Has anybody had rust repair done?

[Low84]

Like the title says. Has anybody here had rust repair performed on their truck? How much does it normally cost, or what is a fair price?

I need to get the lower-rear quarter panels replaced, that one is the one that worries me the least.

I also need to get the upper section of the truck cab, where the cab meets the top of the door as well as the door jamb area.


Anybody? The reason I just haven't taken it to a body shop is because I'm short on cash, and don't want to throw it away when I could spend it on my other car. I need to replace the tires and buy a new battery so I can drive it to the body shop. I don't want to go through this expense just to find out I don't have anywhere near the amount of money I need to get the rust fixed. I'm not looking for an exact figure or anything, just a ball-park figure.

Maybe what you have had fixed and how much it cost so I can get an idea.


I have pics of the damage, but I'm embarrassed to post them up
I will if you guys need to see it, to give me an idea of the cost though.

[Low84]

Only two views......both by me

C'mon guys, I'm on the verge of tears here. Can anyone help me? Please??

[C-10volvo]

it really varies on how bad the damage is. it it something you can see through, or just some paint bubbles? are you looking for just the metal work, or rust repair, primer and paint? if both sections need... well, to be cut out and replaced, blended in, and color matched paint, a grand doesnt sound too far off.

i am by no ways a repair shop, just going off what i have myself done to my volvo. rust=evil.

[Low84]

Originally Posted by C-10volvo

it really varies on how bad the damage is. it it something you can see through, or just some paint bubbles? are you looking for just the metal work, or rust repair, primer and paint? if both sections need... well, to be cut out and replaced, blended in, and color matched paint, a grand doesnt sound too far off.

i am by no ways a repair shop, just going off what i have myself done to my volvo. rust=evil.

It started out as bubbles on the rear quarters. I thought the paint was too nice and I would just ignore it (HUGE MISTAKE). Its bad now, they will have to be replaced.

The cab stuff really caught me off-guard and those are the most disheartening.

At this point, I really don't care about the paint anymore. I just want the damaged areas fixed and the problem contained. It could have primer patches all over and it would be alright.


Ah screw it, here is a pic so you guys can get an idea of what I'm dealing with. Looks like it was some bad body prep done under the paint since it is coming from under the paint.

[pcmcobra]

ouch,
but I have seen much worse...
I don't have any idea of the cost, I guess, the mo rust the mo $
good luck

[Low84]

Yeah, it sucks. I don't wish this on anyone, seriously.

I'm just trying to figure out if I have enough money to fix it. I have around $1,500 that I can spend on it.

Would that be enough? I honestly don't have A CLUE how much a job like this costs

[kevinr1970]

If by "lower-rear quarters" your talking about the bed then I don't think they are too bad moneywise. But maybe your talking about "cab-corners"? Either way I don't think they are horribly expensive.

But if your cab is in pretty bad shape maybe you should follow Cliffsta's lead and find a donor truck with a good cab. Their has to be a good one in Texas somewhere??? Maybe not where your at but seems like Texas is known for rust free rigs.
Not sure if yours is a short-bed or not but if it isn't then for the cost of just the sheet-metal patch pieces you should be able to rust free truck with a blown engine or tranny or maybe accident damage - provided it doesn't affect the area you need.
Bed is like 6-8 bolts and a few other items like tank filler neck(s). I think the cab is only like 4-6 bolts and some wiring stuff.
If yours is a short then you'll probably be better off repairing yours.

Originally Posted by Low84

Like the title says. Has anybody here had rust repair performed on their truck? How much does it normally cost, or what is a fair price?

I need to get the lower-rear quarter panels replaced, that one is the one that worries me the least.

I also need to get the upper section of the truck cab, where the cab meets the top of the door as well as the door jamb area.


Anybody? The reason I just haven't taken it to a body shop is because I'm short on cash, and don't want to throw it away when I could spend it on my other car. I need to replace the tires and buy a new battery so I can drive it to the body shop. I don't want to go through this expense just to find out I don't have anywhere near the amount of money I need to get the rust fixed. I'm not looking for an exact figure or anything, just a ball-park figure.

