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[Nana's_914]

I'm getting started on repairing rust in the passenger door post and long on my '74. It was a dealer AC car, and the holes cut for the AC lines let water in for decades. Restoration Design parts are on order.

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads/post-7100-1792474110_thumb.jpg)

There's a rusted-through hole in the bottom corner of the rocker. I removed the damaged door post for better access to repair.

Today I ran a borescope into the long. Most of the rust appears to come from the outside of the rocker. Inside, there's surface rust that's heaviest around the hole and then becomes scattered spots and light surface rust along the rest of the inside of the long. I didn't see any scale, flaking or soft spots.




Now that I've seen rust inside the long, I can't ignore it, but I'd rather not cut the long all the way open if I don't have to. The car spent most of its life in Palm Desert and San Diego, so no salt, just occasional moisture.

Is there a minimally invasive way to stop these spots from developing, and how far do I need to go to treat it properly?

Thanks in advance.

[Ishley]

There is no magic solution. You could oil it and slow it down… but rust never sleeps. If it’s just surface rust and the metal is still solid… this might be enough.

Cutting out the outer long… find any bad spots and repair… cleanup the entire inner long and put down epoxy primer is the best way to know it’s good.

The suspension and engine mounts are critical areas too that should be checked. It can snowball on you in a hurry. I hate to be an alarmist… but there are a lot of similar stories including my own.

[Nana's_914]