Well i have a 1988 chevy blazer silverado 4x4 and my question is how can you tell if floor panels are rotted and in the oppinion of a body man when is a body too far gone to repair? My blazer needs quit a few panels but i will be buying them gradually as i get money so i wont be installing them right away but it desperately needs cab corners (they are rotted right through) rear fenders (rotted in 2-3 spots on each side right through). Ive been told these are common places for these trucks to rust i guess im just worried about leaving them and them ending up being unrepairable. The floors are a ongoing topic some say they need to be replaced some say there good (there is one hole where the seat is bolted in i was told this is common). It has been sitting for a while now and will sit for a while again untill i can repair again i ask will it spread beyond repair? If so how do i prevent this from happening? Please please post back quick to this because i wont bother dumping money into it if it cant be repaired fairly easily.

 

Your floor panels are rotted once you start noticing an indention in the metal-almost like a bunch of layers or something. Sometimes you won't even notice it until it's a hole. It just depends on the spot. As far as what to replace first-take care of your interior first. Then, go for the metal protecting the engine compartment. A clean engine is easier to spot leaks on than a dirty engine. And finally, just go for standard body parts. The floor should be pretty easy. On those older trucks like that, you can find any old piece of sheet metal, weld it on and then throw some carpeting over it.
Also, sometimes you can get away with patch welding rather than replacing an entier body panel. If it's a flat spot on the panel, you can usually cut out the cancerous area and weld in a piece of metal in it's place. Then just grind it smooth and paint. Easy fix for a man on a budget

 

Depends on how handy you are with a welder. Panels are fairly cheap (compared to what I will have to pay for panels on my Chevelle).

I am doing floors, inner/outer rockers, rear quarters, and doors on my 74 k5. I already have two sets of doors and will be picking up good used quarters tomorrow. Total with buying my truck and all of the parts I have now (including the 1990 Suburban I have for parts), I have spent $1400. $300 on the exhaust, $250 for the 'burb, $200 for a set of high back front seats, two doors, and a set of late model mirrors, $500 for the K5, and $150 for the complete used rear quarters. I still have to purchase all of the stuff for the rockers and floor, but that will not be much over $500 total. Round that up to $2000 complete with many extra parts and it makes for a VERY affordable truck. Still gotta add paint (likely $1k), but you get the picture.

 

Now also as for the rust spredding aslong as i look after it how long do you figure i can make the panels that are on it last? Small misc panels wont matter cuz i can build them at the sheet metal shop i work at but as for stuff like rear fenders i want to buy them so i know they will look proper. Im 16 now and i will for sure have the money to fix it once i turn 19 thats 3 years away will the rust panels last that long or is the rust just gonna keep spreading? If the floors look mildly rotted will they last i can make floor pans i'm just in the deciding stage right now i plan on fixing them when i fix the rear panels but thats 3 years from now if i desperatly need to is there some kind of adhesive or pant i could put on them to strengthen/slow the rust/rott?

 

No way for us to tell....

 

Here's some corrosion prevention I use on my trucks at work. First-hit up the rusted areas with a wire brush. Then, hit it up with some primer and spray paint. Anytime you see a rust spot, do this. From what I can figure(I haven't been to a professional body school or anything), rust spreads from moisture soaking in. So as long as you can prevent the water from getting into the metal and creating more rust, they should be able to last you for 3 years. It's still gonna be a little ugly, but as long as you stay on top of it, things shouldn't get too much worse. It's amazing how we're military yet we're broke all the time and have to resort to things like this.

 

Well i have thought it over and seeing as i am not a very good body man i am just going to buy a set of bushwacker cut-out 4x flares. This will also save me a few bucks in body work and i can buy a 4" lift and mount 35" tires without worrying about rubbing. Also i will not have to replace any fenders. I will still need doors and cab corners though... What would you say the dificulty level of doing those is. I know doors would be easy but what about cab corners? Is it a dificult task? Also floors if i need to replace em down the road is that a dificult task?

 

Floors are easy. By cab corners, I take it you mean in the back where the tail lights are, correct? If so, those can be a little tricky, but still possible as long as you have patience. I've seen some shops go so far as to find a car at the junk yard with a wrecked front end, and they'll cut the back end off of it to replace with the back end of another good vehicle. If you're really trying to be **** about this you could go that far. But provided you have the sheet metal and the proper machine to bend and weld it, you should be ok just doing that. Just remember that you only want to cut one side at a time. And when you do cut the one side out, if there's not body behind that piece you cut, you need to find a way to support the roof/ceiling.

 

Well it seems that i have mislead people sorry im fairly new to this im more of a motor/drivetrain guy body work isnt my thing. The driver side and passenger side rear corner door jams are rotted through. The driver side fender is loose on the bottum and is rusty could it have rusted and a bolt got ripped out? Is there a way i could make it stop from waving in the wind and have it still look decent? Seeing as i am just buying cut outs changing fenders and what not is crossed of the list of things to do. But if i do need a new fender, i dont really want to buy a good one and then cut it..... The cutout fender flares will be temporary anyways untill i can afford to get a skilled body man to fix it.

 

So the bottom of your doorjams are rusted out? That's still easy! Just get a piece of sheet metal, bend it how you need it and weld that sucker on there. You're still gonna wanna clean it up and paint it, but the good thing is if you screw it up not too many people will notice anyways. As far as your front quarter-panel, can you take some pictures and post them for us? Trust me, there's a way to do this. We just gotta see what's goin on and go from there.


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