trunk

i have a 69 torino fastback, the area where the trunk weather strip seal goes is all rusted out, does any one have any idea how to repair that? i was thinking of getting some steel tube and cutting it to match and weld it in, but i was wondering if the whole thing can be cut out and replace with a new one, if anyone has any ideas i would greatly appreciate it...  

Hi. First post here, a friend pointed me in this direction.    

I have cut donor pieces from other wrecked vehicles and fitted then welded them in. Care and patience are required but the result can be good as new. It depends on how bad the rust is, of course. If only the retaining edge of the weatherstrip channel section of the panel is rotted, you can patch that fairly easy. If you can cut on the vertical side, grinding the weld is easier. If you gotta cut on the horizontal side to get all the rust, that becomes more difficult because in places the channel is actually the edge of a large inner panel and of course, its harder to reach. That plus you'd be getting into areas where you could screw up your trunklid gaps if not careful. Some car models have reproduction channels available, but I don't think this is one of them. The fit is probably horrible on what is available new, anyway. Square steel tubing might be a good solution in your case if it is "all" rusted out but I would prefer donor pieces with the right curves. Heres pics of one I did, post some pics of your rust if you want further guidance. I'll check back in. I actually fitted new side and rear channels on this '64 Chev but I had to fix the front section because the channel is only available as the rear edge of the package tray. Good luck, hope this helps.







 

thank you so much for your help, really good job on the one you did there, the rust you had there looks about the same as mine, again, thanks for the help  

You're welcome.