Had several early Toros back in the '80s, but they were rust free. Now I'm really missing having one and been looking at a '69 that's very clean overall, including the underside and doors, but it has rust thru strictly at the base of the A pillar on one side, the other side seems OK, as does the rest of the car, oddly, which is out of the Southwest..... see the pic of the rusty A pillar base. What is going on with it, why did it happen, is it serious, and how difficult is a fix? Thanks in advance.

Please advise and thanks!

 

The problem I see is that you will have to find a doaner car for the part. I also willing to bet that some fabrication work will need to be done under the pillar where it attaches. If you are good with a welder it shouldn't be to hard. My .02

 

If you do buy it I may have that area on a parts car that could be cut off. But it would be interesting to dig a little deeper and see if there's additional rust hidden away. I've had three of these cars where the vinyl roof caused the roof to rot badly. A 1967 that first blush looked clean. But the first time I drove it in the rain there was a trickle of water, not drip but trickle of water coming in near the top center of the windshield near the rear view mirror.

 

Thanks... will have to look at it closely before deciding.

2blu will let you know if I do get it and need the part. It seems weird that of all places it would rust there. Under the vinyl roof elsewhere the metal does seem okay. Wonder if the bottom of the pillar was supposed to drain and didn't, or maybe it wasn't supposed to fill with water in the 1st place. It'd be tricky to fabricate, so imagine a good dry piece from a parts car could well be needed. Once fixed, if mine, it will always be kept dry!

Has anyone seen rust here on other early Toros?