08 SRX: frame/floor rust?

[kevm14]

Options include:
https://www.mobileweldingandfabricationri.com/
https://www.westbayironworks.com/servic ... ist_widget

And of course I should probably visit a body shop. But that second option in particular seems promising though I suspect they never really do structural floor welding. Either frame, or floor on a body on frame vehicle. Structural sheet welding is a whole different animal, but what do I know.

[kevm14]

Atlas Auto Body in West Greenwich is certainly proving promising. SRX is there now for an assessment.

All body shops I talked to (before this one) didn't even want to look at it. Also the mobile welding guy said no. I canceled my appointment for the West Bay Iron Works people. They are my backup plan if something falls through with Atlas.

[kevm14]

I canceled my appointment for the West Bay Iron Works people. They are my backup plan if something falls through with Atlas.

Atlas told me it wasn't worth repairing but it could be done. Basically the bigger issue is the floor area behind the rear rockers. He said they could still do the spring mount for around $1000 but recommended against it. I said thanks and picked up the SRX.

Over the weekend I took a closer look and while I would assume the opinion of guys who weld rusty junk would be trustworthy, I am not sure I totally agree with the assessment. Now, there is clearly significant missing material. However, this is nothing that wasn't also wrong with the STS when I sold it and, actually, it's not as bad I think. That said, my gut was telling me to still pursue repairing the spring mount because that is just a very pressing safety issue. The floor is not.

I was considering calling back Atlas but I decided that a second opinion would be a better use of my time.

So I took it to West Bay Iron Works today. He looked at it. He said yeah the spring mount looks really unsafe. I really do think this thing would have failed (resulting in an accident) if it wasn't for the self-leveling shocks. He also said the other side is working on it (which I already noted). After that I said, take a look at the floor/rocker area. He did. The conclusion he came to was pretty much what I decided over the weekend: fix the spring mount only. He said it will be around $1000 but possibly up to $1200 depending on how removing items out of the way goes (some wiring, suspension stuff). Also, he said he expects somewhere around 8 hours of work, which obviously translates to $125/hr. All of that checks out to me. It would take me 3x as long and come out way worse. I THINK he is gonna patch up the left side in addition to fix the right side.

However, the mind blowing part was when he pulled a piece off the rocker/floor area and said "this has been patched before." WHAT?? We bought this in 2015 with 91k and honestly it looked pretty clean to me. I mean, it did last 7 more years of RI driving (albeit garaged). But yeah he said someone welded some plate there before (no I don't think Barry's did this, but I don't really know). Which means this happened before we bought it in 2015. Between this and the STS, I think I am done buying cars with NH history.

He admitted it looked nice otherwise (just the presentation overall) and said I shouldn't have an issue fetching like $5k which is also what my intuition said, and not feel like a total scumbag since it will be safe to drive afterwards (the next owner can play around with the floor holes). So I think I am finally on an exit ramp here, at least with the SRX. He says he might be able to get to it later this week. We'll try to drop it off tonight.

Other info: he said his main business is mostly mobile welding for Verizon and other places, also I think fence work. He does rusty vehicles "on the side." Seemed like a good guy, but I'll check back when I've paid him to do something.

[kevm14]

By the way, it's been 7-1/2 years and 67k miles. That averages 9k/yr for 7-1/2 years. I think the only thing I regret is accepting the NH history. Otherwise it has been a good family vehicle.

[kevm14]

Two thumbs up for West Bay Iron Works. Guy is super awesome. $1000, fixed both sides the same way. Seam sealer, paint. The whole works. He dropped both control arms to gain access. He also said the right spring wasn't really doing anything so I guess the shock was really holding that corner of the car up. Score one for the Sachs Nivomat. All cars should have these things. I'll try to post some pics.

Then I tried some of that Hammerite product (originally intended for my Roadmaster) on the rocker/floor area in front of the rear wheels. Should help right?

[kevm14]

Fully coated the underbody with CRC Corrosion Inhibitor (Cosmoline). Messy job and I used quite a few cans. Definitely some rough areas under there but hopefully this helps (a lot) from getting worse.