72 Mercury Comet GT in Germany

Looks like the same rust that I have on my Comet. Had the same issues on my 70 Mustang. We fabbed up a few pieces and only replaced the top portions. I think Mavaholic on here had a pretty good thread with pictures on where he fixed those spots. Your making pretty quick progress. - Matt

 

thanks for the kind words
i found quite a few threads with lots of helpful pictures. what i don't understand is why the fenders are intact even though the apron below is completely rusted...

 

yeah a pretty common rust spot. my theory is the spot welding caused a change in the metal that encourages electrical current to flow in paths allowing\encouraging faster oxidation. i have seen this on other types of vehicle in other locations as well... just a nutty theory though....

 

I just wonder whether or not this would have been avoided if there would have been seam sealer applied to top and bottom of these seams from the factory. The area looks like it would wick in water pretty easy from top and bottom. - Matt

 

Matt, you are right - Mavaholic's thread is invaluable for me. he has all the detail pictures of the areas which need to be fixed on my car. that's surely a great guideline when finally starting the welding!

 

i took this week off from work - so i could get some more work done on the car. i cleaned up the floor pans. it might happen that the driver's side needs only minor patches while the passenger side is gone...





all pics can be found here:
http://www.72comet.de/gt/index.php?id=32

 

nice progress!

 

oh boy, cleaning up the inside is a bitch... that was absolutely NO fun today:




http://www.72comet.de/gt/index.php?id=33

 

found more monkey repairs in the trunk - it was completely covered in a layer of bondo. took me the whole day to clean it. only minor rust spots in the trunk area...



http://www.72comet.de/gt/index.php?id=35

 

if you are looking for rust on your car, be sure that you can handle it. today, i nearly couldn't.

is the picture showing
a) swiss cheese
b) more bondo than metal
c) my passenger side door?



the driver's side door seems not to be original to the car, as i couldn't find any green underneath. and the trunk lid has lot's of dents and rust spots too...




that's not going to be easy...

http://www.72comet.de/gt/index.php?id=36

 

but then, it seems that i sort of finished "stage 1" of the restoration.
i cleaned up all areas of the car, some more thorough than others, so all rust spots are obvious. the whole thing took me roughly 90 hours in total.

next, i'll be gathering all the sheet metal parts - with the help of you all, this should be possible. you have so many junkyards, some of which you call your own, so there should be a good supply of donor cars.

then, the car will be welded together, sandblasted and primered. the timespan for that - you have to calculate shipping times into that - will be the next three months.

next weekend, i'll fix my mustang (rear main seal leaking) and the weekend after it's time for one of the biggest german car shows, presented by dr-mustang.com. i'll keep you updated with pictures on this one, too!

 

Ouch!


And I just walked in from the garage feeling a bit overwhelmed with what I have here ... no, I don't want to trade with you. ... my stuff is minor compared to that.

Still ... I can't help but think you are better equipped to deal with it than I am. Best of luck!

 

thanks a lot

but so far, i have surely been not better equipped. those are the two basic tools i used:




these, and A LOT of patience...

 

I've got the purple strippers. Like them a lot

I'll have to look into getting the twisted wire brush. ... thanks for posting that.

 

you have to be careful using the wire brushes - i wouldn't suggest using them on any outside sheet metal. you might not only take off the paint and rust, but also too much of the metal itself.

the wire brushes are available over here in various types and sizes. this one also worked quite well:



what i found while using them is that using an electric drill they get used up quite easily. reversing the direction of the rotation quickly brings back the original power.