Saved from the Demo Derby: 1990 Country Squire

[Tiggie]

WOW look at that wide white wall tire.
Your wagon looks much better

Haha it's more a yellow wall these days. I use it as a spare. It's a Sears Allstate from dad's 51 Ford. It's from the 70's and somehow has absolutely zero rot.

[87gtVIC]

Looking good with it all stripped down.

[Tiggie]

Took the tailgate and rear bumper off. The tailgate was pretty heavy. The aluminum bumper was quite light.

Dug into the rust spot on the left quarter. It got bigger, as I think it always does. Ended up cutting out some of the inner structure as well. Also cut out the damaged seam because rust had worked its way into that as well.

Creating the patches was not bad. Welding them in wasn't either. The problem is this panel has an odd radius. It's relatively flat in front, with a curve on the rear. This, combined with the damage from what looked like a jack being used on the edge, and the welding made this thing "oil can" central (the metal pops in and out). I ended up getting some 16ga square tubing, and with the help of sheet metal screws, plug welded the quarter to the tubing to lock it down. It's still absolutely wavy as can be, but they aren't deep and they are stable, so filler will hold. Apologies to all you real body work guys that know the real way to fix this.

Ordered primers and some wax and grease remover to the tune of $500. Ouch.

[kishy]

Took the tailgate and rear bumper off. The tailgate was pretty heavy. The aluminum bumper was quite light.

You aren't kidding. The tailgates are very nearly a 2-person job. I have two in storage that I've moved around a couple times and it's no fun.

Going from that to an aluminum bumper, it feels like you could toss the thing like a javelin.

Nice to see the dedication here. It's clear from recent Bring a Trailer postings that these cars will command a decent value when they're in good shape, so whether its for yourself or the future, it's worth making it nice.

[87gtVIC]

Oil canning no fun. Nice fix!

[Kodachrome Wolf]

Woof, having done tailgate R&R, that is not a fun job at all even with two people, especially trying to get it hung again and accounting for slop in the hinge assembly.

[Tiggie]

Tailgate reinstall with definitely be a two man job! Going to put some epoxy primer on all that patch today and start some body filler tomorrow.

[87gtVIC]

You can coat the epoxy that quickly with body filler?

[Tiggie]

You can coat the epoxy that quickly with body filler?

24-48 hours is what the paint manufacturer suggest (Southern Polyurethanes). I'm still unsure of body filler over any paint but the pros seem to prefer it.

[87gtVIC]

I am with you on the filler over the epoxy. That is how I have prepped some spare doors for the future of my car if needed. I was just curious about the dry time required before applying filler on top of it.

I used Eastwoods epoxy primer and that took a number of days to dry.

[Tiggie]

Filler work is mostly, if not all, done. Should have grabbed some close up pics.
Scuffed this with 180 and the DA today. That was a weird process because dull white paint makes it hard to see where you have sanded it well, or when it needs more. Also scuffed the door jambs with a red scotch Brite... found myself wishing this was a two door instead of a five door.
Hope to mask the jambs and glass tomorrow and get it clean. Then epoxy hopefully Thursday morning. Want to do it outside but have a short window of time in the morning before the sun starts baking it. Inside the garage is an option (and will be used for the base and clear) but I have to clean, move everything out, and cover up what remains.