FE-FC Holden Discussion Forum

Hey Guys,

A quick question... how bad does rust have to be for a project to be unviable? The Images are of the cross member. There are some other rust areas, but this one is my main concern.

(http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z229/The_Spectre_photos/The%20FC/P2270044.jpg)
(http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z229/The_Spectre_photos/The%20FC/P2270043.jpg)
(http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z229/The_Spectre_photos/The%20FC/P2270045.jpg)

Everything is fixable, but when do you not bother? And if I went ahead, how much do you think it would cost?

Feedback is appreciated guys...

PS: I haven't bought the car as yet

Cheers,

Neil

Neil,

Don't walk away from a bargain like this......RUN

Seriously, have a look at some of the other posts that others have done to give you an idea of the work that you will have to do. The question you need to ask yourself is can you do most of the work, or will you be paying someone to do the work. If it is the latter then you will pay more to have the repairs done than what you would have paid to get a better car

http://fefcholden.org.au/forum/index.php/topic,12189.0.html ($2)

http://fefcholden.org.au/forum/index.php/topic,13258.0.html ($2)

Unless you really want to save this car then you will probably be better off to find a car in better condition. In relation to cost, again it will depend if you will be doing most of it yourself, or will be paying someone to do it for you. Some parts are not obtainable through reproduction and others don't quite fit as they should. To have the parts made from scratch, if you are unable to do it yourself will be quite expensive.

Me, if I were in the position that you are in, would purchase the car for parts, and parts only, on the condition that I could use the parts that were remaining on the vehicle and that it would cost me substantially more to purchase the parts elsewhere.

I hope that this has helped

Keith

I would be concerned by this car as it has been repaired once already and there will be surprises underneath that you can't see yet.
The subframe appears to have been welded to the body which is indicative of a dodgy repair so I agree with Keith.

Ken

If the rest of the car is in reasonable shape go ahead and repair it once all the rusted sections are removed it wont seem so bad as looking at it in its present form..... FC427.......

Thanks Guys,

The sad thing is that the rest of the car is pretty original with limited cancer in some places. 

I would get someone to do the work particularly as it is structural, and yes I did note the dodgy previous job. The asking price is 4k, so to buy for parts would not see the return. I am setting myself a realistic budget to restore one to original, so I will think about holding off until one with better undercarriage comes along. It has to be a 58 FC and you know better than I how few good ones there are around.

You never know though, I would love to save the old girl, so I just might have a brain fade and rescue it :)

I really appreciate the feedback...

I will keep you posted.

Neil

Me again,

Just checked on the rare Spares site and they have rust replacement sections for a reasonable cost.

It may still be worth the gamble!

Neil

Neil,

My concern is that it has been poorly repaired before, it has also been sprayed underneath with sound deadener which may hide other repairs that have been made that may not be up to scratch. Check the sills, particularly at the bottom of the "A" Pillar to see if there has been any previous repair there. Also check the straightness of the sills, does it look like there have been any previous repairs that may have been "bogged up". Lift the floor covereing to check on the inside of the floors to see if there have been any previous repairs and to assess the condition of the surrounding panels.

Have a look at the underneath of the doors, again to see if there have been any previous repairs, to see if there is any corrosion present etc. Have a look at the subframe, at the mounting points to check to see what repairs have been done in the past. The subframe should unbolt, if it is welded as it appears to be, it could well be a recipe for disaster. It will be time consuming to return it to the way it was originally. Check all the subframe, near the sway bar mounts, the battery tray for any signs of previous repair or corrosion.

It may look the part, particularly if it received an attempted restoration only a few years ago. At $4K I would think that there are better cars out there than this one.

I may be wrong and the corrosion limited to just this spot, but I have been around cars for a lot of years and this is unlikely, it seems more plausible that there are past repairs that may be hidden.

As they say in the classics "Caveat Emptor" (Buyer Beware)

Keith

Thanks Keith,

Yep after a nights sleep and in the light of day i would agree. If I can pick it up for parts then so be it, otherwise I will keep on looking.

Thanks very much again for your time and opinions... greatly appreciated.

Neil

I think you made the right choice mate 4k is way too much for a rusty FC as this

G'day Neil, as some one who has been down this road if you can't do the work yourself forget it, just do the sums 
                                           car   $4000
                                 rust repairs  $1000
                                          paint  $5000
                                    rubber kit  $2000
                                             =   $12000 (estimate)

And that's not touching mechanicals, upholstery etc, you would be much better off finding a car that has already been done, you would get something really nice for a lot less than that.
                       Pedro

Cheers Mate,

Yep that would be the easy option, but really want to do one from scratch... they were about the numbers I was thinking of, plus trim etc... so it is in the ballpark.

Cheers again,

Neil

Mate if your really keen go for it.
But 4k will buy you a far better starting point is all.

the main point here is your ability to be able to it yourself (hopefully) then tell this bloke you give him half what he asking, mind you show him the cash and be prepared to walk away. The other half get the undercarriage sand blasted, not the top half.  ::) then if its not going to work out, recpoup your losses buy sectioning the good bits for other guys rust repairs, cant gaunetee you'll get it all back, you might though. I would hazzard a guess that quite a few blokes here have thrown good money away on projects that never got past stripping a car.

GOOD LUCK

mmm...as someone who was not able to do bodywork myself....I have spent a truckload more than $1000 on rust repairs! :o At current prices that would only get you a few days of someone's time. Find the best body that you can...

As the actess said to the bishop ...

Are we talking cars here?   ;D

Martin

Neil if you dont want to tackle it feel free to pass it my way ;)

Cheers Ben

Are you referring to martin's question, or the car?  ;)

I will keep you posted, and drop the contact details of the owner if it doesn't work out...

