74 Rust Problem

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4drValiant

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Im new to the site and am looking for advise with open ears. 74 Valiant with major rust pockets from WI salt including but not limited to inner fenders, torsion bar cross member, all sub frames, floor boards, pinch rails and so on. There is alot of car left for now and im not giving up on this one so i need a plan. I will replace anything nessisary to remove this cancer but i have limited funds. Im looking for any help on effective ways to restore my car from good part ideas to metal thickness any help is apreciated.
 
Cut your losses and get a different car. Absolutely zero point in restoring a 74 Valiant with that much rust.

But if you insist, here is what you do:

1. Save a bunch of money, maybe $15,000 to $25,000.
2. Start throwing the money at the car.
3. Eventually after throwing enough money at you 74 Valiant, it will look nice.
4. Congratulations. After all that hard work and money, you have a $2,500 car if you are lucky.

You would honestly be better off walking to Seattle, buying this car and driving it home.

http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/cto/4491727687.html
 
it would be cheaper for you take a Vacation to Colorado with a truck a trailer .....Me and my cousin have a 72 valiant that he is currently parting out......so its a shell ....a very rust free shell.

So you get that shell and transfer your front end and glass and good bits from your rusty car and you will end up with a project light years ahead of what you are trying to do....for the cost of the drive to Colorado and while you are in my great state you can do a little vacation......see ...win win
 
Welcome to the site.
I agree with the others, buy a car with a good rust free or nearly rust free body.
You say that you have limited funds, so getting a better body to start with is even more critical, because you will save a lot of money in the long run.
On the upside, it sounds like you have a great parts car already!
 
Agreed with the above, if it's as bad as you are describing, find another one and use it for a parts car.

You will be light years ahead.

There is alot of car left for now and im not giving up on this one so i need a plan.
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If you are stuck on this ^^, post some pics, I'd like to see it just out of curiosity.
 

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Yes. Find a good body to start with. I learned when I was younger not to waste time fixing a rusted car. By the time you get it mechanically sound, the body is crap, and you have to start all over again.


Get a good body worth fixing. Go south or west and bring something solid back.
 
EEsh, just got done restoring one of these that was similar, took me 2 years full time. You'll never get it all. Let it go, take a trip out west, trust me. You'll be better way off.
 
Listen to what there saying. Don't waste your time and money on a rusted out car.
 
I paid $5200 for 74 dart sport cali car no rust ever and ran and drove great with a 1970 340/727 and a 8 3/4 open rear. There has got to be a better body to start with.
 
Take the advise and walk away. If you try this the only thing it will get you is turned completely off on any classic (aka;old) car. It will be a perfect lesson in futility.:banghead:
 
I paid extra for a rust free car to restore...4 years later I am almost done..
 
most 40-50 years old car will need at least a small amount of metal repaired,. when you d a it down there generally will be at least some pin hole rust that needs to be cutout and patched with metal panels. you can learn to do that. anything that needs frame repair needs to be a high end car when restored, and ya better be able to do most of the work yourself even then.....
but like everyone says, I agree , get a better hopefully mostly rusrt free car.... it will be worth paying more for sure.... use your rustbucket for parts and partout and use the $ on the new project....
 
well guys no help. didnt pay a dime for it and its alctualy less of a rust bucket than you think. I wanted to make a plan so it dosent go to waste but your right. Its not worth anything to you so ill scrap the shinny girl. Thanks for painting with your wide brushes. I'm far more inclined to take on a restoration like this than you. Came here for specific A-body details but thats not happening. Usless old people!
 
4dr, I hear you. I have a 74 and I am not giving up on mine either. There was advice on learning to weld. You can pick up a parts car or fabricate. Trust me though, finding repro skins will be near impossible to find. I've tried. I think these guys are trying to tell you that you'll never see your return to fix it. But, if you're like me, you're not it in for the return. Lots of luck, and stay open minded. There are a lot of people on here that can give you sound tips to fix the up your car.
 
4drValiant said:
Im new to the site and am looking for advise with open ears. 74 Valiant with major rust pockets from WI salt including but not limited to inner fenders, torsion bar cross member, all sub frames, floor boards, pinch rails and so on. There is alot of car left for now and im not giving up on this one so i need a plan. I will replace anything nessisary to remove this cancer but i have limited funds. Im looking for any help on effective ways to restore my car from good part ideas to metal thickness any help is apreciated.
Click to expand...

4drValiant said:
well guys no help. didnt pay a dime for it and its alctualy less of a rust bucket than you think. I wanted to make a plan so it dosent go to waste but your right. Its not worth anything to you so ill scrap the shinny girl. Thanks for painting with your wide brushes. I'm far more inclined to take on a restoration like this than you. Came here for specific A-body details but thats not happening. Usless old people!
Click to expand...

