64 valiant floor pan rust, practical fix?

[junkyardhero]

Yes he said that back in July on a different thread. I never discouraged him from joining a car club ,meeting people and learning. So, I don't know what that has to do with anything I said.

oh really? from this very thread:

I wouldn't recommend making friends or joining a club just to use them to fix his floor pan.

funny that.

hoping there is another solution that will last a good 5-10 years? "

and you think that your homecoming float bondo biscuit fix is gonna last 5+ years? comical.
on the floor? where significant weight is being placed constantly? laughable.
where there is likely flex due to the already deteriorated structure that you know, connects the front and rear subframes. farcical.
where heat, and road spray is constant? whimsical, at best.
in a seaside environment? i'd say hilarious if it weren't so detached from reality.

he'd be better off just wire wheeling it all off and painting it with rustoleum enamel and shoving the carpet back over it. once dried off, both the carpet and paint, of course.

 

[Kemper]

oh really? from this very thread:



funny that.



and you think that your homecoming float bondo biscuit fix is gonna last 5+ years? comical.
on the floor? where significant weight is being placed constantly? laughable.
where there is likely flex due to the already deteriorated structure that you know, connects the front and rear subframes. farcical.
where heat, and road spray is constant? whimsical, at best.
in a seaside environment? i'd say hilarious if it weren't so detached from reality.

he'd be better off just wire wheeling it all off and painting it with rustoleum enamel and shoving the carpet back over it. once dried off, both the carpet and paint, of course.

I stand by the statement I made That you quoted -
" I wouldn't recommend making friends or joining a club just to use them to fix his floor pan. "

 

[junkyardhero]

I stand by the statement I made That you quoted -
" I wouldn't recommend making friends or joining a club just to use them to fix his floor pan. "

nah. don't go trying to change the tone.

ol' kemper, moving them goal posts like usual.

get exposed and change your tune. wouldn't expect anything less.

 

[Kemper]

Not changing any tone. It's right there to see and can read it in any tone you want. I wouldn't recommend anyone joining a club just to use them.

 

[RustyRatRod]

Not changing any tone. It's right there to see and can read it in any tone you want. I wouldn't recommend anyone joining a club just to use them.

Lotsa people do it.

 

[junkyardhero]

Lotsa people do it.

just like lotsa people bondo up cars and flip 'em like scumbags!

 

[Kemper]

And there it is. Little later than expected, but I'm hopeful we can discuss these threads, where an alternative to to cut and remove is clearly stated as a condition in the OP, without inferring someone is a ( any derogatory term would be appropriate ) for sticking with the outline of the thread.

 

[junkyardhero]

And there it is. Little later than expected, but I'm hopeful we can discuss these threads, where an alternative to to cut and remove is clearly stated as a condition in the OP, without inferring someone is a ( any derogatory term would be appropriate ) for sticking with the outline of the thread.

stop being obtuse. what are you talking about?

 

[Kemper]

If I were doing this repair I would span the holes with fiberglass resin and cloth. I would then apply fibered bondo and while that was still wet I would push a piece of steel mesh as I used on my panel in another thread, into the fibered bondo and then bondo over the mesh . This will give you added strength as the fibered bondo is twice as strong as their regular bondo according to the company, and the mesh will add much more strength.

Having said that I will post this video and keep in mind this is just regular bondo or equivelant and does not have thefibers or the steel mesh in it. My method would be much stronger than this -

 

[junkyardhero]

and there it is... a little later than expected...

back to chicken wire and bondo.

 

[RustyRatRod]

and there it is... a little later than expected...

back to chicken wire and bondo.

 

[Big.J.007]

To the average person this might look like breakfast or dinner.. To some it is Rear quarters, trunk floors, fenders, and whatever else we can create with imagination...
Arts and crafts didn't stop in school folks

 

[Kemper]

If I were doing this repair I would span the holes with fiberglass resin and cloth. I would then apply fibered bondo and while that was still wet I would push a piece of steel mesh as I used on my panel in another thread, into the fibered bondo and then bondo over the mesh . This will give you added strength as the fibered bondo is twice as strong as their regular bondo according to the company, and the mesh will add much more strength.

