We all dread being awakened in the middle of the night by a call about a sick family member. If you are into vintage Pontiacs, that same call can come in the middle of the day any time your pride and joy is at the repair or body shop.
I received mine just a few weeks ago. My trusty yet rusty 1967 GTO needed a new windshield, thanks to falling ice. Though I had replaced numerous windshields in a past life, I really dreaded doing this one for fear of the inevitable, so I quietly left it to a professional and hoped that the situation was not as dire as imagined. Then the phone rang. It was Melvin Benzaquen at Classic Restorations, "The glass guy got the old windshield out with no problem but there is no metal left to mount the new one. What do you wanna do?"
What do I want to do? Do I want to sell a GTO that has been part of the family since 1987? Do I want to sell a GTO that has a fairly fresh 455, a 200-4R trans, a rebuilt 3.55 Safe-T-Track rear, rebuilt front and rear suspension, PS, PB, AC, tilt, Rally gauges and vacuum gauge. Oh yeah, and I still have the original engine tucked away too. Hell no, I don't want to sell it!
Then there is the flip side. It needs a complete body restoration including quarters, floors, trunk and doors, and a vinyl roof, as you'll see. This GTO is a poster child for road salt-induced degradation of 20-gauge steel. Let's not even talk about the interior. Regardless, I want to keep it.
Now the worst news--according to Benzaquen it will run me about $900 to have one of his body men cut out the rust and weld in new metal. Here's the rub. I don't have $900, nor do I have a welder to do it myself not to mention the fact that I'm not a welder.
We could just load up the holes with Bondo, throw the glass in and hope for the best but you know as well as I that Bondo soaks up water like a sponge and will compound the problem in the long run.
For a while I had kicked around using a POR-15 Floor Pan and Trunk Restoration Kit to repair the windshield channel. Why shouldn't it work? The channel is metal just like the floor and POR-15 claims to stop rust permanently. What's more, the POR-15 Epoxy Putty is said to be smoothable with your fingers using water and it will not absorb it like Bondo, once cured. And it dries as hard as a rock. So I decided that I had little to lose by trying. When I contacted Jim Wirth (Wirth and Wirth Advertising Services, the company that handles the marketing for POR-15) who has vast experience with the product, he thought it was a great idea. I ordered a kit for $120 and a tube of POR-Patch for $10. This product is simply POR-15 in the thicker form to aid in filling small holes and smoothing rough surfaces.
Armed with the kit, a small grinder, a wire brush on an air drill and lots of optimism I got to work. See the photos for the gory details.
Okay it's all done ... Well,...
Okay it's all done ... Well, no it's not, but this is about 90 percent finished. After curing of the POR-Patch and the Epoxy Putty, the putty will be sanded and the whole area will be painted with ChassisCoat Black. But first, let's see how I got to this point.
This is the POR-15 Floor Pan...
This is the POR-15 Floor Pan & Trunk Restoration Kit. It includes: Marine Clean, Metal Ready, Power Mesh fiberglass mat, POR Epoxy Putty, ChassisCoat Black, POR-15 Solvent, brushes, POR-15 Silver and Black Rust Preventative Paint, dispensing scoop, safety face mask and rubber gloves.
This is what I started with--glass...
This is what I started with--glass out and lots of the orange stuff. The worst areas were the upper and lower corners of the channel. Note that access to the interior has been taped off so that the cabin doesn't get any worse. The upper trim that holds the headliner was removed and the metal part of the dash is exposed because it needs work too. Don't forget to stuff paper towels into the defroster outlets or you will get a surprise on the windshield the first time you turn the blower on.
Once the remaining trim clips...
Once the remaining trim clips and the staples that hold the front of the vinyl top down were removed, using a 36-grit disc on a small air grinder, the task of removing the surface rust ensued. Make sure you use safety goggles and the supplied face mask because the metal and rust is really going to fly and the emergency room bill for removing shavings from your eyes will offset the savings of this project ... and it hurts. Check out the Swiss cheesed metal on the upper driver's side. And the condition of the vinyl top. Sweet GTO, huh? Tip: The cardboard was used over the plastic so that the sheeting wouldn't be drawn up into the air tool.
The grinder provided clean...
The grinder provided clean shiny metal on the high spots but of course rust still lived in all of the pits and the low-lying areas, so a wire brush on an air drill was employed to dig out much of the remaining rust. Keep in mind that Restomotive Laboratories recommends that you don't even bother to grind away the rust. The company suggests to just wire brush it to remove the loose scale because its paint is designed to stick to and the seal the rusted areas. I just hate rust so I ground it off. Tip: Never try to remove rust from low areas with the grinder because it will simply grind down all of the good metal around it to get to the rust in the pits. This will ruin the channel.
Once it was removed, the area...
Once it was removed, the area was blown clean with compressed air and Marine Clean was applied per the instructions with the kit to remove any grease. It can be used straight out of the bottle or can be cut up to 1:10 with water. Tip: I used a 1:1 ratio with water but in retrospect I would probably cut it 1:2 or 1:3 since it has the consistency of thin dishwashing liquid and it's designed to remove engine grease so it does not need full strength on the window channel.
