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running strong
08-20-2014, 02:37 PM
About a year ago somebody tried to steal my Mustang (I hate Fords) and totaled my car. Before that I had an 89 Accord LXI that had a blown head gasket. I didn't have the time or money to fix it so I sold that to get the Mustang (didn't know I hated Fords then). When I saw a little DX on Craigslist for $700, I knew I had to buy it because these cars are so fun to drive.

I took the car for a test drive and the steering was awful, but I figured I could fix it. I made a deal with the guy who was selling it and bought it for $650. The car had 305,000 miles but the motor ran great (could be a replacement). I drove the car home and immediately threw the jack under the car to see the outer tie rod ends to be completely shot. So a trip to AutoZone and $20 got me a new set of tie rod ends. After throwing them on the car, the steering solidified quite a bit.
A month later I noticed that the steering was a little funky again. The upper ball joints were just about completely shot, so I ended up fixing changing the upper control arms (with a ton of help from this community).

Awhile passed and I blew the drivers tire and it was shredded on the inside, the passengers wasn't any better. Got some tires and went to get an alignment. The mechanic told me that the clutch was slipping and the brake pedal was "scary" and that I should send the car in for scrap (the nerve). The car was aligned anyways and I went on my way.

My next goal is to fix my swollen brake lines (probably about 26 years old), and replace the rear drums. I have a thread about the SE-I disc brake conversion as my next project because I hate drum brakes.

The exhaust was full of holes so I covered them with muffler tape, but I will need an exhaust system too. Does anybody have suggestions on a good cheap exhaust system?

The interior is almost prestine, minus the holey seats and carpet coming up and dirty. The dash has no cracks and the headliner looks new. I want new seats and a carpet, but since they aren't any kind of safety feature, I am not that worried about them. My ashtray will not stay in its socket though. If I budge it, the tray will fall off the tracks with no hesitation. I keep it open now but if there is a permanent fix, please let me know.
I found a maroon center console at the junkyard that was in used but great condition about 7 months ago or so (I have a thread about it here somewhere). I thought it was my lucky day and snapped that up immediately.

Other than that the only issue is with the exterior. It is rough, and I mean rough. There are rust spots on every panel of the car, although it hasn't eaten through. I really want to sand the rust off before it eats my metal but the car needs some body work and I can't afford that or paint. If I sand the rust off it will probably make it come back in more places. I will probably do the work myself as well but right now I don't have the tools or materials and can't afford those either. Does anybody know how I can stop the rust without compromising the body more?
The front window seal leaks, and the rear window had been caulked at one point. I believe a truck backed into the back of it at some point in time, the rear bumper has no damage, but there is a dent on the passenger quarter panel, as well as damage on the strip below the tail lights, and there is a hole in my right tail light casing. There is no prop rod and I damaged the hood slightly using my tire pick to prop the hood open when changing the control arms, so I will probably need a new hood. The last thing that I can think of is that the tail light clips that hold the tail lights to the trunk lid is are broken, so the tail lights are duct taped (not my idea) to the trunk lid. I will probably have to get a new lid to fix that unfortunately.

Anyway all in all I really love this car. It is a beast in the winter, and good on gas as well.


PICS:
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niles
08-20-2014, 05:59 PM
Permatex makes a rust converter product. Wire brush all the rust off and spray a few coats. It will stop the rust in its tracks. The rust will go from rust color to a blackish color.

Pick n pull will be your best friend when you need window seals and tail lights. It will be cheaper than anywhere else.

As for the exhaust, if you can weld it will be pretty cheap. If not, just find a ghetto exhaust shop and tell them you want it fixed on the cheap. Exhaust systems aren't really made for our cars anymore, they're out there but it won't be the most economical choice. An exhaust shop will bend pipe and weld it up for way less. If you need a catalytic or muffler, get a quote first, then decide if you can find it cheaper online.

Dr_Snooz
08-20-2014, 06:29 PM
I think the junkyard is your best bet for most everything on your list. These cars are getting scarce there, unfortunately, so you'll just have to go regularly and keep your eyes peeled.

