talkboxier

Hey TGO,
I need a second opinion here.
I am trying to decide if I should even bother repairing my camaro anymore. I swapped an tuned ls1, a built 4l60e that can handle 700hp, and a 2002 camaro 3.42 rear end into it, as well as a fourth gen firebird dash and other firebird interiors parts. Now I am starting to do body work and I am uncovering some major rust holes. There is huge rust hole in the floor board, roof, under all in the firewall, and some where the spare tire was. I was just going to clean up some of the more visible spots and patch them bondo with tiger hair but idk. Taking a look at it now I don't know if I want to even continue... Where did you guys draw the line for rust repair?
Should I just part out the car? should I save the engine, tranny, and diff for another project?

What do you bros think?

KrisW

iTrader: (5)

I drive a much rustier car than that as my daily driver. I say, if you need a car to get to work and back, fix that one. You've got a great drivetrain already installed, decent interior, and you like to drive it. Fix the safety issues and just make the rest look pretty from 50 feet or so.

If you were asking about restoring I'd say no, get another shell and put your stuff on it. But if you need a car to get to work, I'd say you have one!

I currently have four third gens. I have a rust free 88 IROC-Z and 85 T/A that both need restored, and a rust free really decent 89 T-Top Firebird that I let my mom daily drive to work while I fix it up little by little. My 88 hardtop firebird is rusted out from the salt up north, only has a V6, 228k miles, and I keep it on the road. I love driving third gens so I put used Trans Am suspension under it and I keep it ship shape for daily operation. I'm not anywhere near fixing the rust on the body yet, but I still get to drive a cool car that not many other people enjoy and I do it every day. That's my perspective.

talkboxier

I know I will probably get a lot of hate for this but I was thinking of cleaning up all the rust holes and patching them with fiberglass. I also wanted to make some fiberglass quater panels and hood because the others are so far gone its not even funny....

I am not shooting for a perfect restore, just trying to make it look nice. Stopping the rust and covering the holes and just paint it :/

Ill try and get some more pix for you guys and tell me how you would handle certain areas... Or maybe just leave it and just drive it. I'll be back with more pics tomorrow guys.

Ron U.S.M.C.

Every one wants their car to look "REALY GOOD". If you can’t bring that car up to the point you can step back and say "Dam that's a good looking car" with the "right" parts than I would find a roller that's in better shape and swap everything over.
Do it before you get too attached to that wreck.

KrisW

iTrader: (5)

No hate coming from here, my best advice is to drive it. I only put parts on my rust bucket that I can take back off and put on another car when the time comes... I would only weld up and patch the safety areas on mine.

Mirror Image

iTrader: (2)

It looks like you could replace the hatch and hood and the other ares could be fixed if you had to pay a shop to fix it it would still be better then taking your car apart and rebuilding another look at this way if you had to put a $1000 in yours that is what a good rust free car would cost you then you have to change everything over to the new car

jharrison5

I ran into the same problem on my '86 iroc. The places where it was rusted out were just too much for my skill level in body repair and welding. I ended up finding a rust free '87 iroc roller for $750. I ended up pulling the good parts from the '86 to put on the '87 and since the '86 was in drivable condition I sold it for $2000. I would say I probably saved myself $4000 in body repair and paint work by going with a rust free roller. Also I wouldn't hesitate to go this direction again since in the long run it will save you a ton of time and headaches.

Scorpner

iTrader: (4)

IMO you've crossed the line. A roller is almost always the best way to go with something like this. Up here in MN the salt gets into places where the metal is sandwiched together and then rusts out even more that you can't see. An example is the rockers, but there are many more places.
Some spots look structural too and can't be fixed with fiberglass or the like.

If you're lucky you can find something with a blown engine or transmission with a good paint job and then swap it over.

86iroct5

the OP is in hawaii, idk how easy it is to find these cars out there but i imagine it isnt easy, and other are likely in the same condition with the high humidity and salty air. i would keep what you have and make it look nice. you have to think about what you want in the car. a fun good looking driver or a full resto piece. i would assume a good looking driver. id keep it

talkboxier

Here are some more pics of the problem areas

(Hole in spare tire compartment, and other rust in rear)




(inside from driver side)

(front, firewall, and around glass)









(front quarter panels)





(And just a pic of the ls1 cause I can :P )

talkboxier

That's the problem I am having. I can't find any other good thirdgens at all. Plus the salty air and the sulfuric rain caused from the volcano really eat away at everything over here.

