2G Rear Rocker Rust Repairable?

[AlmightySo]

Hey I was hoping you guys could give me some insight on how bad you think the rust areas are on my rockers. I plan on getting a section from a non rusted 2g and welding it in place. If you guys have any tips and tricks to help motivate me that would be much appreciated. Doing this in my driveway so kinda limited. First attempt at something like this.

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[jesse12345]

I'm no body guy but anything seems possible. Seeing rust in the normal areas I've repaired in my garage, I think you can tackle it. I've made all the repairs without doner vehicles so it'll definitely be easier if you already have the pieces from the car you need. Good luck and if it seems like to much definitely get some professional help.

 

[AlmightySo]

Got any pics you can share on your repair? Also do you think the Titanium 140 welder from harbor freight would do the job? Welder settings would be awesome too

 

[AlmightySo]

With doing some research it looks like the structural parts are 16ga and the body is 18ga.
So would all those rust spots in the pictures be 16ga? and the rocker area where the side skirts go on 18ga?

 

[jesse12345]

I use the titanium 125 for anything non structural and whip out the old grinding wheel. Ive learned this welder and it does me well on alot of the thinner metals. If you try to weld rust it'll just blow right through which means you will have to cut more out. Seeing as most of your rust is underneath the car and it's not visible, I wouldn't grind anything down and I'd use the same thickness for the steel.
I'm no professional by any means, I've just decided to learn it on my own. On one of my cars I'm doing right now its rusty in the same exact spot as yours on the passenger side. I'll be doing that in the next week here. I'd just be patient with it. I'm not going to discourage if you actually want to do this and learn.

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[jed344]

I have been doing body work "professionally" sense late 2000's and own my own shop. The statement anything is reparable is truly not wrong, just at a point it is not worth it.
That being said here is my advise. The area behind your rear tire is essentially cosmetic and simple enough to patch.
The area where the arm bolts to is the area of focus. This is where it shifting or even ripping out will cause serious issues.
The way my shop would do it is find a clean shell and cut the structure off it we need. Then replace all of it on your car, aka spot weld ect.
The way you can do it if you cannot this way is to then cut the rotten areas away and "rebuild" it as it should be with fresh metal of same or thicker gauge.
Looks like the arm mounting position has not shifted yet so you can do it this way and still be ok.
I would 100% weld this repair.

 

[AlmightySo]

That transformation looks pretty f’n good. How's it look underneath? I see yours was pretty similar to mine, I'm hoping I can get away with a repair as good as that. I’ll be cutting some sections out soon, I’ll try to post what I find as I go.
Hey jed334 That's what I plan on doing, already paid for section just waiting on the guy to ship it. Hearing you say its not that bad makes me feel a bit better. I'll try and see if I can get a better picture of where the bolt, bolts up to for the trailing arm. Hopefully its cosmetic like you mentioned. Also what do you think about the last picture that I uploaded, that little rectangular rusted spot? and what gauge steel is that? I ordered some 16 and 18 sheets from amazon just to practice welding with before I attempt this project.
Also if you guys could recommend any tools I should get would be cool, plan on picking up the Titanium 140 from HF. Watched some reviews on it and it seems like it would handle the job from what I can tell.