temporary body work

[mstiffanyann]

67 Dart GT

I really don't want to get into the awful job the body shop did. Needless to say they left fiberglass I put in, and it was all supposed to be removed and done correctly (I was 16 and my first time doing body work, so it wasn't great). Car also has way too many different versions of the paint I wanted, and wasn't even the correct one.

This is the worst spot, and it has killed the trunk pan. I need to get the window to stop leaking, the fix only needs to last about a year to two years and I will have it into a better body shop. This is the rear passenger side. My tentative plan for the body is the sand, use naval jelly, bondo, prime, and paint it. For the window seal area, can I use RTV, silicone, or caulking to put in the little valley next to the window gasket? Both the front and back and back window in the lip of the window also has tiny holes I plan on doing the same.

The trunk and hood both have awful clear coat peeling, you can see some of it in the picture. I am thinking of color sanding it, seeing if waxing it after will shine it up. If not has anyone used the spray clear coat or polyurethane?

I haven't done body work in probably 14 years, so I am a little rusty.

 

[HankRearden]

If the window is leaking I would pull it out and fix it. That rusty bare spot doesn't look hard to fix. (at least from the picture) Im not a body guy and I long ago gave up on building super pretty cars. I would grind as much of the rust clean as I could and then use naval jelly or something to treat the rest. Maybe even use a spot blaster to get the rust out of the pits. Weld a patch in teh hole. Cover with a thin layer of short hair fiberglass,then plastic. I like UPOL urethane filler primer but (body guys will hate this) If it is going to stay exposed for long I would use rustoleum rusty metal primer catalyzed with majic hardener. This stuff is tough!

 

[cudamark]

If it's just a year or two until you fix it properly, there's a couple of ways I would go. The cheapest and easiest way is to keep it in a garage or use a car cover to keep the water out of the trunk. If that isn't possible, or, you want to actually work on the leak, you need to figure out where the leak is exactly. If it's the seal on the glass, you need to pull that glass and gasket, repair the opening, and re-install the glass with a new or good gasket. If it's just leaking at that hole, I'd sand blast it, paint it with POR 15, and bondo the hole. Rattle can paint the patch and call it a day......or a year or two.

 

[Dartswinger70]

Maybe Uncle Tony can have
"Bodyman Ron" stop by...but, seriously you'll have to get all the rust and rot out prep the metal and go from there with your filler paint and primer...My Friend Pete can show you the way. He cusses and swears so be warned but he does good work...

 

[like_A_pike]

I hear that the plan is to get it in for repair in a couple years but in my experience those plans can get back burner’d into perpetuity. On the bright side maybe the next time it rains in San Diego is somewhere way out in perpetuity!? Lol.
I used to drive my Dart year round in snowy (salty) Massachusetts. The tops of the front quarters rusted out and I would sand them clean on top, bend the rot upward and cut it all out. Bend the edge back down, make a patch from an old appliance and bondo the depression. Our then 30 year old cars often ran with good paint and a permanent black primer strip along the bottom. You know, for touching up later. Mine was completely rattle can primer! Anyway- I buried the inside with roofing tar. During subsequent winters I’d wash the salt when I could. That repair would last a few years without blisters in a tough environment.
Good luck