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240 Rust under front doors

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Member
Joined
Apr 12, 2011
Location
El Paso, TX
I picked up a second 240, this one an '85, originally intended as a parts car, but now I'm thinking it is too nice to rip up.

Except for under the doors. It has rusted out real bad under there, and there are some sizable holes. I'm kind of at a loss to figure out why they have rusted to bad and how to stop the rot:

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The car has supposedly spent its whole life in the desert, it is pretty low mileage and there is no rust anywhere else on the car. I've checked under the carpets and none in there either. What is going on here? Could something be draining into down there? This one has a sunroof, maybe the front drains? It is not just full of rust, it is full of plant material that might come down a drain.

I presume this section is not structural and it is a possibility to sawzall this section out of a JY car and transplant it, but I feel like there is an underlying problem that needs to be addressed first.

Thoughts?
 
plant material and other debris comes in though the cowl vents and settles in there rusting them from the inside out. Clean out the material, cut rust and weld in new panels

There are plastic plugs inside the car under the carpet to clean out the crud.
 
If your car is going to be outside you need to make a cover to keep the crap out.
 
Mid 80's were prone to rust even though the body's didn't, My sister's 86 had the floor all rotted out, and yes the cowl vent drains through the rockers.
 
I think the other supplier was called fix my rust or something like that. Skandix gets sheet metal parts as well.

My friends 87 rusted out the rockers and nowhere else on the car. He had it fixed and then got rid of the car when more came through on the rockers and the clutch started slipping. Pine tree material seems to be really bad.
 
If you want to help prevent rusting inside doors, in box sections like rocker boxes like you showed above, here is a good trick.

For the insides of doors to protect the seams at the bottom of the door, spray a little oil inside up the drain holes. This displaces moisture and the fact that oil "creeps" makes it quite handy.

Do the same things through the drain holes in the rocker box. You can spray a little more oil in the rockers.

When you are done, don't perk the car on the driveway unless you want oil drops from the doors and rockers.

It works well, and I have done this on a Pantera. These cars will rust out in Arizona in places because there are sections that are completely sealed, with completely raw metal inside. After time, the moisture that was in the air when the car was put together causes rust on the raw steel inside the box. A little rust becomes a lot of rust in a few years. Where you don't have access to drain holes, you should drill some holes for access. I usually pick up some commercial rustproofing plugs to fill the holes.

You don't have to put a lot in...a little goes a long way, and you would be amazed how much oil creeps.

I use Amzoil Heavy Duty Metal Protector (AMHSC-EA) for this. I is designed for protection. Use the little red tube that comes with it. It cost less than $14.00.

One warning...if you are going to paint your car in the future, DON'T DO THIS! Paint will never stick to corners, seam, etc. because of the oil film.

Also, I did this once a year. Worked great for me!


Dave Riedle
 
This is how I coat the rocker insides:

Cheap undercoat gun
4 ft Vinyl tubing that fit over the end of the gun (1/2" or 3/8" ID)
Rust preventative of your choice, I prefer LPS Rust Preventative.

Heat up the end of the vinyl tubing, and squish the end together with a vise, etc, to close the end. Let cool then drill a bunch of holes in the end of the tube to make a 360 deg spray head.

Heat up your rust preventative so it flows well and load it in the undercoat gun, jam the tube on. Insert tube into plug hole, drag back and forth thru the rocker.

I can't remember if this only works on repaired rockers with the internal structure removed or not.
 
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