Rust Rot and Ruin

[NGK]

I'm about ready to start on the body of my 1980 Spider 2000, and its about time to any longer and all I'll have left is a pile of dirt and an engine, well its not that bad bud buts its not pretty, the rear fenders are pretty much nonexistent and the front and beginning to rust, runner boards on the bottom are gone and I have 2 or 3 holes in the floor pans along with rust hole on the bottom corner of the driver door. I think I'm going to just going to replace all the fenders with fiberglass ones so that they don't prone to rust anymore, along with the runner boards. For the floor pans I'm going to cut and weld up the holes and put an undercarriage spray to hopefully slow or remove the issue of rust and patch the whole on the door. Does anyone have any better ideas. It needs to be really resistant to rust.

[18Fiatsandcounting]

I'd be interested in seeing pictures, but man, that sounds like a more difficult project than I would take on. I think what you refer to as "runner boards" are also known as "rocker panels", and if so, you can purchase new ones that you can repaint. Much easier than trying to fix the old ones.

For minor rust holes (less than an inch in diameter), I have just welded or pop-riveted new metal pieces and then applied a thick coat of underbody sealer, but it sounds like you have more work than that. Some Fiat vendors do sell new body panels and things like floor pans, so you could look for those rather than trying to fabricate your own.

Good luck!
-Bryan

[baltobernie]

If you have rust everywhere else, have you looked here? (Front shock tower)

[DieselSpider]

The running boards come off pretty easy with a few screws underneath them and under the chrome sill panels above plus a screw in the front wheel well and a nut in the rear wheel well (sometimes hard to find since it can be buried under sealant).

I did one on the car and found repairing them easier when taken off the car. I was on the economy plan so I was able to salvage the ends of mine and just bent up and welded up new center sections in three pieces that I had to stitch weld together since my bending brake is only 30 inches long so the practical working area is about 2 feet. Its over $100 per rocker to buy new ones plus large item shipping fees and it took less than $10 worth of steel to replace the middle of the both old ones so the $10 option won. I screwed the rocker that I repaired off the car via its mounting holes to two straight strips of wood to maintain length and have a straight form set on saw horses, cut out the bad steel with an angle grinder and then started forming and welding. It took much less time to repair the one I took off which was in far worse condition. Plus taking them off allows you to better inspect the structural rocker hidden behind them and allows you to clean out the 40 years of road dust/debris the accumulates in them (you may be surprised by how much may have accumulated) and to treat inside them with Ospho and primer.

With the rocker off its also easier to repair the front lower quarter panels.

[NGK]

So while waiting on funds to pick up again I've been working on some of the things that I have the resources and skills to do so I've started to tear out the interior, fix the wiring, removed all sound insulation, took out the dash started reupholstering the rear and passenger seat started making new wood inserts for the dash and center console and I'm about to start repairing the cracks and rips in the dash and center console. I'll be sure to put some photos. As going on I've discovered more about my car some good some bad but came across some more questions. So under the sound insulation there are patches of surface rust from the build up of moisture I'm going to repair but I live in a really wet area so I'm wondering if anyone has any ideas I think what I'm going to do is put down some paint on rubber then put the sound insulation then do another coat of rubber on top to kind of wrap the insulation up in a waterproof coat but that's kinda costly and I'm not sure how effective it will be so all ideas are appreciated. Then the wiring junction C35 the one for the power windows well I don't have power windows don't have any extra accessories not sure what to do with it I can just wrap it up and put it aside but I'm wondering it should have something beside power windows, maybe I'll put in a power mirror.

[Akspider]

Highly recommend POR-15 for a rust preventive. Very tough and durable - just properly clean and treat your metal with the Metal prep. For areas with pin-holes they make a thin fiberglass mat that you adhere with the POR-15 and recoat - really tough. The stuff goes a long way - place a couple layers of saran wrap under the lid or you'll destroy the can trying to get the it off! I installed 50 mil Kilmat throughout the interior and makes my old '72 sound so much firmer! Used a couple new Lesabre electric mirrors and Tacoma mirror switch tho should have mounted them further towards to front of the doors.

[wetminkey]

I've done a bit of preservation, and I would also recommend POR15.
Final result is best described as a black, liquid epoxy coating. It can be sprayed, brushed, rolled on, etc,...dries ROCK-HARD.
Not cheap, but recommended throughout the automotive industry for rust stabilization. I know of no other product that preforms as well as it does.
Best of luck with your car! I understand your situation, there in Georgia,...
Todd Compton.

