Hillbilly Rust Repair

[jayro88]

So I have an '88 e250 that, for it's age and location, is very clean and free from rust. Free from from rust in northern Indiana means that there is some, but that it is mostly surface and not wide spread. To control the rust prior to permanent body work being done the surface rust places have been sand blasted and sealed with Rustoleum. There is one spot behind the barn doors that was showing some bad rust. Cleaning up the rust with a the sandblaster and grinder revieled that it was completely rusted through and decent sized. Since I plan on driving the van for another 200k miles and I won't have the $$ for body work until next year I had to do something to keep the cancer in check. First I cut and blasted out all the rust that I could. Then I sealed it up with this. After working on it some more I will need to clean it up and put a few more coats on:

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

After that I used a sheet of weldable steel to form a patch. Nice to put my old sheet metal tools to use:

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

I went ahead and used this to punch the holes in the patch as well as flange the hole:

You must be registered for see images attach

Then I secured it with these:

You must be registered for see images attach

Fit pretty well:

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

I will seal things up with seam sealer and replace the body plug. I will also paint the patch panel I made to match the rest. I could have a buddy of mine weld it in, but since it is temporary I am thinking no. I am also debating replacing the screws with rivets for the time being.

I will update and post more pics as I finish up the temporary patch. Overall I an happy with the progress. Thinking it should look decent and keep the rust/cancer from growing too fast over the next year until I have the $$ for proper body work to be done.

 

[IDIBRONCO]

Looks good for a temporary patch. As long as there's no bare metal showing, it should keep the rust at bay.

 

[laserjock]

I've fixed more than 1 Chevy bedside with aluminum flashing, pop rivets and bondo to pass inspection. With the panel bonding adhesives, you could glue it in. Paint both sides and it would be semipermanent.

 

[idiabuse]

uh hill billy?

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[jayro88]

uh hill billy?

You must be registered for see images attach

The attachment came up as invalid....

Also, when I cut out the rusted area the void/body cavity was full of what appeared to be some kind of sound deadening insulation material. Is there something I could use to replace that? I am assuming it was there to help reduce rusting somehow.

 

[KZF250]

I use this stuff in motorcycle gas tanks and on other rust spots to neutralize before sealing. Pretty tame acid and leaves a coating to prevent flash rust and can be reused (I pour it thru a paper filter when draining tanks. Available at Home Depot for about $15 gallon.

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[KZF250]

For my wheel wells, panels were purchased from LMC and cut down to fit. Bad spots removed and new piece fastened securely.

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[jayro88]

For my wheel wells, panels were purchased from LMC and cut down to fit. Bad spots removed and new piece fastened securely.

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

Turned out nice. When the time comes I will probably be buying a few panels and door skins. I get a lot of questions as to why I would bother spending $$ on a 28 year old van that I paid $3000 for. I am always told that I should quit putting any money into it and buy something newer that doesn't have any issues. The thing is, that if I do a $ per mile comparison buying a newer/issue free van makes no sense. Mine had 125K when I bought it. I should be able to get another 200-300K miles out of it. To buy an issue free van that fits the needs I have would probably be $15-20k and since I can't leave stuff alone I would mod it as well. So with a difference of $12-17K in purchase price I could do A LOT of work on my old van. A complete body repair/paint job, an engine rebuild, a turbo kit etc etc etc.

Sorry, mini-rant over. Just had a few people in the past few days ask me why I bother trying to fix up my van....using the whole "It's old and will nickle and dime you to death" saying.

 

[laserjock]

Nickels and dimes I can find. Benjamins are a problem. [emoji6]

 

[jayro88]

Nickels and dimes I can find. Benjamins are a problem. [emoji6]

Exactly. Plus I can drive it the whole time I am working on it. If I have the extra money at the time I buy my parts etc, if I don't then I don't.....but I am still able to use the van for work/transportation either way.

I always thought the whole "Nickel and dime you" argument was someone who wanted to buy a new vehicle and was trying to justify it somehow. Why can't people just say "Because I have the money and I want it"? Oh well.........

I guess the rant wasn't quite over.

 

[IDIoit]

if its temporary, I wouldn't bother with pop rivets, it will take longer to remove when you go to do the patch.

remember, after you get it welded in, you need to use a waterproof filler, like fiberbond.
this is used over metal work to seal the work. regular bondo is porous, and will let moisture in

 

[Dieselcrawler]

https://tabcoparts.com/amfinder/

 

[KZF250]

I consider the money I don't spend to be just as much of a part of my income as the work I do for income. And as you said above, for me it's all about $ per mile spent.

 

[jayro88]

So I finished this up today. Painted both sides of the patch prior to installing:

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

I used this instead of Standard Bondo to fill in some areas since it said it was waterproof:

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

Since I had the stuff out I went ahead and hit another spot with the wire wheel. Filled, sanded and Painted it. I picked flat black on purpose since it hides imperfections:

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

Attached the patch panel:

You must be registered for see images attach

They didn't have actual automotive seam sealer at Home Depot, so I went with this. I placed a bead where all the parts mate as well as on the patch shoulder after it was installed:

You must be registered for see images attach

Added 3-4 coats of flat black:

You must be registered for see images attach

Turned out okay and should keep the rust at bay for the winter. I opted to leave the cavity hollow.

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[DaytonaBill]

regular bondo is porous, and will let moisture in

Well, THAT explains a lot of things...