1980 Te72 Wagon - Rust Repair And Paint Advice

[te72wagon]

Hi folks,

 

I'm welding in patch panels and doing some general rust repair on my 1980 Corolla Wagon (TE72).

 

Questions:

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1. Can anyone tell me how to safely R+R the chrome trim that runs along the top of the car? I'd like to remove it for painting but I'm not sure how to take it off without bending it.

 

2. Can anyone suggest a good vinyl paint match for a tan/brown interior?

 

I'll need to paint both the trim and the dash, they are different colors...and probably every single 'x-mas tree' connector holding the interior together since they pretty much explode whenever I look at them funny (apparently 34 year old plastic is a little on the brittle side)

 

 

 

My car's VIN is TE7225002386

 

 

The window areas were in definite need of replacement. I was able to save the inner sill panel on the drivers side. On the passenger side the rust-out was bad enough that I had to replace both panels, fortunately my donor panel was rust free.

 

 

The drivers side donor...well there unfortunately my 'new' panel (the only one to be had within 150 miles) had some pretty bad rust out too...so off to the MIG I go. Fortunately I now had plenty of extra sheet metal to work with.

 

 

After all of that work I followed up with fiberglass filler and epoxy primer/sealer. Unfortunately this window sill design tends to collect water so I need to make sure everything is fully waterproofed, or at least as waterproof as I can reasonably make it.

 

 

Once I finish the passenger side (yes that is PVC) I'll be replacing the hatch and treating all of the rust I found under the seal area with naval jelly. There's quite a lot of it but nothing deep enough to require panel replacement, just more filler.

Edited August 13, 2014 by te72wagon