Calling auto bodyman; step inside

[iceman21]

I just picked up a 91 TSi AWD and I am about to begin working on it. I have noticed several body problems with this puppy. All are rust.

First off, the left door has some rust that has gone beneath the lower trim piece and has made it's way to the other side of the door. Not horrbibly bad but I can see it coming through.

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The left door is also rubbing on the left fender, very slightly, if I push down on the door it stops rubbing.

On the rear quarter panel there is another rust spot that is not nearly as bad as the spot on the door.

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There is third spot on the right hand rear fender that is about the same as the other side.

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Last but not least is the upper trim piece that starts below the mirror and flows into the spoiler. The adheasive has started to lift and that piece need to be attached correctly.

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*the door is not closed all the way in the above pic.* Look just below the window at the rear of the door and you can see what I am talking about.

So the question is, how extensive do you THINK the damage, and since I have no idea how much body work costs, what could I expect as far as cost goes to get this body back into good shape? I know that there is only so much you can see with pictures but a ballpark figure would be great.

Thanks

Link to album: here

 

[97 spyder]

If your door is that far out you may have bigger problems than rust. It is too hard to tell how bad the rust is from pics. I would just take it too a body shop any good shop will give you a free estimate. The only problem with rust is that once you start sanding and stipping away the paint it is often way worse than it looks. Your rust does look like it is just surface rust and should be able to just be sanded or media blasted out.

 

[SurgeGT]

yup 97 is right. any rust you see pulling through the paint...its the tip of a very big...expensive iceburg. thats why body guys...or even anyone who's 'in the know' about buying and selling cars run like the plague from rust.

really really bad news. :thumbdown

ummm...what would i do? honestly...thats a fair amouont of rust poking through. to repair that would be cost prohibitive. just have fun with the car..drive it like you stole it! in a few years when the rust is REALLY bad and the car is worth the amount of gas you have in the tank...buy another vehicle...or buy a rust free body (from cali no less!) and have fun swpping everything over...

but that just if it were me...there are other options...but i'd rather pluck 50 hairs from my nether regions than wrestle with rust on a $4000 car. (porsche?...then its a bit different)

 

[binaryrotary]

If you plan on doing the job for a decent price you need to put a DA to the area where the rust is and the approximate arear around it. Once its found you need to knock rust with a pick, punch or screwdriver and gid ridi of all the rust. If you have a decent size or empty space, plan on welding a plate to the otherside of the surface and filling the arear with body filler. Afer this I suggest coating with some Por15 to seal the metal providing some rust protection.

 

[iceman21]

If your door is that far out you may have bigger problems than rust. It is too hard to tell how bad the rust is from pics.

The door is not closed all the way. The rust is not causing it to stick out at all.

The only rust that looks really bad is the rust on the door. Everything else looks managable, but we'll see. I will have to get it to the body shop after I get it running.

Any other comments?

 

[HighPsi92GST]

Any other comments?

take it to a body shop to get the rust fixed.

that is all

 

[SchifftyFive]

I have a 92 laser rs awd, and I had rust a lot worse than yours, the previous owner of the had the car repainted and they only used one coat of paint. and must have not sealed it right. A week after I owned it I looked at both front fenders, and both were starting to rust where the bumper meets the fender. So at this time I located a parts car and found some new fenders. Like your rear quarter panel is rusting, mine did also, I actually had a hole in the side. This is where I get flammed a lot but I don't care. I bougth the drift kit for the 1gb, first cause I hate the plymouth Laser bumper but second cause the side skirts go preety high. So as of Febuary the car has been in the body shop, with the hole, he's going to be cutting off all the other metal around the rust hole and putting new one on, then we're going to have the side skirts molded on. If you want to see how it'll look I'll keep you updated, but so far I'm at 2500 with the body shop, plus the stuff I bought to replace the old. Some people may not agree with me, but I love my car, and all it needed was a make over Here's some pictures....

my suggestion date a girl who's dad owns a body shop, and get in really good with him, then when the car is done dump her.... that's what I'm doing