racerx520

iTrader: (1)

a little backstory:
since i got the car (almost 10 years ago when i was in highschool) i've been having a water leak in the center t-top column and my also coming through my visor holes. I spent numerous hours trying to find the leak and i thought it was just contributed to my t-tops. ive repainted my a-pillar a couple times once cuz bugs got in the wet paint, another time cuz someone chipped the paint. I repainted the A-pillar about 3 years ago to fix that issue, since then haven't had a water leak, but i noticed the paint bubbling up a little on the roof section of the a-pillar but i figured that was just because i did some bad prep work and the paint wasnt sticking.

about 2 weeks ago, i began a "small" project, which entailed stripping the a-pillar (yet again) and pulling the motor. plan was to repaint the a-pillar, paint the engine bay, and put in the newly built 350 TPI motor. I figured it would take about 2-3 weeks.......i was pretty far off!

I found this once i wire wheeled the paint off the a-pillar:


if you look closely, you can see it appears the rust began inside the windshield edge. it would appear the rubber was leaking to behind the windshield but not further for the past 27 years. the rust behind the windshield is worse than the rest.

i looked for any patch panels, but wasnt able to find any....so i ordered up an a-pillar from Hawks


then it was time to pull this apart.


drilled all the spot welds and cut the edges.


got it out.


mocked up.


so yesterday it was time to pull the roof section off, what was found disheartened me even more.

the water had eaten through the outer skin, and into the inside layer of the roof. good thing we had the whole a-pillar section from Hawks, we had to pull more apart that we were expecting. this is how the water was getting inside the car whenever it rained. it would appear the water backed up behind the windshield, ate through the outer skin, through the inner skin and would get into the car through there.



cut out the rotten inside POR-15'd the inside (a little surface rust inside this area of the A-pillar)


mocked up.

RedLeader289

iTrader: (2)

No pic attached..?

racerx520

iTrader: (1)

sorry, my computer freezes a lot, i started the thread so i could just "edit" incase my computer froze up.

stealtht/a

iTrader: (1)

Nice job! That should take care of it.

DynoDave43

iTrader: (11)

Wow, that's a nasty surprise. Nice work repairing it though.

racerx520

iTrader: (1)

got the inside of welded in place (dont mind the terrible welding, i dont have a nice welder lol)


next time i get to work it'll be a good amount of grinding. trying to weld as much as i can so that i have the strength in the a-pillar that i'm supposed to -- not that all that rust there before had any strength, it was rotted literally right through in half, i have a picture it having a problem loading it up.

racerx520

iTrader: (1)

thanks guys for the kind words, its been becoming more work than i expected. i was initially expecting to have the motor in and the first start done by now....but i'm getting more body work experience than i thought i would lol

TTOP350

iTrader: (8)

Very nice work! I'm betting a lot of these cars have a similar issue and they don't know it.

racerx520

iTrader: (1)

thats what i was figuring too, ive seen a lot of people complain of having rust problems on the a-pillar but lower, toward the hood area. when i pulled the windshield, it seemed as thought they didnt put a great deal of adhesive for the windshield up on top and on the lower sides.

also another thing i've learned from this project, where it rotted out at, there is no factory primer there, its bare metal. it seems like they couldnt spray the primer inside very well, but the arch that is rotten, also has no primer on any of the pieces.

stealtht/a

iTrader: (1)

Same with my 85. Thought I was just sanding off the paint and respray but found all kinds of surprises in the quarters. Fortunately not rust (why I put so much effort into this body) but lots of non structural accident damage. I think it's par for the course on these cars.

Mine just had the slightest bit of rust starting at the a pillar crossover, I can see how it would have progressed to your situation once it broke through the top layer of metal.

Edwardgp

Very nice job, thanks for the pictures.

racerx520

iTrader: (1)

looking at how this has rusted, it looks like it went through a little area behind the windshield (where i'd never be able to see) and just kept silently leaking in. after i repainted it the last time, i think it covered up the entry point of the water which is why i didnt have any water leaks for a while.

thanks for the compliments on the work guys!

WTR388

Man this makes me so nervous to start stripping the car down, I have the A-pillar bubbles a lit lower than halfway down the pillars both sides.

racerx520

iTrader: (1)

could be similar, i had paint bubbles, but ive heard of some people having issues more commonly on the sides of the a-pillars. not sure if its as extensive as this or if its just basic body work

racerx520

iTrader: (1)

figured i'd update the progress even though it seems this topic has died out sorta. this is the most body work i've done yet, and kinda impressing myself so far how its coming out.


today i evened out the welds and filled all the burn-throughs and made sure all the welds are holding and are structural. hit the area with weld-through primer to make sure that it doesnt rust out again.


afterward i got the replacement roof all fitted and mocked up. i painted the inside with weld-through primer too and now i'm waiting for it to dry. most likely wont make any progress for about a week, this is taking longer than i would have ever had thought, but i'm happy with the way its turning out.

