Hey guys,
So the '67 Cutlass I've got has a bit of rust in a few places, nothing too terrible but I want to do my best to remove it and get her painted before it gets any worse. The worst is in the trunk on the left hand side and down into the trench that makes up the lower portion of the left rear quarter panel. That is also the section that concerns me the most as I can't stop it at this point since water is leaking in at the seam in the back above the wiring for the left taillight. The next worse spot is in the lower left corner of the rear window around, and I'm guessing behind, the chrome trim piece. I'm hoping you guys have some suggestions on how best to get the rust to stay gone as I'd really rather not have to go through the hassle of trying to fix it every few years after I get the new paint job done.

Anyway, here's a few pics so you all can see what I'm talking about.

- S

 

Looks like you are going to be proactive and stop it before it gets too bad. These spots should be relatively easy to repair at this point but hard to really tell until you get the trim out of the way. Job 1 is you Gotta stop the water from getting into the trunk. Again hard to tell from the pick but if the trunk metal is not too thin and full of holes you could brush the loose scale and paint it with POR 15. Good stuff.

 

In order to correctly repair your rust spots so they don't return, Most of the rust you are seeing is going to have to be cut out and replaced. Especially around the window channels. You are going to be surprised at the rust in that window once you remove all the chrome around the lower quarters and the rear windows. You might be able to either sandblast or grind down the rust in your trunk area,but it might have to be replaced also to do it right, You could probably clean it up and then use POR 15 but you for sure are going to have to address the window channels. Your water is unfortunately is coming in there,

 

The sooner you stop the water from getting in the better. What looks like minimal rust/rot now is really a lot worse once you go exploring. Fixing or replacing metal requires welding. Most paint shops are also body shops and should be able to fix the rot BEFORE it gets painted. The front and back windshields areas on these cars are notorious for trapping water and rotting the metal.

 

Agree with above

To fix it right you will need to cut/ remove the rust I just got done cutting and patching my car with a friends help. All my panels were hand made. On my rear window channel, it had a few rust holes from the water sitting in it and rotting it away. I cut out and glued in patch patches that I made.

 

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E00507CA-5589-4FE5-B138-205A1F37B5B2.jpg
Your window looks to be a bit worse tho

Rust behind my chrome
null-17.jpg
This is what I ended up cutting out 48773821-E7FD-400E-B0AF-DDA4CE15AE94.jpg
Not trying to scare you but this is what rust does

 

I was afraid of something like that; I was hoping the sheet metal that's there could be saved without replacing it. What type of tool is required to remove the window trim?

 

There are many different tools for removing trim. I like the one that sorta resembles sissors, very inexpensive, many are pictured on ebay. The tools pull the clips away from the channel which allows the molding to become loose from the clip holding tab.

 

Remember- rust never sleeps!

 

Hmm, ok; looks easy enough to use. What's the brand on that one? I tried to find something similar on Ebay and didn't come up with anything.

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/3-WINDSHIELD...r#ht_662wt_648

 

God, I must be blind or something. I searched for trim related tools and didn't even see that! Thanks a bunch!

 

Be prepared for sticker shock on rust repair and paint estimates as they will probably exceed the value of a 4-door '67. Especially around the windows since that is all custom fab work. 3 ideas, for whatever they are worth:

1. Clean & polish what you have. Protect from wet weather whenever possible and enjoy as-is. Rat rodders call it patina.

2. Do the prep and body work yourself, them get a cheap respray like Earl Schieb. You can even consider glass/bondo instead of metal work. (Others will cringe at this idea - again, not a high value car so just being realistic).

3. Bite the bullet for a pro job if you love the car.

 

Yeah, I realize it's really not worth that much and all but I really do love the car, and while I would pay for a professional body man to fix it, I just can't afford that right now. I'm thinking currently of just getting at as much of the rust off as I can, be it through sanding, blasting, or whatever; and possibly doing as you suggest and just temporarily fixing it to look ok with fiberglass/bondo and doing the prep work and priming myself, and just taking it to Maaco for the paint. At least that way it will look ok, and buy me some time to save up money for when the rust inevitably comes back and I can get it done properly. The way I see it is, even if the car is not really valuable, it's still a piece of history that's made it this long and deserves to be preserved. Especially since eventually once everyone has picked apart the four door cars for their two door projects there won't be many of them left since no one wants them. Just some thoughts...thanks for the suggestions.