Ok, so now I've got the left rocker off (mostly). Drilled out the spot welds, and it wasn't too hard. I haven't, however, removed the part of the rocker that goes under the rear quarter dogleg. I cut it off with an abrasive cutoff wheel as neatly as I could. General picture attached. My question deals with the picture attached to the next post...

So, the part under the rear quarter is still on the car, and I haven't figured out how to remove it without removing the dogleg. Given that there are no signs of rust on the dogleg itself (the rear quarters were replaced by the PO about 12 years ago), I'd rather not dig into them if I don't have to. From the pic attached, you can see the the inside of the rear rocker is rusty, but not as bad as the front was. There is a rust-through on the bottom, and there is some kind of flat metal piece (with the paint running down it) that is about half gone. So, the question is, I'd like to sand blast it out, weld a patch over the small hole in the bottom, POR15 treat it, and leave it. Good idea or bad? I'd then cut the replacement rocker and butt-weld it to the remaining part that I've left.

All opinions welcome :classic:

Is that rusted-off flat metal piece the bottom of part 6 from the attached screen shot from the fiche?

The part that is showing the rust through is the bottom of the part you describe in the fiche.

The rocker panel replacements I've used don't go all the way under the dog leg but are butt welded on the outside of the bottom of the dog leg. It looks like you cut straight down along the seam where they overlap? Shouldn't be a big deal, as you ought to be able to butt weld them back in place, however, if originality is a concern, you will lose the body line where they overlap.

As far as the rust goes, judging by the amount of rust along the bottom where the dog leg is welded to the bottom of the floor pan outer rail, perhaps a dog leg replacement might be in order:ermm: If you can get into the area with POR 15 and their matting to close up the hole and seal it to your satisfaction, I'd go with that as it will be a lot easier than cutting out and replacing the dog leg. If I were you, I'd poke around a little more, and if any more metal falls away, or is severely compromised strenght wise, I'd replace the dog leg and get in there and do a proper patch and seal in the are that has the hole in it.

Looks like you're doing a nice job, Mark.

Originally posted by 26th-Z

Looks like you're doing a nice job, Mark.

Its nice, after all these years, to have a Z that is not my daily driver, that I can spend as much time as needed and do the job right.

Mark,

I found this company that provides seam sealers and coatings for your metal work. They have similar stuff to POR and vinyl dye as well.

http://www.semproducts.com/