Mirror Image

iTrader: (2)

o yeah its time to let that one go

Scorpner

iTrader: (4)

Wow, one of mine is from Hawaii. It was brought over from a guy in the military. I always thought that the Michigan Salt was the culprit for the little rust it does have.

Ron U.S.M.C.

Man, your in a spot.
All that work installing those parts and you're just know finding out the car is trash.
I would not care if it took me a year to find another Camaro to transfer those parts over.
I guess that you're extremely short on cars to choose from.

85f-bird

The only difficult spot in your situation is that you're in Hawaii, if you were in the lower 48 states, I'd definitely recommend finding a good body and making the swap...in Hawaii, if good looking rollers aren't available for a fair price, I'd stick with making fixing your current ride. Good luck, if you choose to stick it out, please document as much as you can, God knows we all love a good restoration.

Great powertrain by the way!

83Z28/L69

Please remember, you only SEE 20-25% of the rust. IMHO, look for a better car or at least a donor for patch panels.

stealtht/a

iTrader: (1)

So much of that is way too bad to patch. Looking at a lot of replacement sheet metal. My main concern is it appears the firewall is rusted at every corner and every seam. Never seen one like that before. It really does show that your corrosion problems come from the air instead of the road like here in the salt belt.
I can't see how that car would be sound again without replacing the firewall and that's just not really practical on these cars. You really do need another car. Maybe you can take a California vacation (from paradise?) and pick up one to ship back.

talkboxier

I dont know if I would go to the extent of going to the mainland to find a roller and then ship it. I guess I am looking for another ls1 swap. maybe a miata or something. imports are a little easier to find here. What do you guys think would be a fun swap?

sailtexas186548

iTrader: (2)

get a roller, that car is DONE.

If you fix it with fiberglass, and dont get 100% of the rust out, its just gonna rust out later

Take your time/energy/money, get a roller, and re-do the LSx swap. Think about how much better you'll do the swap the second time around

navy02ws6

That's some serious all-over rust -- I'd part that one out personally, even with all the work you've put into it.

Problem is going to be finding another rust-free car in HI and keeping it that way.

6SIX6

iTrader: (35)

I have to ask one thing. Did you not see the rust when you where putting the car together or did you just think is wasnt as bad as it is

To me that car is absolutely done and beyond. Find a clean roller and swap everything over. Trust me it sucks but ive done it 3 times nw and its well worth it

talkboxier

Well it has been a really long project car. in the beginning I saw a few rust bubbles and a little bit of showing rust but not really bad, from what I could see. I wanted to just get the car running and drive it for a bit then slowly work on the body. When I actually got started on tearing it apart it was 4 years since I owned the car. I only drove it around for about 3-5 months. AS I started digging into the car and actually looked at everything, that is what I found.

I was pretty heartbroken about it, but there was nothing I could do but ask you guys for advice....

As for another swap now, I don't know... I am trying to look around for a decent car but we will see. I might be posting up some parts here in the next couple of weeks. Gonna have the car junked and start looking for another.

kandybluez28

If you can find a rust free car for cheap go for it. But personally I wouldn't send that car to the crusher. The big question is.. do you want to learn to weld? I think metal work is a lot of fun. Welding is easy anyone can do it. Mastering it as an art is hard... My welds aren't pretty yet, but that's what a grinder is for lol

If you want to learn to weld and patch rust Watch some how to videos. Start with the easy flatter spots for practice and work your way to the more complex patches. Most of those spots won't even be visible so they don't have to look perfect just functional. To save time replace the parts you can like the fenders and hood. Why stop at just patching rust? Smooth the car out. Shave the firewall or whole engine bay to show off that ls1 more. by the time your done you will have somthing to be proud of and developed a new skill.

Brando5641

iTrader: (-1)

find a roller to swap your stuff into and crush that one.