TheSamba.com :: View topic - Rust behind body-bolt bracket in wheel well

Sun Jun 22, 2008 1:57 pm

I have been working prepping the interior of my '63 Bug and have come across some rust behind the passenger area. The area is actually underneath the seat and package tray sheet metal. There is rust on either side of the body, directly behind a plate that is seen welded to the wheel well area on the outside. This plate includes the body bolt-on bracket in the wheel well area.

It seems like a tricky area for rust, since the welded plate on the outside complicates the structure of the sheet metal in that area. From the grinding I have done so far to get the crumbly and loose rust off, I cannot tell how deep the more solid rust extends. My blog shows a few photos I took yesterday and today of the area, for reference.

My question: Has anyone dealt with rust here to their satisfaction? I have either not searched in a smart way, or there are no posts on this particular rust spot. I have not found wisdom on the issue on the forum. On the right side of the body there is evidence for this rust inside the passenger compartment, in the curve of the rear seat support metal. See photos at the blog.

Thanks.

Sun Jun 22, 2008 2:41 pm

Wed Jun 25, 2008 9:40 pm

I guess my more focused question is:

What would be best to deal with the rust shown in the shots below:

(a) to somehow remove the whole rear seat back / luggage shelf sheet metal to better take care of the rust on both wheel well areas, and then re-weld this whole large sheet metal piece?
OR

(b) to cut out a small section of this rear seat back / luggage shelf sheet metal to then have access to the affected wheel well metal; take care of the wheel well area, and then re-weld the cut-out small sections of behind the rear seat sheet metal?

I'm hoping someone on here has dealt with this issue on their Bug.

Thanks.

Thu Jun 26, 2008 10:31 am

Mine was rusted there. Cut the affected metal out, and scab a new piece in from a donor car.
It would be less work to use a donor piece unless you have metal shaping skills and the basic tools required to make that convex shape.

Thu Jul 03, 2008 12:21 pm

Thanks, Major Woody, for tip. I'll assume by "scab" you mean "weld". I' guess I'm on the lookout for a donor part.

Thu Jul 03, 2008 10:16 pm

Yes that is what I meant. Butt weld the donor piece in. It will require a lot of trial and error, because you can't make a paperboard template on a convex area.

Fri Jul 04, 2008 4:23 am

Major Woody wrote: Yes that is what I meant. Butt weld the donor piece in. It will require a lot of trial and error, because you can't make a paperboard template on a convex area.

That's what I did as well.

What seems to work well for me is to put painter's tape between the donor and car and screw the donor piece to the car with some selftapping screws to it doesn't move (that hole can easily be migged closed later).
Then trace it out with a sharp hobby knife. Take the self tapping screws out and peel the tape on the side that will be cut out.
You get a nicely defined, quite accurate cutting line this way. My last piece fitted so nicely, I could pop the replacement piece into the hole and it would be held in place by friction.

Mon Jul 07, 2008 2:05 pm

I bought a rear section from a a donor car and then just spotted in the pieces that needed to be fixed. I also blasted the car first to find out how bad the rot really was. It was two really small areas so I just cut out around the area and welded a panel in off the donor clip.

Mon Jul 07, 2008 9:44 pm

These are the first cuts I made today using a cut-off wheel on my angle grinder, along with the hack saw shown. I sure hope I can find good donor metal somewhere, as cutting this implies I have faith I can.

These are the cuts as seen from the outside of the car. I am a little nervous in that this section has the bracket to attach to suspension part of the pan; a section which thus has a lot of structural importance. I hope I can patch it with clean donor metal to be both positioned correctly and to be of the strength required.

Thanks, folks, for the advice so far.

Mon Jul 07, 2008 10:16 pm

Why don't you buy an aftermarket replacement piece? They give you enough metal to attach to good metal on your wheel well. I found some good quality ones.

I just did mine on my 67 and i took a few measurements before cutting. I did a control line on the wheel well and measured to the body support bracket and the bolts on my z-bar. I then measured from the body attachment points going across the body to make sure the spacing is correct for the body mount points on my suspension.

After that was done I cut out the rot until I has solid metal. This involved carefully cutting around the luggage tray and the engine tin at the rear of the wheel well. I then drilled out the welds at these points and everything was free to come out.

Re-install using your measurements and you're good to go.

Thu Jul 10, 2008 4:33 pm

Stay away from the aftermarket sheety metal if possible. Here are some pics of work we did on my Brother's 62 bug when we replaced that same section.

http://www.manxgallery.org/gallery/album05?page=1

Fri Jul 11, 2008 9:43 pm

Thank you all for sharing generously of your experience.

Sounds like reproduction metal has worked for some to replace wheel housing area with.

Sounds like donor metal has worked well for others. I appreciate the gallery from the previous poster showing the sequence of taking out and replacing a section. The problem looks just about identical to mine.

I think I'll be on the lookout for a donor piece from a another vehicle for left and right side.

My plan:
1. Grind away to see the extent of the rust, even though I've made extensive cuts already. I want to know how large a replacement section I need.
2. Cut as needed
3. Probably coat area with Masterseries or just Krylon enamel, if it looks like I have to wait awhile for a donor car section here in Northern Colorado.
4. Work on the extensive amount of other body-related work while I wait for a part.
5. Buy a welder and start to get the hang of using it.
6. Cut and weld in two sections as soon as I have replacement metal.