Rust got me down

Well I have my '87 TC at my friends shop to FINALLY do the must needed body work. Mainly its the rust thats behind the wheel wells on the quarter panels. The pass. side is the worst and has a 5" wide rust hole in it. He tried to fix it but the rust is too bad. He said he need to find two half way decent whole quarters or at least the bottom of the quarters to get it dont right. Does anyone know anwhere or anyone that has quarters for a '87 both sides? It suck being up in the New England states with all the salt in the winter. (And I dont even drive it in the winter unless its no snow on the ground) PLEASE HELP!!!!!!

I feel your pain, BigMikeTC, and have no idea who has quarter panels. If you are referring to the area below the fuel filler door you ought to look down inside there and see how bad the whole area is. If the fender wheel well lip is still good and there is solid sheet metal above the hole and towards the back of the car it should be possible to weld a patch. You could buy a patch panel for the rear fender area of a Ford truck such as a full sized late 80's early 90's Bronco and cut out a section including the lip. One of those panels costs below $100 and would allow you to do both sides. If the inner panel near the gas tank is rusted thru I suggest using fiberglass cloth and epoxy from the inside after the patch is welded in.

You're not going to find anything to fix that. YOu'll either have to cut something from a rust-free car or make a custom patch.

That's part of the reason I'm going to be getting rid of my 84 XR-7 shell...rust. (I'll be replacing it though with a rust-free 84TC ). Living in the rust-belt sucks....

Never say never!

I had very similar problems on my '88. There are plenty of cars out there and '87-'88 Cougars will work. I went to Georgia to find a door and other parts. Pay close attention to the rear section of the rocker panels, they get soft from corrosion which starts on the inside.
Ford thought they had a better idea for sound insulation and installed foam rubber inside black plastic bags. The bags break and the foam retains water, which causes the rot from inside. The bags are located in the quarters behind the doors, over the rear fender wells and in the rear section of the from fenders. The bags up front will require the fenders to be removed. The interior trim and rear seat need to be removed to get the bags out of the quarters.

It can all be fixed, but it's time consuming.

I just parted out 2 87 TC'S, the one black one had a great drivers side quater, I will call the guy I had tow it off and see if he stills has it, the passenger side had a skim coat of filler not from rust or accident ...maybe a fender bender ??

Bill

Wjameson if you do please em-ail me and let me know how much for them. Plus there is water getting down into the spare tire well as well on the drive side. This is not looking good at all.

Originally posted by BigMikeTC:
Wjameson if you do please em-ail me and let me know how much for them. Plus there is water getting down into the spare tire well as well on the drive side. This is not looking good at all.

Mike,
Dry the area, then close the trunk and test with a garden hose. Start by putting water over the trunk, then check for leaks. Close it again and go to the lower rear window moldings (right and left). Repeat the process by going higher on the moldings until you find the leak.
I'd bet on the lower corners of the rear window molding.
Hope this helps.

Do what Dan says but also look at the tail light gaskets as they may be leaking. The bags Dan mentions above can help cause rusting in the front of the wheel wells at the bottom and in the exterior sheet metal just forward of the wheel opening. I know the Bronco panel I mentioned above works as the curvature and lip is the same as the TC and the fiberglass cloth as well. Using fiberglass inside saves a lot of metal cutting. If you're going to have an old car in Mass you have to have a MIG welder and take a adult education auto body course like I did at Assabet HS in Marlboro. Once you get past the instructor telling you your car is too rusty to work on and ought to be junked, body work is actually fun and very satisfying.

I tried a couple of months ago to give away(on here) a 88 with spotless quarters. No takers so I hauled it to the crusher two weeks ago. I'll keep my eyes open for another if you'd like me too.

Russ c I would appreciate it of you would.