How would I go about fixing all this rust?

[kaboost90]

Any suggestions theres a piece of unibody by the drivers side wheel that rotted all the way through whats the easiest way to get the car rust free again Ill post pics of all the rust This is the previous owners pics I just picked up the car yesterday I just don't want the frame to snap when I'm sliding I covered it up with some rustolem rust treatment so it wont get any worse.

Some pics



poor 240









Hard to see but the unibody is rusted through there




Modified by kaboost90 at 12:26 AM 8/27/2009

[kaboost90]

Would a wide body kit replace all that exterior rust? Cause I was planning on doing a kit anyway maybe I should just cut out all the rust and slap a kit on???

[AZhitman]

Welcome aboard.

You're about to get the same speech I give everyone - Leave it alone.

1) If it's that bad on the exterior, it's guaranteed to be 10x worse in the areas you CAN'T see. 2) A unibody car has the suspension components attached to rust-prone areas. You can see how this would be a bad thing.3) Rustoleum? Your rust is laughing at you. That's like putting a band-aid on a severed leg.4) If you intend to "drift" this car, be prepared for catastrophic frame damage eventually.5) You live in Wisconsin. Rust is rampant. I'd bet the carpet is the only thing keeping your feet from falling through the floor.6) Dude, the doors are about to rot off the hinges. Seriously, wear your seat belt.

My recommendation? Drive the piss out of it, but don't put any money in it. It's DONE. Rust doesn't sleep. Period.

Harsh? Yep. But I'm right.

Again, glad you're here. Say HI to ol' Rusty.

[kaboost90]

Everything under the 240 is perfect except that one rail I wonder if the rails were replaced? your saying theres no hope for this 240?

Interior looks brand spankin new too I might add should I pull a carfax lol

I don't see how it cant be saved They take old rat rods were the whole thing is nothing but rust and they turn it around into a show car

And in wisconsin rust is rampent in winter were salt is all on the roads this is a summer car id never drive a rwd on icey roads its only the idiot before me who thought shooting salt through his car was cool

Modified by kaboost90 at 12:44 AM 8/27/2009
Modified by kaboost90 at 1:12 AM 8/27/2009

[nissangirl74]

I just don't want the frame to snap when I'm sliding

Enough said. Carry on man, but PLEASE be safe!

[kaboost90]

If I fix that rail it would bend at most not snap

240s can take a beating http://www.turbo-dreams.eu/05s...1.jpg

I can always hire a professional lol the cars just to clean interior and engine wise to just let it go like that

[kaboost90]

As you can see the rest of the car is pretty solid I don't think it woulda got all the way to the floor if only one rail is bad the rest under the car are pretty much surface rust almost just pitted not bad stuff even the exhaust is still in tact which I'm surprised I would think that would be the first thing to go

[bretjohnson91]

not trying to be an a** to ANYONE so first off no offenese to anyone

my personal opinion is that there are sa couple of options you have you can a. leave it alone b. take it and have it looked at by a good body shop and get their opinion or c. buy a lot of sanding material and dry ice and dive into it and see what all you can find and if it is going to be worth your time anything can be repaired if you has the cash. lol

[del82]

I'd say the local junkyard has a good solution to all that rust. That car's got cancer, and it's useful life is over. AZHitman seems to have hit the nail on the head and was largely ignored. Your car is done, pick up one from a dry state. Making the trip to get it usually pays off in terms of not buying a problem which can't be fixed.

[jpnissans13]

i say, if u gonna use it for drifting, get a clean shell and swap the stuff over. hey u might wanna do an sr swap who knows. u will be better off with a nice rust free shell then worrying about fixing rust. besides shells are pretty cheap. and building your car from ground up is fun.. just my 2 cents. gl

[IBoostNissans]

Sell it or use it as a daily driver.Honestly there is no hope.

[AZhitman]

Everything under the 240 is perfect except that one rail I wonder if the rails were replaced? your saying theres no hope for this 240?

Not possible. Sorry. Get it up on a lift and start pounding on it with a hammer. You'll see.

