Am I going to have to start looking for another Festy?

[TorqueEffect]

Here is my worst fear revealed.
First pic is the Passenger side, and the second is the driver's side. They are both pics of where the rear axle beam attaches to the body.

DSC02625.jpgDSC02621.jpg

Is there anything I can do, can the car at least be driven for the next few years while I save up and find another before it is completely unsafe?
I am not really concerned about the drivers side, that is mainly surface rust, but the whole rusty bulge on the passenger side worries me.
Can it be treated to at least stop it from rusting further?

[drumnerd33]

Best thing to do at this point would be to get in there with a wire brush or wire wheel and start getting all the rust off to see how bad it really is. If there is still enough metal there you could weld in some plates or mybe weld it back together depending on how bad it is. Its hard to say just how bad with all the surface rust you really need to get in there and get some of that off to see how bad it is

[WmWatt]

Looks fine. Just scale. After the wire brush ^^^^ rap with a hammer and cold chisel and scale will drop off. I clean mine up every 5 years or so (bought new in 1989) knock off the scale, and apply a couple coats of rust paint as well as I can with a brush. Probably easier with a spray can if you can control overspray. I paint stuff under the car different colours, blue for wheel and brake parts, red for steering stuff, black for most other things.

[drumnerd33]

Re: Am I going to have to start looking for another Festy?

^^^agree it may be fine, don't know till you get some of the crap off

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[TorqueEffect]

Thanks, I will get at it tomorrow and see what I can find. I think I may have some rust paint lying around.

[ckiesman]

just remember if you or someone you know is a competent enough welder/fabricator new mounts can be made. My axle ripped off on the passenger side, and a guy i know made new mounts and re did the inner support (inside the rocker panel)