Rear window rust repair without welding

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charm

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I'm not welder and I don't own a welder. I need to repair the rust around the rear window of my 74 Dart. Am I stuck paying a body shop or is there an effective way to do this without welding?

I know somebody will ask for pics so, sadly, I'll have to say up front, I don't have any and the car is currently 1,000 miles north of me.
 
there's always fiberglass (just make sure to remove all the old rust first). I've done plenty of rust repair in the past with a grinder and fiberglass (and to be honest I did a better job in most cases than the 'welder' who helped redo my Duster last fall).

welding is the best way though...
 
I suppose you could cut it out make a patch and use panel adhesive . It depends on how complicated and how large of an area you are trying to repair.
 
Get you a map torch with a brazing tip and braze it. Use a good ol' coathanger. Once done undercoat the backside.

Plenty of youtube vids to show you how to braze.

Fiberglass doesn't stick to metal and will delaminate sooner than later. Depending what you are replacing, AMD makes a replacement filler panel between the trunklid and rear glass. If that is the case, buy it and glue it in with SEM panel bond. STRONGER than spotwelds!!! Just clamp it on with visegrips and let it dry.
 
Thanks for the panel bond idea.

Having seen the car that I'm marrying into only once, I 'think' the bulk of the rust around the rear window is closer to the top of the window.

A buddy of mine also came up with a pretty radical idea to save money on my build, or at least put off spending it...Rat Rod! I'm starting to look into that now.
 
I am thinking harbor freight welders are cheap, sheetmetal is easy to find.
You Tube has videos on welding and sheet metal bending.
Time to learn a new skill.
my 2 cents
 
74DartSwinger360 said:
Make a patch bigger than the rust hole and use rivets and cover with sheets of fiberglass.
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Can I rivet inside the window frame and still get the window to seal?

The more I look into this, if I do the prep and find somebody to do the metal work, then I spray the primer and block...a $500 trip to Maaco might then be the answer.

I'm sure I'll come up with 100 other ideas between now and when this actually gets done.

First step, really, is finding a place to do all of this!
 
..could some of the pitted/rusty area be prepped,filled and painted,or otherwise treated?
just wondering about some of the new rust converters,neutralizers etc...are they just snake oil or are they suitable for small pits/rusty areas?
 
It depends on what you want:

2 years? clean, ospho and filler

Long? cut it out, ospho, mig, harbor freight bender. It's not that hard to do it correctly. Maybe $600 in tools that you will use again. If you have the $, I would buy a Hobart.
 
green1 said:
It depends on what you want:

2 years? clean, ospho and filler

Long? cut it out, ospho, mig, harbor freight bender. It's not that hard to do it correctly. Maybe $600 in tools that you will use again. If you have the $, I would buy a Hobart.
Click to expand...

Hobart rocks,
I swear I could teach my 2 yr old grandaughter to use mine if they made welding hoods that small.
It has to be one of the easiest welders to use.

And I have welded with alot of different brands.
 
charm said:
A buddy of mine also came up with a pretty radical idea to save money on my build, or at least put off spending it...Rat Rod! I'm starting to look into that now.
Click to expand...

To me personally ratrod always screams middle aged yuppie that wants to looks like a car guy. The difference between a beater driver and a ratrod is the beater is actually driven and is not intentionally looking like crap. The whole ratrod trend is just that, a trend.

I have drove many cars with holes rusting through them and things cobbled together, it was never because I wanted it to look like a cobbled together car.
 
charm said:
Can I rivet inside the window frame and still get the window to seal?
Click to expand...

Yes you bend the patch to match the missing and hold it behind drill hole rivet together. Then either do bondos or a few layers of fiberglass. Let cure then sand flat to match surrounding material.
 
This is not a bad idea...

CUUDAK said:
......AMD makes a replacement filler panel between the trunklid and rear glass. If that is the case, buy it and glue it in with SEM panel bond. STRONGER than spotwelds!!! Just clamp it on with visegrips and let it dry.
Click to expand...

As others said learn to weld.

I took welding classes at the local community college, and was allowed to work on personal projects as the class went along...even after the class ended. They had lots of nice equipment, great instructor who helped me along when i was over my head.

Paul
 
fiberglass will not bond to metal It will crack within a year.I would use bondo before glass.and any one that says it wont hasn't dun it much.fiberglass sticks to fiberglass or wood.Im not trying to start trouble just trying to help save you time and money............Artie
 
1972DusterPaul said:
This is not a bad idea...



As others said learn to weld.

I took welding classes at the local community college, and was allowed to work on personal projects as the class went along...even after the class ended. They had lots of nice equipment, great instructor who helped me along when i was over my head.

Paul
Click to expand...
I think this is the best answer yet...you could lern to weld and grt you car dun too:cheers:.........Artie
 
You could cut out all the rust , fabricate all new metal pieces needed, clamp them in place then find a "buddy" to stop over with his welder and zip it up in an hour or two. I would do it for you if I was closer.
 
69MOPE said:
You could cut out all the rust , fabricate all new metal pieces needed, clamp them in place then find a "buddy" to stop over with his welder and zip it up in an hour or two. I would do it for you if I was closer.
Click to expand...

That is how I do it but I do own the welder. I just can't weld but I can always find people who can but have no welder.
 
Welding it is.

Heck, I might even try spraying the car myself! Worst case scenario, I pay somebody to fix it.

Any thoughts on what order to do this in? The interior needs very little, just recovering the stock bench (or swapping in buckets) and a stereo system which I have a plan for. I need to do suspension work. I'm going to do a few things to the /6, just intake and exhaust and dress it up a bit. And then the body work. Do I do the body work first to avoid getting overspray on the engine and new suspension components or do the body work last to avoid scratching the paint while working on everything else?
 
Alright. Anybody know of a course taught in the Seattle area for welding? All I'm seeing is stuff for welding or body work career track stuff. I don't need to make a living at it, I just want to learn enough to do this right, not make a career out of it!
 
godfatherofchry said:
fiberglass will not bond to metal It will crack within a year.I would use bondo before glass.and any one that says it wont hasn't dun it much.fiberglass sticks to fiberglass or wood.Im not trying to start trouble just trying to help save you time and money............Artie
Click to expand...

I or my father has never had a problem. He did the trunk floor to his charger 20 yrs ago and no cracks! Even with puttin some weight in it. He also rebuilt the 1/4s and valance and end caps in a different car with no problems once so ever.
 
how about duraglass? its kinda like fibreglass but it alot like mixing regular filler
 
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