If there's that much rust on the outside, the inside is worse. Look up inside the strut towers, and at the subframe attachment points.

The black rubbery undercoating (and road grime) is likely hiding some bad, bad news.

Pop the hood - Let's have a look at those strut towers.

Interior looks brand spankin new too I might add should I pull a carfax lol

Vinyl and carpet won't save your butt in a collision. All that means is that they kept the windows rolled up. And all a Carfax will tell you is IF it's been in a reported collision - it's of no use to you in this case.

I don't see how it cant be saved

You've obviously never attempted a restoration on a car with rust, then.

They take old rat rods were the whole thing is nothing but rust and they turn it around into a show car

...and spend $20K doing it. Besides, old hot rods aren't unibody cars. They have a frame and a body - Yours doesn't. It's a unibody structure.

All I'm saying is that the car isn't worth dumping money into.

Hell, just look at the door jambs and you'll see what I mean - The structural part where the door attaches is rusted THROUGH.

That rot is BAD.

Spend $1000 on a shell from the southwest and swap your interior and drivetrain over - You'll be much happier. Or, just drive it as-is and save up for an unrusted one.

[jeb1517]

You asked for suggestions and didn't listen to the best ones. Here's some reading for you:

zerothread/330340

That car started off 100x better than what yours looks like.

You should've made this thread before buying that car. Hopefully you got a really really good deal on it.

[kaboost90]

I saw the thread what a shame how does rust even oxidize in those areas that are sealed? I'm just going to take it to a auto body and see what he can do I could defiantly part it out for triple what I paid for it seeing that thread made me believe every older car has rust unless you teared it down like he did cause his was clean on the outside. Is there a good way to stop rust from spreading except cutting it out and replacing the tainted metal?

Under the hood is pretty clean those two rails have silver paint still no sign of orange rust at all

[kaboost90]

If I just fix the rust I can see, what would end up happening in the future? I think I know pretty much already but just want to hear other opinions I was thinking of just swapping the engine to RB have my fun till it breaks then get another shell. how long do you think ol rusty is still got before the cancer takes control?

[S13_love]

Sorry man, but that rust you see there is pretty much just the tip of the iceberg...i can't even imagine what the inner structure looks like.

Look up inside the strut towers, and at the subframe attachment points.

...

Pop the hood - Let's have a look at those strut towers.

I can't wait til i start working on those with my car bwahahaha ... *sigh*

But like everyone else here said... imo, try to pick up a clean shell (rust free of course) and swap everything over.

[kaboost90]

How can you be sure any 240 is rust free? I could fix the noticeable rust tomorrow and call this rust free and I still don't understand how oxidation can occur in air tight sealed places? it just makes no sense to me where is a easy place to start to see what I'm up against is it possible the inner frame (flooring etc..) could be very well rust free? any way to test this lol if I keep driving on the rust what notciable changes will be in the way it drives? I fogot to say thanks for the help cause I didnt realize these rust so bad inner frame wise.

[S13_love]

How can you be sure any 240 is rust free?

Actually, im pretty sure there is no such thing as a rust free 240

But I can guarantee you that you can find another shell with very little rust that's at least repairable.

I could fix the noticeable rust tomorrow and call this rust free and I still don't understand how oxidation can occur in air tight sealed places?

Moisture...or water . On a car, it travels in any direction (exxageration...well, sort of), and can get into just about anything.

