body and interior Repair Or Replace

[Roundeie]

Removed insulation and found this:

Car is '71 Roundie, lived in N. California and Nevada all its life. No significant rust found anywhere. A little exterior on fenders, none in shock towers or wells. Hole is 3" long.

What say you? Weld in patches or replace?

Thanks

Edit: hole is just behind frame rail and I can't discern anything within rail or adjacent to it except this...

Edited October 26, 2014 by Roundeie

[PaulTWinterton]

If indeed it's the only hole I'd weld. Luckily it's not a cosmetic area so it won't require as much work as an outside fender, rocker or quarter panel.

I say you got off easy. :-)

[SydneyTii]

I'd get a competent body shop to cut out that small section and just weld in a nice clean piece, I had the same thing years ago on my Colorado roundie, water had got trapped there from a heater and screen leak, I left the car standing while I was in the USA for some time..... found it when I opened the car on return from my trip (moldy smell was the carpet), I think it must have been there for years gradually rusting away. Patch it, paint it, protect it...... you know the story :-)

[Mike Self]

Driver's or passenger's side?  If the former, you may want to check the frame rail for rust--that can happen from a leaky master cylinder (made a real mess on my '69).  If the latter, the damage looks like it came from either a leaky windshield gasket or rust in the cowl area allowing water into the car--and that can be true on the driver's side if you don't find any frame rail damage.

 

Weld it up and be done with it.  

mike

[Roundeie]

Driver's side. How do I check the frame rail short of removal???

Edit: Carpet on drivers side was completely worn thru to insulation when removed. As I said above it lived in a very dry climate. I'll try to clean all the junk off from the underside but it's mostly dirt and oil. Not sure how else to determine if the frame rail is intact.

2nd: also car has a sunroof. Could a leaky drain hose funnel water into this area???

Edited October 27, 2014 by Roundeie

[Roundeie]

Photo added
 

Edited October 27, 2014 by Roundeie

[Danz3]

I had the same issue on my 74. I had a local restoration shop cut the rust out and weld in new metal. Luckily the frame rail wasn't bad.

[PaulTWinterton]

Most likely you don't have to worry about your frame rail unless you've had a Master Cylinder leak or the car lived in ice and snow and salt (or at the beach in Hawaii). It looks fine in the picture.