New Member Old Comet, Big Ideas!

to the site!!!!!

 

rear left quarter panel


Right rear quarter panel


passenger door


engine bay

These are my biggest rust issues. There is some smaller surface rust but those are deep need to replace large sections rust

 

Wow!! What you see now as a 2 or 3 inch rot through is actually 6 to 8 inches of rot under what paint is left. As I removed my paint and bondo from my panels, I got a real good look at what was needed to repair each rusted through area. I can assure you that it is going to be much larger than you see right now

You can see how much of my rocker/door frame and lower quarter I had to remove to "get it all"

As you can see by the mock up using good used parts from a donor car, it can be done and it will certainly last my lifetime and hopefully look great - all depends on how far you decide that you want to go to repair the rust

 

I traveled for 3 months looking for 2 different project vehicles. I literally covered thousands of miles. I did Craigslist searches thru Search Tempest and limited myself to 750 mile radius of home. I too, live in a rust prone area and having been in this hobby for 40 years know you are far, far ahead to start with the best platform you can afford. Even if that means waiting a while to find it. I was in Iowa (home state), Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska looking at projects. My truck came from Texas and my Maverick from Oklahoma. I'm very pleased with what I have to start with. My money can be spent on improvements and modifications, not rust repair.

Don't let your excitement get you into a place you cannot get out of. Be brutally honest with the cars you look at. Yes, it's a good plan to learn as you go. The problem is, you can sometimes get yourself to the point you loose interest because of all the work needed.

Find a better candidate, use this one as a donor and move forward. Rust cars are money pits. Been there, done that.

As far as the 4 vs 2 door, whatever floats your boat. You will usually have a better chance recovering your money on a 2 door. I know we don't usually start a project thinking of selling it, but sometimes reality sets in and you need to get out from under it. There is a reason it's cheaper to start with a 4 door, they are generally less desirable in any condition.

SPark

 

its settled, no expensive body work

SPark all your good points are undeniable. I have hopped onto searchtempest almost immediately upon readin this and I am really excited about this search tool. REALLY big thanks for that.

MY BIGGEST CONCERN: How do I ride this car for the next year without the wheels falling off?

I am not very wealthy in money but willing in time and I am just extremely happy to ride in Haylee with her busted seats and fm converter around town.

My plan is to:

1. Sand down all rust
2. rust bullet/por15 as best as I can.
3. Bondo the gaps.
4. Sand and spray the car myself

What do you guys think?

 

Here is what you have said:

1. You have no experience
2. You have no tools
3. You have no money

Those 3 things combined will ruin somebody in the car hobby.

Here is what I would do. Just drive it the way it is an enjoy the fact that the car has been on this earth for almost 40 years and is still going. Maybe bondo up the holes and do a little spray painting. It will last a year at the most, but at least it will look better.

Fromt the pictures you posted, the car looks safe enough to drive.

You asked.

 

As long as you Know what you have and what your willing to spend go for it... I had a rusty 74 grabber for 6 years that I over paid for, and quickly found out how much work it needed... I still drove it all the time, I even drilled holes in the floor boards so the rain water would drain,lmao... I found a 71 rust free grabber and swapped over my rebuilt drive-train and never looked back.... Rust is a time consuming repair that I will not tackle unless its a car that will bring big bucks or is very rare... Fix the mechanical issues and drive it, almost all of the mechanical parts will cross over to another comet/mav... Have fun and welcome to the forum....

 

from the Eastern Shore!

Here is a good example of where rust can take you. Start on page #7.
http://mmb.maverick.to/showthread.php?t=58349

BUT, my Comet was my first car, so I am determined to bring it back to life. And coming from someone who has not driven their car in many years, I also recommend Craig's advice; "Drive it and enjoy it!"

 

welcome...:Handshake

all wrong...

I think there is a lot of rust you haven't seen yet...some could cause it to be unsafe for the street.

just the rust you pictured would be a lot of time and expense for someone at a body shop to repair, much less you buying the materials and tools and learning how to use them...just being Frank

read some of the repairs done on the board to get an idea of some of the stuff you will need to know to get started.
none of these cars are..."rust free" ...but one with as little as possible to start with would be nice.

I know it would have been nice to have had all these opinions and info. before the purchase...
we are here for you ever what direction you chose...:Handshake

...Frank...

 

I agree with the enjoy and drive. Before I got my car painted I use to ride around like it was a 20, 000 dollar car, if i can get mine together I know u can from the floorpans to the roof on my car was a mess

 

did yours have a...shock tower...rusted out...

 

Thanks for all the tips

I will be riding the car around town sparingly until I can get it into the hands of my mechanic to take a closer look. He has a good understanding of older cars and is great with junkyard parts and a long time family friend.

With that being said I am still going to be on the lookout for a better option for daily transport soon.

Thanks to everyone who is being encouraging and helpful with their tips and advice. Only one week of owning it with a good deal of rust related remorse, I still get chils everytimeI hear the engine turn over.:bananaman

So to recap:

Not spending money on rust repair, just mechanical issues and parts that can be swapped out or sold at a later date.

Is there any good repair manuals out there for proper disaasembly instructions or diagrams etc?

Whats are the most important tools I should start acquiring first?

Thanks again for your help guys!