I've got a 72 Comet, 62K original miles...just got her running. Original buy by my old man and she's been sitting 20 years in the elements of CA. Rust is blistering at my driver side door, hood and I have the the infamous leaky cowl...so floor pans and beneath the battery tray are shot. I'll post some photos soon, but as this is my first project car...curious as to where the point of no return is for most of you.
Cant wait to see these pics. You should have seen our Mavs up here in the 80's. Bet your hard pressed to find a Cali. car as rusty now as ours were by the mid 80's. LOL. So long as your torque box's arent gone floor replacement isnt a big deal. Got the pics yet???
Being in California, where really clean cars are so easy to find, any rust would make it a parts car.
If you have to chase stray cats/dogs out of it in the morning(And you know you locked the doors/closed the windows) Its too rusty...
Hey, I've had that problem! 73 with a hole in the drivers' quarter. The morning usually started with the stray cats barrel rolling down the driveway as I left for work...
Wait until one climbs up between the radiator and your solid mounted,wicked sharp flex fan and you go to leave in the morning. Tough to hear over a noise gear drive and dumped flowmasters.
I never replaced steel in my life due to not knowing how to weld. So I bought my first mig welder to repair my Maverick and did some self teach welding. Since then, I haven't found my limit yet. In fact, I just removed my cowl cover and did all the underneath repairs the right way with steel. Floor pieces are really easy. I just cut out what I needed to and cleaned the rest of the steel around the area really good. Fix it and do the Rust Bullet or Por 15 treatment afterwards.
I've done it, and I'm in the process of doing it again...but after having a California car, I vowed to never do it again...but if I was in California, I wouldn't be doing it ever again.