Inspection of the visible parts of the tub revealed many of the types of damage one expects to see in cars of a generation where priming of internal panels wasn’t a thing, and to be honest, the cars were viewed as throw away. Inspection of weld quality in hidden locations confirms that no assembly line in the 50s and 60s was ever going to assemble a vehicle like we would restore one today.
Anything that was close to the ground had significant rust damage, including the bolt on bits (fenders and doors), and the sills. The inner sills in particular looked to be made of some sort of Swiss cheese. Since the inner sill forms an important backbone to support the front and rear halves of the tub, keeping this part solid is critical. Replacement sills are available and care must be exercised not to damage the tub while replacing them, lest it “taco”.
Below is the rear boxed section at the rear valence. The plate cover and flanges are totally perforated and need replacement and/or repair. Within this enclosed space, no doubt hide more surprises of the Fe2O3 variety.
The floors themselves are often cratered. These floors are quite pitted, but there are no significant holes. There is some pin holing near the mounting points, but hopefully simple repairs here will be sufficient. At the foot of the floors is evidence of prior repair work. Will need to dig in a little there to make sure it has been done satisfactorily and isn’t regressing back to rust.
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