rusted floors, how bad is it?

[Sunnyledge]

New Hampshire can be tough on BMWs. 18 ga patch fabricated.

[Sunnyledge]

Here is my Fred Flintstone floor.

[turbski]

the hole on the right looks innocent enough, but this is the area that connects the trans mounts, underneath the surface the metal is soaked with oil and road debris. I cut back the inner layer to reveal very minor rust, I will not be drilling out the plug welds for the tranny mount at this time but will keep an eye on it

[turbski]

[ATTACH][ATTACH][ATTACH]127422[/ATTACH][/ATTACH][/ATTACH]

[turbski]

If your feet aren't poking out, paint it black and put the carpet back.

(ok dont do that)

LOL, All I can picture is Fred Flinstone bombing around in an E30, Made my day. Thanks.

The rust really isn't all that horrific. More of a PITA. The first patch was down and dirty. tacked, Tapped gently into shape with a Big f*ckn hammer, tacked again, seam sealed. Not pretty but sturdy. Im not a stranger to welding by any means. BUT.... this is my first e30.
I drooled for over a year when I saw this beautiful black beamer with four eyes rip down a stretch of rt 9 from keene nh past me and that was it, I was hooked.
Fast forward until today, I found out 1 week ago, We are expecting another child! And the wife flat out refuses to let me sell this car to replenish what I spent on it, + the head repair + dyno time. So might not be the end all rust but this is the first "sports car" that we both enjoy. The legacy gt was awesome but when I sold it SHE was psyched.

[e30davie]

If your feet aren't poking out, paint it black and put the carpet back.

(ok dont do that)

[turbski]

Found 2 more while prepping last night. Entire rear drain pass side is toast and 1 more small hole in pass side trans* tunnel area. Dropped heat shield and exhaust. Works out ok though I want to add a resonator while exhaust is off. 3in straight pipe to a vibrant muffler is to much for my taste

[pazi88]

Lightly rusted floors only? That's rookie talk.

[amcp]

+1.

Turbski, here are some pics for encouragement. The first is from when I pulled up the carpets in my ix for the first time and wanted to cry. The 2nd is after they were all patched up. It's time-consuming work, but completely do-able if you've got an angle grinder and a mig welder.

I had to sell an 89IS because it was this bad and I didnt have the tools/knowledge to fix. Lousy cause I really liked it.

[turbski]

+1.

Turbski, here are some pics for encouragement. The first is from when I pulled up the carpets in my ix for the first time and wanted to cry. The 2nd is after they were all patched up. It's time-consuming work, but completely do-able if you've got an angle grinder and a mig welder.


Nice job fixing that up man.
The part I'm having trouble fixing is where it connects to the inner cab. Its a hard angle with a slight radius. I got the passenger side done today and will post up tomorrow. Will try to keep this documented as I go.
Thanks for the encouragement.
Gotta fix it. Don't want to hammer on a 300hp piece o swiss cheese.

[SethB]

those corners are worse than the battery box!

+1.

Turbski, here are some pics for encouragement. The first is from when I pulled up the carpets in my ix for the first time and wanted to cry. The 2nd is after they were all patched up. It's time-consuming work, but completely do-able if you've got an angle grinder and a mig welder.

[amcp]

those corners are worse than the battery box!

[SethB]

I've seen way worse than that patched up. It seems almost inevitable on our cars that those outside corners have some level of rust, those don't look too bad. A couple of pieces of 18 gauge steel cut and bent to match those holes should be pretty easy to weld. Then primer and seam sealer, undercoating on the outside, and you'll be in pretty good shape.

[rturbo 930]

Oh, someone already cut the rust out. Alright. Well basically you're gonna have to make up some patches and weld them in.

[turbski]

ya photo quality was junk, look closer though. there is nothing to wire wheel. the large bright spots are my garage floor.