Having said that I will post this video and keep in mind this is just regular bondo or equivelant and does not have thefibers or the steel mesh in it. My method would be much stronger than this -

I will also like to add that you can sand any areas that shows underneath ( you already have rust reformer there ) where the fiberglass may not be even with the surface . The fiberglass resin,cloth was only to keep the fibered bondo from coming through till it set. You can then give it a shot of primer and paint or a primer/paint product and then spray a bit of undercoating.

 

[Kemper]

Menards

1/2" x 2' x 25' Galvanized Hardware Cloth​

• Welded wire is galvanized after welding for added strength, durability, and corrosion resistance

 

[Kemper]

Started poking at some damp carpet under the brake and somehow ended up down to bare metal with no seats!!

Found minor (maybe? is there such a thing?) rust in the floor pans. Passenger side has some pinholes. Everything is still solid and stable.

Looking at other threads I know the answer should be to cut and remove but I don’t access to or the skills to weld. This is a practical weekend driver, hoping there is another solution that will last a good 5-10 years?

Was originally steered towards some rust dissolver, now thinking that would make the pinholes worse. Have some rustoleum rust reformer i was planning to use when I thought it was just one floor pan. Now I’m not sure the best approach…between dissolvers, removers, reformers, converters, sealers, and misnomers between brands I feel like I’m spinning in circles.

Should I use either of these two items or go buy something different?

Plan is hopefully to do some sort of rust treatment, paint, and new carpet.

All new to me so any thoughts, even if it’s bad news, is helpful. Pans seem solid and fixable until I found the passenger holes! Hoping it’s salvageable

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Keep in mind that these people that are trying to persaude you to use metal are promoting a system that failed . They may have spent their life working on putting things back to a failed state. They don't mention steps that can be taken to prevent their failed system from re-occuring so I doubt they did anything in those regards.

Whatever method you use will fail if the vehicle is used under the same conditions and you don't find the source of your problem. It may or may not be the same as I showed here on my car. Either method will be fine and will last longer if you don't let it deteriate.

 

[RustyRatRod]

I can't say I haven't seen chicken wire and such as body repair, but it's always when cars come in with it fallin off.

 

[barbee6043]

Just to change up a little... I think we can all agree there are many ways to skins a cat.. some ways have better results than others. But it never hurts to see how other people approach the same problem, and if we had time lapsed, it would be nice to see the results 5 -10 years later! So we can always strike off the "methods" we choose to.

After all these decades playing (hard) in this hobby, I still find it fun to learn, and I find the more people I am introduced to, the more I learn, some things useful and others maybe not.

IF a guy KNOWS he will want to stay in this hobby, he can take measures to begin to obtain the tools he will need to do such work, unless he has an open checkbook to pay it all done. People love to have a garage and tools!!! If a guy knows he will never do another car, then all he needs is a lawnmower!

Is it better to butt weld a panel? Yes. Is it always practical? No. If a new guy can not run a bead, or use a wheel of death, maybe not yet! Should anyone be condemed for not butt welding a darn floor panel??????

I know this. Make metal repairs with fiberglass and then later, at some point in time, try to sell it, and the buyer will run backwards. But 99% of everyone will always say: "this car is my baby and it will never be sold!"

A guy can do all the metal work on his project perfect, smooth it with just the e thinnest of filler, block it perfect, lay down the finest paint work, etc etc and forget to DA off the filler that remained on the bottom edge of a rear lower quarter, and a buyer see that, and he will swear that car was done it 5 gal. of filler and chicken wire. You would think he would be paying for a $10,000 paint job~~~!!!!!

 

[Kemper]

I will also add-
Not everyone has an open mind and are capable of keeping things in perspective . If they can't comment on a forum where the objective lined out in the onset is a non weld , non metal cut out and replace, in a way that keeps that in mind, I wouldn't let them near my car.

