2G Strut tower rust [Merged]

[gsxAWDdsm692]

Incredible effort, and well done, but good god. Why didn't you grab another car?

I honestly don't know. I got the green car for cheap and knew it could be done. I've had the car for a while and I guess it holds some kind of centimental value If that makes sense being about DSM's

I saved a 2gb!

 

[awild]

Incredible effort, and well done, but good god. Why didn't you grab another car?

If the engine is out, and you got the time...why not. Nice job.

 

[gsxAWDdsm692]

Getting Closer... Got everything buttoned up, welds ground down panels sanded, body work done (shaved the Name Plate on the firewall, cleaned up and molded the hood pins, etc...). Got the seams in primer, tomorrow is Caulking and Sealer/Primer. Along with the rest of the taping and firewall prep.

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[Defiant]

If the engine is out, and you got the time...why not. Nice job.

Time in labor, cost in parts, and the question of messing with a unibody structure. And, if the strut towers are that far gone, what's the rest of the frame, fasteners, rubber and general car like? Sound cars, running, are cheap, and seem like both an easier and safer route than installing a new front end.

 

[gsxAWDdsm692]

Time in labor, cost in parts, and the question of messing with a unibody structure. And, if the strut towers are that far gone, what's the rest of the frame, fasteners, rubber and general car like? Sound cars, running, are cheap, and seem like both an easier and safer route than installing a new front end.

Today was a huge day... I saw the car as together as I've seen it for over a year. Spent all day today Taping, prepping, priming and shooting the Engine Bay and Re-Clearing/Attempting to save the Carbon Hood. I'll let the pics speak for themselves...

Extensive Tape Job...

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Carbon Hood Sanded Down...

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Ready to be shot

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In Primer...

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1st Junk basecoat...

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1st Coat of OEM Barcelona Red Pearl

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Then we got tricky Notice all the sparkly stuffs in the air...

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And On the Clear Coat for the hood...

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And for the final results, After 2 coats of Clear....

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[gsxAWDdsm692]

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And Final results of the hood, unfortunatly the cracks didn't come out like I'd hoped but it looks good nonetheless...

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Enjoy! I worked hard all day, I'm sticky with clear coat, and my back is ****in killin me. It was New Years Eve.... and I got DRUNK

 

[92AWDHX40]

Nice im going to gut my bay one day again and strip her paint her up really good. Are you going to replace your brake lines on the firewall?

 

[RyAn007]

WOW, I am in awe of how much time and effort you put into this, and you turned out a very good product. Good work and I am sure you will remember this for a long time evrytime you drive the car, sick job man.

 

[gsxAWDdsm692]

I forgot to update

Well, it's done for now. It saw the light of day (Kind of) for the first time in over a year. Finished up a few things today and rolled it outside. Snapped a few shots of the progress like always.

Hood & Fenders

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Bumper & Lights

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Wheels

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Seeing it's first light (sort of) in over a year

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Finished up the interior, complete with 5 points and the Greenstreak Bar!

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The bay was empty for about 20 minutes to do a quick sweep

 

[ricktb]

holy shit dude, impressive. Let me know if it aligns properly.. thanks for sharing

 

[gsxAWDdsm692]

holy shit dude, impressive. Let me know if it aligns properly.. thanks for sharing

Yes it lines up. Very long process to make sure it was as true as possible. Great project experience gained. No better way that to do it yourself.

Should I make a tech?

 

[slipstream808]

IF you want and have it documented then go for it. It'd be a big help to the community.

MAD props on this. Lot of work and time spent there. Great job!

 

[DeNoZZo]

I was out re-wiring my oil pressure gauge today with real automotive grade wire (instead of speaker wire). And while taking a break, I was looking at my strut tower rust thinking about how much it's gonna suck to cut out the cancer spot and weld in new metal. Anyways, was feeling for soft spots in the metal and I found one. I guess I pushed a little to hard, because I pushed a big piece out. The piece seemed like really thin metal stuck to a wire frame of some sorts with gunky road grime all over the underside. Now I do plan on fixing this the best I can, but I have some questions. What metal should be used? Thickness? Do I just chop out as much rust as I can and slap on new metal, or what?


Hole on the left is the one I pushed through.

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EDIT- Can a mod merge this thread with the main strut tower thread?

 

[black_gst]

cut metal from a doner car if you can find one and use the same thickness and weld it on both sides if at all possible

 

[talonDSMerr]

Make sure when you cut out the metal, sand down the area around it and paint it with rust resistant paint before welding.

 

[DeNoZZo]

Is the wire mesh on the underside a factory thing?

 

[liquidloot]

great job, are you in the autobody buissness?

 

[crimsondragon]

Make sure when you cut out the metal, sand down the area around it and paint it with rust resistant paint before welding.

That's a pretty dumb idea considering that when welding, temperatures can and will reach up to 10,000* F. I hope that paint is non-flammable.

OP, go here.
http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/app...-merged-1-7-a.html?highlight=strut+tower+rust

 

[ryanx99GS]

I honestly don't know. I got the green car for cheap and knew it could be done. I've had the car for a while and I guess it holds some kind of centimental value If that makes sense being about DSM's

I saved a 2gb!

Makes perfect sense . I'm going to have my GSX my whole life, I already told myself that. I'm probably going to have to have this done sometime sooner or later. I finally found the one I always wanted about a year ago and wont let it go.

BTW, awesome work!

 

[gsxAWDdsm692]

Makes perfect sense . I'm going to have my GSX my whole life, I already told myself that. I'm probably going to have to have this done sometime sooner or later. I finally found the one I always wanted about a year ago and wont let it go.

BTW, awesome work!

The only thing that can make you part from your car is rust or a bad enough accident.

Thanks!

 

[stephen240]

So I just took my gst (bought two months ago) to my first auto body repair shop for an estimate. I was surprised they said roughly about $600 bucks which is surprising I was thinkin way more.

And don't get me wrong my passenger side is bad.... Driver side not so much.

I'll post pics soon of the damage

 

[gsxAWDdsm692]

So I just took my gst (bought two months ago) to my first auto body repair shop for an estimate. I was surprised they said roughly about $600 bucks which is surprising I was thinkin way more.

And don't get me wrong my passenger side is bad.... Driver side not so much.

I'll post pics soon of the damage

Damn thats a good price. Goood luck!

 

[97 GSX 97]

^^Last time I checked that was my friend and practically neighbor Joe's project you just tried passing off as yours?

 

[UGOT8UP]

^^Last time I checked that was my friend and practically neighbor Joe's project you just tried passing off as yours?

Who are you talking about?

 

[gsxAWDdsm692]

obv, its easier to answer questions that way