Hi everyone,
I have recently got into ownership of my fathers s2k that he owned for 6 years now...
some of you may remember my posts some may not. Unfortunately he never really considered rust proofing the chassis or doing anything about the rust that started to develop on the car. Car has been used as a Daily on Irish Roads Currently sitting at 202k KM with some few tasty mods, Ohlins DFV, Fully Polybushed Powerflex Blackseries, Kia 4.625 Final Drive, Full Transmission Rebuild with drive shafts and prop shaft OEM Honda 50K km ago, Hardrace engine/Tranny mounts, Hardrace antyroll Bars and few other maintenance bits like new Chain with guides, new valve stem seals... and many more which I cant remember...
Since I am taking over now I would like to deal with this before its too late.

1/2 Way through Brake JoB

Please understand that I have no experience with fixing rust on cars... and this thread is created to record my work done trying to restore this machine.
1st of what I have done was removed the rear wheel arch seals to inspect the arches and found few spots that would need touch up but not really sure if its urgent or not.. Please have a look at the photos below:


Above Photo...The Hole that has magically Appeared !







Inside of Left arch before I cleaned it and treated with rust converter



This scares me !


Sprayed wd40 Inside the hole ... don't know if it will do anything but gave it a shot haha...
As I was inspecting the wheel arches and cleaning of the dirt a Bulge in *I dont know whats the specific name to that place on the chassis called* (Above photo), so I started to poke on it with a screw driver and not surprisingly a hole has been developed I then checked the other side of the car and in the exact same location there was the same bulge that if I poked with the screwdriver long enough I would create a hole in it...
Now from what I understand is that The arches is a bit of a job but I have never seen rust in that Location on s2ks. Buddy of mine told me its a common issue but I cant seem to find any info on it, how to repair and what does the repair involve..
Has anyone had a similar rust spot on their s2ks?



Anyway for now I cleaned out most loose rust that fell of easily and I used some Rust converter to slow down the process, before I tackle the job fully... ( I need to find a garage to store it for winter )













The plan is once I find a suitable place to store the car, I am planning to dismantle the whole rear drivetrain, subframe etc and really tackle this job..
I am still researching on how exactly to do this and what products to use... If anyone has any recommendations it would be great if you could post below.

Thanks,
I will be updating the progress of my battle with this evil ! Any help is appreciated
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Get some POR-15, bruv. Magic stuff.

 

Concur. Its been used by car guys for decades. Hopefully you can get it over there.

You can paint it right over rusted metal. There is some specific prep. Scrape loose, flaking rust. Clean with por15 degreaser. Apply their metal prep (an acid etch). Apply por15 paint.

It will prevent further rusting.

 

After applying whichever rust converter paint you choose, follow up with some kind of frame oil protector. Fluid Film is great if you can locate it there. Will keep the metal protected and also keeps the bolts from being seized. I use it religiously on my 4Runner every year in fall.

 

Not to thread jack. Does fluid film make a greazy sticky mess? I just bought a (rare?) car from CA that I plan to daily drive in the Chicago burbs. I feel bad...but...what's a player to do?

 

It will definitely add to the grease factor. It causes dirt and grime to cling on, which I've heard actually strengthens it. Aesthetically speaking, yes, it looks like crap, and when you are doing work underneath, you get a little more dirty. I feel that is a small price to pay to have a rust-free car. In winters, I will wash the truck every 2 weeks or so at the DIY bays, making sure to avoid high pressure as it will remove the coating. I've heard that the 'spot-free' cycle actually uses fresh water instead of recycled like the other modes, so I usually opt for that, and it's low pressure. The other bonus of using Fluid Film, is it's environmentally friendly.

Just avoid spraying on it on rubber components. Apparently it has been known to slightly swell them, but that hasn't happened to me, though. I spray that stuff everywhere; Frame (including inside the frame), bottom of the doors, rockers, engine bay. I would highly encourage you to look into it for your CA car. By the way, I am not in any way paid by them or endorsed. I am just a huge fan of this product. Have been using it since 2014. There are other products on the market that do just as good of a job, though.

Here's a video that reviews FF as well as other protectants:

 

^Thanks for the response. I'll look into it. I am put off by "you get a little more dirty while working on it" because I am a soft man.

But...having no rust would be nice too.

 

Another vote for POR15. Most of the complaints that come from using this stuff (e.g., flakes, peels off, doesn't stick well, etc.) comes from poor surface prep. I can attest to this myself as I've had varying levels of success with the final outcome. The one common factor being the quality of surface prep. The surface really does need to completely free from residue to get the best adhesion. It also doesn't seem to adhere as well to smooth surfaces even with the metal prep applied. For smooth surfaces, I'd try to rough it up with sandpaper before degreasing and metal etching. If possible, buy the smallest cans since the lids are pretty much impossible to remove once the product sticks to them.

Wire wheels attached to a drill or angle grinder make surface prep easier. If you're able to, sandblasting the part is best. Check out Mike's Restorations on Youtube. He has several segments on POR15 application. Mind you he's trusting this stuff on his super high-end Porsche restoration, so the product does have validity when used properly.

 

consider getting friendly with your media blaster and it looks like in some places, a welder.
POR15- with proper prep- is an excellent product.
darcy

 

Most of those areas look like they can be ground down smooth. I would take a grinder to the bad spots and get them down to clean metal, then build on that with your favourite rust prevention primer and top coat. I will use rust converter on areas where you can't get all of the rust off, then coat with primer and top coat. I like to saturate parts with rubberized rocker guard as the very final step after the areas are prepped and painted, to seal them in and suffocate rust from coming back.