Ok guys I just spent a few hours out in the shop attempting some repairs. I thought about this project a lot in the last few weeks and decided to not get frustrated over time or lack of experience. It took Noah 40 years to build the ark. Anyway i decided to start on a few of the larger holes on the rail between the side vista window and the lower side window. Here is a picture of the hole.


It is about four inches long and 3/4 inch wide.

 

This next picture is after I cleaned it up a bit

 

I found an old gat latch from a chain link fence I had laying around. I know it is galvanized, I ground that off as best I could. This is really soft metal but pretty thick and it is what I could find not being a fabricator there isn't much of that kind of stuff laying around my shop.

 

Flattened out and cut to lenght, looks like it will work.




Welded a screw onto it to use as a handle to position it behind the hole.

 

Trying to fit the thing into position and begin welding it up. Don't mention the rat turds I know and if you tease me it won't bother...

 

Some more rat turds, I figure if i get enought it will hold.


Finally decided that was enought sacriledge for the welding gods to absorb in one go. Ground it down somewhat to level off the high spots. Anyway this should be enough strength to level out the rest with some of that fiber bondo stuff, any thoughts on that
or recommendations? I don't think I can weld enought to make a pretty patch so this is what I am hoping to do about forty more times on either side.

 

Use that Duraglass filler that's impregnated with fiber glass.

 

Keep at it Dan, looks good!

 

Thnaks for the encouragement, I will keep on plugging.

 

Just think, you'll get better at it as you move forward and a master by the time you're done.

 

My Vista has a couple small bubbles above the drip rail near the upper side windows and leaks a little from one of the front vista window's in a hard rain but I am NOT touching it, and I am a body man. Its like the proverbial basket of snakes, I would not want to get into a project like you have there.

 

You need a sign like I have in my garage.

" This project is currently 2 years ahead of schedule."

It won't matter how long it takes you will be 2 years ahead of schedule.

 

Nice idea, where could I get a signe like that?

 

Make sure you wear an N95 mask when you apply and sand that filler.

 

I made it myself. Just hand written on a piece of cardboard. It helps me maintain focus and try not to do to much to fast.

 

Well any sign at all is good to maintain focus, I like the idea.

 

Once upon a time we cut little patch panels from a GM car hood where it bends down. Almost fit perfect in those rear window channels. Just an idea...

 

Belden sells pinchweld channel patches now.

https://www.rustreplace.com/

 

Where were they when I needed them!? Would have saved a lot of time effort back in day!.

 

I looked at that website and will probably use some of their products, too bad they don't have pre-formed pieces for the Vista windows although I suppose one could use some of their other pieces and try to form them to fit, sectioning them in piece by piece. The problem for my application is that the top panel is rusted away in many places and I don't have that finished curve to attach to, especially on the passenger side. Not wanting to seem to uneducated about the whole thing but it would be nice if they had a how-to video on using their products from beginnnig to end, for instance, would I need the hard rubber glass setting blocks (item 6) on all the widows?

 

Back again after a two month hiatus. This summer is awful hot, seems hotter now that I am older too. Anyway, I was toying with the idea of trying to make many of these repairs with a medium other than welding solid steel. I realized that this car will probably never be anything near a full restoration so it probably doesn't deserve the time and money for a "correct" solution to this window channel problem. Specifically does anyone have ideas or suggestions from experience on using epoxy mixes reinforced with metal? I have found that Eastwood and POR 15 both have stuff like this as probably other manufacturers do as well. It seems that a repair made with this stuff would be much easier for me to work with the exception of a few locations like the passenger rear window at the top.

https://por15.com/products/epoxy-put...39607013572775

https://www.eastwood.com/ew-contour-...d-25-3-oz.html

 

You can also get metal body filler. It's just reinforced Bondo. Too bad POR15 doesn't have that kit available.

https://www.autozone.com/paint-and-b...int/591499_0_0

Any repair would be better than the rusty cancer that it currently is.