[celticcook]

I bought this 90L Bahama Gold auto coupe 8/94 with 47K. Husband adopted her for his winter car couple years ago and LOVES her. Could buy anything, but won't part with her. Runs perfect. Driver leather worn not split, so I gifted him sheepskin seat covers last Christmas.

Problem is the dreaded rust is starting. Usual places : Near wheel well at strip, gas cap door, trunk letters and of course the strip below trunk. Still small areas but growing.

Dealer says there's nobody they know will do and guarantee body work. I know rust is always worse than it looks, but still - isn't there a fix? Got to be cheaper than new wheels as she's worthless on a trade. I'd love do get a plan to take care of the rust for his July birthday.

SO...advice please. Is she a goner?? Can this car be saved? She's otherwise perfect and good for many more years. Do I look for a twin? Learn to DIY the bodywork (I got time)? Pawn her off as a trade shool project? Let her rust to death? (oh, that hurts just to say it)

For the record, husband says he could care less about the rust - but I think he'd love her even more healed and shiney.


Thank you, thank you, thank you for any opinions/advice.

 

[celticcook]

That's coupe, btw - we ain't 90 yet

my typing stinks.

 

[Zerocool_Designs]

Well, what ever you do, don't give up on the car. Go to different body shops, and ask them what it will take to do the bodywork. My legend had some monstrous rust, and my stepdad, cousin, and I were able to get rid of it. It took some cutting, welding, bondo, and some love. The car is no longer "original," but there is no rust, and it looks a lot better. I'm not sure what the dealer meant by bodyshops not being able to "garuntee" bodywork, but it shouldn't be too hard, especially for sombody with experience. Also if you live somewhere that snows over winter, get it done asap! The rust will grow at incredible speeds in the cold.

 

[aznman007]

i say go to a private body shop. make relations and see if he's trustworthy. and how does ur typin stink? it's grammatically correct in my opinion

 

[Murphthesurf]

Wow I wish my wife would do that for me. You are a keeper!

 

[ND1980LS]

Well......I just had all my rust " fixed "..and I hope the repairs last a while. I had additional rust around the top corners of the front windshield.

On the good side...# 1: the piece below the trunk and above the rear bumper should be replaced in total. Mine was $ 72 from the dealer and once painted should last another 14 years. #2: as far as the letters on the trunk lid...pry them off to see how bad the rust is ( they came off pretty easy )...if it's surface rust try sanding the area down. If it's really bad; in my case the trunk lip had rusted, try going to a junkyard and finding a clean lid....that's what I did and a year and a half later the trunk is still perfect ( the one I found had NO RUST at all ). #3: as far as around the gas tank...try finding how deep the rust is...if it's just starting have the body shop sand down and seal the area.
#4: wheel wells....on mine the body shop cut away all the rusted area...welded in new metal. rust proffed the whole area and painted. They did say that this area was going to require yearly maintenance to make sure the rust didn't come back. All this, plus other miscellaneous body work for dents, etc... and a total repaint and clear...... $ 2100

Good Luck !!!!!!

 

[celticcook]

Thank you for the thoughts....you have me leaning toward life support on the Legend's body rather than a replacement 02 or 03 TL s-type.

Car lives in heated garage except for runs and brutal Wisconsin winter in the parking lot at work. Re: timeframe - how urgent is this. Can I wait until he is in the Z28 ragtop in the spring?

Advice on colors? Stay with the gold or go with black? That black with gold pinstripe 90LS sounds pretty nice....But it's to keep a dark color looking good here in the winter. (reminds me of the observation a kitchen floor SHOULD show dirt, cuz that's how you know when to wash it....)

Lastly for you readers into this issue, join the forum then do a search on "rust spot" and you'll get to a lot of helpful opinion and DIY advice.

 

[digger89L]

I had a quote from MAACO to do the work described by ND1980LS ..including a full re-paint job on the whole car: $1600. Haven't had it done yet. And by the way, keeping any vehicle in a heated garage in winter is going to rapidly accelerate rust problems. Well, keeping it there isn't the problem ....going in and out of the cold is what causes rust to accelerate. As Neil Young said: Rust Never Sleeps.

 

[Zerocool_Designs]

It may not be "safest," but try to find an amature to do the bodywork. My car got some new metal in the wheel well area, gas lid area, got a lot of dings removed, repaired a large gash in the rear bumper, clear coat cancer eradicated, and some shiny Lexus IS300 Dark Mica Metallic paint all over... It took less than $600, and I still have half-a-gallon of paint left.
I'm yet to buff out the paint job, but it looks fine how it is right now.

