Need Some Advice Here

[packrat79]

I never expected this rusty '88 Civic to be easy to restore, and so far it certainly hasn't been. Despite the challenge, the badly-rotted chassis is now slowly starting to resemble an actual vehicle again. Well, at least on the left side, which I've been concentrating on until now. I finally started digging into the rusty innards on the right side, and found at least one area that's going to be a major problem indeed. Take a look for yourself:

In case you can't recognize it, you're looking at the area where the trailing arm bushing flange bolts to the body. I didn't realize how severe the damage is, until I attempted to turn the bolt and ended up bending what little remains of the chassis around it. There's no way this bolt is coming out the normal way, so my question is basically how and where to cut it without making things any worse. Either way, some serious welding wizardry will be needed to rebuild this area, so that the arm can be safely and accurately reinstalled.
You probably think I'm an idiot for even trying, and I'm tempted to agree....

[MagicRat]

Originally Posted by packrat79

You probably think I'm an idiot for even trying, and I'm tempted to agree....

Didn't we already discuss this, and the consensus was that you should look for a more rust-free car to work on?

IMO the car is scrap. When chassis/structural damage gets this bad, a safe, strong and effective repair becomes difficult. Generally there is more hidden rust damage (that you cannot see right now) and there is little decent metal to weld to.
One route would be to cut out the rusted area (all the rust, floor, control arm, torque box, everything) and weld in a rust free section from another parts car. But chances are that parts car will be more rust free than yours and would be a good starting point.
If you are very lucky, you might find a rust free 88 civic that has been wrecked in the front that you could get very cheap.
But still, lots of skilled cutting/welding is required.
IMO find a better chassis to start with.

BTW many of us have started a project only to find rust surprises which make the project unfeasible.

[partsmgn]

I agree give up on it.....even if you weld metal into it there is probably a good chance that you wouldn't get the trailing arm mount in the exact same place as it should be therefore a proper wheel alignment is impossible and would not pass a safety

[curtis73]

Not to mention the money you spend "restoring" this car could pay for three identical cars without rust.