Rust issues

[t.mcginley.jr]

Hi everyone,

So regarding my 1990 NA with 98k miles on it:

There is rust on both rocker panels, just in front of the rear wheels. The driver side is much worse, I could probably break of a few inches of the corner. The pass. side isn't there yet. Not sure what to do about this... can I cut out the rusted parts and weld new metal in?

I also realized that the frame on the driver side has some significant rust. I'm talking about the part of the frame rail that is right under the driver seat (before the rail curves up into the engine bay). I knocked alot of the rust off and it's still fairly solid, but there were 2 spots (one underneath and one on the side of the rail) where the hammer punched right through. Is there any way to remedy this?

[nissanfreak12]

Move away from the rust belt.

Honestly, rust sucks, its a cancer. Once you think you have enough of it gone, more of it comes out of nowhere. The best remedy is to replace the entire ocker panel. Next best thing is to cut out the area affected and then maybe an extra 3"-6". Hopefully a bodyshop guy will come on and give his two cents.

[bartZ32tt]

I'm not a body guy but you'll have to weld new metal in. Once you do that, you should strongly consider applying a rust-preventive product like Por-15. That stuff is NOT UV-resistant though, so if you're applying it to a visual spot then you should paint over it because it will fade/discolor over time.

[sidies]

You want to chop all the rust out, not just grind it a bit but chop it right out. Then weld patches or panels in ( try to find some one who is wrecking one and go chop out what you need ) then epoxy prime both sides and paint, then fisholine or cavity wax the crap out of it .
Its a job for panel beater by the sounds of it, but if you do it yourself watch out for your petrol tank I think they are plastic?

Haven't tried the por 15 but at the end of the day there shouldn't be any rust if you choped it out

My 2cents

[t.mcginley.jr]

Yeah on either rocker panel it's like the whole corner in front of the rear wheels. I'm thinking for now I will just cut out the rusted parts until I get good metal and then seal it until I can get someone to weld in some metal.

On a side note, how do side skirts mount up? I was thinking if it looked bad afterward I could just seal up the new metal good and then put side skirts on.