Cheers for the feedback guys... at some stage I will have one to work on :)

Neil

The rust in that car is not that bad and a good way to save money is to buy a second hand mig welder and do it yourself as they seem to be mostly 90 degree bends and taking a piece to your local trailer works or sheetmetal works they will bend you up a section and you can weld it in yourself. The car is by no means beyond repair with the pics shown and you would be surprised how much satisfaction you get by doing it. I do all my own repairs and found it to be many thousands of dollars cheaper to do it that way and I can also trust the workmanship as I have seen many shonky repairs done by panel replacers pretending to be panel beaters and they have a bad habit of using body sealer and bog to hide their mess. Good luck either way with what decision you make and I hope it all goes well.
cheers jason

Hey Guys,

OK... the fun starts... the seller has agreed to $2,500. It is a local pick-up so no transport costs.

I haven't done this before, but hey you need to spend time and money on something :)

Your collective feedback was more than useful, it gave me a great place to negotiate from, and made me very aware of what I am letting myself in for.

I will post some piccies as they come in, but will have to move to a different thread now I suppose :)

Hmmmm the things I do...

Cheers Guys, be prepared for all the gumby questions...

Neil

Good Luck!

How about some nice pics of the car and not just the rotten tinworm stuff?  ;D

They were the good bits  ;D

Nup, will do... am picking it up this weekend...

Your thread doesn't have to end here, RET, Stinky or Graham can move it from here to project cars if you like and it will continue...

Or you can start a new one there anytime you like.  ;D

Cheers
JB

P.S Well done on the start of a new adventure!!!

This bad ;)

(http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk227/Pedrosme/PEDROS%20wAGONS/morepics006.jpg)

$2,500 sounds like a much more reasonable price Neil, like Jason said mig welding isn't that hard and if you can do it yourself you can save a lot of dough.
                      Pedro

That wouldn't set off too many metal detectors I imagine.

Well I have a mig, and a shed, and some enthusiasm so it should be all good :)

I will pick up Saturday and start to look a bit closer... and yes I will post some pics!

Cheers til then...

Neil

I Think they are what you call speed holes

More air coming in for that big fat grey motor.

I seen a fc ute up the coast at a little town opposite the beach the whole ute had sunk into itself i first though it was chopped but no it had rusted that bad it had collapsed into itself.

Hmmmm I got a quote to soda blast the old girl all panels etc... 3 days for 3k... methinks that seems high??? Comments?

Any other options here in Brisbane area?

Neil

Me thinks your right to much money when the guy at Penrith got his Soda Blast  he was advertising IN OUT AND UNDER $1,200 any car .......FC427.......

Cheers for that... I will continue to look. For 3k I can buy a blast unit and hire a big compressor and do it myself :) hmmm might have something there...

Approx $1500 was the going rate in adelaide for a complete FC soda blast.  

I recommend having your FE / FC done with soda first and then a light blow over with sand.  

The sand gives the paint a good rough surface to bite to.  Some paint companies are a bit funny when it comes to soda.  

A good blaster is likely to use old sand to give the best results.

Most importantly you need a good blaster that you can trust.

Cheers
Peter.

After doing the rust repairs on my car,I feel like nothing is too bad.Having said that,I wouldn't really want to do that much work again if I could help it.I contacted my local Soda blast place here in SA and he told me that Soda blasting does not touch rust,it only removes the paint so I had my car sand blasted which left me with nice clean steel....with big rust holes in it...At least then I could see what needed to be cut out.Cheers,Jamie.

Hi Jamie,

Yes I found your project thread the other day and sat and read the story... it partly convinced me to take this one on, not because I have the skills to do it to the standard you have achieved, but because I could see that it was possible... I just have to work out how :) My thought is to have the panels etc soda blasted, and then make a rotisserie and have the sub frame and nasty bits grit blasted... well that is the idea at the moment. Having said that, if I can find someone reliable close to home, I will grit blast the old girl, but will do the flat panels the old fashioned elbow grease way. I did like the look you had with your car after the blasting... as you said, it showed you what you were left with even though they were big holes.

Once I get her home and stripped out, I will have a better feel for what I want to do I think. I have contacted some more local companies for an idea on costs,so will see what that brings in.

Let the fun begin!

Appreciate you taking the time to drop a line.

Neil

Another tip.  After sand blasting make sure you get it etch primed same day if possible.  The car will start to surface rust straight away if any moisture in the air.

Cheers
Peter.

Hey Guys,

Been a while since my last post and update on the project... it is all but stripped down to the basics. As expected, the rust is of some concern, but the main area for me is the ends of the outer wishbone sections. I almost know the answer to the question before I ask... can these be repaired? do they do a rust replacement section or am I better off looking for rust free sections from a donor car?

(http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z229/The_Spectre_photos/FC3May2010013640x480.jpg)
(http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z229/The_Spectre_photos/FC3May2010014640x480.jpg)
(http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z229/The_Spectre_photos/FC3May2010015640x480.jpg)
(http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z229/The_Spectre_photos/FC3May2010016640x480.jpg)
(http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z229/The_Spectre_photos/FC3May2010017640x480.jpg)

As always, your assistance is appreciated.

Neil

I would replace them. Rust will be worse on the inside where you can't see.

I have a set of inner and outer legs for sale for $50 plus postage - a lot cheaper than the new replacement parts


Ken

Hey Guys,

I am looking at the floor pan replacement sections (I will need to do all 4)... there seems to be a couple of suppliers on eBay. The prices seem similar. Does anyone have experience with the quality of each? From reading the forum, and speaking with some guys, the fit will not be perfect (far from it I am lead to believe), but if I can find the better option it might make it a tad easier.

Cheers,

Neil

You got two sets Ken  ???