Rust Bubbles - How Big of an issue?

[1 Wild R/T]

I have a respect for the smarter members of the forum, eldubb 440 and 1 Wild R/T, but....
I have some small bubbles in my car that have stayed about the same for almost 10 years now. They are below the quarter windows in my '70 Charger above the rocker panels slightly. I don't drive in the rain and the car is stored indoors. Humidity isn't high here. I don't see the problem with waiting until it gets worse or when you are in a spot where you need to fix body damage and repaint another area. I'm holding off for that...If I get in a bender, I'll take the plunge and fix any and every flaw and repaint the entire car.
That is just me though....

Pretty much what I suggested....Except I added body cavity wax to slow down any thing growing and I suggested buying & storing quarter panels since they appear to be going away so if he needs them in ten years he's got them & if he doesn't need them, they could be worth enough by then to pay for the repair..

 

[Runner 68]

I have a respect for the smarter members of the forum, eldubb 440 and 1 Wild R/T, but....
I have some small bubbles in my car that have stayed about the same for almost 10 years now. They are below the quarter windows in my '70 Charger above the rocker panels slightly. I don't drive in the rain and the car is stored indoors. Humidity isn't high here. I don't see the problem with waiting until it gets worse or when you are in a spot where you need to fix body damage and repaint another area. I'm holding off for that...If I get in a bender, I'll take the plunge and fix any and every flaw and repaint the entire car.
That is just me though....

Plus you are in nice dry Cali. Oregon is another story.

 

[1 Wild R/T]

Plus you are in nice dry Cali. Oregon is another story.

If it's parked inside Oregon isn't that bad... Outside... Another story..

 

[Runner 68]

I blew this off for years on my old Ram until it got to this point. The passenger side was worse. Dry Colorado I thought. Stupid me. Lots of work to fix. Nip it in the butt now Rob.

 

[R413]

This is on the drivers side quarter panel on front of the tire. So it is just sheet metal, not the rocker that we see rust bubbling.

 

[Runner 68]

This is on the drivers side quarter panel on front of the tire. So it is just sheet metal, not the rocker that we see rust bubbling.

View attachment 1612689

Kill it before it grows regardless of where it is.

 

[Kern Dog]

This is on the drivers side quarter panel on front of the tire. So it is just sheet metal, not the rocker that we see rust bubbling.

View attachment 1612689

That is where mine is. I suspect it is from a blocked drain and yes, the galvanized rocker panel is under there. Hopefully it doesn't extend into the rocker itself.

 

[R413]

Rockers are thick and galvanized. I've seen them pitted but still quite strong. The sheetmetal over the rockers gets rust damaged and eaten up much easier.

 

[WileERobby]

Well, I can tell you, since I started doing bodywork in the mid 70's, almost always I'd been surprised by the amount of rust/corrosion discovered after addressing the area affected. Paint is a good hider. I've pushed my hand through an entire area that rotted from inside, which only appeared as a few paint bubbles on the outside. I've air-chiseled into areas LOADED with bondo on the inside which didn't even show any paint defect on the outside. I've encountered quarter panels that were replaced by brazing the new quarter panel over the original panel in the sail area, leaving the original panel UNDER the new one in that sail area. I could go on. Could it be just a minimal repair, sure. For what it's worth, just offering a few snippets of what I've seen, and rust was never less than what I anticipated.

 

[Kern Dog]

Thick rockers? Galvanized? Yeah.....Well, like a positive cancer remission declaration from the Dr, that sounds great but I'd still be nervous until I saw the evidence for myself.

 

[Photon440]

I have a respect for the smarter members of the forum, eldubb 440 and 1 Wild R/T, but....
I have some small bubbles in my car that have stayed about the same for almost 10 years now. They are below the quarter windows in my '70 Charger above the rocker panels slightly. I don't drive in the rain and the car is stored indoors. Humidity isn't high here. I don't see the problem with waiting until it gets worse or when you are in a spot where you need to fix body damage and repaint another area. I'm holding off for that...If I get in a bender, I'll take the plunge and fix any and every flaw and repaint the entire car.
That is just me though....

Richard Petty would just slap an STP sticker over the bubble.

 

[eldubb440]

Richard Petty would just slap an BLM sticker over the bubble.

unfortunately

 

[Photon440]

unfortunately

BLM? Behavioral Language Model? I didn't even know he was that involved in computer science.

 

[Rob Jett]

Sigh. I don't mind the warts, but I really don't like the unknown and the advice seems to be that what I see might very well be like the the top of an iceberg. I just spent way too much money getting the engine rebuilt recently and promised the wife I wouldn't be spending any more $ on this thing for a while but.... I'll start looking for a good paint/body guy to do some exploration. Thanks all!

 

[PlymCrazy]

I try to choose my body projects carefully.
Especially if previous repairs were done by someone else.
A small project can turn into a big one real quick if you don't know what's behind the paint in the affected area.

 

[1967coronet]

oh yeah, that'll do it.......

I recently spent an entire day removing nests from both sides, packed in there tight; no rot through though...... I was tempted to light the nests on fire, probably should have

a very small sample, that **** was everywhere

View attachment 1612638

Lol, we did a 51 chevy that the passenger window would only roll down about 4".
That door was packed and pin holed.
Ended up just getting another door.

 

[1967coronet]

Sigh. I don't mind the warts, but I really don't like the unknown and the advice seems to be that what I see might very well be like the the top of an iceberg. I just spent way too much money getting the engine rebuilt recently and promised the wife I wouldn't be spending any more $ on this thing for a while but.... I'll start looking for a good paint/body guy to do some exploration. Thanks all!

Your getting pretty close to spring to stick it in a body shop.
Just me but if you have to hire it done I would wait till fall. It's going to have more repair area than your thinking.
Most body guys will not leave any old filler in there.

 

[R413]

Just for laughs, this car probably not too bad.

 

[zyzzyx]

I put a new headliner in my X at my buddies bodyshop years ago. Two weeks later the little
buggars set up shop over the driver's side visor and peed all over their new nest! Had to rip it out!

 

[6872n73]

I wonder if you could use a bore scope with a light and reach/see from the window opening or the trunk??