1980 2 Door Sedan - What have I gotten myself into ??!!

[ynwa]

Ok this will be quite a tedious journey but I'm looking forward to it.
I'll post a whack of photos very soon (don't want to get too far into the tear down without some before shots).
First off I have a couple pics to share of some interesting body damage that I came across.
Unfortunately it was so out of place that I curiously poked and pried until the piece popped off so I've sort of replace the piece.
Before I made it worse the only blemish was the crack in the .. ahh i'll just show some pics..



This is the top right corner of the front windshield.


There does appear to be an impact on the front right bumper corner but what amazed me is that the windshield is mint and the frame and susp is fine.
Here's what my curiosity revealed under the blemish.


Wierd eh?!! Sorta scary. hehe.
I'm going to run a vin report from ICBC to see if there's been any 'issues' in the past.

Anyone seen anything like this before?

[priya]

Those seems are filled with lead from the factory.  As none is apparent there it would suggest some work was done in that area in the past - maybe a roof replaced due to hail damage?  Hopefully after sandblasting the rust will be superficial and you'll just need to refill and paint.

[ynwa]

Thanks Priya. Put my mind at ease. Was concerned about the origin of the initial crack. *shrug*.
'Sand Blaster' That'd be nice. Massive pic archive coming later today...

[priya]

If you don't have the funds or ability to repair the area right away then take a wire brush to the area and then put 2 or 3 coats of rust paint on it.  There appears to be some black goo in there, if so scrape that out first and then clean with a solvent before wire brushing and painting. If the area leaks then you may want to consider putting some caulking over the seam as a temporary measure.  That will need to be cleaned out completely before doing a more permanent repair and silicon, butyl, etc. can be pretty difficult to remove from a crevice like that and will cause adhesion problems for the filler if its not completely removed first so you want to avoid doing this if at all possible.   If the rusting is superficial it shouldn't cost too much for a body shop to fix that up for you.  If the rust is deeper and a patch needed it would be more expensive but probably still not too too pricey.  If the windshield needs to come out that's going to add maybe 100-150 to the cost unless you do it yourself and remove the headliner and windshield pillar trim yourself.

Its better to have picked at the blemish and found this problem now so it can be addressed before it becomes serious than to have pretended there was no problem at all and let the rust continue to eat away at the car.

[ynwa]

Okay, here goes. The first batch...
I wonder if there is a forum software update that would allow us to use HTML? Photobucket has a nice Embedded Slideshow feature that would save on scrolling.

Oh yea, I have all of the trim, just pulled it prior to first shots. Unfortunately it's not in the best shape and the hood orn emblem is long gone


Well it's covered and I can take my time.
Immediate issues (marginally prioritized)

• Tear down for rust repair
• Rust repair (rear windows, small repair near rear window, front windshield may need to come out for some larger holes/decide on the door corners
• Door busings (drivers side drops like an inch or more, grinding on fender, hehe
• lots of surface rust on 'inside' behind panels. Hopefully just sand and treat
• Figure out why the PO removed the front driveshaft...

Peace!!

[Whuntmore]

It'll be a good project for sure.  Looking forward to watching it.

I think HTML embedding isn't in the forums because it's too easy for spammers to 'infect' with other HTML embedding.

[IowaEagle]

I am not sure what is meant by HTML embedding.  I am ignorant when it comes to computer stuff.  What is the underbody condition?  That A pillar crack looks like it may have started life as a stress crack --maybe from a compromised unibody???

[priya]

Doug, that's not a crack in the A pillar, that's where the roof panel joins the A pillar/cowl panel.  They were just spot welded together at the factor and the crude joint filled with lead.  It appears either no flux was used before the joint was leaded or that joint had been apart for some reason (roof replaced?) and filled with bondo or fiberglass filler without a thorough cleaning of the joint which let it rust underneath the filler.  I've never seen a car where that joint rusted and the lead fell out so I think some work was done involving that joint.  Perhaps it was not welded solidly and flexing at the joint cause the filler to come out or maybe as you suggested weak spots elsewhere in the body caused flexing there which caused the filler to come out.

[Whuntmore]

I am not sure what is meant by HTML embedding.  I am ignorant when it comes to computer stuff.  What is the underbody condition? 

email sent.  Back to topic...

[IowaEagle]

Doug, that's not a crack in the A pillar, that's where the roof panel joins the A pillar/cowl panel.  They were just spot welded together at the factor and the crude joint filled with lead.  It appears either no flux was used before the joint was leaded or that joint had been apart for some reason (roof replaced?) and filled with bondo or fiberglass filler without a thorough cleaning of the joint which let it rust underneath the filler.  I've never seen a car where that joint rusted and the lead fell out so I think some work was done involving that joint.  Perhaps it was not welded solidly and flexing at the joint cause the filler to come out or maybe as you suggested weak spots elsewhere in the body caused flexing there which caused the filler to come out.

I see that now.  You are more than likely right on the money.  Either a poor factory assembly or a later repair and some body flexing may have popped it out.

[Whuntmore]

img width=775 height=581]http://i1114.photobucket.com/albums/k522/ynwa666/Eagles%20Nest/P1011174.jpg[/img]

Wierd eh?!! Sorta scary. hehe.
I'm going to run a vin report from ICBC to see if there's been any 'issues' in the past.   Anyone seen anything like this before?

I have, but only with damage repair.  I've seen eagle repairs to this area, but not to that depth.  Maybe some of the more experienced 'veterans' will be able say that it's depth is common, but I honestly didn't know it was that deep. 

I agree with Priya and IE here.  Looks like an 'after repair' from a bad joint from the factory.

Doing a Vehicle report is a really good idea.

[milliard431]

Looks like you will have your hands full. Keep the pics coming as I have 2 of these myself.

[ynwa]

This is probably the last thing that I'll end up doing, next to the trim, but is there a thread about restoring the vinyl roof ? I suspect I will just apply a heavy textured marine deck paint or something similar. I suspect a new vinyl roof may be cost prohibitive.

[priya]

Before you put a vinyl roof back on consider how the previous one trapped water and caused the roof to rust.

[rollguy]

If it were mine, I would just do the body work and paint the entire car, roof and all.