Good luck getting her ship shape.

running strong
08-20-2014, 06:54 PM
Yea, finding body parts can be a hassle. Winters here in Colorado can be rough on a car unless you constantly wax, polish,buff and re-clearcoat before, during, and after winter. It is a hassle and most people don't bother. Fast forward and we see what happens. The worst of the rust is around the rear wheel well, so i will probably have to cut and patch there. I may try that rust agent that was mentioned.Has anybody tried to fill dents with bog, and use auto spray paint? How did it look?

running strong
08-21-2014, 03:56 PM
So I was looking at some of the body work that my car needs, and it may not be as bad as I thought. I wanted some opinions.


The trunk is not flush, and is trapping humidity.
This is the drivers side
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This is the passenger side
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When looking up the trunk line from the back. The drivers side dips below the body at the very back
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The passenger side trunk line is even with the bodyline, however there is this huge gap. Is that normal?
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By the back window this gap is clearly there and not supposed to be. It runs through the entire length of the back window.
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Is all this damage to the trunk lid?
Or is it damage to the trunk itself?

I cannot get this door shut at all. When I drive it will bobble the sensor and my dash light flickers on and off.
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I tried to PB blaster the latch with no luck. How can I fix the latch? Or is it an issue with the door itself?

This was the most depressing thing I saw.
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I don't know if you can see that, but there is a small hole there. The rust is eating the entire wheel well, probably due to the trunk humidity.

lostforawhile
08-21-2014, 05:23 PM
body looks rough, worried that it's been wrecked and the body isnt straight, you might be better off finding a rust free shell and transferring all your good parts on to it

running strong
08-21-2014, 07:18 PM
body looks rough, worried that it's been wrecked and the body isnt straight, you might be better off finding a rust free shell and transferring all your good parts on to it

It is possible, however i don't think so. From what i can tell the body lines are all straight. The trunk is the only part that doesn't make sense. The lines down the side of the car at are straight to the back. If it was wrecked, it was rear ended hard enough to jostle the back slightly. Once again though the inside of the trunk is straight as well.

Dr_Snooz
08-21-2014, 08:00 PM
It could be accident damage. But it could also be a previous owner who slammed it on a suitcase, or removed the trunk lid for whatever reason, but didn't align it properly upon re-installation. Spend some time fiddling with it and you might get it back to perfect. Ditto for the doors. Back in the good old days when GM still built stuff in Detroit, they would slam blocks of wood in the doors to bend them into fitting correctly. You can resort to that, but make sure you've exhausted all the normal adjustments first. There are little rubber plugs at the corners of the lid that adjust up and down. The bolts that hold the trunk lid to the hinges allow for a lot of adjustment too. Just loosen slightly, reposition and tighten again. The latches might also allow for some adjustment too. When all that fails, you can file, twist, bend, fold, spindle or mutilate as needed. Body panel alignment can be surprisingly low-tech.

Not sure what to tell you about the rust.

running strong
08-24-2014, 09:46 AM
So I did some work on the Honda. I got tired of looking at this.
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With limited tools, space, and money I had to act. I took the pick from my tire iron (I assume it was for getting the hubcaps I don't own off) and wanted to see the stability of the surrounding metal. The result
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I don't have pics of the next few things, because I got going and forgot to take them. I ended up clearing quite a bit of rusty metal. Part of the center of the wheel well had some stability but was quickly eating away, and had to go. The metal above was quite good still. I cleared the rest of the rusty metal off and applied Rust Mort.
I sanded the entire area to bare metal and applied a patch of sheet metal that I had previously cut to the shape of my wheel well. I used Bondo to fill the gap slightly and covered the patch. I used way to much bondo and that stuff is nasty.
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That stuff hardens fast too. It made it hard to sand flat, considering I only had a few pieces of 100 grit sand paper. I sanded it as flat as I could, however this was mostly a cosmetic repair. I then ran out of sandpaper (I had 1/4 of a small sheet left to etch the primer).
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I went ahead and painted it. Overall it looks like ****, but I still think that it looks way better than rust.
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I learned a few things with this project.
1. If you have a few tools and 20 bucks, you can still "repair" rust.
2. What ever and where ever you don't want that Bondo, you better cover it. You can easily lose control of it.
3. Sanding hardened Bondo is a P.I.T.A., don't use more than you need.
4. Just because your car is white doesn't mean the .97 cent white paint at Walmart will match your car.
5. Speaking of white paint at Walmart, that paint is crap. Doesn't want to stick. Never use it again.
6. UGH that Bondo

My whole car needs to be painted and none of it matches anyways, and I really do feel that that patch looks better than the rust.