After the Marine Clean was...
After the Marine Clean was rinsed thoroughly with water and then dried with paper towels and compressed air, Metal Ready was applied to both remove the remaining rust and etch the metal with a zinc phosphate coating so that the POR-15 paint chemically reacts better to bond with the metal. The entire area must be kept wet with the Metal Ready for 20 to 30 minutes for it to work well. After which the channel was rinsed with water and dried with the towels and the compressed air. Use the supplied rubber gloves and wear eye protection with this stuff. Make absolutely sure that all moisture is removed before the POR-15 rust preventative paint is applied. The company recommends leaving the project overnight to be sure. Tip from POR-15: A hair dryer can be used to speed up dry time.
Here's my favorite rustout...
Here's my favorite rustout area. Note the heavy pitting, missing lower edge and rot hole that goes into the roof. See the duct tape under my fingers? It will be used to help recreate the missing edge and then later be removed.
Shown here is a piece of the...
Shown here is a piece of the Power Mesh fiberglass mat that will be used to recreate that edge.
POR-15 in silver was then...
POR-15 in silver was then applied to the entire channel via the included brushes, to seal out rust once and for all. Don't get this stuff on your hands. The supplied solvent will remove it when wet but if it dries, be ready to live with it for a few months. Use the mask and the included gloves and wash the brushes with the solvent. Then the fiberglass mat is set right into the wet paint and painted over again. It will be trapped and will harden when the paint dries. Don't use too much paint or it will bubble, which is not good. Tip: If you get POR-15 in the channel of the can, the lid will be welded to the can the next time you want use it unless you place plastic wrap between the can and lid. Easier, use the supplied scoop to put the paint that you'll use in a plastic container to avoid getting paint in the lid's channel.
With the painting and matting...
With the painting and matting completed where needed around the windshield channel, and after five hours drying (finish still tacky to aid in adhesion), it was time to apply the Epoxy Putty. As shown, two equal pieces were cut from the two-part compound and were then kneaded together until the color was uniform. At 70* you will have about an hour before it cures (longer, if it's colder) so work fast to get it set into place and smoothed out. According to Restomotive Laboratories the putty can be easily sanded and is strong enough to be drilled and tapped.
Here we are back at the upper...
Here we are back at the upper driver's side. The putty was used over the Power Mesh fiberglass mat to add strength and to smooth out the area. I also decided to use the putty to fill the hole that goes into the roof. This method was chosen because the fiberglass mat was somewhat stiff and the small piece that I first tried did not want to stay in place with just the paint on it. Another reason is that the putty would have to be used over it anyway creating a higher spot on the roof. So it was just easier to fill with the putty in the first place to keep the high spot on the roof to a minimum, thereby reducing sanding time.
I decided to use POR-Patch...
I decided to use POR-Patch to fill in the smaller holes and many of the pits because it applies easier and it's thinner than the putty. But keep in mind that POR-Patch does not sand well according to Restomotive Laboratories so make sure that you get it flat before it dries. I used my finger (in rubber gloves) to smooth it. The POR-Patch does flow out pretty well on its own, however. Also note that this product dries in five to eight hours but can take as long as 96 hours to fully cure.
For your viewing pleasure,...
For your viewing pleasure, here are Before and After photos of the other bad spots in the window channel. All were done using the same methods discussed. Here is the lower driver's side of the channel as viewed from the top of the A-pillar.
Notice that the A-pillar trim...
Notice that the A-pillar trim is actually screwed on (Phillips head screw just to left of the trim clip post). Also note the drain hole to carry water out of the channel. Don't fill this one by mistake. There's one on the passenger side too. There was one small hole that was filled with POR-Patch and another larger one right in the crease that was filled with putty, as shown.
Here's the upper passenger...
Here's the upper passenger side Before and After. Note the staple for the vinyl roof in the Before shot. In the After photo you can see that Epoxy Putty was used along with the fiberglass mat to again restore a lower edge of the channel (it still has to be sanded and shaped a bit). And POR-Patch was used to fill the staple holes and the rust pits in the corner.
Tip: In the area where the...
Tip: In the area where the staple holes were filled it is not important to ensure that the surface is perfectly smooth (the staples made small dimples too) because the glass does not rest on this area and it's covered by the windshield trim. Spend your time where it counts.
The lower passenger side is...
The lower passenger side is a little tricky. There were multiple holes so the fiberglass mat was used. The problem is the removable A-pillar trim. So after the putty cures, a small cut-off wheel will be employed to once again separate the screw-on piece from the surrounding metal in case it ever has to be removed.
Of course the putty will be...
Of course the putty will be sanded to match the contours of the area and I was careful not to fill the drain hole. After curing, the Epoxy Putty will be sanded flat where needed, the entire channel including the dash will be painted with Chassiscoat and the new windshield will be installed. As you can tell by the mentioned drying times, this job will take a few days to complete but the reward is over $700 saved and you won't need a welder to make what should be a permanent repair.