charles Posted March 22, 2014 Share Posted March 22, 2014 Hey! Just wanted to share what I've got going so far! I bought a 94XE maybe a month ago. I thought it had 150,000km on it... It was sorta wet and gross so I figured I'd gut it and then put it back together, but I found a bunch of rust, and a sticker saying the odometer had been replaced and reset to zero at 166,000km... so I kissed the idea of finally owning a (relatively) low mileage vehicle goodbye, and got to work! Here's the thing gutted... ...exposing the rust holes under the rear seats that I'm guessing far too many of you have seen before! And there was a gooder under the driver's right foot, for good measure! So I ground down the rust and started cutting... It was disconcerting to see so much ground... Also, I lost a bolt for each of the back seats, so... no more back seats! I just used a rust primer around the edges... Then pop-riveted sheet metal into place... It's getting a little dark here... but I also applied several coats of rubberized asphalt (comes in a spray can) to the metal patches from underneath the vehicle, and after painting the whole patch on the inside, I sealed the edges with spray-on truck-bed liner. So overall, obviously not as good as welding, but I put a lot of rivets in, hahaha, and the edges are hopefully all sealed to prevent water and dirt from getting into there too much. Has anyone here ever fallen victim to the 'white van speaker scam' ? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_van_speaker_scam I did, because apparently I'm gullible. But the good thing about spending $300 on a set of worthless speakers is that you can not give a crap about them... The subwoofer didn't fit nicely in the back so I just smashed it with a hammer, cut it up with a skill saw, and then threw it back together in the right size/shape! Boom! Now it fits and it sounds just as mediocre as it did before! Is that expanding foam coming out the top? Sure as heck is! Also, you can see the patches peeking out from under the rubber mat... the grey is primer and the black is the spray-on truck-bed liner. That's all for now! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamzan Posted March 22, 2014 Share Posted March 22, 2014 Riveting is fine but I think you should have used more on that drivers floor patch. Especially on the right side. And use some seam sealer or silicone to prevent water from coming in. Seal it from underneath and up top. Or else when it rains your truck will stink. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devonianwalk Posted March 22, 2014 Share Posted March 22, 2014 Nice write up. I enjoyed the read! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charles Posted March 22, 2014 Author Share Posted March 22, 2014 @adamzan - I now agree too... I can feel it flex under my foot as I'm driving. But I liberally applied several coats of rubberized asphalt (that rocker guard stuff) to the underside, making sure to get it up into the gap, and did the truck bed liner on top (it got dark so I didn't photograph the finished product). Once it's warm and dry I'll be sure to go at it again to make sure it's righteously thick! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamzan Posted March 23, 2014 Share Posted March 23, 2014 I used that on the repair on my old truck and no matter how many coats I used it still leaked. Hell, you can even use self tapping screws if you don't' care what it looks like. Go to home depot and get some caulking its fairly cheap. The stuff for rain gutters and roof flashing works great. Or you can get actual autobody seam sealer. Its about 15 bucks for a pint of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charles Posted March 23, 2014 Author Share Posted March 23, 2014 Hmm... alright, thanks for the heads up. I'll get something else on there for sure! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahardb0dy Posted March 23, 2014 Share Posted March 23, 2014 Best thing to do even if you can't weld would be to prep it like you did than take it to someone who could weld the patch panel in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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