I also looked at a few other things.

When I pull the gas door latch in the car is this the thing that opens the door.
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The reason that I ask is because my gas tank door doesn't latch and I am wondering if this might be broken.

I haven't tried to unbolt the trunk lid yet, but I did try to adjust the tabs Snooz was talking about, I think.

The one's on the hinges I can loosen and tighten. Doing either did not help.
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The ones at the edge of the trunk lid will not spin at all and appears to be fixed to the lid.
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I found out that the rust was below trunk level. I do now believe it was due to salt trapped in the plastic trim of the wheel well.

running strong
09-04-2014, 06:28 AM
I started my car the other day, and it screamed at me. If only that were true, it is a slipping belt. I looked at the drive belts and noticed the power steering belt showing signs of wear. So I figured since one is worn, they all should be replaced. My question is that since i will have the other belts off, how much more work is the timing belt?
I should probably change it, maybe the water pump and the seals as well.

gp02a0083
09-04-2014, 09:21 AM
Easy way to see if there was major damage that required a panel or deck lid replacement is looking at the seams and seam sealer used. Honda's OEM seam sealer was a clean job. Open the trunk and look in the jambs for differences in the pinch /spot welds. Also the deck lid may not be the OEM one and could possibly be aftermarket when or if it was repaired ( aftermarket parts never fit well). Also look for any lines left over in the jambs from paint work, people don't mask off these area's well and it leaves a "hard" line.

I give you credit for tackling the rust repair, and it seems you at least had some though into the repair compared to other repair work ive seen. Not to knock the work but that bondo will not last long in that area, next time if you have no access to a welder just use JB weld stick and JB weld then finish the body work with bondo. As you found out, when mixed correctly it will cure like a rock. hence why usually 1st application of filler you use a shaping tool that looks like a cheese grater and usually you use a coarse grit sandpaper like 80 or 120.

The adhesion issue with the paint can be a few things, typically the most common problem is the prep work. The area to be painted needs to be clean and scuffed with at least a grey 3M scotch bright pad or similar material and wiped clean with prep-sol / acetone / or low water content isopropyl alcohol. really any solvent that wont strip but will remove oils and contaminants without leaving residue.

running strong
09-04-2014, 09:35 AM
Thanks for that. The main goal of the rust repair was cosmetic. It looks better and i was going it will hold long enough to get a welder and new quarter panel. I was going to look at the trunk seams, but i was having difficulties pulling the plastic clips out of the trunk liner. I will keep that in mind however. The paint stuck well enough but my prep work was crap too.
Thanks for the information. It will look better when i actually do the body work.

lostforawhile
09-04-2014, 09:37 AM
I'm glad to see you are learning, everyone has to start somewhere, there are really good paint and prep videos on youtube, which will give you a lot of information. there is a thread somewhere on doing rattle can paint jobs, with enough prep work they can look decent on a beater you are fixing up. It won't last as long as regular paint, but it's good enough to make it look decent, if it's salt damage, it's not long for this world without a lot of serious metal work, chances are the more you look, the more you will find, I think someone did a thread on saving one with a lot of rust damage, panels cut out, welded back in etc, it's a major commitment to that kind of work. I'm originally from northeast Ohio, and I do not miss body cancer a bit, you can always tell the northern cars here as they stand out like a sore thumb

running strong
09-04-2014, 02:43 PM
I can understand. Here, cars get so rusted that i get complements lol. I watched quite a few of those videos you referred to, but once i ran out of materials, i figured it's good enough to paint for now. Once i get the quarter panel and put it on the correct way, i will then invest in good materials and give it a good paint job. Thanks for the vote of confidence, it helps a lot.

