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Author Topic: Down with Plastic- 88 wagon project begins.  (Read 13053 times)

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Offline runs.like

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Down with Plastic- 88 wagon project begins.
« on: April 04, 2011, 10:50:04 AM »
Well after reading priyas awesome project thread i feel a bit embarrassed to show my work, but I've been holding off for a while so here goes.
I got into a fender bender recently which required the drivers side front fender to need to be removed, so off came the fender flare, end cap, rocker cover and inner wheel well plastic, and what did i find??  You guessed it: rust and rot!   so off came the rest of the plastic on the car and what did i find? you're right again even more rust and rot!! seems as though the plastic isn't really good for much other than holding moisture, dirt and road salt against old metal and covering the holes it creates. The plan is to repair all the metal and not put any of the plastic back on, instead i will uses a spray on truck bed liner around the wheel wells and along the bottom covering the replacement rockers.  I will post picks as I go.  
Driver side: about 50" of the inner and outer rocker panel starting at the front fender and going back is basically gone.  there is a soft spot in drivers floor.  the rear wheel well has two rotten spots 1 on the front near the back of the rocker and the other at about 2 o'clock where about 6 inches of the pinch seem is gone.
passenger side: about 16" of the outer rocker under the front door is flaky and soft, about 30" under the rear door is gone.  the front fender has a big rot spot right at 12 o'clock. also front floor pan has a hole.  the rear wheel well is in about the same shape as the drivers side, about 4 inches of the pinch seem is pretty rotted.  there are a few other areas that will need some attention including the fuel tank hanger mounts and i am sure I'll find some more as i dismantel the vehicle. I don't have a big shop and lots of tools like some of you guys but i do have a small garage, mig welder, angle grinder as well as lots of other hand tools and some power tools.
« Last Edit: April 04, 2011, 12:50:28 PM by runs.like »
1970 Mercedes 250
1988 Eagle Wagon
1989 Chevy C1500

Offline priya

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Re: Down with Plastic- 88 wagon project begins.
« Reply #1 on: April 04, 2011, 11:16:16 AM »
It's not a competition, I'm sure you'll do yourself proud.  I'm looking forward to seeing your project :)

How about some pictures of what you're starting with?
« Last Edit: April 04, 2011, 11:23:26 AM by priya »

Offline brownbear

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Re: Down with Plastic- 88 wagon project begins.
« Reply #2 on: April 04, 2011, 12:25:38 PM »
I'm in the same boat, months ago I started to remove trim cuz of the rust on my vinyl roof.  Them came the plastic and I had a lot or hidden rust and the more I probed the more I found.  I cut out tons of rusted metal, por 15 everything, replaced with some metal and now I am in the bondo process.  About 90% done now, I just have to smooth things out, primer, paint and hope for the best.  I have been working on the bodywork 4hrs. a day fro about 3 months now and I am sick of it.  It takes a lot of time and patience, plus I have no idea what I'm doing, this is my first body work job.  I hope you have better luck than me......

Offline runs.like

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Re: Down with Plastic- 88 wagon project begins.
« Reply #3 on: April 04, 2011, 12:49:29 PM »
thanks for the encouragement. i know it is not a competetion and my car will never be a show car just a good old rig to get me and my tools where we need to go, but priya your work is very inspiring.  
here is an old pic of the wagon:


 i will post some pics of the eagle in its current state when i get a chance to snap some photos.  its pretty exciting to start his project.  i haven't welded or done body work in a few years and back then i had a pretty decent shop set up with a compressor lots of space, its definetly different now as my eagle is about the same size as my garage space which leaves no room for work in there.

when i uses to build vw beetles we sometimes did a modification called "california style" whis basically meant removing all the chrome stripping, trim, etc and replacing the door handles, windshield trim, etc with boy colored pieces.  I think i will be doing this with my eagle and as i mentioned in my first post i will not be reinstalling the plastic fender flares end caps etc.  instead i'll be covering all those spots with a spray on truck bed liner, i think the texture willl help hide any imperfections in the body work and because the car is black  i will never be able to match paint with my current set up so I might as well make it and obvious difference.. should i use black bed liner or gray?
« Last Edit: April 04, 2011, 01:38:47 PM by runs.like »
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1988 Eagle Wagon
1989 Chevy C1500

Offline priya

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Re: Down with Plastic- 88 wagon project begins.
« Reply #4 on: April 04, 2011, 01:33:03 PM »
Thanks,  runs.like, its been a lot of work.