 

[celticcook]

Digger, now I'm curious..are you saying the melting/freezing cycling of a heated garage is going to make rust progress faster? Garage is kept just above freezing for the water pipes and bikes, so we're talking just below to just above freezing typically. Would it be better to leave her outside 24/7?? Seems harsh...

Body needs no other work, no dents or dings, even the paint is excellent except for the &$%*& rust spots. With all this advice I'm thinking possibly I should just go after those spots myself ASAP, grind, chemically treat and seal, bondo and spot paint. Couldn't make it worse, hey? I'm not thinking show car quality, just to get by while considering what to do in spring.........

 

[ND1980LS]

Thank you for the thoughts....you have me leaning toward life support on the Legend's body rather than a replacement 02 or 03 TL s-type.

Car lives in heated garage except for runs and brutal Wisconsin winter in the parking lot at work. Re: timeframe - how urgent is this. Can I wait until he is in the Z28 ragtop in the spring?

Advice on colors? Stay with the gold or go with black? That black with gold pinstripe 90LS sounds pretty nice....But it's to keep a dark color looking good here in the winter. (reminds me of the observation a kitchen floor SHOULD show dirt, cuz that's how you know when to wash it....)

Lastly for you readers into this issue, join the forum then do a search on "rust spot" and you'll get to a lot of helpful opinion and DIY advice.

Keep the color Gold. I'm assuming you have the light interior also. I replaced all my interior leather in GB II and it came out great. The Katzkin sandstone is a pretty close to the Acura Ivory. As far as what digger said...rust is caused by moisture. I'm thinking that if it's indoors the rust should not be a problem. If you can do some preventative work before winter approached as you thought you might...I'd do that before going full blast in the spring.

 

[digger89L]

Yes ...it's a well-known documented fact (at least here in Western Canada where we commonly experience -40 degree temps in Jan-Feb-Mar) that moving a vehicle in and out of heated storage during winter can accelerate rusting. Consider the road-salt on the car ...and everytime you go from a colder to warmer environment, you get condensation / moisture build-up on the metal surfaces. Its those underground heated parking lots in office and apartment buildings that are the biggest problem. Most of us here in the Great White North don't have heated garages at home ...if we have one at all. Myself, I have an attached, unheated, uninsulated double garage. It stays about 10 degrees warmer than the outside temp in winter ...but still not above freezing. The Acura is such a good winter-starter that I don't even plug in the block heater until it gets to about minus 25 degrees. There's absolutely no problem keeping your Legend outdoors in winter ...except for the window scraping!!!

 

[GREYLEGEND]

Yes, it's a fact that keeping a car in an heated unventilated garage is ideal for rust. I say unventilated because the fact that the moisture does not freeze allows electrolysis/rusting to take place.

What happens is that at colder temeperatures, air cannot hold much moisture. Thus when you bring a wet car inside a closed garage, the air becomes quickly saturated with water and nothing will dry out. If you ventilate the heated garage to get rid of the moist air, your energy bill will shoot through the roof. If you keep the car inside an attached garage that is above freezing, it would be wise to open a crack under the garage door and side door, thus allowing air to blow through the garage. In winter air, the moisture will dry out very quickly as long as there are air exchanges.

A good cheap way to protect against rust is to use the oil based rustproofing stuff. You can get these at Canadian Tire or Walmart. They run $8 to $10 a can and you'll need two cans.

First wash the car thoroughly and was under the weel well areas, If you look under the rear wheel arch, you'll see some trim attached with screws. Feel the screw protrude inside the wheel well? That's perfect for trapping mud and dirt. Clean that with a jet of water until it's totally clean.

Dry the car thoroughly.
Liberally spray some of the oil stuff into the screw areas.
Spray behind the liner in the trunk above the wheel well and arches, into the door drains, trunk and hood edges. Also spray up under the rear bumper towards the rear trim piece that has a tendency to rust. At the rear bumper there is a rubber trim that covers the trim piece. Spray into this are to precent rust and slow rust. Also take the precision nozzle and spray between the trim and wheel arches. If you look into the trunk behind the liner, there are some platic reatiners that attach to the body. Spray some onto those to prevent rust from forming around the holes. I would actually loosen the screws on the trim, loosen the trim and spray wherever there is scontact or might trap water/salt/dirt. For $10 to $20, it's an effective rustproofing job. Spray wherever you think can catch moisture and salt. I prefer the Rustcure 3000 or the Rustcheck stuff as it seems to cling better.

 

[celticcook]

Excellent suggestions and instructions. You guys are great. I think hanging around here I can keep this Legend going indefinitely. Can't wait to go at the rust.....that oiling maneuver should help hold off the damage, makes a lot of sense. Thanks again for your help.