[baltobernie]

I wouldn't try to encapsulate the sound insulation. Moisture is going to get under it, even if it's simply condensation. There needs to be a way for it to evaporate. Yes, scrape the old insulation up, repair any minor rust ( http://dcfiats.org/tech/POR-15-2.pdf ) and seal. Then insulation and carpet, nothing else.

Regarding POR-15, you don't want the metal clean and shiny. If you go to that level, a regular rust-preventive primer is better. POR-15's forte is to penetrate the minor (not loose) rust and seal it. Follow the instructions on the can to the letter.

The front fenders on this car are quite difficult to remove. Maybe check with others who have done this and ask their opinion.

[NGK]

For the front fenders I was going to just cut out the bad spots and replace it with good metal and some fiberglass i want going to worry about replacing the whole set up it will be a lot of cut a paste really I think it will be easier that way and cheaper
thanks for the input Will Definitely try it out. Does anyone know how much movement the seat pan is supposed to have lick 4 inches forward or what.

[18Fiatsandcounting]

Does anyone know how much movement the seat pan is supposed to have lick 4 inches forward or what.

The seats should move more than 4 inches forward/backward. I just looked at mine, and it seems to be around 9 inches. The seat rails often get gummed up and don't operate through their whole range, and so I've often had to remove the seat rails, soak them in degreaser or the like, clean & dry thoroughly, regrease and reinstall. It's possible that the roller bearings inside your seat rails are also in bad shape which could limit the travel. The two halves of the seat rails can be separated for better cleaning / inspection (I just did mine a week ago), so let us know if you need advice on that. Another possibility for your limited seat travel is that you have something blocking it, like a seat rail bolt that is sticking out too far, something that has fallen into the rails, etc.

I agree with BaltoBernie above. My 2 cents, inflation-adjusted: If you just have minor surface rust in the floor pans, I'd just clean it up as best you can, apply the rust sealer or primer of your choice, and leave it at that. Different story if you have actual holes or severe rusting that's flaking off.

-Bryan

[NGK]

Well life happened and the car had to be put on the back burner (more like some drawer for nik-naks) but life has surrendered to the cover life giving me what seems like an infinite amount of time and so I finally have been able to crake down on my bucket of rust I mean fun anyways I decide I have had enough with old plugs brittle fuses and shorted wires and so... I pulled everything out leaving only the wiring the rear (because I already fixed that) so now in my spare bedroom sits a beautiful 4x8 sheet of plywood with my new wiring harness coming to gather piece by piece the fuel injection system it self is the same the only spa treatment its getting is new plugs ( old ones were just about disintegrated ) The real magic is happening on the main assembly, I'm talking all new waterproof connectors, putting the fuses and relays on in one spot NEW BLADE FUSE BOX as well a lot of new wires (not all some were actually still in pristine condition) everything is going to be in a nice loom hidden up in the dash ( Custom Dash by the way ) Also looking at replacing the headlights with those fancy halo ones I see all the time. And that's it for the Electrical.

Next up is the body I'm going to have it all sand blasted inside and out remove all that old paint and gunk then Im going to go through and replace/repair all the fenders rocker panels, floor pans, bits on the doors and a little damage under the front right turn signal. Then We're going to prime that baby with a rust barrier primer Inside and out. That about wraps up the Exterior. OH and I want to change the bumpers into some low profile ones I food that I like more.

Then we have the Interior everything is out already the only thing still in it is the steering column and wheel (have to move the car every once and while she's kinda in parking limbo) once every thing is primed going to add the sound deadening, then begin putting the wiring in and the Dash back together, However the dash we are filling all the cracks on the old one and then I'm going to recover the thing in a beautiful cream white vinyl Im doing for my two tone seats. For the Seats I'm doing a Beige Sandy Brown with the cream down the middle. For the center Im either going to continue the cream or go to a warm almost light brown sugar shade what ever I do there will match with the door panels I may switch the dash and the center console colors for a darker dash but haven't pinned it yet I have little time. For the carpet I don't think light creams will work to well so I am probable going find a darker brown like expresso but not sure yet.

Let me know if you have any Ideas or tips for me as i go or just question in general I love to hear from you guys.

[NGK]

Will put pictures Soon!

[18Fiatsandcounting]

Yes, please do post some pictures, and all I have to say at this point is that I admire your ambition.

-Bryan

[NGK]