I need to patch a couple holes in my bird and there is a nice TC at the JY that is rust free but i cant think of a clean and relatively quick(not taking all day to cut out the patch with tin snips). Anybody have any ideas on how i could get the patch pieces cut out.
Battery powered sawzall?
Or battery powered die grinder with a cutoff wheel (do they even make such a thing? not sure if I know of any battery powered die grinders or cutoff tools)
Cutting the patches with tin snips would just ruin them, if you could even manage it. Do you have, or do you know anybody that has, a power inverter powerful enough to run a Dremel or angle grinder? If so, and if you can get your car close enough (even if you have to use an extension cord between the inverter and power tool) you could do it that way. That's what I'd try to do. Leave the car powering the inverter's engine running, too, or you'll kill the battery very quickly
Remember, too, to take a patch much larger than what you actually need. You'll find that the rust damage on your car covers a much larger area than what you can see.
all the junkyards I've been too will allow a generator to be brought in.. even the pick n pull yards..
Some parts they will remove for you. Have you asked them? I'm sure your not the first to want a quarter panel.
I've done it with a sawzall before... quarter panels are tricky tho. i think i used a short and long blade because of all the different creases and how there is stuff in the way rite behind the outer skin in some spots. also, I'm fairly sure I've seen a battery powered grinder from dewalt.
I have used a combination of sawzall, angle grinder and drill, to remove the panels I wanted from one of my parts cars.
for that rust spot under the trim, I had the samething. I fabricated my own patch panels for it though.
1 Wld Brd - I had that same part rot out on my '87 Sport. Isn't that a son of a bitch to repair, especially when the wheel well rots out too (as I see yours did, too)? I made my own panel too, but I didn't have the luxury of a welder (or garage) so I riveted it in. Don't have any pics of that particular panel, but i also had to make a rocker panel patch, and did get pics of that. I used galvanized ducting for the sheet metal. The second pic is as far as I got on the body work on that car before giving up - it needed EVERYTHING - door bottoms, rocker panels, quarter panels, fenders (I actually installed brand new fenders on it, too). That car made me swear to never again own a rustbucket...
yeah it was a P.I.T.A. Took me about 4 hours to fabricate the pieces. I used a 10lbs anvil and some body hammers to form them. I love my welder. Just got done welding an entire front clip/ rad support, on my '85 Cougar the other day. The next body shop type tool I will be picking up is a sheet metal brake.
How big of an inverter would i need to run a 4.5" angle grinder?
Look at the amps (should be on a sticker on the grinder). Multiply that by 120. That'll give you the watts the grinder draws. Add 50% to the watts to give the inverter a bit of breathing room, and that's the size inverter you'll need.
For example, if your grinder draws 3 amps, multiply that by 120 and you get 360 watts. Half of 360 is 180, add that to 360 (to get your extra 50%), and you end up with 540 watts. I dunno if you can get a 550 watt model, but if not a 600 watt inverted would be best for a 3 amp grinder.
The reason you should leave the engine running is that pulling around 300 watts out of your battery will draw about 25 amps. That's about double what your headlights draw. Hit 600 watts (by jamming the grinder or working it too hard) and you'll be pulling the equivalent of four sets of headlights out of your battery. Needless to say, without the engine running the battery would go dead very quickly.
Best idea,buy the complete rust free TC from the s yard swap over your good parts from your car and s your rusty shell.
Don't mean to be harsh but if the rust on your quarters look like that i hate to see your front frame rails/torque boxes or rocker panels.
Believe me when i tell you that kind of rust is not worth fixing.
My old 88 5.0L was rusted as bad as that and i tried for 9 yrs to save it with bondo,fiberglass and metal,it looked mint from 10feet away but underneith there was just gum holding it together.
After spending 800 dollars to have new front frame rails fabed and installed a new 5.0HO went in and within a week i tore the rotted torque boxes right out of the car.
Needless to say i waisted my money and should have sped that rusty p.o.s. years ago but i liked the car that much.
For the time money and effort your going to put in that car,STOP right where you are,START saving money and pick up a fairly rust free bird or cat and concentrate on making that mint.
