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By texasmark1 - 14 Years Ago
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OK, so son's Merc has rust... we can see and attack rust on the outsides of the frame, but what about inside the frame?? A frame-off resto is out of our price range, so I'm wondering how to clean out the inside of the frame rails... I'm thinking something I can run back and forth would do some good, but haven't come up with anything yet... thinking something rough and scratchy like a Brillo pad only bigger, might work. It would have to be something that would fit tight inside the frame rails, but moveable so I could draw it in and out, back and forth using a wire or stick, to loosen up as much rust as possible. If I can get it loose, I can blow it out with air... sounds weird I know, but has anyone done this? anybody got any ideas? as always, thanks for all suggestions/comments/encouragement on this project! Mark and Daniel
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By The Master Cylinder - 14 Years Ago
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Mark and Daniel, Sound like a good idea to remove the rust but the first thing that comes to my mind is how would you prevent it from continuing to rust afterwards. Could you get "inside of the frame rails" to coat it?
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By MoonShadow - 14 Years Ago
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You can get an extended spray, like they use for undercoating. I was also wondering if a glase breaker, the one with a lot of little balls, would do it? Use something like a drain snake to extend the reach. That should knock a lot of the flat surface stuff loose. You could also whack the frame along the sides and bottom with a hammer to loosen rust. Then run water through the frame to push the loose rust out. Maybe lift one end of the car to flush. Let it dry completely. Then, using an extended wand you can use the rust stoppers and coatings like Eastwood sells and spray the inside. You can use the different spare holes in the sides of the frame to help reach more area. If I remember correctly you bought some rust treatment a while back. Check you local discount store for the wand type attachment. You could probably use the stuff you have a bit cheaper. But Eastwood can supply it ready to use. If the outside of the frame isn't very rusty the inside is probably similar. The rust inhibitor and coating may be enough. Do frames commonly rust out in your area or the area where you bought the car? Chuck http://www.eastwood.com/ew-rust-encapsulator-w-ext-nozzle-black.html http://www.eastwood.com/internal-frame-coating-w-spray-nozzle.html?reltype=2&parent_id=25961 http://www.eastwood.com/rustproofing-and-undercoating-system.html
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By The Master Cylinder - 14 Years Ago
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Well, there ya go... Thanks Chuck.
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By texasmark1 - 14 Years Ago
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plumber's snake with something on the end to "scratch" the inside of the frame sounds like a plan. the car spent most of its life in WI; ice on roads, salt on roads, salt on car, rust on car; repairs by a former owner by traping the rust AND salt between the original metal of the bottom and patches of sheet metal attached by screws and then coated with TAR!!! how someone could do this is beyond me... but there you are...! the frame is fairly rusted, especially in the rear end, both inside and out. Figure I will use the Eastwood internal frame coating product after getting out rust by any means possible. probably will use the KBS Coatings stuff on the external rust areas. I like the way it goes on and looks after it drys. spent most of today continuing to scrap old rust off the bottom around the gas tank, cleaning up the brakes in prep for wheel cylinder kits installation, and scraping old under coating off the front inner fenders. this is the stuff that separates the real car guys from the wanna bees... right? please tell me right! oh yeah, dug out about 3 lbs of axle grease from just one upper A-arm... blown out grease fitting/rubber boot, obviously... guess the same skills that did the metal over salt over rust sealed with tar just kept on pumping grease into the front end without noticing it was coming out all over the place! man, this stage is nasty!
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By Frankenstein57 - 14 Years Ago
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Usually us Wisconsin guys get Texas cars to avoid all that mess, watch out that disease might infect the other cars in your driveway
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By texasmark1 - 14 Years Ago
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infect is right! this thing is eat up with car cancer!
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By Barry L - 14 Years Ago
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Hi Check the frame to see that it is hollow to allow you to operate some sort of "snake " idea. I tried a similar idea on a 57 frame but found "spacers or dividers" every 2 feet or so. I think they're factory spacers to separate the two frame halves prior to welding into box shape. I was trying to remove sandblasting residue.....ended up using a home made blow gun made of a length of 1/4 in. hard plastic tubing and just let it flap around in the frame....ok to get sand and dirt out, not so much for rust. Barry L
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By Pete 55Tbird - 14 Years Ago
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It could be time to rethink trying to save this car if the rust has gone as far as the frame. Start over with a better one and just learn from the experience. Pete
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By GREENBIRD56 - 14 Years Ago
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Get a chimney sweeps' brush and drive it with a drill and flexible shaft. 
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By texasmark1 - 14 Years Ago
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hum... chimney sweep brush... where could I find one of those...? remember I'm in Houston... fireplaces and chimneys are pretty much just decorations for us! don't think I could find this item at my local Ace or Lowe's!
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By GREENBIRD56 - 14 Years Ago
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I think they have them here at Ace in Tucson (sweeps brushes) - but if not in Texas, you can see them on Ebay most of the time. I know I've spent some miserable days using them both in Wyoming and Ohio where I used to live They may be too big in diameter....but if you can get one the right size, they will really go to work on whatever is in there!
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By LON - 14 Years Ago
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I agree with Pete . If the rust is so bad it has rusted out the rear ,I would be looking at replacing the chassis .It may take a while ,but if you can drive the car the way it is now ,buy another chassis & rebuild it with new bushes ,springs , steering ,shocks ,brake lines ,diff etc,etc. Then all of a sudden you have a brand new chassis .All you have to do then is lift up the body & roll under the rebuilt chassis .Sounds easy ,I know ,but what a way to learn. I did it with my 56 Victoria chassis while the body was at the panel shop .All in 12 weeks ,including a rebuilt motor & gearbox .Not something I would do on every car ,but it can be done . Lon
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By MoonShadow - 14 Years Ago
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Is part of the frame rotted through? I missed that part of the post. What about the frame from Glens parts car? A total frame replacement sounds daunting but one of my neighbors in Texas did it in a week, nights and weekend only! So its far from impossible. Chuck
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By texasmark1 - 14 Years Ago
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no complete rust-thru on the frame as far as I have been able to detect so far... just really rough, especially toward the rear. Hope to have it completly scoped out by this weekend. not sure the frame of Glen's car would work as his is a 4 dr and ours is a 2 dr... but may be worth exploring further!
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