Hi,

Below is my latest hairbrained idea.

The rocker panels and one of the doors on my '83 240 are rusted out -- one rocker panel really bad (gaping hole for about 15''), the door just a little bit (e.g. 1' diam hole). The body shop here says "drive it ugly". I don't know much about body repair, and don't have a welder or probably any of the other tools I might need.

I don't care too much about looks, but just want to slow the rust down a bit by keeping water out. The car is not going to last for too many more years, since the Ithaca weather is just killing the body.

I thought maybe I'd take some spray foam insulation (you know, the expanding aerosol can variety for houses). I'd fill up the rocker panels, and a tiny bit in the bottom of the door, then use a knife and sandpaper to level it out. Then coat it all with a filler-type material, then paint, then ignore for a few more years.

How bad an idea is this relative to (a) not doing anything at all, or (b) just spraying that black-tar-paint-goop stuff all inside everything?

Regards,
-Kevin

I've used it to plug up a hole from wheel well to trunk. I then covered the foam with spray on asphalt (tar). I didn't sand it, of course, since I couldn't get at it.

I've also used alum with pop rivets and then tar; conversely you could use coated sheet metal too.
--
Norm Cook Vancouver BC; 1989 745T 202,000KM

I don't know, but you might end up with more of a mess than you started with. I have used the stuff ( urethane foam) to manufacture odd shaped cabinet and furniture shapes that were too costly to make from wood, and it required some pretty stiff molds to effectively contain it. Have also used it around new windows installs, and seen it blow out the front and back of moldings when a little too much was used. You could find a lot of weak spots that you did not know you had. The old fiberglass/polyester resins and bondo repairs might be in order.

--
'94 940 150k, '86 240 170k, '72 142 KIA, '70 144 KIA, '69 144 RIP

Yours is a unibody car right? The body structure carries all the weight that used to be carried by the frame rails in older cars?

I wouldn't count on the foam as forming a useful 'structural component' although it might do well enough filling those voids and helping to make your car look a little better.

If you have large enough holes (!) in your car you should have no problem with using the little srpay cans to squirt foam in there as a stop-gap measure to get a little more life out of the old girl. DON'T mix up a five-gallon bucket of the goop and pour it in there without having enough space for the excess to escape.

Regardless, plan on dong a real repair in the not-too-distant future. All you really need is some sheet steel and some pop rivets, which you could finish off with body filler. The metal would help support the weight of your car so there's be less chance of leaving a large chunk of it (the car!) somewhere on the Parkway.

Good Luck! Steve