[kaboost90]

I jacked the car up and started sanding part of the unibody's black plastic crap off there completely clean when I thought they were pitted it was just nicks from rocks or something Its just the part by the driver side wheel the unibody is disconnected from rust but still holds its position I tried pulling it down with all my weight and it wouldn't budge I put a jack stand on that piece of frame and lowered the other one seeing if it would push up but it held the car it crunched a little rust that was there lol I also tried hammering a thin screwdriver in various places and it just left a nic in the metal I lowered the car drove it around and it still drives straight as a arrow I was thinking of just sanding that piece of frame all the way to the part where its clean metal and just coating it with rust protectives and under coat the whole car would it effect it in anyway? or should I just replace that rail or get it welded? The car looks practically brand new underneath like I said I think the rails were replaced before. for the body parts I could care less about right now I can always cut a rear panal out of a junk yard if it gets to that point I rather pay a body man to fix the rail then pay 1000 for a shell and waste weeks on end transferring everything and SE models are harder to find especially in my area
Modified by kaboost90 at 5:33 PM 8/27/2009

[kaboost90]

Dude, the doors are about to rot off the hinges. Seriously, wear your seat belt.

The door hinges are perfectly fine as you can see in the pics they have a nice coat of silver paint they do not squeek or anything

[kaboost90]

Holy shiza alot of rust in the trunk I have another 240sx on the way 91 dual cam Guy said he cant find the title but if he doesn't is it illegal to just swap my dashes? and ride on well anyways the 240 I have now is just my commuter and drifter I'm not putting any money in it except to keep the ka alive cause its pretty clean and when the unibody snaps Ill take the SOHC ka out and junk or part out what ever could be parted I already took the cats off and taking it to a junkyard to sell they can use the platinum Thanks for the help guys wish I got it through my head before i had to start working on junk

[AZhitman]

Trade the rusted shell for some punctuation.

Seriously.

You might have some issues swapping the VIN if they ever look at the firewall or the door jamb. But honestly, unless they use the bar code scanners or do an annual inspection I think you should be fine.

Make sure the registration on Rusty is up to date before you swap everything.

[kaboost90]

Heres some punctuation lol

door jam is just a sticker right? And firewall can be welded clean, what do you meen bar code scanner? how would they find out that way? I'm just swapping dashes cause the 91 240 is cracked dash, probably swap the whole interior cause they musta kept the windows down on that one lol.

[kaboost90]

Check back periodically for updates Imma still dig in ol rusty just for the hell of it

[liquid_cool]

dude...what should we write on your coffin since you still think driftin O'l rusty is cool?..you do realize that sliding that rust bucket with a possibility of a wholycow failure..can kill you?..id just gut that bucket..save everything..motor any and all suspention gear that you can salvage..pull and sell off the clean insides..or keep..what ever...but gut that thing and toss it to they junk yard..let her rest in rustic peace..

[kaboost90]

Whats the worse that could happen? the unibody gives in, the driver suspension grinds on the ground, it slides till I come to a stop, I tow it home pull the ka then give rusty the grave she deserves I could see the problem if I was going like 70mph or more and I hit a bump but my commute doesn't even get close to 50mph right now I'm just gonna grind all the rust off the exterior just so it doesn't spread

[IBoostNissans]

I'm just gonna grind all the rust off the exterior just so it doesn't spread

[gtc_240sx]

lol at you!! Have you did a KBB value on a 240sx? they are almost worthless!!

you can buy a clean a** shell for like $1000 max swap the engine, and you are now good to go and "safe" You do not wanna be doing 45mph and snap, your brake line burst, scary!!!(happened to me in an accord before)

BETTER BE SAFE THAN SORRY!!!

[AZhitman]

Whats the worse that could happen? the unibody gives in, the driver suspension grinds on the ground, it slides till I come to a stop

Not only have you never restored a rusty car, but you've never done any real performance driving.

If you had, you'd never have asked such a dumb question.

Thanks for looking out for all the other people out there.

p.s. S13's had HORRIBLE crash test ratings to begin with. Yours is worse. Don't bother wearing a seat belt since the mounts are rusted through.

[kaboost90]

I already told you guys you act like I'm dumping money into performance parts holy s*** the car is a commuter and a test drifter not a dam 9 second car I'm grinding the rust off so it doesn't get worse on the frame and body I know there is rust other places but who gives a s*** the car breaks o well I honestly got my money outta it just by the engine why would I leave rust on the car so it shortens its life more? I alredy told you guys I found a rust free 91 dual cam this is the commuter till the 91 is completely done