I think I'd be inclined to go with the black bedliner, but it might be nice to have the grey and then do a two-tone thing like the Eagles originally had.  I know what you mean about cramped spaces.  We frequently have to move things around to get access to different parts of the Eagle or various tools.  Sometimes we have to shuffle a bunch of stuff outside to work on the car and then bring it back inside after we're done working - its a real pain.

Your picture didn't work for me, it says "This image or video has been moved or deleted".

Offline runs.like

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Re: Down with Plastic- 88 wagon project begins.
« Reply #5 on: April 04, 2011, 01:38:58 PM »
should work now
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Offline priya

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Re: Down with Plastic- 88 wagon project begins.
« Reply #6 on: April 04, 2011, 02:06:42 PM »
I see it now.  Looks good in all black.

Offline runs.like

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Re: Down with Plastic- 88 wagon project begins. Picture heavy
« Reply #7 on: April 04, 2011, 05:32:41 PM »
ok here are some pics of whats going on.

as it sits:



drivers side:




passenger side:






underneath:
1970 Mercedes 250
1988 Eagle Wagon
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Offline shanebo

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Re: Down with Plastic- 88 wagon project begins.
« Reply #8 on: April 05, 2011, 01:08:24 AM »
Thats what my 86 sedan looked like under the vinyl top....The feeling is indescribably bad!! Its terrible what goes on under plastic trim and vinyl tops...very scary!!
Eggs to you for sticking with it!!
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Offline runs.like

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Re: Down with Plastic- 88 wagon project begins.
« Reply #9 on: April 05, 2011, 08:22:35 AM »
ok so i got the trunk area cleaned out and found more rot around the wheel wells and rear spring hangers than i had originally expected.  also found that the mounting plates for the fuel tank J bolts were pretty much gone (glad my gas tank didn't fall off when i hit a bump.) I dropped the tank and in the process one of the nipples from the sending unit broke and i found that the return line was rotted and not not hooked up(but thats a post for another day)

The spring hangers are still mostly solid so i will clean those up and reinforce them with some 1/16 or 1/8 plate.

the wheel wells don't concern me too too much though i am wondering if i should:
1:use a lighter guage steel, 20 or 18, that is more workable and replicate the pinch seems for strength or
2: use a heavy guage steel or plate and butt joint.
any thoughts would be helpful.

i am not sure what to do about the tank hangers because i assume they will need to be attached rather precisely in there origianl spot.



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1988 Eagle Wagon
1989 Chevy C1500

Online juhap

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Re: Down with Plastic- 88 wagon project begins.
« Reply #10 on: April 05, 2011, 12:16:21 PM »
Oh my...

And I thought that my  :eagle: Wagon was a rustbucket...

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Offline priya

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Re: Down with Plastic- 88 wagon project begins.
« Reply #11 on: April 05, 2011, 12:54:19 PM »
If it was me I'd use the lighter gauge steel.  I've never used plate steel, but if you need to shape it that's going to be a real problem.

Offline brownbear

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Re: Down with Plastic- 88 wagon project begins.
« Reply #12 on: April 05, 2011, 01:23:32 PM »
fortunately my rust and rot wasn't that bad, I'm sure you will do a much better job than I did on mine.  I'm going on 4 months of just bodywork.  Any ideas where I can find those window rain guards?

Offline runs.like

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Re: Down with Plastic- 88 wagon project begins.
« Reply #13 on: April 05, 2011, 03:51:48 PM »
 ??? we'll see how many more issues i find with my wagon... it may turn into a parts car and you can buy mine.

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1989 Chevy C1500

Offline runs.like

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Re: Down with Plastic- 88 wagon project begins.
« Reply #14 on: April 05, 2011, 06:22:57 PM »
i tend to agree with you priya,  looking at whats there it appears to be no thicker that 20guage.  i was also talking to a frind of mine who warned if you use heavy steel that the car will lose the flex it is supposed to have and make a ver rough ride i believe he said "riding down the road with a I beam between your legs"
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Offline IowaEagle

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Re: Down with Plastic- 88 wagon project begins.
« Reply #15 on: April 05, 2011, 08:29:15 PM »
Yikes!
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Offline shanebo

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Re: Down with Plastic- 88 wagon project begins.
« Reply #16 on: April 05, 2011, 11:23:48 PM »
I feel for ya man!! I had to abandon my poor 86 sedan for the same reasons. It was a tough decision but im no sheet metal worker and the amount of money it would have taken to have someone fab a whole new roof, rear floor panels and the entire spare tire well was just too much. Its now a parts car.
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Offline runs.like

