In general: Remove trim and rear window. Clean area of window sealer and loose rust. Cut out thin rusted metal back to thick unrusted metal. Make a template of the hole using paperboard such as a cereal box. Transfer template onto a piece of sheetmetal and cut out. Trim repair piece or hole for a perfect fit. Weld in place, grind off excess weld. Treat both sides with epoxy primer. If that panel has significant rust, it may be better to buy a replacement panel and R&R the whole thing. To see how a pro metalworker does a repair, check out this thread on the Garage Journal by Robert at MP&C. He shows many repairs and fabrication techniques step-by step, his metal work is incredible! Be forewarned, the thread is 162 pages long, so set aside some time to check it out! https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=182565
"Cut out thin rusted metal back to thick unrusted metal" What would be a good technique to test thin metal vs thick metal?
"Transfer template onto a piece of sheet metal and cut out" What is the proper gage sheet metal to use on cars? And do different cars call for different gauges like let's say a car from the 30's, 60's and 80's?
Weld in place, grind off excess weld. Treat both sides with epoxy primer. What welding technique works best here? Oxy, tiger, mig? What else should I consider when welding? And would i use different techniques on different parts of the car like the bottom of a fender vs the example I used in post 1?
"If that panel has significant rust, it may be better to buy a replacement panel and R&R the whole thing" R&R = ?
Thanks Walt for the time you took to give me a nice run down. I'm going to have to join the garage journal because I've heard nothing but good things. If no one has answered my above questions and you have some time please chime in. Out of every thing car related I am drawn more to paint and body. Thanks again. Ronnie
Ronnie, "What would be a good technique to test thin metal vs thick metal?" You can usually look at the underside of the metal and see where it is pock-marked from rust. That is where it is getting thinner. You cut that area out until you get to good metal. Believe me once you start welding you will figure out where the good metal is. What is the proper gage sheet metal to use on cars? Half the time I use pieces cut off from other sheet metal and use them. Often they have the curves I need to make the repairs easier. "What welding technique works best here?" For sheet metal I mig weld everything, then grind it down. You can butt weld pieces by leaving a gap between the parts, plug weld, etc. Mig welding is very forgiving. "And Expoxy Primer? What's its main job? What does expoxy mean?" I believe Epoxy Primer has a hardener and it really bonds to the steel. The idea is to stop the moisture from ever getting there again, and this stuff does it's job. "R&R = ?" That means remove and replace. Like Walt said, depending on how much rust is in the window channel area it may be a lot easier, faster, and a better repair, to replace the entire panel. The 66-67 cars are notorious for these panels going bad. I believe this panel was developed to replace the ones in the GTO's and they are an exact fit. This panel is the exception for our cars, as it is available. What Walt outlined is what we often have to do to repair non-obtainable sheet metal parts, like putting 2 core supports together to make 1. If you can find someone in your area that is doing this kind of work it may really benefit you to go "watch" them for a while. Often I learn better after I have seen something done, rather then read about it. That's just how I am. Duane
Thanks Duane for the tips. When you say you use other sheet metal did that mean from other cars? I appreciate the advice and I'll look into somebody locally doing this type of work. I have no problem walking into a shop and shaking a hand. I also figured the 67's had all go bad in that area, sure looks like a nice place to trap in moister but they are stunning cars when finished.
"When you say you use other sheet metal did that mean from other cars?" Yes, I kept a stash of sheet metal pieces I cut from other panels that still had usable parts on them. For a while I was repairing inner fenders and Core Supports for the Buicks. I would take pieces from 3 or 4 different parts and weld them together to repair 1 good one. Once done, with a little body work, you could not tell where I had been. A friend of mine that is into Chevelles could not believe why I was spending the time to fix this "junk" instead of buying new ones, but he did appreciate the end results. He just did not understand we could not just go and buy them new. I often saved good lower corners of doors just in case I needed them to fix rusty ones, stuff like that. Once I needed one of the Brackets for a 1970 Buick Stage 1 4-speed reverse lock-out. Dave Kleiner sent me an original from one of his cars to use as an example. I cut up brackets from 3 automatic cars, welded them all together to form the bracket I needed, ground everything down, painted it to look like the original, and stuck it on the car. It worked fine. Then I sent his original back. These are the types of things you have to do when you are dealing with "un-obtanium" pieces. If you want to get the car done you often need to start making things. If you can't tell I love to recycle junky used parts and make them into something useful again. I just did that with a pair of 50 year old rusty/paint oversprayed 68-69 front turn signal lenses. I wanted an extra set for spares and was given a box of them. After making sure 2 had no cracks or chips, I started cleaning them up. It took about 3 hours but at this time you would be hard pressed to see a difference between them and NOS pieces, and now I have my spares. It often doesn't take much money to get what you need. Sometimes it just takes a little common sense and some time/sweat equity. Duane
I seen a door someone threw on the side of the road from an old truck. I'm taking that sucker home. I understand you Duane because I can see beyond the rust and junk. You must have been born with out a silver spoon too lol.
Don't get me wrong, my last name is not Rockefeller but we were not poor, and my parents always seemed to give us what we needed, but yes I have always been a poor guy in a Rich Man's hobby. I always traded or sold stuff for what I needed. If I could figure out how to make something someone else needed and trade/sell it so I could get my labor back, then that is what I did. Then I used that money to get what I needed. That is how I got most of my cars done. You can often trade something and get a better deal then you could if you straight out bought it. Duane