Excuse me!! There is no reason for you to get an attitude and start calling childish names. Perhaps you should take time to read what you posted. What you described is a total rust bucket that needs everything repaired. The advise here was given on what you said and you failed to post any pictures. If you aren't intelligent enough to listen to "Useless old people" who many have the experience of making the same mistakes you are talking about then I have one thing to say to you..... Go for it but don't come crying to us later!!
 
xempirex said:
4dr, I hear you. I have a 74 and I am not giving up on mine either. There was advice on learning to weld. You can pick up a parts car or fabricate. Trust me though, finding repro skins will be near impossible to find. I've tried. I think these guys are trying to tell you that you'll never see your return to fix it. But, if you're like me, you're not it in for the return. Lots of luck, and stay open minded. There are a lot of people on here that can give you sound tips to fix the up your car.
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Here is a member with the right attitude to get help around here.
 
I was going to post a reasoned reply to your questions, but I'm old(er) thus useless, so why bother...
 
Who is old ? The owners of this car are 19 and 21.

Besides..and no offense intended..4 door cars are worth **nada** compared to their 2 door brothers. Not sure why but it what it is. If you want to throw your money away and not build any value ( I know, you are never going to sell it) with no value , go ahead. Fill your boots..

I have asked (and taken ) advice from this old folks ?? board and have been very grateful to get it. I do not think we could have accomplished what we have done without the fine members here..

Free advice is worth exactly what you pay for it so if you don't like the advice you get here, go find another board..
 
4drValiant said:
well guys no help. didnt pay a dime for it and its alctualy less of a rust bucket than you think. I wanted to make a plan so it dosent go to waste but your right. Its not worth anything to you so ill scrap the shinny girl. Thanks for painting with your wide brushes. I'm far more inclined to take on a restoration like this than you. Came here for specific A-body details but thats not happening. Usless old people!
Click to expand...

Here's the problem with a "free" car. If it will take $5k to put it back on the road, its not a free car anymore.

Here are some ballpark figures for your rust repair...

Floorpan- $450
Torsion bar crossmember- $335
Rear frame rails- $685 (pair)
Inner fenders- $430

Front frame rails aren't reproduced, but usually sell on eBay for 175-200. So lets call that 350.

So far, you're at $2,250. And that doesn't even include installation, that's just parts. And that's just the structural stuff, that doesn't even cover the rusty fenders and quarters. Even if you do all the work yourself and you already have a welder, you're looking at well over $2,500 just to get the car structurally sound. If you can't do the work yourself, the labor to install all of those parts will probably exceed $5k.

Maybe everything you listed doesn't need to be replaced, but since you didn't show us any pictures, that's what we have to assume. Most of the "old guys" on this board have seen cars like the one you described, and typically they end up having twice as much damage as they appear to. Which means if you already know it has that much rust, it realistically has a lot more.

Most folks on here would rather see you save your car. But they're trying to help. You basically told us your car needs over $2,500 worth of metal. And since you can buy a pretty nice running, driving 4 door for $2,500, that's the advice you got.
 
4drValiant said:
well guys no help. didnt pay a dime for it and its alctualy less of a rust bucket than you think. I wanted to make a plan so it dosent go to waste but your right. Its not worth anything to you so ill scrap the shinny girl. Thanks for painting with your wide brushes. I'm far more inclined to take on a restoration like this than you. Came here for specific A-body details but thats not happening. Usless old people!
Click to expand...

I'm young and don't know much LOL, I'd much rather get help from the "useless old people" that have been there done that...

Take the advice... because I agree as well.
 
4drValiant said:
well guys no help. didnt pay a dime for it and its alctualy less of a rust bucket than you think. I wanted to make a plan so it dosent go to waste but your right. Its not worth anything to you so ill scrap the shinny girl. Thanks for painting with your wide brushes. I'm far more inclined to take on a restoration like this than you. Came here for specific A-body details but thats not happening. Usless old people!
Click to expand...
Dumb kid.
 
I don't know, guys. I can see from a standpoint what ya'll are saying, but one thing to take into account is that some guys... with limited funds... can buy parts relatively inexpensively and start piecing it together. Sure you may have more money in it than what it's worth or more money in it than what it takes to buy a clean one, but...

It's like buying a house. You can take the loan out and pay it off per month as to what you can afford or you can buy it outright. Not many of us can buy it outright so we take the loan. By the end of the loan the interest paid on the loan puts us way over the actual purchase price of the house.

For some of us we can actually piece it together. A fender here, some trim there, whatever it needs. We can't just pull $5000 from our pocket and whatever it takes to ship across the states.
 
ramenth said:
I don't know, guys. I can see from a standpoint what ya'll are saying, but one thing to take into account is that some guys... with limited funds... can buy parts relatively inexpensively and start piecing it together. Sure you may have more money in it than what it's worth or more money in it than what it takes to buy a clean one, but...

It's like buying a house. You can take the loan out and pay it off per month as to what you can afford or you can buy it outright. Not many of us can buy it outright so we take the loan. By the end of the loan the interest paid on the loan puts us way over the actual purchase price of the house.

For some of us we can actually piece it together. A fender here, some trim there, whatever it needs. We can't just pull $5000 from our pocket and whatever it takes to ship across the states.
Click to expand...

To me it isn't piecing a car together that is the problem. It is his crappy attitude "Usless old people!" that shows total disrespect. If he wants help, that sure isn't the way to get it.
 
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