There is no reason to believe they would be able to stay on track regardless of what repair one is doing, whether it be mechanical or the numerous other repairs encountered .
They will try to hide their faults by exaggeration, posting false information and character assasination . At least we know who they are as they have proven that by their actions on record.
Not everything is a popularity contest and I'm afraid they may have fallen into that trap that keeps them from being helpful . An added burden that one will encounter. I encourage people to concentrate on fixing their car and not fixing them.

 

[Korys_thing]

A lot of much needed experience in this thread. I have a tendency to overthink and just need a kick in the *** in any half reasonable direction. After reading through and trying to find things like Ospho or Evaporust I decided to go with whats available: A wire wheel on a drill and 2 coats of Por15. Also going to throw a layer of the rustoleum reformer i have under the pan once i get some time to peel off all the old oil from the underside.

Good news: we had a heavy rain the next day and the passenger side is dry as a bone and looking decent, a lot of the surface rust came off with the wheel, i learned some things about metal cleaning.
Bad News: the Por15 dried pretty quick between coats and I hope my sanding job was up to snuff but i read its pretty finicky, the driver side ended up with a huge puddle, still can't pin down where the water came in from, i probably lost some brain cells from the smell...not sure if thats a pro or con.

Looking through a lot of spots that Kemper posted and am seeing some similar things...started poking around the cowl but not finding much, seeing a lot of rotted out seam sealer. Kinda seems like the driver side might be leaking from the steering column/firewall or maybe where the previous master cylinder was. Also...door and window seals are pretty beat so Im guessing the rain could be riding in through the doors somewhere.

Current plan after the advice is no carpet until i replace seals and find the leaks, make some car club friends and not use them for their skills, and worst case scenario I cut floor and find a welder or replace the pans like rusty was saying. I don't think I'll need to but I don't have a lot of faith in Por15 not cracking in a high load step in/step out zone.

Those floors are a michigan 9

I hope to be a michigan 9 to somebody one day. The floors really arent as bad as they look and the rest of the car seems solid...kinda.

 

[Korys_thing]

As far as perspective goes, I'm just an almost old dude that grew up in a house run by lesbian nuns and not a tool in sight. Getting into this car game late now that life has given me a reliable work vehicle, a girlfriend that has built more rancheros and mustangs that I can count, and a couple extra dollars.

...sure wish it gave me a garage or some indoor parking though.

In any case, I don't have access to a lot but can do the basics where I'm at so thats what im trying to do. The basic way to skin this cat. As most of you may have told yourselves at some point "This is just a car to mess around and learn on, I don't want to RESTORE it" but here I am thoroughly enjoying this valiant, wanting to keep it in good shape and not wanting it to rot away

 

[JDMopar]

You can experiment with the POR-15 and some fiberglass mat on the pin holes. I've seen people do it and it turned out ok. Cut a piece of fiberglass mat big enough to cover the pin hole area before putting down POR-15 and set the piece aside. Put a wet coat of POR-15 on the spot, then lay the piece of mat you cut on top of it. Use a screwdriver or something to push down on the mat so it soaks up the 1st layer of POR-15. Then, brush a little more on top of it and around the edges. Do that in a few layers if needed. CAUTION: Don't get POR-15 on your skin! It will take forever to wear off.....unless it never does and you die with the stain still on you decades later!

 

[barbee6043]

As far as perspective goes, I'm just an almost old dude that grew up in a house run by lesbian nuns and not a tool in sight. Getting into this car game late now that life has given me a reliable work vehicle, a girlfriend that has built more rancheros and mustangs that I can count, and a couple extra dollars.

...sure wish it gave me a garage or some indoor parking though.

In any case, I don't have access to a lot but can do the basics where I'm at so thats what im trying to do. The basic way to skin this cat. As most of you may have told yourselves at some point "This is just a car to mess around and learn on, I don't want to RESTORE it" but here I am thoroughly enjoying this valiant, wanting to keep it in good shape and not wanting it to rot away

Good deal!!!
Mom always said "after you cut out the rust, and weld in some patch panels, the rest is just FLUFF!"

P.S. I used that high $ Por 15 once, 40 odd years ago, and then later went to epoxy primer (if I wanted to be fancy), then brushed on 2 coats of Rustoleum (Heck that is high enough now days!!!).. and never looked back!