1969 coronet trunk floor

[greenmachine]

Evening guys and gals.

I cleaned out the trunk on my project coronet today and shop-vaccumed the floor to get a better idea of how bad the rust was. I have added pics. My question is, is there a general agreement that i have to replace the entire trunk floor? I stood in trunk to test the integrity of the floor and it held up fine. I am planning on using the por151 trunk repair kit (por15 and a some steel impregnated steel cloth. if the trunk pan is approx. 400 from AMD, and the labor is around 1g, and this isnt ever going to be a rare care or a judged points car, woundn't it just be cost effective to do the 50.00 repair kit, versus media blast, cut, tach in new metal/seam sealer. Im on a budget. Let me know your guys opinions.

Thanks

 

[Coledavis01]

Hello Greenmachine,

The photo's don't look like they uploaded.

Cole

 

[dave5237]

Hello. I have seen a lot of as you call HOME REPAIRS and at one time I would say do it up right. But know this hobby has gotten so out of hand price wise that I do not blame anyone for doing things themselves AS LONG AS THERE HAPPY WITH IT. It is your car and you have to be happy with it. The big problem with rust is spreading and you really cannot contain this unless you cut it out. You may not be able to contain this even though you have a thought out plan to slow it down. Good luck.

 

[greenmachine]

trunk pic

here is the pic

 

[greenmachine]

trunk

dave5237

I completely agree with the out of hand costs of fixing a car. I am just trying to build a fun street machine that I can enjoy without going broke. I am having a hard time finding a paint shop that will even touch my car for less than 12-14k for a "decent" job! I don't understand how a working man is supposed to be able to do a car. lol. This hobby has snowballed in to a rich mans hobby for the most part. I am trying to do as much on this car as I can and take it the professionals for the parts I am not comfortable with doing. I know I am preaching to the choir, but wanted to say that. thanks for response and input.

Erik

 

[Donny]

Don't hate the guys out there doing this sort of work, it takes LOTS of time to swagger what you need to have done. The thing is that reality bites. And, if your trunk is toast, I bet you a dozen donuts your window area, qtrs also are toast, as is your trunk floor extensions. I've used that dreaded POR15, I'm media blasting the last of it off my Satellite that I lathered on in 'storing' my car outside when I went to Iraq for a year. Since I'm not sailing a steel vessel, no need for that stuff when clean or new metal, good epoxy primer and a nice paint job is the only way to go.

The bitching is only because insurance won't cover restoration of a car! Body shops won't touch this sort of work, why? Because insurance won't cover it. Insurance shops charge the same rate of this so-called rich mans hobby. Its hard to put both ends together in this; for a price that's affordable, and, of a high-quality. Good luck regardless which way you go!

 

[greenmachine]

trunk

donny.

I am 99% percent sure the quarters are good. I know of a tiny spot on the corner of the back window, but no bubbling or any other indicators of rust in the quarters .the floors in the front are amazing, he pulled the carpet prior to storing, you could literally eat off them. I will probly end up having the car media blasted. I was in no way slamming the guys in this line of work. Most do great work. I was just saying it is very difficult in todays world for a working man to accomplish a car build. I appreciate your input and experience. thanks

Erik

 

[Donny]

No prob, once you get it blasted, let me know how it all looks then.

 

[greenmachine]

gas tank out

got the fuel tank out. Love gettin rained on by 40 years of road dirt grime, lol. It came pretty easily and gave me a good look at the underside of the trunk floor. suprisingly clean. Last step before media blasting is pulling engine/trans. Hope to have it to the blaster next week. Gettin pretty excited!

 

[Propwash]

Wow...look at that shiny factory finish under there, Pretty neat.

 

[greenmachine]

I am really happy so far with the "layers" I keep peeling back. The big test will be when the blaster gets done.

 

[roadrunnerman]

When you showed the first pics of the trunk floor I was going to comment and say replace it, but that underside photo I might have to second guess what I was thinking. I guess I will have to reserve judgement and see how it looks when it comes back from the blaster. That will definitely tell what is good and what's not.

