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Hi Eddie,
Congrats on your purchase!
Removing the body is a pretty serious undertaking. Unless there are other reasons to go that deep (drivetrain rebuild for example), I don't think I'd do it. I'm taking you at face value that the car isn't particularly rusty.
I'd focus on rustproofing the known problem areas, and any other areas I could get at. These include
1) Rocker panels. These are hollow panels that provide the majority of stiffness to the unibody frame. They rust from the inside out. To preserve them, you need to get access to the inside and spray your preference of rustproofing material. You can do this by drilling 1/2" holes along the inside of the panels, spraying in your rustproofing, then capping with a plastic plug. Redo every year or two.
2) Trunk area, esp by battery. You can easily get at both sides of this. Get rid of the lead acid battery and replace with a non lead acid- that removes a source of trunk rust. Replace your window gasket and make sure the drains are open. Removes another source of rusty trunks.
3) Floor area, especially on driver side near pedals and brake/clutch masters. Due to years of wet feet and leaking brake fluid, these areas are prone to rust. You can get at it pretty well from the inside of the cabin. Remove the pedals and treat the area accordingly.
4) Front shock/spring towers- Maybe a good time to remove the shocks, springs, A-arms and replace ball joints, tie rod ends and the rubber bushing inserts. You can then get good access to the towers and treat accordingly.
5) Rear axle tunnel- remove rear axle, which is a good time to replace the rubber bushings there. Then properly treat the axle tunnel.
6) Seam at firewall- this can be a pain in the butt. Difficult to get at from inside the car, and difficult from the engine side. Removing nose and drivetrain is the best option for this.
That's most of the areas that go. And if they are in good shape now, can be accessed without removing the body.
One final point- there's a number of rust converter/proofing products out there. Some like POR-15, some Eastwood, some Rust Bullet, etc etc. Pick one and don't use a rubberized undercoating product to cover up in the end. These tend to hide rust and trap moisture.
Hope this helps...
eric in vermont
posted by 12.129.98...
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