Cavities to fill with rustproofing - have I missed anything?

[Johnny Graham]

Hi folks. It is still raining in the UK.

However, it will surely be warm and dry again, one day, if we all wait long enough. When that happens I am going to fill all my nooks, crannies and box sections with something to discourage rust. What that something is has been the subject of a different thread or 5, but my question on this thread is: Where should I be sticking my tube..?

So far I have
1. Two drain holes where rear 'arms' extend from the tub, one each side (unplugged)
2. Likewise two unplugged drain holes in the front arms
3. Holes along the length of the bottom of the longitudinals (is this specific to Karmann, btw?)
4. A plugged hole in the trailing edge of each door, an unplugged hole on the lower edge near the front of the door.

All of these I am going to inject.

Are there any other closed areas or box sections in the chassis with access holes that I can squirt stuff into?
Are there any holes I should be creating?

Thanks in advance for any pointers.

[John Willhoit]

There is great stuff to squirt into all the cavities in a 356 to prevent further rusting, but I would add one word of caution. Only do this to a car that has NO rust, and that you don't EVER plan on repairing. The problem is that filling the voids with "goo" is great for preventing further rust, but if you ever need to cut your panels apart to do repairs, your going to have a problem because the modern treatments don't come off easily, even with modern solvents.

Just a thought.

[Johnny Graham]

Hi John, thanks for the reply from a man with plenty experience. My car was last 'restored' in the 70's, so certainly has some rust I expect, in the places that only endoscopes can see. I do plan to fully restore it at some point. But at the moment it is a nicely imperfect and patinated driver that I can park anywhere, so preferably not soon. I guess I would rather do the resto less soon in return for putting up with some messy stuff when its on the rotisserie.

I deliberately have been vague about what I am going to inject, as I mainly just want to know where to put it. Basically, though, I am planning on something low viscosity and repeated every two years or so - maybe including some 'Mexican waxoyl' in fact.. Nothing too gooey, anyway, following your advice..

But I dont think I have a full list of where to inject - there is a box section under the rear seat? And there are small spaces behind the closing panels? Others? Its hard to visualise without having pulled the car apart...

[charles kourmpates]

There is a product on the market called ACF-50.

I've talked about it before.

Stands for "Anti-Corrosion Formula."

It's probably the best chemical offered for this purpose.

Whatever purpose that is?

<<rotisserie>>

Johnny, ever restore any kind of car before?

Charles

[Johnny Graham]

Johnny, ever restore any kind of car before?

Charles

Yes.


So.. please; I truely appreciate advice on rustproofing materials - however my specific question once again, is: can anyone guide me with a list of access points for the closed sections and moisture traps on the 356 chassis?
Thanks very much in advance.

[charles kourmpates]

Johnny,

There's absolutely nothing better than ACF-50.

Consider anyplace where there's a folded or crushed flange.

Door bottoms hood and rear lid. All the rolled metal in the fender wells. Openings that except bumper brackets and the pieces that are spot welded to the inside of the bumpers.

A small hole can be drilled to have access to the front struts.

The tunnel, floor board brackets inside the overrider bars at the ends where the threaded whole is.

Inside the jack spurs.

Where the headlight bucket meets the body metal.

Headlight bracket tubes.

Battery box floor brace.

Charles

What did I leave out?

[Phil Planck]

John

An area I am currently repairing on Foam Car(T6B) would be a good candidate for your chemical. Now, let's see if I can describe where it is in text. I can also attach some pictues if this is not clear: There is a narrow shelf/ledge under the quarter window that ends behind the firewall where it hits the engine lid opening. Behind the firewall the shelf tapers to a point where it abuts the engine lid opening. Stuff gets into this "trough", like water from leaking or open quarter windows during rain, dust, sand, etc. This trouigh consists of the outer quarter panel, above mention ledge, and a panel behind the engine insulation. They all rust out eventually, requiring outer quarter panel repair at a minimum. Beneath this trough is another pocket that is rust prone. It is filled with body putty by the factory and can be accessed after removing the rear wheel. I am considering adding a drain tube to the trough, that would go through the putty underneath, but not sure how effective it would be. For sure I will fill this trough with putty when all welding is complete. Access will be from the rear passenger area, but the headliner would have to be removed to get to it on a finished car.

[Johnny Graham]

Charles, foam-car-man, all, thanks for the help. I will maybe report on the process when it is done. One of the reasons for not discussing materials is that what is recommended by our US cousins on forums is usually not available over here. However I found this site http://www.acf-50.co.uk/acf50.htm
Most of the UK suppliers seem to be motorbike shops, but hopefully they will sell it to normal human beings also.

and also on the site, this description:
'It is important to emphasize that ACF-50 is also an excellent lubricant but does NOT contain any wax, resin, silicon or Teflon... compounds that can gum up mechanisms, block drain holes, or trap moisture to cause corrosion.' which might keep John W happy!