Your JDM is still gonna rust.

[MONKRY]

No matter how immaculate your JDM is, whether you spent balls of dosh getting that perfect JDM hachi from Jap land somewhere down the line that bastard of a foetal rust is finally matured and ready to spout after slowly eating away at the metal for vital nutrition. Slowly without you knowing its grown from a tiny spec to a mutha under the surface and only will you know that its done its damage is when you notice that pimple imperfection reflecting light all over the place on the side of you perfect panel.

You curse, you swear at it, you go back and forth negotiating with it, you harasse it, you threaten it....You want to break the hammer and hammer that lump to hell. But the damage is done. Now you are paranoid about other infected areas that without treatment will turn your precious into a uncontrollable hormone riddle hachi.

This affects everyone. We all love our hachi and to see our pride and joy suffer makes us weak at the knees. I personally find it hard to swallow.

So unless you have the skills and the money you can have your precious undergo plastic surgery to make her immaculate again, a show stopper, the best hachi you will ever see. Surgery is useless unless we address all the problem areas at its source buy removing it, shutting it.

I've gone through this forum, I type in RUST in search and boom a whole list of entries come up that talk about cutting rust, panel beaters, painter, and people curses and emotions. I am looking for information that can help all us owners make our hachi rust free forever. No much point in performing surgery if the problem areas are not addressed, be a total waste.

Most of us are familiar with the usual spots and most are quick fixes however what I would like to learn is how we can stop the reoccurance of rust. Some spots are more prone because they trap water, dirt etc. What can be done to prevent rust from breeding in these areas. The most common areas that are hardest to fix and prone are the arches in and out, door jams, pillars and the sills on the bottom of the car where the water runs off.

It would be very much appreciated and I am sure all of us will be very humble to learn from members personal experience at performing a total strip, overhaul resto themselves or either by a professional restorer. Which areas needed to be cut and shut. How its performed?. Process involved including hot dipping.

Yes we are all aware that money is a factor and most of us don't have that cash lying around. I dont want to make this topic a money issue as most of us are aware how much it will set us back. Like everyone here we saved to buy parts to in our hachi, likewise we can save to have our car go for surgery/ full resto in 5 - 10 years time (before she falls apart). If anyone would like to divulge on the process from start to finish, the cost please feel free as it would help us all understand how much we will need to budget for.

I've asked around in perth and a full strip and assemble, shot blast, some panel work, rust cut out, primer and paint was quoted around 5g (not metallic paint) from a professional restorer. This does not include hot dipping.

So yeah if anyone would like to share even if its not a hachi but had something similar done, we will be most humble and appreciate your contribution. I hope that this will be a reference for anyone who in the future would like their aus spec or JDM or mutant hachi restored and look as young as when she rolled off the line in the 80s.

Cheers.

[john84ie]

You should get on ae86irl.com.. In Ireland rust is a real issue, loads of guys do bare shell nut and bolt rebuilds, worth checking out man

[MONKRY]

You should get on ae86irl.com.. In Ireland rust is a real issue, loads of guys do bare shell nut and bolt rebuilds, worth checking out man

thanks for the link.

[MONKRY]

Very curious as to how many, or who has actually gone through the resto process and perfected their hachi to their personal standards? Most people seem to spend most of their money on going fast and squatting parts as oppose to perfecting the chassis and body and interior.

How many actually plan on keeping their vehicle or even considering restoring one to keep or is it not worth the time and money?

I know some of you have sold on your hachi, regretted it and bought another because it was a car that did it for you. Some of you even sold it on for something with more power, regretted it and came back for less power and more raw hachi action. Some of you sold it on, regretted it, and still regret now.

[mcBen]

I'm rebuilding mine because I didn't want to drive some rusty bog ship. Don't see how people can happily drive such haggard cars

[Sam-Q]

a corrosive dip followed by a gal dip would result in a near complete stop of any further rust. Big cash though.

The electronic "rust prevention" things do nothing.

[jakel]

The electronic "rust prevention" things do nothing.

Was going to say this, if car manufactures could get away with just putting a little electronic box on instead of doing what they do at the factory I'm sure they would then.

[jmae86]

a corrosive dip followed by a gal dip would result in a near complete stop of any further rust. Big cash though.

The electronic "rust prevention" things do nothing.

would galvanised dipping not warp the panels, i think they would be too thin steel to take the heat, open to correction though..

[haveaparty]

rust occures because moisture gets into the steel. the way to stop this is to coat any unprotected steel in oil to stop moisture getting in. my advice, no matter what car or how old it is, buy a fair few cans of fish oil (rust proofing) and drown every single inner panel, for example. take the door cards off and coat the back of the door skin, especially right in the edged where it rust the most, same goes for rear quater panels. take the kick trims off and shoot the nozzel down the screw holes to coat the inside of the sil panel. same goes for pillars, take the trim off, blast the oil down any hole to ensure its completly covered. especially do this after any repairs are done. factory panels have a thin coating on them so takes a bit for rust to come through. but any repairs may have bare metal on the inner now so be sure to drown that bad boy in fish oil to prevent it rusting again.

[mcBen]

Do you know if you have to re coat with oil every once in a while? I'm going to use kbs chassis coat, anyone tried it?

