I just bought a 242 a couple of days ago as a new project. My old project was a 1992 745t which has become my daily driver. I enjoy working on cars and figured it would be better to get a new project than fix what isn't broken.

I probably paid a little too much for the 242, as I had to transport it to my house. Still, I don't regret buying it.

Mechanically it is in good shape. I'll be replacing the wiring harness this summer but seeing as the car is non-turbo, the original harness is in decent shape.

The car does, though have body problems. It has a fair bit of surface rust. In two weeks I have some time off and I plan on sanding down the car and completely repainting it. I'm thinking of using some rust converter as primer and then covering that with rustoleum. I've painted a car with rustoleum before. 2 coats, wet sand, 2 coats, wet sand, 2 coats, wet sand. It ended up looking really nice.

Anyway, to my dismay I discovered a piece of flimsy metal below the passenger side door. I pressed it and the metal gave. I have a two medium sized holes. I have not yet removed all of the unsecure metal, but I can feel where the metal is rusted away when I tap. The hole might end up being 8" by 3".

I'm not sure the best way to proceed. I want to repair the hole soon. I've heard of four ways to repair a hole.

1. Weld on a piece of metal. I don't know how to weld, so this option is out.
2. Pop rivet on a piece of metal. I can do this.
3. Fiberglass patch: I don't know much about this
4. Foam+Bondo. This seems to be the least desirable option.

Any suggestions on how to stop the rust and fix the hole? Thanks.

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