Hey guys, I've been really searching all around on what I should do with my rust repair. My cars a 95 lx 4 door, I've had it for almost a year now. It was in pretty good condition when I got it with 135k. It now has 170k on it now and unfortunately I had to drive through a nasty NY winter. The salt did quite a number on her. I haven't had it on the lift in a while, but from what I can tell the car frame-wise is still in decent shape. The rockers are rusted but still structurally strong(for now), and the bottom of my front doors are showing some rust now. The rust also came through a little bit on the inside of the door pillar, lower where it is near the rocker when you open the rear passenger door. Anyways I want to order new rocker panels online and have them welded (I have a garage where I can work on my car, has a mig and I know welders, I have not tried welding myself) but I cant find any that would be a direct replacement, you know? I've been reading a lot on Honda rust repair, body work threads and $600 build threads and etc etc.. I am truly inspired. Especially since my car has not rusted in the normal places Hondas usually rust, and the frame does not seem to be rusty yet. Is there anywhere to order it, or will I have to make it myself? I have very little experience in fabricating metal, although I am willing to make my own rockers if I have to. If you guys are interested I could maybe snag some pics when I get it on the lift to really show you guys and get a good opinion.

Also where should I look for signs of rust in critical structural areas? And areas in general that would hide rust from someone inexperienced like me? My main goal is to cut out and replace the rocker panels, and any other pieces that need to be replaced. I want to weld in new pieces, cut and form and stop the rust dead in it's tracks. Then I want to seal it up and stop the rust with por 15, rubberized coating, and whatever else I could use to protect the frame and metal from the elements. Then maybe throw some paint on it if I can get it to stop rusting. My main goal is to get more years out of this thing. I absolutely love this car, love the gas mileage (even though I'm losing like 10 mpg, I still have to change out my dizzy , whatever at least I already bought it), love the way it feels and handles on the road, and love the way it looks when it's not rusty. And if I had the choice right now, I would much rather tune up my engine and either piece up this car or buy a shell and swap everything over. Getting a shell seems like a better and better idea as I think about it, right now I'm looking at an ex shell for 300 with no motor or trans, looks pretty damn clean and rust free. Still I don't trust any cars from the northeast. Should I do it? Keep in mind that 300 dollars to me is like 3000 to a normal person, I am extremely poor, and broke, and am currently barely making it day by day. I would have to save up for this and by the time I did, It'd probably be gone. Thank you guys for reading this, I really appreciate any advice you guys have to offer.

 

If that other shell really is rust free go for it. You're going to be well above that by the time you fix what you have.

 

have you tried fixmyrust.com?

 

^ Yeah they don't sell sedan rockers - only hatchback. But, OP, the rockers pretty much sucked anyway ... I used some. They were a giant pain, and not user friendly in the end. You're better off designing your own.

 

that or get junkyard cuts.

 

Thank you very much for your input. You just saved me a lot of time and hassle.

I want to so bad, and I realize this as well. And my rust is bad enough where it'll pop back through either in the same spot or in a different spot. My main goal is to get more years, this is definitely the best way. And I might as well get a sunroof thrown in to the mix as well (mine's an lx). But my problem is I can't scrounge up those bills like that so easily..