Maybe what you have had fixed and how much it cost so I can get an idea.


I have pics of the damage, but I'm embarrassed to post them up
I will if you guys need to see it, to give me an idea of the cost though.

[Low84]

Yeah, its a short bed. Here is a pic:


And I am referring to the bed when I say lower-rear quarter panels. Thankfully, the cab corners are still good. Although, I think it would have been better if the cab corners were the ones rotted instead of the sections I have rotting on me right now.

I am thinking of finding a donor truck and swapping the cabs, as a last resort. Only one question about this though. Would I have any problems with titles? The titles are sold with the cabs right? If I replaced the cab on my truck, would it make it "another" truck?

Oh, man! I am so frustraded right now, its not even funny.

[Low84]

Thanks for the help so far guys.

[Low84]

Ttt

[N2TRUX]

Where did that truck come from? I'm guessing it didn't start life as a Texas truck. What you need to do is take it to a reputable body shop and get an estimate. That's the only way you can make an educated choice.

Rust free trucks are common in Texas so you will ultimately have to decide if you want to replace the parts that are rusted, the whole cab, or the entire truck.

Looking at the cab I already know my choice, but that your decision...

[Low84]

Originally Posted by N2TRUX

Where did that truck come from? I'm guessing it didn't start life as a Texas truck. What you need to do is take it to a reputable body shop and get an estimate. That's the only way you can make an educated choice.

Rust free trucks are common in Texas so you will ultimately have to decide if you want to replace the parts that are rusted, the whole cab, or the entire truck.

Looking at the cab I already know my choice, but that your decision...

It did start life as a Texas truck and the previous owners were all from Texas. I don't know why the rust is so severe I'm guessing it must have been bad body work under the paint, but I don't know?

Replacing the ENTIRE truck is out of the question. It has sentimental value for me. I'm short on cash right now, but in 4 yrs when I'm through with school. I'm going to give it all the attention/money it needs.

The problem is I don't know if the truck can hang on for those 4 yrs Or what shape it will be in, which I'm sure will be worse than it currently is if I don't do something about it now.

[N2TRUX]

Yeah, I kinda figure that might be your response regarding the sentiment. Take a look and evaluate what can be repaired on the budget you have. If th cab can be repaired properly that's where I would start. Even if you just get the rust fixed and put a good sealer on it, it would keep the rust away till you can do more.

Again, I suggest you find a reputable body shop (or two) and have them look at it. Trying to make a decision is not going to be easy. Get some experts involved.

[Low84]

Originally Posted by N2TRUX

Yeah, I kinda figure that might be your response regarding the sentiment. Take a look and evaluate what can be repaired on the budget you have. If th cab can be repaired properly that's where I would start. Even if you just get the rust fixed and put a good sealer on it, it would keep the rust away till you can do more.

Again, I suggest you find a reputable body shop (or two) and have them look at it. Trying to make a decision is not going to be easy. Get some experts involved.

Alright. Thanks for the advice. I guess there is no other option than to take it to a body shop.

Thanks again to all those who helped.




I'm going to go cry now. LOL.

[j hannah]

i dont know about your area, here in oklahoma there are vo tech schools that teach auto body classes. if you have them there, you might see about getting it done that way. cheaper than a body shop i bet.

[Low84]

Originally Posted by j hannah

i dont know about your area, here in oklahoma there are vo tech schools that teach auto body classes. if you have them there, you might see about getting it done that way. cheaper than a body shop i bet.

Hmm. Good call.

There is a community college in a nearby city that has auto body classes. I'll look into that. The instructor should keep everything under control right? I don't want them to butcher my truck.