 

[wannadrag]

You could cut that $400 AMD trunk in half going with Goodmark panels.They fit fine.

 

[flypaper]

just don't cry when you go to sell
when the lowball offers roll in...

- - - Updated - - -

I guess I will have to reserve judgement and see how it looks when it comes back from the blaster.

swiss cheese with alot more holes then you see now..lol

 

[63RedFury]

Blast it and see what you have.Then find a buddy who can weld!

 

[Donny]

Save yourself the headache! There is NO way to fix swiss cheese metal, cut it out, and junk it. Where'd you get the idea of testing the trunk to see if its still good by standing in it? That's like my old man giving me advice to drink a 2l Orange Soda when I got divorced! If its rust, its junk. You could likely save some cash if you cut out the bad ****, send to blaster and make a deal with him saying "But I cut out the bad metal, so, its less blast surface". Send pics of the car post blasting.

 

[flypaper]

the guys in this line of work. Most do great work. I was just saying it is very difficult in todays world for a working man to accomplish a car build. I appreciate your input and experience. thanks

Erik

it is hard because the work required to properly put a car together is
very dirty and very very TIME consuming to do right.

if i told you how many hrs i have spent on just fitting one panel on a car
until i was happy, you would call me insane,i will admit
i'm super ****,i compare everything to another car i have,i want it
as perfect as i can get it.

i refuse to work on anyone elses car because a very few reconize this
and even fewer want to or can afford to pay for it.
i've had people see what i can do and they have opened checkbooks in my face asking
what it would take...
no thanks..

anyhow
in your case,
i would suggest if you really want to save some money on bodywork
go buy a welder/spotweld cutters and start learning to do it yourself.

even if you don't want to weld or touch a welder
you can still remove that nasty trunk pan and rear panel and get the new one ready
all it takes is some drilling and seperating metal with a chisel
then have someone else weld it all in for you.
now,
your 1000 dollar labor cost is cut to a few hundred without even touching a welder..
more then half of his bill is extraction and prep
things you can easily do yourself without alot of skill
with some elbow grease...
thats alot better then putting that por 15 garbage on it.
there are many other ways to cut costs
you need to research and learn and be prepare to spend
alot of time getting your hands dirty.
this stuff isn't rocket science,its alot of hard work..

bandaid repairs will work
but that sore will never go away on that car
it will only get worse and bite you in the arse
by devaluing your ride and coming back to haunt you
if you keep the car..

 

[Propwash]

I was just saying it is very difficult in todays world for a working man to accomplish a car build.

I definitely agree with you on that Erik. Even to do it all yourself is very expensive. These guys brought up a good point of trying to do as much as you can. That will save you a lot of money.

 

[greenmachine]

Thanks for the replys guys. I have found a happy medium. I know the very center of the trunk pan as you can see is toast. I approximate a 4inch by 24 inch surface area before it gets back in to good metal. Donny I didn't mean to sound ignorant with the "standing in the trunk to test for structural integrity" comment, I was just using it as a very rough gauge that if it didn't flex horribly even up the edge of the rotted section, there potentially was good metal left in the trunk pan. My plan is this: Finish stripping the car down (down to the little stuff like tail lights, engine/trans, etc), then haul to blaster, then cut out section of rotted pan and have a patch panel welded in, followed by a por15 coating for insurance/primer, and then I am bed linning for the trunk, saving body work and crazy paint prices (my base coat paint is 636 a gallon). I know this isn't "period correct" or "matching numbers" but It is cost effective for a muscle car I have always wanted to build. I am going to do it to the best of my abbilities and most importantly available funds. Just wait, I will get the car back and it will be swiss cheese and I will be eating my words. Best laid plans... LOL thanks again guys. knowledge is power.

 

[hunt2elk]

You could cut that $400 AMD trunk in half going with Goodmark panels.They fit fine.

If just the middle is bad, this sounds like your cheapest option. It's not that bad of a job to just replace the center part. Cut on top of the frame rails to save dressing the welds underneath.