1970 Fury III Convertible Trunk Pan

1970FuryConv

Old Man with a Hat
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Over the course of 2020 I built and installed 440/727 in my 1970 Fury. The car is a blast to drive! However, the old rule: "projects uncover need for other projects", still applies. So I went to the gas station and filled up the tank with premium. Not sure when the car was last at a gas station, but it's at least since last summer. Gas started leaking out over the top front of the tank, so it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that I need a new gas tank. While I have the tank down, it's a prime time to do the trunk floor.

So I was thinking that I could wire wheel the bottom of the trunk pan and paint with POR 15 chassis black. In looking at the top of the trunk floor you can see some small holes that I circled in purple using Photoshop. You can also see that somebody's been in there with seam sealer. I could wire wheel the rusty areas of the trunk, paint them with Rust neutralizer, use seam sealer on the little holes, and paint over it in white. My question is, since this car will never be a show car, but always a driver, is that what you do or would you do something else? Car is garage kept and NEVER sees rain. Thanks for your advice as always, Ben
Left side
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Right side
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Original color: Alpine white. Entire drive train is changed, interior color is changed, grill is changed to hidden headlight, brakes are converted from manual drum to power front disc. Nice looking car, but show car originality is not a concern.
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I used POR 15 and then applied a small patch of fiberglass mat, then re coated with POR. It sealed a few small pin holes that weren’t worth cutting and patching, and it is very strong and water proof. If you try to fill with weld, it usually makes the hole worse. Just my .02 cents, of course.
 
@71Polara383 just redid the trunk pan of his 1970 Polara 'vert. I saw what he did, and it looks impressive (I have a rust-free original Polara 'vert, so I can compare). My recollection is that he started from something close to your trunk pan. I'd talk to him, too.
 
You will probably find when you wire wheel the rusted channel that there is more rust there than you can see now. As long as the car is going to stay dry clean the rust up as best you can. If there are no huge holes, seal it up and drive it.

Dave
 
My Gran Coupe was at least that bad, probably worse. I cleaned it up with a wire brush, vacuumed it well and used JB Weld to fill the holes. Much stronger that fiberglas and easy to use. I even use it to patch small holes in the fenders, etc, and it lasts, lasts, and lasts. Fairly easy to sand and paint, too. Beats Bondo by a mile...
 
JB Weld works like a charm. If you spit on your finger you can smooth it out to make it look almost like there is no repair because it won’t stick to your fingertip. I mix up spray cans at my local shop for jobs like this, every once in a while the paint hates playing nice with the JB patch. It’s rare but it has happened. It kinda bubbles up after everything has dried. Maybe my fault because I didn’t let it dry long enough.

Car looks great by the way. Congratulations on a successful make over !!!
 
After wire wheel I used Penetrol to stop the rust. Its gets into the little cracks and layers. Then PC-7 epoxy putty for the holes. I've used JB weld too but PC-7 is less expensive per oz. And this too can be smoothed with a wet finger. I need a new trunk but until that happens I'm confident this will work. I've used this process on other less than perfect metal and its lasted for years. Admittedly my stuff doesn't see rain much, but plenty of humidity.
 
I used POR 15 and then applied a small patch of fiberglass mat, then re coated with POR. It sealed a few small pin holes that weren’t worth cutting and patching, and it is very strong and water proof. If you try to fill with weld, it usually makes the hole worse. Just my .02 cents, of course.

I've done this with really good results.
 
I used POR 15 and then applied a small patch of fiberglass mat, then re coated with POR. It sealed a few small pin holes that weren’t worth cutting and patching, and it is very strong and water proof. If you try to fill with weld, it usually makes the hole worse. Just my .02 cents, of course.
Hi Sampling Man
What is fiberglass mat?
Hi 70cat
So is the steel stik better than the 2 part JB Cold Weld you have to mix?
Thanks, Ben
 
I did the spare tire well in the '53 Windsor I had with fiberglass mat. While replacing it with good sheet metal is the best replacement, this was a good repair to an otherwise very solid trunk.

Fiberglass mat is strands of fiberglass woven together. There are two types, one woven like cloth.
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And the other is random strands. IMHO, the random strands are stronger for this application.

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Doing the spare well

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So my 70 Polaras trunk wasn't rotten, but it has thin spots and some smaller holes.

I didn't fill any of the holes, because in time I do intend on replacing the floor, or at the minimum, patching the thin areas. I just couldn't bring myself to fill the holes with anything other then solid metal, so I left them

I wire wheeled the whole trunk and used POR15 metal etch....
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Then a few coats of POR...
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Then I put down some seam sealer. Kinda sloppy like the factory did...
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I then used black spray paint to get the seam sealer to match the rest.
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Then I applied Duplicolor trunk spatter paint and did my best to recreate what I have seen in a few survivor trunks.
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Compared with Dave's old Survivor 70 Vert...
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My seam sealer side by side with factory...
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Overall it came out pretty good, but since it was my first one, I know I can do even better next time.

I used Duplicolor TSP 101 Black and Grey trunk spatter paint.
 
I finished mine the same as you, but then covered it with a trunk mat....doesn't seem right. I did use some matt clear over the spatter in case my cooler leaks.
 
Hi Sampling Man
What is fiberglass mat?

Hi 70cat
So is the steel stik better than the 2 part JB Cold Weld you have to mix?
Thanks, Ben
it's a two part putty. black inside of grey. cut off what you want and knead it together.
it's a little stiffer than silly putty but fully moldable, it will even stick upside down. some of the larger holes might need a backer (widow screen maybe?). make sure to get it as smooth as you can because it's almost impossible to sand.
give it a day or so to cure and it's rock hard. it can even be drilled and tapped if you need to. just about every hardware store has it in stock.
 
it's a two part putty. black inside of grey. cut off what you want and knead it together.
it's a little stiffer than silly putty but fully moldable, it will even stick upside down. some of the larger holes might need a backer (widow screen maybe?). make sure to get it as smooth as you can because it's almost impossible to sand.
give it a day or so to cure and it's rock hard. it can even be drilled and tapped if you need to. just about every hardware store has it in stock.
Thanks 70cat
The trunk may have some POR15 in it. Since JB weld only adheres to metal, I may have to apply from below.
 
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