[84 400]

vo techs are great for doing work at the price of materials only. however you have to keep in mind that they are LEARNING!!!!! and that is why it is cheap. however the teachers usually keep a watchful eye and 99% of the time it comes out great!!!!!!! I would go that rout. the students will have no problem doing the rear lower quarters (i need my passenger side one too man so i feel the pain) and the instructor will prob use the upper cab area to show kids how to do it as that is often hard and requires skill.

On a side note you Tx. guys are spoiled rotten! up here in the north we would just wire wheel it and rust seal it and keep on trucking. if i showed you some pics of our trucks up here (not mine) you would probibly cry. it getts bad up here, holes in frames, roof sections rotted.... that is why i got a Texas one to start with to save me all that needless work. Anyways on a more on topic note, i bought my 84 in texas and it has lived its whole life there till i brought it up here. i to have some rust in the upper cab area and my passangers side lower quarter. the door seem is just surface and some pitting, but the lower rear corner of after the wheel on the passangers side is not there. good luck and even if you just clean it up and rust seal it it will easly last 4 years in your sate.

best of luck i know rust and rot SUCKS

[Low84]

Thanks for the advice bro. Oh man, rust ........... DAMN THAT RUST!

I know its worse for you guys up there, thats why I'm never leaving the valley. I've seen some '99 and newer cars start developing rust in the undercarriage. CRAZY!

[Prospector]

$1500 is not enough to get that, and all the "secret rust"...

Borrow or rent or buy a cheap mig, that uses the finest cored mig-wire...
Get a cheapy compressor...
Buy a makita model gv 5000... About 135 new... It's the caztzass...
A cheapy grinder... and thick tough leather gloves... and a chainsawer's helmet, with the face plate.. and a set of pivoting ear protectors...
A good flat wood-rasp...
Tin snips, Vise Grips, sheet of tin, gallon of quality body-filler, gallon of lacquer thinner, spray primer, sandpaper assortment, extra mig wire spool...
Get all that for about $300...

WARNING!.. If you buy crap materials, you are gonna get a crappy job...
If you skip processes, all you gonna get is shid...
If you don't use pre-wash between every step, you gets a crappy job...
Make pre-wash with a little lacquer thinner and lots of methyl hydrate... Use CLEAN rags... NEVER touch grimy fingers to your work... Skin alive anybody who sets their grimy paws on your work.. then douse 'em with salt and viniger...

Make accurate card-patterns of things that need metalwork, BEFORE you grind the shid outuh them...

Grind the shid outuh everything that needs it... Wearing the helmet, gloves, and ear protectors... Grind in the wind, up wind... Always know where that grinder wheel is, and what it's doing.. cuz "grinder-kisses" are a huge nasty rush, and usually take three months to regain feeling.. and six months to heal... and a whirring grinder can make it through the glove, to the bone, in about a half second... Not a pardy...

If you are sloppy, then by all means, buy three boxes of the best strong-glued fabric bandaids, and a tube of polysporin-gold, in advance...

Dry everything 100%... A hair-drier helps... Sometimes a torch is the ticket...

Don't weld or use the torch if you smell gas...
Disconnect the battery...
If you weld near a tank, wet it down with water first, and maybe even cover it with wet rags or toweling...

Check your card patches...

Copy card templates to metal...

Grind the patches edges shiny clean...

Apply patches inside or outside...

Prime and rocker guard insides of patches if you can.. or your work will last only a couple years...

Check inside vehicle behind where you are going to weld to be sure there isn't anything that will catch flame, and burn your truck down...
Have a hose and a fire-extinguisher handy, and every couple minutes be checking for smoke inside the vehicle, or have some sitting the vehicle watching for smoke and flames...
If there's fabric touching the other-side of the metal to be welded, your only options are: remove the fabric, or soak it with water... If there are plastic wire coverings touching, wrap them with wet rag...

