May be bringing home a very crusty NB Miata for 1/3 Challenge money. It's rusty in the quarters with minor rust in the bay/undersides. The drivers side is the worst by far, maybe even beyond repair but I want a project.
I know I can get cheap replacements on eBay, but how do I go about removing the rusted panel? How do I tack back in? How do I seal the seams? Anything else?
Picture of the drivers quarter:
Passenger:
For starters there's this: https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/grm/miata-how-much-rust-is-too-much/59629/page1/
Details of what the quarter panel looks like with the skin removed (and how much fun replacing quarter panels is: https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/grm/miata-rocker-rust-prevent-it/101868/page1/
My plan to repair the exact same thing on my '99 is to remove small areas of the rust to see what is behind it. In the process, it should become clear how the system is put together.
For the outside, I bought the repair panels (BTW, find the cheapest price- the SM racer who sells them gets them FROM the cheapest place and sells them for a profit). For the inside parts, I plan on fabricating the repairs out of appropriate gauge metal.
One other thing I'll note- I had my car up in the air- while the rear fenders have similar outside rust- I can't find any serious under vehicle rust. Including some of the frame in the front of the car that other miata owners have complained about. So I think that mine is repairable and looks the same as the one you got.
Other than the springs/shocks/exhaust- which I plan on replacing on this 205k car anyway.
Seems to me, a car like the one you found will make a great challenge car.
There's nothing Miata-specific about rust repair. I'm pretty sure every second issue of Car Craft involves welding a patch panel into some random vehicle. The techniques are the same.
In reply to Keith Tanner:
That's a very good point.
I have quite a bit of experience restoring rusty MGB shells. It is not too hard to make them as good or better than the factory. A lot of work, but not that difficult.
Doing a high quality rustoration to factory specs on a Miata would be very difficult. The Miata is just put together way too well at the factory and there was no provisions made to disassemble the shell.
On the other hand, doing rust patches is the same regardless of what you are working on.
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