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Re: Down with Plastic- 88 wagon project begins.
« Reply #17 on: April 07, 2011, 10:58:37 PM »
my working situation is challenging as i don't get home from work until close to 5 and living in a residential niehborhood i fell it's rude to run the grinder or cut off wheel to much durring the evening,  but i have made some progess cleaning up the wheel wells/ spring plates.

the rear shackle mounting plates are a little worse than i had originally thought.  the drivers side is actually pushing upword where the plate mounts because of the soft metal around it.  i have decided that i should do the entire trunk floor area with 1/8 or maybe 3/32-i think i can get it to shape decently, if i pound it enough (with some heat).  right now i am looking at two 13"x35" pieces that will go from the very rear to about 15 inches up the whee wells.  the wheel well itself i will do in 18 gauge or maybe even lighter.  I made some cardboard templates out of some old record sleeves that have been laying around next to the wood stove since fall.  Found a litte crack in the sub frame today while cleaning up, i think i will patch that up with a scrap from the 1/8.
i'll post some pictures when i have a little more done.

i just want to say that the Nest is such a great thing to be involved in.  It's really motivating to have a place where people care about your story, offer great advice and share your passions.  I would not be nearly so excitd for these project of it were not for all you people.
1970 Mercedes 250
1988 Eagle Wagon
1989 Chevy C1500

Offline shanebo

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Re: Down with Plastic- 88 wagon project begins.
« Reply #18 on: April 07, 2011, 11:26:35 PM »
We're all here to help eachother! Alot of us at one point or another has had to deal with serious rust issues...This rust stuff is no joke, but atleast everything you need to know is right here.....best of luck...cant wait to see your progress
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Offline philotomy

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Re: Down with Plastic- 88 wagon project begins.
« Reply #19 on: July 18, 2011, 08:29:55 AM »
Good pictures,she's still in good shape though.I wish I knew how to weld.
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Offline Baskinator

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Re: Down with Plastic- 88 wagon project begins.
« Reply #20 on: July 18, 2011, 03:14:31 PM »
Boy, if I was gonna get a wagon this type would be it ;D! I love the look of that '88 in all black. As for the rust, I hope you stuck with it. My SX/4 is better in some places and worse in others, and I'm trying to finish by the end of summer. It's an intimidating job, but very rewarding to see the shiny metal when you cut and fix it, especially to be able to share that with everyone here. Eggs to you!
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Offline philotomy

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Re: Down with Plastic- 88 wagon project begins.
« Reply #21 on: July 19, 2011, 10:30:27 PM »
  Hey everyone I bought the 88 wagon yesterday and towed it home from one end of Vermont to the other.got a tow dolly at u haul and proceeded to undo the rear u joint in prep for the long haul back,man it was nothing but hill after hill the whole way home.The last 24 miles we got off the interstate in Lyndonville and drove rte 5 N home .I had to laugh as we were driving thru quiet neighborhoods at 10:30 ish and that dolly was banging away on the uneven roads HAHAHAHA! Wake up everyone!!,no seriously I (kinda) felt bad about the noise,no not really,lots of vacationers in their summer lake homes  ;).So she has a new sister sort o speak,Eagle babes got a twin now.
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Offline Baskinator

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Re: Down with Plastic- 88 wagon project begins.
« Reply #22 on: July 19, 2011, 10:36:48 PM »
WOW, you have two now? Those are some sweet Eagles, good luck!
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Offline philotomy

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Re: Down with Plastic- 88 wagon project begins.
« Reply #23 on: July 19, 2011, 10:42:46 PM »
Best part is :they have the same paint and int colors and same motor and trans,stood outside tonight for some time just looking and thinking
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Offline eaglebeek

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Re: Down with Plastic- 88 wagon project begins.
« Reply #24 on: July 20, 2011, 05:15:48 PM »
fortunately my rust and rot wasn't that bad, I'm sure you will do a much better job than I did on mine.  I'm going on 4 months of just bodywork.  Any ideas where I can find those window rain guards?

I'll look through my stuff...I think I have some :eagle:
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Offline philotomy

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Re: Down with Plastic- 88 wagon project begins.
« Reply #25 on: July 21, 2011, 03:29:08 PM »
They used to have em on JC Whitney,not sure if they still carry em though
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Offline runs.like

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Re: Down with Plastic- 88 wagon project begins.
« Reply #26 on: January 21, 2015, 10:45:42 PM »
Ha, just re rereading my old post.  That black 88 wagon was sweet on the outside but a big mess down deep... not unlike some women i have known. 
super glad to be back
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