Set the mig on low.. Set up a bright-light on your work area... flash-touch spot, with three lightning-quick tiny spots, about 1/16th inch apart in a triangle.. then a one-second spot right in the middle of the three, to bring them together into a weld...
It's a good plan to have something waterproof covering your legs if sparks are falling on you... On top of the waterproof cover is a damp towel to snuff the sparks... Set up blinds so neighbors can't get the flash... They could sue you big-time if you wrecked their kid's vision...
Set up a little sign: "CAUTION! Seeing reflected welding sparks will make your bum fall off"...
Weld the patches till they don't have any play...
Grind the whole mess..
Clean it twice with lacquer thinner..
Apply body filler..
When filler is in a gel state, which your fingernail leaves a white scratch in, is when you have a few minutes to use the rasp to shape the patch... Saves a hell of a lot of sanding...

The rest is obvious...

For $300, and a couple days work, you got your baby all fixed up...

Every five years, all those vehicles with exterior plastic decorative panels, should have the panels removed, and the rust repaired, Especially just behind the front wheels... Once the vehicle gets a hole there, the rest of the sill and door are on their way out.. as in, turning into dust and chunks falling to the road...


"$1500"... Dam!.. I could buy and own the blond neighbor for ten-years with that...


So.. What are you gonna spend your $1200 saving on..?

[magnethead]

Originally Posted by Prospector

Once the vehicle gets a hole there, the rest of the sill and door are on their way out.. as in, turning into dust and chunks falling to the road...

Kinda like my truck.

[Prospector]

So I sees thet you'all's in TEXAS!.. You don't git winter like we do... 30 below, and way too much snow... and if'n I gotta do autobody work, then aw gots tah do autobody work... Aw sets up tarps and sticks as a tent.. Gits the heaters going, and gives 'er... So you ain't got a peanut of an excuse not to do what I juz detailed up there... Juz Git off'n yourn secretarial spread bum, away from them thar interactive cartoons, and rescue your baby ufor she juz falls apart in yourn lap...

[Low84]

Originally Posted by Prospector

$1500 is not enough to get that, and all the "secret rust"...

Borrow or rent or buy a cheap mig, that uses the finest cored mig-wire...
Get a cheapy compressor...
Buy a makita model gv 5000... About 135 new... It's the caztzass...
A cheapy grinder... and thick tough leather gloves... and a chainsawer's helmet, with the face plate.. and a set of pivoting ear protectors...
A good flat wood-rasp...
Tin snips, Vise Grips, sheet of tin, gallon of quality body-filler, gallon of lacquer thinner, spray primer, sandpaper assortment, extra mig wire spool...
Get all that for about $300...

WARNING!.. If you buy crap materials, you are gonna get a crappy job...
If you skip processes, all you gonna get is shid...
If you don't use pre-wash between every step, you gets a crappy job...
Make pre-wash with a little lacquer thinner and lots of methyl hydrate... Use CLEAN rags... NEVER touch grimy fingers to your work... Skin alive anybody who sets their grimy paws on your work.. then douse 'em with salt and viniger...

Make accurate card-patterns of things that need metalwork, BEFORE you grind the shid outuh them...

Grind the shid outuh everything that needs it... Wearing the helmet, gloves, and ear protectors... Grind in the wind, up wind... Always know where that grinder wheel is, and what it's doing.. cuz "grinder-kisses" are a huge nasty rush, and usually take three months to regain feeling.. and six months to heal... and a whirring grinder can make it through the glove, to the bone, in about a half second... Not a pardy...

If you are sloppy, then by all means, buy three boxes of the best strong-glued fabric bandaids, and a tube of polysporin-gold, in advance...

Dry everything 100%... A hair-drier helps... Sometimes a torch is the ticket...

Don't weld or use the torch if you smell gas...
Disconnect the battery...
If you weld near a tank, wet it down with water first, and maybe even cover it with wet rags or toweling...

Check your card patches...

Copy card templates to metal...

Grind the patches edges shiny clean...

Apply patches inside or outside...

Prime and rocker guard insides of patches if you can.. or your work will last only a couple years...