DynoDave43

iTrader: (11)

A very rewarding feeling to "do it right".

racerx520

iTrader: (1)

update, even though this topic has lost interest.



the other day i got the new roof section welded in place. next day off its bondo and hopefully primer in the same day. will be a lot of work to get it that far im sure. welding went well, had some burn through issues with the metal, but now its strong and appearing hole free so thats less to rely on bondo with. learning a lot from this project and hoping to never have a water leak ever again lol

Edwardgp

Looks great, this is the way I learned also.

stealtht/a

iTrader: (1)

Why do you keep saying topic lost interest? Lots of people commented, that means they are watching your thread.
I learned this repair the same way you did as well, had to put a patch in the quarter and fix the support underneath. The burn through is very frustrating, but all part of the learning process in welding. always fun jumping in at the deep end isn't it?
I can't see the top of the repair very well, but the filler depth is probably enough that you will want to use a short strand reinforced fliler like "kitty hair" or dura glass as the first layer, then regular filler after that.

racerx520

iTrader: (1)

thanks guys. and i figured it's kinda lost interest a bit since it doenst have a whole lot of traffic. i wasnt quite thinking when i took this one picture. tomorrow i'm going to start bondo-ing, the depth isnt too great, maybe just a couple layers of bondo should do i'm hoping. and yes, the burn throughs were very very frustrating. what i thought would be 2 hours of welding and grinding wound up being about 4. but i figured let it burn through the thin areas and i'll make it thicker there just so i never have to do this again.

propaintball96

I think it looks great man great work

82tarecaro

iTrader: (4)

I have been checking out the thread every time I see it up top.
Don't sell yourself short. People are watching and are interested.
There also may be many people that discover the issue after your project is done and will do a search and stumble upon your thread.
Looks like its coming out good too.

racerx520

iTrader: (1)

thanks guys for the input and nice words. i'll keep posting the progress. depending on how the motor turns out and looks, maybe even that too lol

Joe Tag

iTrader: (4)

I'm so glad I pulled my windshield when I painted. It had a few spots of cancer started that would be right in your position in a few years. Brand new glass and trim pulled and installed for $180, money well spent.
It's hard to keep posting on a subject when you don't see any comments. This may save someone the trouble of a do-over when they see that a small problem can escalate to a big one without catching it in time. Nice work, thanks for posting it.

jazzdadss

And I thought mine was bad!!! Most body shops in my area wouldn't have touched it. Mine wasn't near that bad and they were telling me to get a donor car!

Awesome repair!

Javier87z28

iTrader: (1)

Good info man!!

WTR388

Nice work... Still makes me nervous lol.
I was planning on pulling the windshield when I do my car, I just hope my issue is what I think it is.

DynoDave43

iTrader: (11)

TIMMYS89GTA

iTrader: (28)

Man,I have been watching this too! All I can say is...I truly admire your dedication!! I have cut up and parted out cars in better shape! Lol! Good work racer!

racerx520

iTrader: (1)

lol thanks guys. to be honest, at first i was planning on taking it to a body shop cuz i was sick of painting the a-pillar over and over. i figured i clearly was doing something wrong so it would be better off in the hands of an expert. I'm sure now that if i had taken it somewhere they wouldnt have done it, or it would have cost double what the car is worth. I did think about just getting rid of the car when i saw the rust, i mean heck, motor is out, easy to just drop the trans, and the rear and get something else. but after having the car for about 10 years, ive grown too sentimental over it lol

racerx520

iTrader: (1)

well i'm getting closer to getting my basecoat and clearcoat on.

today i got the bondo on, put about 3 coats on and smoothed it out with an airboard.



not only did i bondo the areas where the new piece was grafted in at, but a couple dents in the center of the roof area, probably from me clumsily handing it and dropping it a dozen times.


its kinda hard to see, but i figured i'd sand the whole a-pillar to bare metal (i had used a wirewheel attached to my angle grinder first, but it was having a hard time getting through the primer)



primer finally got on. i was super happy until my dad noticed 2 small high spots on the corners where the bondo was added the heaviest. i did not block sand since i didnt see any high spots when it was still just bare metal. figure while its still only this far along i'll fix the high spot, even if it means taking 2 steps forward and 1 step back. especially with my paint color having heavy pearl, the high spots will be really visible.

