Wheelwell/body separation

My buddy has a 89 Grand am, and the rear right wheelwell has started separating from the rest of the vehicle from rust. Besides that, it only has like 36,000 miles on it (former granny-mobile), so the engine is in good condition.

What can we do to salvage it and how much might it cost?

Where in the wheel well is the separation that you speak of? Are you talking in the bottom corner by the frame/backseats area or up by the shock? If it's by the frame i would say you would have to cut out the bad piece and weld a new piece of sheet metal in, but not until you cut out the old will you find out the conditions behind there, it might be worse. If it's up by the shock area, i heard it's not worth fixing, due to the location, and there being a weakness in the metal. A good body shop could give you an estimate of what it would cost. good luck.

Matter of fact it's by the shock. It's apparently been ignored for some time and is now almost a foot long.

that's not really good.... definetly bring it to a Reputable body shop and see if there is something they can do to salvage it or even a metal/welding shop. Just tell your friend to becareful and not to load to much into the trunk or go over any nasty bumps... I've seen the shocks pierce right through the trunk when that area breaks, then the car is totalled...

Is this repairable/salvageable? (view from inside the trunk)


http://70.84.17.164/fromtrunk.jpg

Well that was a lot worse then i expected to see. I can honestly say I'm really unsure if that's salvagable. it's pretty extensive, obviously a piece of metal can be welded over the hole that's only a temp fix, all the rust needs to be cut out, a new piece needs to be welded in, it needs to be sealed and protected... I'm gonna guess it's gonna cost $1000+ to fix if able to.