URGENT: can rocker panels be replaced/redone?

[otaku64]

hey, my friend and i found a sweet deal on '90 240. only prob is the rocker panel, under each door, have 1-2 spots with a 3" diameter rust spot with rot thru. anyone know if or how the panels could be replaced by either cutting out whole piece or cutting around the spots and welding a sheetmetal piece which we were thinking bout doing.

we need to know by mon (2.17.03) to tell the guy selling it.

thanks.

[MaineExport]

Replacing rocker panels is a huge task on most vehicles. You need to crack the cab to get the new one in there. Your best bet would be to cut out the rust and weld in new sheet metal. This would be far less intrusive to the car and less costly in the end.

[astron]

Just remember, these cars are unibody, their sheet metal acts as the support. There are probably multiple layers of metal in behind this, and if it's rusted through, chances are water got in there and started eating out even more layers. Trust me, stay away from this one. I own a '65 vw bug, the door sills appeared slightly rusty when i bought it, it turns out that the entire section really needs to be replaced (500 dollars plus, just for low quality parts). A 13 year old car shouldnt have rust that bad, in my opinionast

[astron]

Just remember, these cars are unibody, their sheet metal acts as the support. There are probably multiple layers of metal in behind this, and if it's rusted through, chances are water got in there and started eating out even more layers. Trust me, stay away from this one. I own a '65 vw bug, the door sills appeared slightly rusty when i bought it, it turns out that the entire section really needs to be replaced (500 dollars plus, just for low quality parts). A 13 year old car shouldnt have rust that bad, in my opinionast

[MaineExport]

Good point astron, I hadn't thought about that. There is a good chance that the rust problem can go beyond what is visible at first. It really should be looked at by a reputable body shop... and see what they have to say about fixing it properly... and how much it will cost.

[otaku64]

well, i wish i had taken a pic of it to show, but the rust is not large. say, 3" at most, we would cut out double that and add sheetmetal.

[Antjaw]

Well.... You can do what I did with my first car.. an 85 ford escort.. The botom corner of the door rusted completly off...So I cut out a peice of cardboard the exact shape of the missing corner...stuck it up in there.. and slapped bondo on both sides.. Supprisingly enough, this lasted for about a year untill the cardboard rotted away leaving a hollow shell of bondo..Then 1 good door slam and it fell off...Hope you have better luck..I suggest a good body shop.. unless your good with welding and slinging body mud.

[Queamore]

It is alot of work. I had tried to do it to my monte carlo didn't work. I hate body work adn I would rather buy a car with a blown engine and trans with a nice body than do a little body work. But if your getting a good deal and have the patience You could cut the rust off and use this stuff called tiger claw it's kinda like fiberglass that repels rust and weld some sheet metal and paint over it, shouldn't be to bad.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

Or you could just do what I did, Cut out the rot, weld in a new piece of sheet metal, and then stuff your exhaust through there :ylsuper Mine came out pretty nice except the fact that my rot went straight into me wheel well, so i basically have a hole where my exhaust is, and a hole where my wheel well is, i think im going to leave it there because it acts as a drain for any water that goes in through my hole near my exhaust. I just gotta make sure i keep it clean and a nice thick coat of rustoleum on there. Fortunately, mine was pretty much on the bottom of my rocker panel, so its not really noticeable, so you can afford to do a pretty crappy job. (mine was free because I did it in autoshop). Good Luck!

[chadster]

Hey all,

After you get your panels together, use our product "5 Star shine". You'll get the same results as other high end waxes but have a much better and longer finish protection. It will save you the time of having to reapply wax to keep your paint protected.

Click on our ad on the left side near the top of this page and get the details. Be sure to use the customer discount code "vipdiscounts".-Chadhttp://www.5starshine.com'Never wax your car again"

[leper421]

(edited by the way too busy to deal with idiots today, Madscientist)

[chadster]

leper, give me a break.....i have posted a few things in response to criticism I have gotten since I am new to all of this. So maybe go and look for my name on the recent posts and read it. I have appreciated those who have been willing to talk to me about it as opposed to calling names.

[themadscientist]

That's your warning Leper, keep it clean.

[NeedCAforS13]

aww... i liked the earlier one better...mad man!;)

Sean

[themadscientist]

I was wearing my zippermouth leather hood and nothing else when I typed if if that helps:eek:

[Repo Man]

Please Hammer, don't hurt 'em! Hehe...