Cooler weather means I can see what the body is like under the bondo... if there is any metal underneath. Whoever did this ought to be flogged.
This is truly disappointing and this is NOT all of it. It's up to a quarter of an inch thick in many places.
I feel your pain, sadly not surprising … would I be safe in thinking that your going to strip the entire car? Glenn
No, this is just the tip of the iceberg, I fear. Sadly, this is typical of Charleston body shop work in my experience. The inside of the cowl is rusted through, in a couple of places. Difficult to repair in any case. I have a difficult decision to make. I don't have the money to buy the needed patch panels, and fabricating anything bigger than the lower quarters is out of my capacity. Another painful lesson learned, at least not too expensive this time.
As a kid I remember my uncle us to go up north, New York area, and by cars with good engines and terribly rusty body's, bring them home to paint street and the local Bondo slinger's would use newspaper & chicken wire to cover the rust, heaven forbid they cut anything out they just covered it up, I'm afraid that was done all over South Carolina, down around the coast it was probably done even more. HRP
Unfortunately, yes. It's a staple of Lowcountry life. Should have known not to buy a car from the local area, this old. Thinking through my options going forward. Lots of good parts for the right buyer.
I had a 59 Ranchero. the lower 6 inches was all bondo. Bubbling and some cracked and some fell out. I simply used expanded metal lath and wired it in place using thin stainless steel wire discarded by the phone company. Plastered it back together with bondo some of it a inch thick. Looked good. I sold the car to a guy in New York. Who bought it as I was actively finishing up the patch job. He thought it was a very solid car because the frame wasn't rusted out?
Look at it this way, you will better prepared for next time. You'll be able to spot how the edge of the quarter panel is really smooth, when the factory seam would show the spot welds. And you'll recognize the thick sound when you thump the lower regions of the panels. No echo, that's because the inside is filled with foam, chicken wire, wadded up newspaper, kittyhair, and bondo.
I'd have to say that unfortunately is pretty standard 70's 80's gypo used car lot body shop work. I don't know if it is still there but a local wholesaler who supplied (and backed) a number of local used car lots had a shop where that sort of work was the norm rather than the exception along with quick and nasty paint jobs. One of those things where "today we are painting everything red tomorrow we will paint a bunch white" places.
I could see where you would be discouraged at the uncovering of the bad work. I am still amazed at the amount of rusted frames on newer cars up north. But if your car has a solid foundation. Why not use it as a teaching tool? Fix the lower quarters, do the best you can with them. The knowledge you gain from that, then pick another hole and fix it. Then move to another hole. Think this is why it is called eating a elephant one bite at a time. Use old car hoods or doors to collect the metal to use for patches. Don't need a lot of money here. And do not set your sights so high, that it has to be perfect. Just enjoy the process, then gain the knowledge from it. Make it solid and safe. Better then it is now. Then pass it on to someone else that likes it as is. Just think of the potential of the knowledge you can gain from the situation you have. This is how I am doing my project, I know from start to finish, I can not do all the fabricating that is required at this time. .... practice practice practice You would have to pay good hard earned money, to get the skills you now have the chance to learn for time and effort. Take lemons and make lemonade.
Yeah, taking note of what is still good and what I can live with. Just pissed that I didn't know how bad it was. Wouldn't have been a deal breaker, but I would have pushed the price down.
Look at it this way it kept the car on the road for all those years instead of sending it to the scrapper due to rust.
Kind of quick to run us all down from,,,,Down South,,,aren’t you. I don’t do any body work,,,,I just don’t have the talent,,,,but I took offense to the Low country life bit ! There are good and bad everywhere,,,but not just down here! Charleston huh,,,,? Tommy
Cave and pave was fine everywhere along with sawdust in the dif. ,Brake fluid in the trans , painted tires ,motor honey or it's equivalent in the engine , in some cases it was dealers , in some cases it was survival ...
That is not really too bad for a 50 year old car. A 1/4 inch of putty is nothing! Stop grinding now! Fix those spots. It might take you a couple weekends. After that is done, relax a weekend or two and do it again. Treat it a a few small projects. If you make it a big project it can overwhelm you. Think of it this way, building a house is a big project. But a couple of 2x4's nailed together make a wall. A couple walls make a room. A few rooms make a house.
Not trying to be too "thin skinned", but I'm a recent Yankee transplant to the south who escsaped New York State. Could have gone anywhere, but I love the south and the friendly people who inhabit it, particularly in Kentucky. Having lived all my life in the "People's Republic" of NY, I heard the locals complaain about lots of stuff, but NEVER heard anyone put down southerners. You've been listening to too many late-night so-called comedians who will denigrate anyone to get a laugh. If you ever make it over to the Bowing Green, KY area, let me know and I'll show you that ex-Yankes also have a ggodsense of hospitality!
They are just as bad up north. In New York, they cant drive with visible rust. I have seen lots of bondo up there
The guy who did that was probably just like you...no money nor extensive fabrication skills yet he wanted a decent looking car...so he did what he could. And as others have said, at least it kept the car from getting scrapped out. Do what your budget can handle and enjoy the car for what it is. Just be sure to tell whoever you sell it to that it has it's fair share of bondo.
That's what became of "trying to get back to solid metal to weld to".... and I can see where even a decent body guy would have had trouble getting the metal flat, but creating entire contour lines out of bondo is excessive. As I was grinding it, I even ran into spots that still hadn't cured. Technique is everything. If they had properly glassed it, it would have been fine. Unsupported bondo is doomed to fail. Looking at the original damage, I believe the car was "parked by braille" for years
Anyone who has the good sense to flee the north is welcome anywhere in the South; come by for a tall glass of sweet tea!
Two 2x4's making a wall would never pass code up here! LOL Always take a magnet with you when you go to inspect a car; leave one in the glovebox in your dd so you'll always have one handy. Now, restoring a car is a dauntless task but it really is only a lot of little jobs done in the correct order. Similar to solving an algebra equation one step at a time. With the body work do the simple stuff first and build up your skill level. That's how I've become better. Still not perfect but if somebody doesn't like my work I tell them where to send the cheque to correct the problem! My nephew's dad used to use aluminum tape to cover over rust holes, bondo, paint, and then sell. His son, my nephew, started to work on a Sunbeam Tiger for his brother in law who spent good money on it. Was just to going to fix a couple of small things and total repaint. When he was finished sanding he had a three inch beach of bondo dust on the floor and a body tub that looked like it was made of lace by Belgium nuns! Remember a magnet!!
I have seen much, much worse. There are plenty of collector cars out there on the road that look pretty good but if all the chicken wire, bondo and undercoating was stripped away there wouldn't be enough factory metal left to hold the car together. A $2.00 refrigerator magnet has saved me tens of thousands of dollars and countless hours of work over the years. If a seller won't won't let you check out the body of the car he's selling walk away.
Hell Hot rod and Rod and Custom use to do tech articals on repair rust holes and custom body mods with fiberglass and bondo over rust holes. I know I read them and fixed the rusty fenders on my 63 Pontiac back in 1970! lol You would not believe the shoddy bodywork I found on cars customers brought to me from Ca. Az. thinking they where getting a solid rust free project. We are dealing with cars that are 50,60,70,80 hell a 32 is pushing 90! Hate to mention this but my 64 Marauder is a South Caroline car and besides my 51 Merc which I am the third owner, and my ot 67 Mustang is one of the straighter cleaner cars I have ever owned! Larry
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