Text and Photography by Jon Mikelonis

Part One: Project Background and Sheetmetal Removal

Rust can cause an automotive enthusiast to reach for the "For Sale" sign or prevent a buyer from capitalizing on a good opportunity. Don't let the smallest sign of rust lead you to think an entire car is rotting from the center outward. You can save your classic or use the rust as a bargaining tool if you know how to eliminate the intimidating cancer. Follow along as we show you how we overcame a seemingly hopeless circumstance with little experience in body repair.

We came across our particular rust situation unexpectedly. FordMuscle took on the challenge knowing that once complete we would be fearless of more common rust problems like those found in rocker panels and lower doors.

Essentially, we were given this non-running 1973 Ford Gran Torino Two-Door with a 351C 2V, straight body, and excellent interior. This was not a highly sought after "numbers" car, but it did have all the killer benefits of a garden variety '72-'73 Gran Torino - Cleveland Engine, C6 Transmission, Full Frame, Complete Coil Spring Suspension, 9-inch Rear, and Front Wheel Disc Brakes. With a good 400M in the garage we figured with little work and investment we could have a solid running car for further projects.

The car was showing no rust in the usual areas. With little research we found the car spent 20 years in Central California. However, we overlooked one major issue, a post production vinyl top showing wear, that once removed revealed rust only seen attached to sunken treasure. Unfortunately, we removed the top after we freshened up and installed the spare 400M. Lesson learned.

Since the motor was installed and the car drove very well, we decided to adventure into uncharted FordMuscle territory. Surgery.

1. Remove roof skin
After removing the vinyl top we found both c-pillars, roof, and rear panel were rusted beyond repair, all four skins needed to be completely removed. We began by pulling the windshield, rear glass/gasket, and roof rail moldings. Once removed we could make out some of the spot welds that attached the roof skin to the supporting framework. Spot welds appear along the seams of adjacent pieces of sheetmetal or supporting framework. Spot welds leave a characteristic dimple in sheetmetal that is easy to recognize.

After cleaning off residual glues and gasket material we exposed 90% of the perimeter spot welds attaching the roof to the framework underneath. We found that the c-pillar skins overlapped the roof skin about half-way up the c-pillar. This area was filled at the facory with lead. To expose the remaining spot welds we melted out the lead with a propane torch. At this point all spot welds necessary to remove the roof skin were exposed and ready for drilling. We used a specially designed spot weld bit and an electric drill to drill out the welds. The bit can be found at a paint and body supply shop. There were probably more than 100 spot welds around the perimeter but drilling was reasonable with the specialized bit. Once all the spot welds were drilled out, the roof skin was ready to be lifted off after breaking loose a few sticky welds.

2. Remove c-pillar skins
The best method for removing the c-pillar skins was not so clear. The c-pillar skins are actually a part of the tub so we needed to make a major horizontal cut as well as drill out the spot welds. Instinctively, we wanted to make this cut along the upper body line. We changed our minds believing the bodywork required to smooth out the seam would be best performed on a wide flat surface. This would allow us to use the full length of our file board for smoothing. In hindsight, we should have made the cut along the upper body line since it would have offered more rigidity for blending. The wide flat surface we chose flexed too much as we used the file board. Additionally, once we began working with the filler we found that re-creating the body line would not have been that difficult. We marked off the cut line with chalk and used a sawz-all to make the cut. A pneumatic body saw would have been the tool of choice here but our sawz-all did just fine. Next, we drilled a few spot welds from inside the car that required removing the rear door panels. There were also a few welds found in the door jam. Once these were drilled the c-pillar skin was ready to be removed.

3. Remove rear panel
Removing the rear window and gasket revealed a row of spot welds just behind the rear package tray attaching the forward edge of the rear panel. By opening the deck lid we located another row of spot welds that attached the rear edge of the rear panel. After drilling these out the rear panel was held on only by the left and right edges. The factory filled this area in with a paintable white caulking material that could be easily removed with a standard screwdriver or rigid putty knife.At this point we located more spot welds that were exposed only because we had already removed the c-pillars. Once these welds were drilled the rear panel was ready to come out, again we ran into a few sticky welds that required re-drilling.

With the four skins removed it was now time to find a donor car and repeat the removal process. We were relieved when we found a '72 that was in worse shape than our project car. In Part Two of "Dealing With Rust" we'll cover fitting and welding in place a new skin. We'll discuss how we attached the donor sheetmetal, highlighting the tools required to do the job right.