The Other 68 Dart Resto Project

The pump worked great, I let it run for 3 days and it seemed flush a lot junk and dirt out, and I found a socket and screwdriver too! But I am too concerned that the metal might be too thin is some spots now that the rust has been dissolved. There were a couple of pinholes in the metal caused by junk accumulating in there, I can feel and see pits where the rust dissolved away, but so far has not penetrated through to the paint. The space is just too narrow to get my hand in there to check it out completely, you can't see in there either, so I made a decision to drill the spotwelds and make a thin cut to remove the bottom 4 inches of both rear 1/4's. I wanted to avoid exploritory surgery, but I don't feel good about hoping noting is wrong, I need to know for sure. Also, I can make a better repair if I can see if there are any thin spots in the metal.

I did make more progress, I got the whole rear underside from the rear seat pan back to the bumper cleaned and prepped, I laid down a layer of rust convertor on the rusty areas and I will seal it with Encapsulating primer my next day off. Then paint, then the rear suspension, driveshaft, and gas tank can go back in and I can finally drive the car for the first time. I am leaving the Rusty 2" exhaust in for now, untill my 383 is ready, then I will be replacing it with a 3" system. I hope to be driving it within 2 weeks, since I had only ever driven it off a trailer and into the garage, this will be a big event for me.