PINTO CAR CLUB of AMERICA
Welcome to FordPinto.com, The home of the PCCA => General Help- Ask the Experts... => Topic started by: John Turner on January 16, 2012, 07:49:53 AM
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I am restoring a 72 wagon with 58k miles on a very tight budget. drivetrain, suspenson, brakes, fine, replaced the front floor pans. Redoing the interior. Rust holes on the top of the car where the roof rack was screwed on. Small rust holes inside the bottom corners of each of the doors. Otherwise fine. Question; I am going to try to fix the rust myself and my instinct is to get some of the new fiberglass material. Sand it down to metal, use POR 15, then slather the fiberglass on. Any suggestions? jt
Ps - also can't get the radio or windshield washer to work. All fuses are good. jt
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Hi John: I am working on a '76 Wagon that had the same issues. Remove all traces of rust with a wire wheel/disc. Treat well with a phosphoric acid rust remover. Paint with POR-15. Use an etchant primer (POR-15) over it, then do bodywork. Bondo will suffice, or fiberglass. POR-15 also makes a two part epoxy putty that is excellent for filling small areas, it dries super tough and is sandable. Repair, prime, sand, paint.
If you'd like some photos of my door repairs, send me a PM and I will forward them to you.
On your windshield washer - I might suggest you change the pump at the bottom of your reservoir. It's a reasonably straightforwar d fix, and is inexpensive. I bought a new pump from rock auto, though I believe you can get these from Autozone or the like. Good luck!
Chris
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A note on the windshield washer: I replaced Ruby RedHot's pump because there was a weird noise and nothing came out of the sprayer nozzles. The new pump worked, but I couldn't get the reservoir to stop leaking where the pump was. Also, the sprayers still didn't work. Turned out the lines from the reservoir to the sprayers was clogged with deposits. I had to reroute new lines and have since bought another reservoir with pump from another '71 Pinto in a wrecking yard and it works. Plus, no leaking! ;D
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Strip the metal bare, cut out any rust, and have someone weld in sheetmetal. Bondo is a poor way out. I'm going to be welding in metal from Fred Morgan to patch the rot on my quarters.
I'd suggest an epoxy over self-etching primer once you have it down to bare, repaired metal.
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Have to agree with JohnW here. You want to weld in patches where it is possible. If I recall correctly, I have some holes in my door in the corner as well. It is curved and hard to make patches for that and mine as I remember was more pinholed. For this use fiberglass. It's better than bondo since it is waterproof and bondo is not. Once you have the fiberglass in there you can put a thin layer of bondo on there to smooth it out.
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You do not need an expensive M.I.G. welder to do spot welding repairs, check the eastwood company and you can use a panel welding tool.Or check with harbor freight for the Chinese copy.These tools adapt any 110 arc welder to use instead of a M.I.G. the British use these all of the time...Metal is always better than fiberglass for LONG LASTING REPAIRS.
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You do not need an expensive M.I.G. welder to do spot welding repairs, check the eastwood company and you can use a panel welding tool.Or check with harbor freight for the Chinese copy.These tools adapt any 110 arc welder to use instead of a M.I.G. the British use these all of the time...Metal is always better than fiberglass for LONG LASTING REPAIRS.
The bondo in my car from someone else has mostly fallen out. Will all be replaced with metal.
Watch out for Eastwood. Some of their tools, like sheetmetal butt welding clamps, are ridiculously overpriced.
$9.99 almost everywhere: http://www.amazon.com/Northern-Industrial-Welders-Panel-Clamps/dp/B0028YIRYW
$29.99 for identical ones at Eastwood, same quantity: http://www.eastwood.com/intergrip-panel-clamps-set-of-4.html
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Sure, metal replacement is warranted especially on flat panels where holes can form, especially at corners, and should be done. Sometimes metal repair is impractical, but in places like doors where you have complex shapes/intersections of panels and welds, rust can create unusual holes that are not easily repaired by sheet metal patches. I stand by my suggestion as well; certainly I appreciate the integrity of metal but in an ideal world, it can't always happen, because of complexity and cost concerns.
A poor way out? Repairs are only as good as the repairer. A well planned and executed fiberglass/bondo repair will maintain long term integrity on the cheap. Bondo that has fallen out is a sign of lousy preparation, not a fault of the material.
Reread the op's message - the first thing he suggested was a "tight budget". That says alot, metal repairs are more involved/expensive, especially if your skill level and tools can't meet the challenge.
Chris
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Reread the op's message - the first thing he suggested was a "tight budget". That says alot, metal repairs are more involved/expensive, especially if your skill level and tools can't meet the challenge.
Chris
Well put, Chris!
Dwayne :)
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Chris, you get a thumbs up and a "Like"