DynoDave43

iTrader: (11)

Not the FUN or EASY answer, but the RIGHT one. You're doing good work!

racerx520

iTrader: (1)

lol i was very reluctant to come to this solution, since i just want it to be done, but i'll kick myself for the rest of the time that i have the car if i dont spend an extra 3 hour to get this right.

racerx520

iTrader: (1)

update for those of you following. yesterday my pops did a little touch up on the bondo for me (i dont think i have just the right touch to do the finish work like he can) and then primered up the a-pillar again. I brushed primer on the K-member (since im painting the engine bay). Tomorrow i will begin the job of taping off everything in the engine bay, then painting everything. i'll update pictures when i'm done painting. i'll be happy to have this project behind me, it has been a pretty big one, and a bit of a shock considering i only thought i'd be stripping and spraying, not tearing through half the a-pillar

racerx520

iTrader: (1)

well guys....may be my last post on this post since this is the final step of the roof repair. today i got the paint on, and also in the engine bay.





thanks everyone for the kind words on this repair. now i just have to do some final steps on the motor and get it in. hopefully no more "speed bumps" even this was more of a road block lol

might come back to this post later when i can get the car out of the pop up garage and get some better pictures of it in the right light.

Zane M

iTrader: (1)

Congrats! You did a nice job!

DynoDave43

iTrader: (11)

That looks great all painted up. Congratulations!

WTR388

How did you guys take the windshield out?
I'm considering getting a mobile windshield guy to take mine out when it comes to that time for me.

racerx520

iTrader: (1)

thanks guys. now im' having a hard time getting the wiring looms into their original places. if its not one thing its another right lol.

and i got the windshield out with a harbor freight tool, the cable tool. basically wound up kicking it out lol. ive heard some better reviews on the other windshield tool they sell, its basically a blade that slides through and cuts the rubber adhesive, although i was told the only good way to use it was to heat it up with a propane torch first, otherwise its worthless.

DynoDave43

iTrader: (11)

I have a cable cutter I made myself some years ago. Works great as long as you don't intend to reuse the glass. The cable chips away at the inner edge as you go. Not the best.

WTR388

We used to use guitar wire when removing glass from our demo derby cars, It always messed the glass up. But, it was faster and cleaner then smashing it out and then cleaning all the glass out.

We have princess auto in canada, our version of harbor freight. I'll give their tool a shot.

DynoDave43

iTrader: (11)

Yup...mines piano wire...same idea. And it does make for a pretty clean removal, as long as you are not counting on reusing the glass.

Homer23

Good job on the repair and paint.

jazzdadss

We broke 5 blades on that Harbor Freight tool. I finally called the glass man and he had it out in under 60 seconds.

racerx520

iTrader: (1)

the cable tool from harbor freight comes with 75 ft of wire, we kept breaking wire about every foot and a half. after we got about halfway through the windshield, basically just ripped it out, i had enough of messing with the windshield lol.

Ninety-One

I do rust repair on cars and firewall shaving professionally, you've done a great job! Came out outstanding, doesn't it feel good to fix it right? I'm glad In never snows or rains here though! Also I like that color! Love to see the engine bay finished. Keep up the nice work man!

Brendan

racerx520

iTrader: (1)

thanks man. i had a lot of help from my father, since he clearly knows more than me after doing this stuff (body work and mechanic work for 3 decades). the paint up close looks seamless, and i'm excited to get the new motor dumped in and show it off. i cant imagine how much this would have cost if i had brought this to a body shop, i was considering it at first lol.

here's whats getting dumped in soon:


i have polished slp runners, and a polished plenum going in. lots of mods for this motor, hoping to pull some pretty good power out of it

DynoDave43

iTrader: (11)

Do you have another build thread going somewhere else here? I'd like to follow that.

Bow_Tied

iTrader: (1)

Great work man.

BTW, most everybody loves a thread like this with pictures. It's win/win as experienced folks here can help you along if needed and give encouragement and members who have never done it before can learn from what you are doing.

racerx520

iTrader: (1)

thanks, i havent heard of anyone else having an issue like this, and as i looked at the way the rust formed, i figured i couldn't be the only one with this problem, maybe just the first that found it, especially to this level.

no, i was kinda waiting till the last minute to throw together a "finished product" kinda thing, then throw it with the story into the firebirds page here. i have looked at tons of other build threads when getting this motor together (see below for the motor specs if youre interested) and found i was spending more money than i wanted on car parts after reading people's suggestions lol. i figured if i took away the temptation of people telling me what parts would get me more power and performance, i may save a little more money lol. i got the motor built pretty well, and am hoping to get some good power with it, but i still spent way more money than i planned lol.

the setup:
5.7L short block (92-02 GM crate motor i got for cheap)
crane cams 2032 grind
summit racing aluminum heads (was told theyre rebadged patriots?)
Accel intake manifold base
SLP intake runners
hooker competition shorty headers
electronic exhaust cut out
3.73 gears
A ****-ING AIRFOIL!!!!!
a custom tune by Tuned Performance
and a couple other things i cant think of right now lol.