The Prizm Project.

[Intrepidation]

Well after seven winters in New England, the salt has taken its toll on the Prizm. Like nearly every other Prizm/Corolla up here the rear rocker panels and wheel wells have begun to rot out. Driver's side wheel well had developed a hole, passenger was bubbling, and the doglegs were both rotted .

I've been putting off for a year or so, but it finally got to the point where it needed to be done before it got worse. Fortunately the rot is pretty superficial and the inner parts weren't rotted.

I see a lot of people patching holes with everything from expanding foam and bondo to duct tape, but screw that noise. I brought it done to a good shop I know and had it fixed the right way: rusted sections cut out and new metal welded in. Unfortunately, I didn't get any before photos but you all know what rot looks like. I have started taking pictures as I progress though.

The shop did the welding, initial filler and priming. I'm doing the finishing work, my first real foray into auto body.

Here it is the when I got it back last week:

Today I sanded down and primed the edges of the doors which were chipped down to metal. Then I sanded the primer, feathered the edges and sealed it. I've got the base coat on order and should be painting it next week at the latest, depending on weather and time. The it'll be clear coat, wet sanding and buffing. Can't wait. It's finally getting some much needed TLC.

I'm also going to have the same place do the quarter properly and finally paint that too. Can't wait to see how it turns out.

That will just leave the roof as the last eyesore. It sat this winter out but snow still managed to peel all of the clear coat off. That will probably be a few months down the road, but it will get repainted and that plus some hubcaps or repainted wheels will make the car look presentable again.

On the mechanical side, it'll be getting new rear struts and brakes soon, which will leave just the small crack in the exhaust manifold to deal with.

[Intrepidation]

Coming along.

[David]

Very Nice, Looking forward to seeing the whole project completed.

[§carlet §wordfish]

Good job DF!

[A Horse With No Name]

Glad your keeping it on the road, looking good!

[Intrepidation]

I finally had a chance to wet sand it yesterday.

1500 > 2000 > 2500 > Rubbing Compound

Not bad but I was running out of daylight and had to stop. Today, I got a chance to go back and wet sand it some more.

1500 > 2000 > 2500 > Rubbing Compound > Polishing Compound

Much better! It's not perfect, but for a first effort I'm pleased with it overall. Time to do the next side.

[§carlet §wordfish]

Nice and shiny.

How much did the shop charge to cut out the rot and weld in the new metal? The Sunfire is rusting pretty bad around the doors and rockers and I should probably do that too if I'm gonna continue driving it.

[Intrepidation]

Shiniest area of the car right now!

$200 for everything, I was recommended by another shop whose owner I am friends with because he does better work than the welding shop I had looked into prior.

Another shop wanted $300

The welding shop wanted $150 per rocker and $80 per wheel well. It's worth it to shop around and get an idea of what kind of work they do.

I plan to take it back and get the quarter done properly so I can finally paint it. I'm also going to have some work done on the Intrepid.

[A Horse With No Name]

Looks good, DF!

[Intrepidation]

It's been difficult to get this done between work and all of this rain, but last Sunday I had the chance to paint and clear the passenger side.

And today I was able to wet and and buff it.

I think I'll go back and wet sand some more above the door handle but otherwise I'm pretty happy with it. Next item will be the rear quarter.

[David]

Very cool and much cheaper than a new car payment.

[ocnblu]

You've done a good job with it! I hope the repairs hold for you.

[A Horse With No Name]

His cars will outlast the cockroach species on this planet, methinks.