battling rust :(

[CRushER]

I own a 71 nova currently and live in southern california. My car has minor rust issues but overall is an extremely good project car, however, it does have some problems that need to be addressed.

It rained heavily last night and this morning I opened the trunk and the two doors to air out the car. My major concern right now is the rust that has been forming in the trunk. Because of weather stripping that has seen better days the trunk floor is getting a good amount of surface rust, especially in the railing indents on the floor. My plan is to replace the weatherstripping in both doors and in the trunk (that should stop the leaking to the trunk pan), but I want to repair the damage in the trunk that has occured. The rust isn't nearly bad enough to warrant replacing the pan. I came accross an article in CHP that talked about using POR-15, has anyone had any experience with this stuff and has it been good/bad? I also want to do this to my floor pans because at one time they were rusted and have been fixed by the previous owner, but some spots are thin where the por15 kit has the reinforcing material that hardens when it is put with the paint to fix it. My biggest issue doing this myself is I have had no experience doing body work, could this be undertaken by myself or with a friend?

My other question is this thing has a sunroof (I didn't put it in and I want to put a new roof in and fix this once I take autobody at school in the future). There was some moisture this morning after the rain where the 6x9 speakers are on the passenger side. The only places I can see it coming from are the rear window not being correctly sealed, or the sunroof. I want to say the sunroof is unlikely because during rain while driving the car I have never noticed the hoodliner become wet and no dripping has occured on the inside where the sunroof is. If it is the rear window that is leaking and not the sunroof then just getting a rear window gasket from goodmark should fix that correct?

Any help is extremely appreciated! I don't want to dive in head first and do something that is going to take more time to fix if i mess up. On the other hand, this rust needs to be repaired after I fix the weatherstripping and I need to find the other source of the leak if I'm ever to put in a stereo system. I'm not an electrical expert but I know having moisture up by your 6x9's in the back isn't a good thing and could cause alot of problems if not a fire.

[AlmostStock]

If your trunk is getting wet it is more likely from the rear window channel than the trunk lid weather stripping. This is common on old GM's. Lay in your trunk with a flash light and look close for signs of water/rust. You will have to remove the rear glass and clean and repair the channel. After 1967 Chevy stopped using model specific window gaskets, and instead used a generic type "window ribbon". This is readily available, inexpensive and relatively easy to install, but the key is in the preparation. The channel must be straight, solid, and clean. Depending on how bad it is, this can be a major repair.

I have used the por-15 floor patch kit you mentioned and was not happy with it. The coating needs to be applied to a surface that has been cleaned / prepared with several products according to specific instructions, with little room for error to work properly. Then it needs to be top coated again otherwise UV rays will damage it. Plus when you reseal the open cans, they become all but impossible to re-open at a later date. I literally bent and twisted cans into almost unrecognizable shapes before the mangled pos would finally tear open. What a big PITA.

If you don't need/want to replace the floor then clean it off with a wire wheel on a drill and use this product instead:

http://www.eastwoodco.com/shopping/p...ProductID=1130

Auto Restorer magazine tested it against POR and thought it was better too.

If there are large holes you need to make repairs with metal. It doesn't need to be fancy, just pieces cut to fit and fastened with short sheet metal screws. If there are small holes, just lay fiberglass mats and resin over them. Do this after the Rust Encapsulator has been applied and is completely dry. Fill any seams with seam sealer made for cars. This is also available from eastwood and is applied with a caulk gun. After this you can spray the entire trunk with trunk "splatter" paint from a rattle can.

You can (and should) do this yourself. You will save money, and gain a lot of valuable experience.

[AlmostStock]

On a side note, can someone PLEASE explain how I go about making a web link (like in my post above) into a short name like "CLICK HERE FOR THINGS"

I see others do it but I just can't figure it out.

Thanks!