The Great Pumpkin - '71 Duster
Yeah, my arms feel like they're gonna fall off and my neck has a crick in it from bending over at awkward angles. Plus it's a really dirty job. I definitely want it to be over but I kinda need to push through it now, can't leave it half-done.
Sand blasting the bottom would have taken a pro shop about 30 minutes and likely yielded more thorough results. That was mostly a matter of logistics that I didn't have the wherewithal to deal with - getting the car on a dolly and onto a trailer, trucking to the blasting place about 45 minutes away, leaving it there then going back to pick it up... I just started scraping and that was it.
Here's the driver's side wheel well now cleaned up.
The rear frame rails had some surface rust. The insides next to the spare tire well are kind of hard to get to with a wire wheel or grinder so I had to get creative. Yesterday I slimed some Evaporust on the area and while still wet I put body shop plastic over it to keep it from evaporating. It worked a little but though not nearly as well as when you submerge something in the liquid. Would probably be best to soak a rag in the liquid and then put the plastic over it. The plastic is very clingy which helps keep it in place. That old pesky gravity...
Passenger side rear frame rail getting the Evaporust treatment.
Passenger side rear frame rail after treatment.
Driver's side.
Unfortunately am fairly convinced this car was in a fender bender at some point, possibly rear-ended. I've had my suspicions but never really investigated it too much. In front there's some non-factory looking seam sealer where the inner fender meets the radiator support. The rear driver's side quarter panel has a crease in it and the pointy part of the quarter panel that sticks out is crunched too. There's paint drips everywhere too. I doubt the whole car was done but more than one panel was for sure.
But now that the undercoating is gone it's pretty clear the rear spring shackle mounts look like they buckled during an impact. Not sure if those welds I circled are factory or not but you can see where the frame edges got pushed in. It went on a frame machine because the bottom holes are distorted from the chain hooks pulling it back into shape. I guess the body shop did an OK job, the car drives straight and the doors close nicely.
There's no other visible impact evidence forward of those spots, the trunk and quarters all look OK to me. Regardless, I'm contemplating welding a reinforcement plate over those junction points for a little extra rigidity.
Right rear.
Left rear.
There's also this repair on the lower passenger side rocker.
Everything else is pretty much on hold with this car until I get this undercoating and painting part done.
More to come.
Yeah, my arms feel like they're gonna fall off and my neck has a crick in it from bending over at awkward angles. Plus it's a really dirty job. I definitely want it to be over but I kinda need to push through it now, can't leave it half-done.
Sand blasting the bottom would have taken a pro shop about 30 minutes and likely yielded more thorough results. That was mostly a matter of logistics that I didn't have the wherewithal to deal with - getting the car on a dolly and onto a trailer, trucking to the blasting place about 45 minutes away, leaving it there then going back to pick it up... I just started scraping and that was it.
Here's the driver's side wheel well now cleaned up.
The rear frame rails had some surface rust. The insides next to the spare tire well are kind of hard to get to with a wire wheel or grinder so I had to get creative. Yesterday I slimed some Evaporust on the area and while still wet I put body shop plastic over it to keep it from evaporating. It worked a little but though not nearly as well as when you submerge something in the liquid. Would probably be best to soak a rag in the liquid and then put the plastic over it. The plastic is very clingy which helps keep it in place. That old pesky gravity...
Passenger side rear frame rail getting the Evaporust treatment.
Passenger side rear frame rail after treatment.
Driver's side.
Unfortunately am fairly convinced this car was in a fender bender at some point, possibly rear-ended. I've had my suspicions but never really investigated it too much. In front there's some non-factory looking seam sealer where the inner fender meets the radiator support. The rear driver's side quarter panel has a crease in it and the pointy part of the quarter panel that sticks out is crunched too. There's paint drips everywhere too. I doubt the whole car was done but more than one panel was for sure.
But now that the undercoating is gone it's pretty clear the rear spring shackle mounts look like they buckled during an impact. Not sure if those welds I circled are factory or not but you can see where the frame edges got pushed in. It went on a frame machine because the bottom holes are distorted from the chain hooks pulling it back into shape. I guess the body shop did an OK job, the car drives straight and the doors close nicely.
There's no other visible impact evidence forward of those spots, the trunk and quarters all look OK to me. Regardless, I'm contemplating welding a reinforcement plate over those junction points for a little extra rigidity.
Right rear.
Left rear.
There's also this repair on the lower passenger side rocker.
Everything else is pretty much on hold with this car until I get this undercoating and painting part done.
More to come.