lostforawhile
09-04-2014, 07:21 PM
I can understand. Here, cars get so rusted that i get complements lol. I watched quite a few of those videos you referred to, but once i ran out of materials, i figured it's good enough to paint for now. Once i get the quarter panel and put it on the correct way, i will then invest in good materials and give it a good paint job. Thanks for the vote of confidence, it helps a lot.just do an evaluation of how much rust you have overall, if it's a lot then it's best to just rattle can and not spend the money on regular paint, as it won't last long if the rust is coming through the metal. remove the interior panels and inspect inside all the body cavities, yes do a body cavity search lulz, often the rust starts on the inside of the panel, so it may be worse then you think, if it's really bad make it look decent, fix anything structural, and just rattle can it, you would be touching up the regular paint all the time anyway

gp02a0083
09-05-2014, 08:41 AM
I'm glad to see you are learning, everyone has to start somewhere, there are really good paint and prep videos on youtube, which will give you a lot of information. there is a thread somewhere on doing rattle can paint jobs, with enough prep work they can look decent on a beater you are fixing up. It won't last as long as regular paint, but it's good enough to make it look decent, if it's salt damage, it's not long for this world without a lot of serious metal work, chances are the more you look, the more you will find, I think someone did a thread on saving one with a lot of rust damage, panels cut out, welded back in etc, it's a major commitment to that kind of work. I'm originally from northeast Ohio, and I do not miss body cancer a bit, you can always tell the northern cars here as they stand out like a sore thumb

should learn yourself from the bodywork i've seen and argued with you about :thumbup:

gp02a0083
09-05-2014, 08:47 AM
I can understand. Here, cars get so rusted that i get complements lol. I watched quite a few of those videos you referred to, but once i ran out of materials, i figured it's good enough to paint for now. Once i get the quarter panel and put it on the correct way, i will then invest in good materials and give it a good paint job. Thanks for the vote of confidence, it helps a lot.

x2 for now you at least slowed down the rot process. keep in mind that you don't always have to buy top notch materials to get the same result. It mainly comes down to the inexperience and lack of knowledge by the individual attempting the repair. I've seen it countless times at the autobody shop. Biggest issues ive seen besides shotty prep work is incorrectly mixing the filler. Sounds simple right? Many people mix it wrong and introduce air bubbles into the filler that later become pin holes. I've used everything from evercoat products to plain jane bondo, all depends how you use the products. My cutlass is a good example, did the work back in 2003, still holding up well and it has won a few trophies. A few older members here have seen it when we had a meet here in NJ a while back. If you need any help or got questions about paint /bodywork just ask!

running strong
09-21-2014, 02:46 PM
Thanks GP. Since I am not doing my cooling system this weekend, I did a mod.
I bought this cupholder out of a 93 accord at a junkyard, when my lack of judgement figured, "same color, same car" and bought them.
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So in order for them to mount and mate with my center console properly I had to combine the cupholder part to my shifter console
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I didn't get pics of the next part, but I measured and cut the back and sides of my shifter console (leaving the mounting points in place) and cut the sides and center of the 93 cupholder out.

Using a hot knife on the stove (too cheap) I plastic welded the shifter console to the cupholder.
Here are the results
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I think that it looks decent. not perfect and clearly not for this car, but I have a solid place to put my coffee in the morning.
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While I was working I saw this cable coming from the car and left unhooked under the passenger seat. Does anyone know where it connects and what it is for?
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Hazwan
09-21-2014, 07:34 PM
Hey that looks pretty neat. Nice work!

gp02a0083
09-22-2014, 06:07 AM
Thanks GP. Since I am not doing my cooling system this weekend, I did a mod.
I bought this cupholder out of a 93 accord at a junkyard, when my lack of judgement figured, "same color, same car" and bought them.
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So in order for them to mount and mate with my center console properly I had to combine the cupholder part to my shifter console
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I didn't get pics of the next part, but I measured and cut the back and sides of my shifter console (leaving the mounting points in place) and cut the sides and center of the 93 cupholder out.

Using a hot knife on the stove (too cheap) I plastic welded the shifter console to the cupholder.
Here are the results
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I think that it looks decent. not perfect and clearly not for this car, but I have a solid place to put my coffee in the morning.
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While I was working I saw this cable coming from the car and left unhooked under the passenger seat. Does anyone know where it connects and what it is for?
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cable under the seat is most likely for the seat belt indicator for the passenger seat. People tend to disconnect them when the switch in the seat is not working properly.