[haveaparty]

I've never bothered with any if my cars. But if I was to buy a brand new car I would coat it as soon as I got home from the dealer. And every few years or so should be enough.

[Rice86]

once it rust, its crust. go Carbon Fiber.

though not everyone is talented or has enough money.

[Jimmee1990]

It's not possible to permanently fix rust, as paint deteriorates and panels flex etc etc. You can do a insane quality resto and get 30-40 years out of it, but in the end unless you constantly maintain it and re do everything all the time it will eventually rust again. Just fix it properly when it comes through and you'll get 20 years until it pops its ugly head up again.

[MONKRY]

It's not possible to permanently fix rust, as paint deteriorates and panels flex etc etc. You can do a insane quality resto and get 30-40 years out of it, but in the end unless you constantly maintain it and re do everything all the time it will eventually rust again. Just fix it properly when it comes through and you'll get 20 years until it pops its ugly head up again.

No it will never be perfect but if we can get away with 20 -40 years without an issue I think its money well spent. Who knows if we will be still alive by then. But can you imagine how much a hachi will cost in year 2053...or how much a full strip, spray, resto will cost or fish oil for that matter.

[MONKRY]

rust occures because moisture gets into the steel. the way to stop this is to coat any unprotected steel in oil to stop moisture getting in. my advice, no matter what car or how old it is, buy a fair few cans of fish oil (rust proofing) and drown every single inner panel, for example. take the door cards off and coat the back of the door skin, especially right in the edged where it rust the most, same goes for rear quater panels. take the kick trims off and shoot the nozzel down the screw holes to coat the inside of the sil panel. same goes for pillars, take the trim off, blast the oil down any hole to ensure its completly covered. especially do this after any repairs are done. factory panels have a thin coating on them so takes a bit for rust to come through. but any repairs may have bare metal on the inner now so be sure to drown that bad boy in fish oil to prevent it rusting again.

ahah the oil treatment. I done this and come summer, wheew the smell, can you imagine driving around during the summer with no air conditioning..the smell basically sticks to your your skin. Hit the beach and you'll be attracting sharks in no time.

[Sam-Q]

I have used the cavity spray, no smell there. Did stop the rust under my fuel flap though, I suspect it's because the water is inbetween layers though

[haveaparty]

If ur oil smells then ur using the wrong stuff lol. Cavity wax/ spray shouldn't have a bad smell.

[K1W1 Simo]

To get a full and proper application for a rust proofing spray you need to get a spray application gun which connects to an airline. The gun has a long hose and spray attachment on it so you can get right into every corner. You can buy from Wurth.

[dove grey 64]

lol if you think ae86's rust you haven't seen mini's.
i've done a full bare metal resto on a mini before and here is what i learnt.
if you have a sealed area ie. sills, drill a hole and pump it full of cavity wax or fish oil and then plug it up with a rubber bung, re apply every 1-2 years depending on how para you are.
if you start getting bubbles under your paint grind it back and rust convert it and spray it with por-15
if you do a bare metal build 2pac everything you can reach and seam seal everything.
it'll be interesting to see how my mini holds up over time, if you knew the prep that went into it i'd be surprised if there was another like it in the world

[MONKRY]

Its those hard to get to spots. the enclosed areas, inside panels, behind the rocker panel etc. Liquid bath will get at most of it and seal it but some dont recommend dunking the car whereas some say blasting, be it soda, bead, sand, grahite works a treat however you still have those hard to reach areas, and the downside is that it takes forever to clean the shell out.

[85Kai]

Gal dipping is unrealistic. The RAAF used to do it with their Land Rovers. The cost was phenomenal. You could have several 86s completely restored to showroom condition for the same price.
I just fish oiled certain spots in my car. So far so good.

[dove grey 64]

late model mini mokes were galvanised from factory.
the heat generated from the gal dip will warp panels and areas that are boxed can explode.

[Matt]

Rust is one of those things, if u know how to weld and have the tools to bend the metal replacement, "most" items are easily recovered...

[K1W1 Simo]

The other problem you have to deal with is the manufacturing processes of the 80's. If you unstitched a panel from your ae86 you would find the joining parts .i.e. the parts spot welded together, would have surface corrosion, add to that 0.6mm panel and capillary action, your car has no chance. One solution would be to use a proper spot weld drilling tool, remove all of your exterior panels...roof, quarters, rear panel. Treat them inside and outside. Re-gig them into place and 'spot weld' them back onto your car. You can hand make new panels and weld them into your car till the cows come home, if you have no access to the rear of that panel when it is welded it will begin to rust straight away. Even if you pay $20 - 60,000 for a resto. I am about to do a rebuild on my tailgate. Every time it rains I have to prop up my tailgate with a broom and open up the window rubbers to let the water out. Ducktail is beginning to bulge around the rubbers.

[dove grey 64]

seam sealer is important but like you say if you cant get to the back of the panel and its left untreated it will rust again, thats why you should drill access holes so you can load it up with fish oil or cavity wax etc.
or go the other way and sikaflex panels on, all the cool kids are doing it these days (lotus to name one)
welding weakens the metal around the weld, the correct grade of sikaflex will hold the panel on as much as any weld will.