fixing rust?

[mnewxcv]

I'm considering looking at a jeep that has some body rot. It'd definitely be a project truck, but being new to body work, I don't want to get in over my head. I plan on taking a class at the community college or technical school, but I want to hear what you experts have to say on the damage. would you consider it severe or an easy fix? here is a picture, sorry its so small.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v38/mnewxcv/3nc3m53o05V45U55P1a839aece0ad32881f90-1.jpg

That seems to be the biggest problem.

[badaboom]

Cut it out and weld in a new steel panel.
(Cut a good panel, locate one at a wrecker)

Prevent rust YES
FIX rust NO
Remove YES

RUST NEVER SLEEPS :thumbsup:

[mnewxcv]

lol I appreciate the quick reply. Hopefully I'll check it out and there wont be much more than what is visible. :fsj:

[Austin 4x4]

if you know what you are doing it's a easy repair, but if you dont know what you are doing it is easy to get in over your head fast. just take you time and do it right the first time.

[Greenfish]

Cut it out and weld in a new steel panel.
(Cut a good panel, locate one at a wrecker)

Prevent rust YES
FIX rust NO
Remove YES

RUST NEVER SLEEPS :thumbsup:

X2;)

[mnewxcv]

if you know what you are doing it's a easy repair, but if you dont know what you are doing it is easy to get in over your head fast. just take you time and do it right the first time.

yeah that is why I want to take a class. Just because I havent done it before isnt scaring me off, but I do want to know what I'm doing. I'm a big fan of doing things the right way once instead of the wrong way 3, 4, 5 times.

[mnewxcv]

turns out the rear floors are rusted and "have rust holes large enough for a shoe to fall through"

I'm debating whether or not to go look at it. heres the info i have:

1981 cherokee 4 door, brown(seller thinks might be chief, but those are 2dr only right?)
needs new battery, but SHOULD start and drive
seats seem secure
driven in summers only
unsure of miles, odometer has gone around at least once, probably twice

the price is still right. How much am I looking at in repairs if i had it professionally done? I came up with $380 plus shipping for 2 new rear quarter panels and 2 new rear floor pans from BJ's off road. How much do you think a shop would charge to cut out the old and weld in the new?

[tgreese]

turns out the rear floors are rusted and "have rust holes large enough for a shoe to fall through"

I'm debating whether or not to go look at it. heres the info i have:

1981 cherokee 4 door, brown(seller thinks might be chief, but those are 2dr only right?)
needs new battery, but SHOULD start and drive
seats seem secure
driven in summers only
unsure of miles, odometer has gone around at least once, probably twice

the price is still right. How much am I looking at in repairs if i had it professionally done? I came up with $380 plus shipping for 2 new rear quarter panels and 2 new rear floor pans from BJ's off road. How much do you think a shop would charge to cut out the old and weld in the new?


If you can't do it yourself, it will be too expensive to fix.

These Jeeps are not that scarce - if you can save your pennies, you can find one in the South or Southwest that is in better condition and you will be way ahead. Figure it will cost up to $1000 to ship a better vehicle from a distant location, but it will be cheaper in the long run.

If you want to fix it for the fun of it, or for sentimental reasons, then you'll get a lot of help here. Body repair is a skill, and it requires its own tools. You'll need a welder, and a compressor would be very helpful. The air tools, and hand tools... you'll never get back what you invest in the tools if you are just going to work on your own cars.

[Coryd55]

Check out my build. Mine is/was pretty rusted.

[dlowrance]

having body work done at a shop is usually big $$$...the shops that do warranty repairs primarily don't want that kind of work because it takes a better body man than the guys slapping on new plastic...and the shops that have the good body men know it and charge for the services. Sometimes you can find a guy that works at one of the big shops and does work on the side in his garage...what that gains you is less $$ but you also lose any control on how long it takes and at least some percentage of any sort of warranty...best if you can find someone that's done work for someone you know...the good ole boy network is very beneficial in this sort of instance.:thumbsup:

[tgreese]

The cheap way to get the quarters is to find a junkyard with a Wagoneer and cut out the panels from a car. Take your battery powered sawzall to the pick-your-part and attack. The hard part is finding the donor car.

You may be able to fix the floors with plain flat sheet metal, depending on how bad they are.

You can do a cheesy repair on the floors or quarters by cutting out the metal and pop-riveting in some new metal. Won't be pretty, but it will last a few years. Nowhere near as good as welding in new metal though.

This is a good thread to give you an idea of what's involved: http://www.ifsja.org/forums/vb/showthread.php?t=121305