Terrorist 5.0
Member
- Joined
- Oct 16, 2023
- Messages
- 229
- Reaction score
- 60
Hi everyone, so recently I did some work on the weekend (removing my inoperable A/C, engine bay is way more open now), and after putting on my short belt, I noticed some rust by the frame rails in the front. Upon further research, it is common for 79-04 Mustangs to rust and/or completely rot out there. Needless to say, I wasn't happy, but it is 30 years old after all.
I began really digging in to the rest of the car and while I would say mine is in pretty good condition compared to others, it could be better. I know rust only gets worse with time, and I don't wanna lose this car, that I have put so much effort into, to rust in the future. I mainly found somewhat concerning rust in the trunk floors, and the metal bracing behind the rear bumper. The trunk floor doesn't look too bad, and for the places I can't reach, I'm going to dump motor oil in the crevices to at least slow it down some, especially since it is on the inside and not directly exposed to the elements, such as the frame rail mentioned before. The bracing behind the rear bumper is getting bad though.
There are small plastic boxes behind the rear wheels that I removed. The bolt heads snapped and I was able to pull it right off. They appeared to have retained enough wet dirt and debris that it was almost rock hard to get out. It is bad enough to the point that it is starting to protrude into the trunk area, where I said I would dump some oil. I think a body shop will be taking care of that needless to say, and while I am there, I will ask them to look over the car and see if there are any other concerning areas.
Being in Vancouver, cars don't really rust that bad if at all here, and I don't use this car in the winter, so it is worth saving, especially since I caught it somewhat early. But I am here to ask for recommendations. I went out and bought a wire brush attachment for my drill, some sandpaper, and some primer. Are there any products and body shops in Burnaby that anyone here could recommend? I will post pictures of my progress.
I started by taking out all the carpeting in the trunk, and tried a small area to see how it would work out. I cut out a small section of the sound deadening on top of the fuel pump vicinity using a hammer, chisel and a screwdriver. I plan to take all the sound deadening out so I soaked the spare tire part with penetrating fluid and will let it sit for a day or two, although it is already working pretty good. I took my wire wheel out and cleaned up a small portion of metal. I then tried the more pitted areas. It was more difficult, although I may have got the wrong wire wheel for this application. I may try the 40 grit sand paper I got before going back to the store. Anyway, it seemed to work decently. I brushed the area with some oil (automatic transmission fluid, all I had at the time) to give it no chance of flash rusting, and will pick up tomorrow after school.
After the trunk, I feel it would be a good idea to wire wheel the frame rails and paint them too. I know all this will not preserve the frame rails forever, but I think they will last a lot longer before needing patch work. Anyone reading this should check their car out. Find and fix the cancer before its too late.
I began really digging in to the rest of the car and while I would say mine is in pretty good condition compared to others, it could be better. I know rust only gets worse with time, and I don't wanna lose this car, that I have put so much effort into, to rust in the future. I mainly found somewhat concerning rust in the trunk floors, and the metal bracing behind the rear bumper. The trunk floor doesn't look too bad, and for the places I can't reach, I'm going to dump motor oil in the crevices to at least slow it down some, especially since it is on the inside and not directly exposed to the elements, such as the frame rail mentioned before. The bracing behind the rear bumper is getting bad though.
There are small plastic boxes behind the rear wheels that I removed. The bolt heads snapped and I was able to pull it right off. They appeared to have retained enough wet dirt and debris that it was almost rock hard to get out. It is bad enough to the point that it is starting to protrude into the trunk area, where I said I would dump some oil. I think a body shop will be taking care of that needless to say, and while I am there, I will ask them to look over the car and see if there are any other concerning areas.
Being in Vancouver, cars don't really rust that bad if at all here, and I don't use this car in the winter, so it is worth saving, especially since I caught it somewhat early. But I am here to ask for recommendations. I went out and bought a wire brush attachment for my drill, some sandpaper, and some primer. Are there any products and body shops in Burnaby that anyone here could recommend? I will post pictures of my progress.
I started by taking out all the carpeting in the trunk, and tried a small area to see how it would work out. I cut out a small section of the sound deadening on top of the fuel pump vicinity using a hammer, chisel and a screwdriver. I plan to take all the sound deadening out so I soaked the spare tire part with penetrating fluid and will let it sit for a day or two, although it is already working pretty good. I took my wire wheel out and cleaned up a small portion of metal. I then tried the more pitted areas. It was more difficult, although I may have got the wrong wire wheel for this application. I may try the 40 grit sand paper I got before going back to the store. Anyway, it seemed to work decently. I brushed the area with some oil (automatic transmission fluid, all I had at the time) to give it no chance of flash rusting, and will pick up tomorrow after school.
After the trunk, I feel it would be a good idea to wire wheel the frame rails and paint them too. I know all this will not preserve the frame rails forever, but I think they will last a lot longer before needing patch work. Anyone reading this should check their car out. Find and fix the cancer before its too late.
