt]

Grind or blast until you find good metal weld it all up. Here is what mine looked like!!!!

here is what it looked like before
http://i322.photobucket.com/albums/nn430/83caprirs5l/83%20Capri%20RS%20WIP/car043.jpg
http://i322.photobucket.com/albums/nn430/83caprirs5l/83%20Capri%20RS%20WIP/car078.jpg
after
http://i322.photobucket.com/albums/nn430/83caprirs5l/83%20Capri%20RS%20WIP/car083.jpg
a shot of the drivers side before I welded the tubing in.
http://i322.photobucket.com/albums/nn430/83caprirs5l/83%20Capri%20RS%20WIP/car064.jpg

churchy1:

Do you have any pics of this area after paint was applied? Or do you have any more resto pics? I would love to see them.

[churchy1]

I have posted some work in progress threads, you can search for them they are around, here is a link to my photobucket album it might be what you want. I have done more work I just have not found time to take pictures yet.
http://s322.photobucket.com/albums/nn430/83caprirs5l/83%20Capri%20RS%20WIP/

[9 deuce gt]

Thanks for the pics. It's nice to see other project to get an idea of what is possible.

Your progress is coming along nicely!!

[9 deuce gt]

I was surveying the situation for the hinge area, and now I have a few questions. I noticed that I may need to take more of the plate than originally thought, to ensure I get all of the affected area. What is the best way to take this off?

http://i489.photobucket.com/albums/rr251/9deucegt/IMG_0022.jpg?t=1222901471

I am thinking that i will need to cut the spot welds back to where the plate overlaps and ends just before the door seal. My question is above this. How can I get a tool in there to cut the area above this? I cannot get a cut off wheel in there, itis too thight of a radius. Any suggestions?


(Sorry for the blurry pic)
http://i489.photobucket.com/albums/rr251/9deucegt/IMG_0024.jpg?t=1222901883

[83 V8 RS T's]

My car didn't need as much work as churchys but I did some patch work in the same general area's including the door pillar area like yours. I found that a dremel tool was the best. They offer cut off wheels about a 1 1/2" in diameter. But get the resin reinforced type. They a bit more costly but last 3 times longer getting your money worth.For real tight areas I used a rather heavy piece of steel and grinded the wheel away till It was a small enough diameter to get in there,works well.I love my dremel.Good-luck!!!

[9 deuce gt]

Do you have any in process pics of your repair?

[83 V8 RS T's]

Sorry I do not. I did make a very nice collection of pictures till my HARD DRIVE CRASHED and all was lost. Lesson learned, I bought a burner so I don't loose everything in the future. The only pictures that I have where on my second memory card which I have on my album here on FEP. Really no in process photo's.