Gonna go look at a falcon wagon for a semi daily driver. Ive owned a couple of 62 and 63 Mercury Meteors, years ago. where should I look for rust and any other issues I should be on the lookout for? this one looks nice in the pics, V-8 disc brakes, new paint etc, the new paint scares me, I know how to use a magnet to look for bondo, but not sure where to look close, I have a couple of 73-87 chevy pickups and the back lower cab corner always rusts out first on them.
Hello, On our 1958 Chevy Impala, I was very exact in getting the "stuff" out of these little slots under the door of our car. We were told that tons of stuff goes down with the window and resides at the bottom of the door panels. If those "things" get so thick, then the common water dripping down the door glass into the panel area has no where to drain out, so, rust happens. Other cars must have the same built in obsolescence if not attended to during ownership. Before I was told about keeping those little holes clean, I never knew the 58 Impala had little clips that fit into the holes. So, some GM designer knew about the problem from the beginning. Then it was up to mechanics, body shop guys and hot rodders to keep those holes empty for drainage. Crawling on my back, upside down, cleaning those little holes was not the most fun thing to do on a weekly basis. Jnaki At first I used a small screwdriver to ream out the stuff in there. Then I got a hold of some thin, wooden rods that worked just as well and not scratch the painted metal. Every little bit helped. That was one thing that was burned into my brain as a teenager and as we all know... "RUST NEVER SLEEPS..."
Pull up the trunk mat at see if you can get the car on a lift, looking up on a car including the outer body panels, bodywork looks completely different looking up.
Besides the obvious places have a look at the top of the fender aprons. Falcons, Mustangs, most Fords from that era get eaten away there. Overlapping sheet metal causes it.
Torque boxes...also if it wasn’t a V8 car and they just dropped a motor in it the front end is shit...need the V8 front end...I’d replace it all..the floor under the drivers pedals...
My brothers 64 or 5 wagon was in great shape over all except the drip rails that ran down the sides of the roof. Water or trash or both had sat in the drip rails till they were just about unfixable.
Look underneath, around the rear spring hangers and around the front suspension, these cars don't have a frame. HRP
I think the only way you can see this area is to look up from inside the footwell of the car. Down in the corners of the front floor too (where the driver's left foot would be) is a good spot to check.
Check the frame rails .Or what they called the frame rails Moisture from sand holding water gets in them and they rust from the inside out. I had to replace both sides on a nut and bolt restoration of a Boss 302 Mustang. Major job, major pain in the ass and the customer's wallet.
The one spot hard to check is around the fresh air intakes under the dash. 'Stuff' goes in the intake grill at the base of the windshield, then collects around the vent openings. This area gets little or no paint when built, rust-out is common. Easiest way to check is use a water hose; shoot a lot of water into the intake grill, first one side then the other. See any water inside, it's rusty. Tough repair too; you have to pull the windshield and drill out a bunch of spot welds to get access. Common problem to the early Mustang also, so there is some patch panels available.
Rockers, subframe rails, cowl plenum, door corners, rear wheel arches, the pinch weld between the door and the rear wheel arch, above the rocker, and the lower corners of the front and rear windows.
What and where are the torque boxes ? I’ve heard the term but no idea how to recognize it I’m hoping it was a V8 from the factory It has 5 lug wheels , I can see that in the pictures
Any links to this repair ? We gotta replace the windshield anyway Since it’s cracked You can see some sealer slathered on the bottom of the intakes looking up under the dash
Found a little rust in the front passenger floor and spare tire well Didn’t find any in the doors or rockers or shock towers . Yet . Bought the car Needs a lot of stuff for the interior Would like to put the shifter back on the column Front seats are corbau aftermarket Door panels are home made Rear seat has a home made cover Headliner is missing as are all the trim panels for the cargo bay Dash is hacked and bent up around the radio Under dash aftermarket AC blows decently cold when you’re moving Missing the radiator shroud , I’m hoping that cures it Has manual steering And manual front disc brakes No idea what from , I will post pics when I pull a wheel off New springs all around , I assume lowered ones but have no way to tell Runs and drives good VIN says factory V8 Engine sounds healthy , doesn’t smoke I Assume it’s a 302 , C4 ? Trans is tight , shifts good . tunnel has been modded to fit the trans cut out and patched on drivers side to make room for shift linkage Long tube headers that put off a lot of heat Blurry walk around vid
Several choices to choose from... https://www.google.com/search?sourc...j0i131j0i22i30j33i160j33i22i29i30.HFRIn7wBMRg
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