1973 Satellite/Roadrunner Rust Question

[LowSignal]

A little backstory before I get into it. I received this car for my 16th birthday and drove it throughout high school until I got a 2012 SXT challenger (a 1973 isn't the best reliable daily driver).
Two buyers before me did a lot of stupid stuff to it including cutting a hole in the dash for a radio, adding fake side vents, and a large cheap spoiler and somewhere down the line it was "converted" from a satellite to a roadrunner.
The person I bought it from had the new 318 engine bored out to a 340 (supposedly).

Since I haven't drove it in awhile I didn't look at it closely. Recently I went to see what it needed done to be more completely restored and noticed a ton of rust has been eating through it for some time. I am going to move it to my parents new garage to prevent farther damage but need some suggestions of how to go about fixing the rusted areas without taking it to the shop (I have plenty of time to learn to DIY if possible). I was thinking bondo on the smaller spots and possibly sheet metal on the larger spots but I am trying to avoid that. Here are a few pictures.

Im thinking the whole trunk lid might need to be replaced.

This is the largest of the holes, going all the way through (I know the back tired need to be replaced, a heavy load in the trunk caused the wheel well to hit them)

This rust spot is causing water to leak into the rear deck under the back window.

 

[PurpleBeeper]

Having been in your situation when I was 16, here is my suggestion.
1. On all rust spots, dig out ALL the rust & use a rust-converter (Rust Mort or similar) to turn it into a "black paintable surface". You don't want rust remover. You might want to have a few spray cans of the appropriate white color handy before you start & metal etching primer might be a good idea as well.
2. Fix that hole near the rear window ASAP to avoid rusting out the trunk. I think you need to AT LEAST remove the window trim & you might be OK sealing the hole with bondo.
3. I think you could cut small pieces of sheet metal to use as a "backer" in the rear quarter panel holes. Place them inside, from behind, and slip them between the inner/outer fender if possible. Fill the holes with fiberglass, and down the high spots & fill with bondo.
4. I would suggest you find a better trunk lid if possible. That one looks pretty far gone.

 

[LowSignal]

Having been in your situation when I was 16, here is my suggestion.
1. On all rust spots, dig out ALL the rust & use a rust-converter (Rust Mort or similar) to turn it into a "black paintable surface". You don't want rust remover. You might want to have a few spray cans of the appropriate white color handy before you start & metal etching primer might be a good idea as well.
2. Fix that hole near the rear window ASAP to avoid rusting out the trunk. I think you need to AT LEAST remove the window trim & you might be OK sealing the hole with bondo.
3. I think you could cut small pieces of sheet metal to use as a "backer" in the rear quarter panel holes. Place them inside, from behind, and slip them between the inner/outer fender if possible. Fill the holes with fiberglass, and down the high spots & fill with bondo.
4. I would suggest you find a better trunk lid if possible. That one looks pretty far gone.

Sounds good, thanks for the reply. Crazy how fast the rust ate through considering it had no visible rust before. Working on getting the front seats in today so I can move it. The mounting brackets are rusted though so I am cleaning those up first.
On a side note the metal trim around the windows was looking a bit warped at one point so I sanded them and used chrome paint... which turned out pretty horribly(was made for metal but it clumped weird, and was matte). Any suggestions paint wise to make them look decent?