rust help

[tlawson333]

I have a 1984 chevrolet silverado and as with most chevys of this time period, mine is beginning to rust at the bottom of the doors and around the fenders. I know this problem has probably beem addressed many times on here but I could not find a thread a/b it. I would appreciate any input on an inexpensive, yet durable way to fix this problem. Thank you.

 

[k5freak44]

it depends if you want to restore it to its oroginal look. if that is the case i would do what i did and buy a cheap welder maby off ebay or something, it dosent really matter where, and replace the body pannels yourself. then add some bondo and paint and your done.

on the other hand if you dont care because you have a bunch of dents and you just wish to irradicate the rust, a little sawzall will cure your problem. cut it outtt.

for the fenders the best way to do it is to extend the fender line by following the oroginal shape up to where the rust ends. for the rocker pannels, you can do what alot of people on here have done and just cut the metal below the doorlline and just run some tubeing all the way across

 

[bigrollin76]

or go beat it off on the trail thats what i did. i took it a little to far and rolled it.

 

[Fierospeeder]

look at jcwhitneys website, they sell replacement panels pretty cheap. You can get a cutting wheel, and remove the rusted area. Then just place the new piece on top. Drill some holes and place rivets.
this is something i hate seeing, but it is one way to fix the problem. You also need to get some undercoating or some protectant on the place where your overlapping the metal. A buddy of mine who does body work, uses an epoxy adhesive. They use this to hold panels together instead of welding. He says the stuff is really strong.

 

[diesel4me]

new structural adhesive

3M makes a body panel bonding adhesive(sorry,dont know the part #)--many body shops in this area now bond patch panels,rear quarters,etc with this stuff,its very strong,and prevents rust from coming back right away,as it often does on a welded panel,since the metal must be bare to weld,and the heat affects the metal and makes it prone to rust--they just use a few rivets or screws to hold the panel in place while it dries,and they claim the sheet metal will rip before the adhesive bond will break... --I've heard rumors car manufacturers will be gluing cars together instead of welding,in the not so distant future--not sure if I like that idea!

 

[tlawson333]

not my rocker panel

My rocker panels are not rusting (yet). The actual door itself is what is rusting.