The TC was in a fire and you cant buy the cars from the JY here. Besides the rest of my car isnt rusty. I will fix the spots properly and make sure the rust wont come back. Im not afraid of rust or welding in new metal. BTW The front frame rails dont even have surface rust on them.
Make sure the inverter has the amperage to handle the grinder,not just the watts.or it might pop the breaker every time you turn it on.
So for my 5.5 amp grinder it would take a 1000 watt inverter? Well technically 990 but i doubt they make a 990 watt inverter.
I might just make the patch panels.
Maybe i will just pick up this cheap cordless grinder (http://"http://www.heartlandamerica.com/browse/item.asp?PIN=47759&#") and hope it doesnt break until after i am done in the JY.
Sawzall would be better.more uses.
Well I really find it hard to believe that the only part of your car that's rusty is your 1/4s and the rest of the car is mint but hey to each his own.
If you want to fix it,it's your car and good luck with your repairs.
However i did not listen to many experienced people who tried to tell me my old 88 was not worth fixing and honestly my 1/4s where bad but not as bad as your pics,you will one day realize that you shouldn't have spent the time or money and we where just tryin to make your life easier, some of us have to find out the hard way like i did.
Watts and amps are directly related (watts are a function of volts * amps, so for a fixed voltage such as the 120V an inverter puts out, wattage goes up directly with amperage), and most, if not all, inverters are advertised by their wattage, not amperage.
The very, very rusty '87 Sport I pictured above with the home made rocker panels had MINT front frame rails and torque boxes. My '85 had very rusty quarters and fenders, but underneath the car looked like new. Conversely, the TC I dismantled had a decent body (I actually used a fender from it on my car and the doors are mint) but the frame rails were rotted out. Torque boxes were mint tho. And a buddy of mine had a light sage green T-Bird almost identical to my '85, and his body was in excellent shape, but the REAR frame rails rotted out so bad the quarter panels of the car buckled when he hit a train crossing.
Rust on the body doesn't necessarily mean the underneath is shot. If the car was undercoated it might be perfect underneath but have rusty quarters and rockers (like my '87 Sport was). If it was parked in a field the underneath might rot out completely while the rest of the body stays relatively good.
I do agree, though - there is ALWAYS more rust than you think there is...
Just keep it to yourself I didnt ask for your advice on whether i should junk the car or buy a new car i asked about cutting out patch panels at a junkyard. I dont give a Fvck what you think i should do with the car i will do what i feel is the right thing for me to do. I know what I am doing.
You are the only one that has told me to start over with a new car.
/end rant
Sorry for the rant but its irritating when somebody tells me without even seeing my car in person that it is rusted out. I realize the holes look big but that is because i used a grinder on the rust that was there and ground until i hit nice clean metal.
The car has been undercoated and if/when it gets too bad i will just send it to the crusher until then i will fix the rust i find and rustproof the entire car with por15 after stripping the old undercoat and paint off.
Hey bell end i didn't deserve the swearing but believe me you and your rusty pos can do the same,some idiots can't take constructive critisism.
Enjoy the rust,i enjoy lookin at it on your pos lol.
Rust everyone has it but no on wants it.
man it kinda got hot in here.... any waythe best way to cut that outis a set of portable torches you would be there all day with a grinder or a cut off wheel now i am parting out a 88 cougar those 1/4's should be the same if mine are good i might cut them out and send them to you let me know if interested
I cut one out with a saws all. It wasn't that hard. Before I went I decided that I was gonna replace the whole peice from the trim down. So this is how I cut the one off the parts car. I removed the tail lights and then cut the outter panel stright across above the trim about 1" . Then I cut the inner panel almost where is bends to meat up with the trunk floor pan. I bet it only took me about 20-30min total. I havent started working on installing it. Gotta get the cougar done so I can do the body work to the bird.
Ok torch = lots of concentrated heat = huge possibility of panel warpage. Not a good idea!
The grinder will work VERY fast and efficient, so will the sawzall, I chopped up my '84 parts car in a day with those two tools, and have a big pile of body parts to prove it.
And yeah, about his rusted car, it's his car Chris, let him learn man. Hell it might be in decent shape otherwise. Look at mine bro, you were surprise at how good of shape mine was in when you seen it in person. Lets relax guys huh?
You can cut anything with a sawz all.Stock a lot of different blades.Any car is repairable .