Doright wrote:Unfortunately Older Mustangs have a reputation for severe Rust problems.
BUT They do have a good following in the aftermarket world so parts availability is good.
Outer sheet metal such as quarters Fenders and Hoods leaves a little to be desired but I have heard good things about floor sections and the Rockers so no fear. Also Interior pieces are readily available as well.
You really need to ask your self How far you wanna go with it how correct you wanna be.
cant say I agree with putting good metal over bad as it will rest out faster just like Mike said if this is true I would cut out both and start over BUT I am not you, You need to answer how long you want this to last. Just because Paint and engine aren't original doesn't mean its ok to go about body repairs in a half $#% approach if you expect it to last a few years.
In the pictures you showed It looks like your Grand father did nice work, He may not have been using original type replacement parts he may have made his own patch panels but you cant really tell he welded directly over the old metal its the way you said it which left us with the question of it.
Are you sure you know what you are looking at? In this case If you crawled under the car if what you say is true you'd likely see rusted out panels with rust holes though them with good metal over the top from inside the car?????????
Pictures are worth a thousand words any way you can get under their????
I know you never know the future, but I do not see myself parting with this car and I am the type that tends to overbuild stuff. I also insist on doing everything myself. Both of which are a blessing and a curse. The curse is it takes me about 4 times as long to finish something.
The real caveat for me is money. It is hard for me to spend very much at one time. (More than a couple of hundred of dollars). I have 2 children, one of which will be in college in 2 years. I also have parents that are getting elderly.
I am not afraid to replace the entire floor pan. Again, money is the issue. In my NPD catalog the correct floor pan is over $600 dollars. The other issue is shipping. When I price door skins, hood, front fenders, trunk lid, etc., it is the shipping costs that is difficult....
I will try to take some pictures of the underside this weekend and post them on here if that is ok....