Opinion on rust-fixable?

[E30andy]

Hey Guys,

Still going through the "rust free" 91 ix I bought off this forum from NEO. Seemed like the rust was mostly fender wheels and not structural until I found these holes today on the rear passenger spring perch area.

Thoughts?

[E30andy]

Rust

Another pic

[E30andy]

Rust

One more....

[rturbo 930]

I'd say it's fixable. Whether the car is worth fixing as a whole, and whether or not you have the skills to fix it are the bigger questions IMO. But it doesn't look like it spreads too far, and the patch looks like it should be a simple shape to make. If you have to remake the spring plate, that should be simple to make as well. Just a matter of whether or not it's worth doing IMO.

[nrubenstein]

If you can weld, then it's not hard to cut the perch out of a donor car and splice it in.

[D.Martijn]

I'm currently doing/getting started to do this repair, it's even a bit worse than yours.
I suggest removing the plate where the spring sits against as there will be rust between the perch and the chassis rail.

[E30andy]

Thanks guys! I'm no welder, so I have to pay someone to do it, as well as some large holes in the rear wheel wells.

Interestingly the car has no holes in any of the body panels. Paint is decent and all the body panels have matching VIN tags, and transfer case and mechanicals seem ok.

I'm just looking for a fun winter beater/ski car, so if the repairs aren't too expensive, I will try to save her.

Do you think it's safe to drive to a shop?

[cscracker]

It's probably fine to drive to the shop as long as you take it easy and aren't hitting any big pot holes. Most of the perches and sides are still there. It is bad, and I wouldn't suggest driving it anywhere else, but you should be okay for a short drive to get it repaired.

[Kershaw]

Definitely fixable. Up to you if it's worth it.

[E30andy]

It's probably fine to drive to the shop as long as you take it easy and aren't hitting any big pot holes. Most of the perches and sides are still there. It is bad, and I wouldn't suggest driving it anywhere else, but you should be okay for a short drive to get it repaired.

I drove it like this from Cleveland (where I bought it) to Vermont lol! This was when it was still "rust free"....it sure was making some strange sounds on that ride!

[D.Martijn]

Here is my work in progress of my repair
Before, one of the previous owners had welded a plate over the hole..


And we got a chassis rail again! Make sure you have good penetration!
I also had to weld in a patch on the vertical section pictured here


I made a jig that references of the other spring perch made outof 2 small vertical tubes that are connected with a long square tube. I also took a lot of measurements before removing the old disc.
Couldn't make the new disc yet as the local metal supply store didn't have 2,5mm thick sheet in stock.

[stonea]

Like everyone else is saying, its definitely fixable, but its up to you if its worth it. I had almost the exact same problem and I paid someone to weld in a new patch. It was probably the dumbest thing I've ever done financially, but it was worth it to me.

[E30andy]

Here is my work in progress of my repair
Before, one of the previous owners had welded a plate over the hole..


And we got a chassis rail again! Make sure you have good penetration!
I also had to weld in a patch on the vertical section pictured here


I made a jig that references of the other spring perch made outof 2 small vertical tubes that are connected with a long square tube. I also took a lot of measurements before removing the old disc.
Couldn't make the new disc yet as the local metal supply store didn't have 2,5mm thick sheet in stock.

Looks great! Wish I had those skills!

[E30andy]

Like everyone else is saying, its definitely fixable, but its up to you if its worth it. I had almost the exact same problem and I paid someone to weld in a new patch. It was probably the dumbest thing I've ever done financially, but it was worth it to me.

Mind me asking what you paid for the repair? I have no idea what something like this repair should cost...

[stonea]

I honestly don't remember. It was a while back and it there was a lot of big purchases at the time.