Check inside vehicle behind where you are going to weld to be sure there isn't anything that will catch flame, and burn your truck down...
Have a hose and a fire-extinguisher handy, and every couple minutes be checking for smoke inside the vehicle, or have some sitting the vehicle watching for smoke and flames...
If there's fabric touching the other-side of the metal to be welded, your only options are: remove the fabric, or soak it with water... If there are plastic wire coverings touching, wrap them with wet rag...

Set the mig on low.. Set up a bright-light on your work area... flash-touch spot, with three lightning-quick tiny spots, about 1/16th inch apart in a triangle.. then a one-second spot right in the middle of the three, to bring them together into a weld...
It's a good plan to have something waterproof covering your legs if sparks are falling on you... On top of the waterproof cover is a damp towel to snuff the sparks... Set up blinds so neighbors can't get the flash... They could sue you big-time if you wrecked their kid's vision...
Set up a little sign: "CAUTION! Seeing reflected welding sparks will make your bum fall off"...
Weld the patches till they don't have any play...
Grind the whole mess..
Clean it twice with lacquer thinner..
Apply body filler..
When filler is in a gel state, which your fingernail leaves a white scratch in, is when you have a few minutes to use the rasp to shape the patch... Saves a hell of a lot of sanding...

The rest is obvious...

For $300, and a couple days work, you got your baby all fixed up...

Every five years, all those vehicles with exterior plastic decorative panels, should have the panels removed, and the rust repaired, Especially just behind the front wheels... Once the vehicle gets a hole there, the rest of the sill and door are on their way out.. as in, turning into dust and chunks falling to the road...


"$1500"... Dam!.. I could buy and own the blond neighbor for ten-years with that...


So.. What are you gonna spend your $1200 saving on..?

WOW! Thanks A LOT for sharing that info. Is there any books or dvd's that you recommend for this? I'm a visual learner, so visual aids would really help me out. I'm thinking of buying a donor truck (as backup). But also buy the welder and compressor and try to tackle this job myself. First time doing body work so got to have a back up plan.

Here is the rest of the carnage :












Wish me luck guys


BTW is Camp Hausfeld a good brand for a compressor? There is a 60 gallon for sale locally for $500 locally.

[Low84]

Just looked it up. Looks like $500 is a fair price. Is this adequate for running air tools, sand blaster, and to paint?

http://www.absolutehome.com/web/cata...aspx?pid=62957

[84 400]

thats the spirt. theere are good books and dvds out there for the blazer guys. some one will know. two things to have in the front of your mind. when cutting acount for the size of the blade or disk. second the less filler bond whatever you call it the better. that stuff is junk while it is used on all custems these days the less the metter. i would do the rear quarters first man. all that you really need for them is a good grinder and a mig welder. you ever weld befor? if not it is not that hard when doing spot welds but practice first and ensure proper amperage for penitration. also do a serioses of spot welds about an icnh to half inch apart. work from one end to the other then repeat reapet repeat till it is all wlded to aviod warping the metal. Then it is a matter of grinding the welds flush. you will be on your way. Also there are many other tools for doing metal work and may patch panals out there for thi s year truck. hammers dollys all come in handy with sheet metal. it is an art and tacks some getting used to. i am starting to learn forom an old guy how to do leadding an almost lost art. so take your time be paitant and remeber you can alwasy grind more off but filling in an over size cut is a pain.

good luck !!

[Low84]

The compressor is at a local hardware store. The reason for the compressor is I always have had a fascination with painting, so I plan on running this bad boy hard. I plan to use it for painting (sealing, primering, paint, clear) , sand-blasting, grinding, running air tools, using it to pocket port heads, etc. I also have a '51 truck (originally bought to learn on, but is probably in better shape than my '84 by the looks of it) project which seems will get post-poned 'till later, due to my '84.

I never have welded before, except for three practice times in welding class where I was taught nothing at all because I enrolled "too late". I've heard body metal can warp very easily so that is a concern. I'm going to learn on my '51's fenders and then try to tackle the '84's quarter panels before moving to the cab.