body and interior Rear Window Lip Repair

[jerry]

i thought the following pictures may help some folks dealing with rust at the window corners.  this repair deals with the interior portion of the window opening.  my rear parcel shelf was a mess with butchered speaker holes and rusty holes here and there. 

 

i typically start with a cardboard pattern fit to the area i want to replace.  from a flat piece of cardboard, i have to visualize where or how to curve my flat piece of sheetmetal as shown.

 

i do some preliminary shaping with a body hammer (actually, my preferred hammer is actually a welding hammer used to pick off weldslag, that i ground to provide flat faces).  i use a sharpie marker to help me locate approximately where the curvature needs to be.  thin dashes for slight curve, thicker dashes for more curves and solid lines for cuts.

whenever possible, i take my replacement piece and actually form it in place over the existing area.  this is the optimum method, but be careful not to deform the base metal too.  patience is key.  do not try to deform metal in 1 or 2 blows.  light persistant taps will move sheetmetal.  in extreme cases i have used a torch to soften it if i need extreme curves.  for this example shown, however, no heat was used.

 

sometimes it is necessary to cut reliefs inorder to make the curvature as shown.  then grind the excess to clean up the reliefs.  these will be welded

 

only when i'm happy with the replacement patch will i cut the actual rusty spot out using the patch as a pattern.  then i can trim to size as necessary and weld in place

 

the last photo shows my parcel shelf with all the holes and rust removed.  it is firm and a vast improvement over what it was.

 

 

 

[Mike Self]

Nice job, Jerry.  Perfect illustration of how a little visible rust blister along the edge of the windshield/backlight gasket can lead to a complicated repair, and a strong arguement for replacing those gaskets when they get all hard and brittle.

 

cheers

mike