Panel beater question

So back from our month long trip down the West coast with a roof rack on top, and getting ready to take it off I can see a vague line of rust starting to emerge down the inside of one roof gutter. I look underneath and there's two little spots that are also showing the dreaded orange colour. Then I also spy a bit of a rust line showing up on the driver A pillar, pushing a long thin bead of sealant off. The sealant looks to be OEM stuff, as I have chased it until its starting to lift original paint down to clean steel.

Its a 1997 Nissan patrol, engine just run in at 540,000km.

I have also spotted a similar age body that I have had a decent check out of, and appears to have little, if no rust in it. Can get it for a modest amount of $$.

Question: Whats the ins and outs of doing a donor roof swap? Stupidly expensive or only modestly so?? I know its doesn't take much for the $$ to mount up, as everyone seems to be charging $100/hr minimum.

Or do I just chase the existing rust out myself for small coin, keep it on the road for another 5 years and wait for the rust monster to become unwarrantable??

Any practical thoughts would be useful.

And no, I will not be looking at buying anything new to replace it. Have never paid more than 15K for any vehicle I have ever owned.

Cheers in advance,

XR500

Pour rust killer into the cracks and keep going

I use farm vehicles that have had that treatment and the rust just stopped

What colour , if black watyl rust kill enamel paint works well , also por 15 rust kill paint but must be top coated as no uv resistant . Its only to pass a wof not for resale so you can brush paint . Drill out rust holes in fire wall and fill with a rubber plug , looks factory .

they all rust out, I bet even other body will have it too
Just get it chopped out there’s a few people selling the bent up sheet metal

Personally I don’t think you can chase down rust unless you do as the classic car guys do and take panels off( I don’t mean unbolt panels . I mean welds and spot welds). Cars and trucks rust from the inside out.
If I was in your shoes I would look to dig out the worst, seal up and paint. Treating internally can give it more time with the likes of fisholene or lanolin. I have just spent 50k on a body resto on a 70’s Holden and it’s a bottomless pit if you want to do it right. Just my thoughts.

Back when I was younger and way cooler I had a Mitsi Evo11 (because that's what cool dudes had back then) and it failed a wof due to rust in the A pillars and the roof (aparently common on that lancer body) so had a complete new roof put on from a donor car which seemed a pretty straight forward operation was more time and labour getting it repainted and interior reinstalled etc. Cost about $3500 at the time, which was big money for a young fella in 2008

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Originally Posted by Southcity

Personally I don’t think you can chase down rust unless you do as the classic car guys do and take panels off( I don’t mean unbolt panels . I mean welds and spot welds). Cars and trucks rust from the inside out.
If I was in your shoes I would look to dig out the worst, seal up and paint. Treating internally can give it more time with the likes of fisholene or lanolin. I have just spent 50k on a body resto on a 70’s Holden and it’s a bottomless pit if you want to do it right. Just my thoughts.

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I dont know how effective it is but I was told by an old rustkiller panelbeater body work guy that fisholene inside the areas where rust is appearing can help keep it at bay a little longer. Ideal for inside parts where the paint wont get easily....

back to the original post you would easily be nudging 3k to do a roof swap by the time you take in labour materials and paint. that of course could easily rise once the original roof is off and you find all the cant rail reinforcements have cancer too....(moisture gets trapped between the roof skin and reinforcements on those beasts and that's where it starts)
as suggested best option is to keep on top of it with localized treatment before it gets to the point where you have no option....
you will never stop rust even putting a new roof on will only keep it at bay as it will start to rust around the new plug welds because unlike the factory we cant dip the vehicle to coat every nook and cranny
the weight and torsion having the roof rack mounted to your roof racks has flexed the drip rail seams and opened them up exposing what you couldn't see before

Common as on patrols. Daughters bf is patrol mad had quite a few and they are all rusty around the roof. Fisholene is what ive always used brush it in from inside and out it will slow it down but rust never sleeps

Thanks guys. Would appear that less is more in this case. I'll break out the 50 year old drum of fisholene I rescued from somewhere, and start getting it inside the bodywork.

Fisholene works but it's like driving around in a tin of sardines. Its also the stuff that mad cat ladies use to attract unwitting moggies.

Best advice = post#2. Rust killer the hell out of it and then release your eccentricity and brush paint it camo green, brown, tan and black and mount a 50 cal on the bonnet. Name it APC revisited and park it out front of the council chambers each time you go into town. That should stir up some local conversation.

The least invasive the better, having been into one Patrol/Safari rebuild like that. It came off a cow cocky's outfit for about $750 including getting it home with current WOF/Reg (how it had that I do not know).

Repair to firewall, both from guards, rear sliding windows (which to be fair was mostly a re-rubber job and a cleanup), rear doors, and patches in the rear wheel wells (cow sh1te eats all).

Roof I cleaned a little up on and got in in time I think as it never failed again as far as I am aware.

But, the least invasive you can do is the less crud transported into other areas from grinding and cutting out metal. Clean up and run it until it next needs a going over...