Well, rust just means welding, sandblasting, and buying sheet metal. I have bought parts from The Paddock, great service with them, Mustangs Unlimited who also had good service, and NPD. I get performance stuff and engine/carb/transmission rebuild parts from either Jegs or Summit, and some tools there too. Eastwood has some good stuff, but you pay for the name there. Regardless its still a good place to get things that arent stocked at your local parts store. I use the local CarQuest for machine work and basic supplies including paint and primer.

If the car is extremely rusty like the Pit of Despair, then you have to decide if you want a full on restoration, or if you dont mind a restomod that looks stock but might not be entirely correct. I tend to build restomods, it keeps me from having to buy a million little trinkets and make everything exactly right, you can do what you like under the hood, upgrade the brakes and suspension, or omit/substitute trim if it is hard to find. If its just a cruiser, then just make it nice but not perfect, huge difference in cost that way.

If I can rebuild the POD and my Cougar, having never done body work before, pretty much anyone can learn to do it. Its just a matter of having the time and the urge to do it, then getting dirty. I highly suggest a rotisserie rebuild, and media blasting the entire underside of the car, the engine bay, door/trunk jambs, and the interior. Painting the interior will get rid of the mold smell, mine smelled like mice. Take it down to a bare shell and start from there. If you cant get a replacement part, you can always make one from an old hood, door, or fender.

As far as scary rust goes, this is one of my favorite pics of how much worse it can be. I did manage to save the shock towers, rocker panels, and roof..

 

They're definitely going with resto-mod. Uncle mentioned they're going to use stuff like pro-comp gauges, different badging, Flowmasters, different wheels, etc. I'll gather up all these names and get some URLs to them! Thanks for all the recommendations... I'll drag some pix out of him too...

 

sorry you had a bad experience with npd. if you will call rick (he is the owner) at the ocala, fl. store i am 100% positive that he will make whatever the problem was right.

 

ughh i dont use NPD, unless i really need something the next day because im so close to the florida store....

for one they are overpriced and they dont price match like other vendors...

i tried to order my 13inch SSBC kit for the front of my 65 from them iirc the price was about 1800-1900$ th epaddock had the same kit for 1409 400$ difference thats new exhaust or an alum driveshaft or half the cost of an AC kit.... i emailed them in ocala they wouldnt budge because they keep the kits in stock unlike other vendors who might drop ship them. what a load of horse manure i should pay 400$ extra because they keep it in stock lmao....

so i took the paddock price called jegs they price matched the kit and gave free shipping

 

rmodel. where in ga you from??

 

We need pics!!!
I'm dieing to see this car.
Lynn

 

I've gone to NPD in Ocala more than once for little odds and ends, never had a problem yet.

They have some pretty sweet cars in the lobby too

 

I'm going out there tomorrow to take him a Virginia Classic Mustangs catalog - The Book of Hope and when I do, I'll try to snag his pix or take my own... knowing him, he's not even pulled them off his camera and onto his hard drive yet. LOL

 

SE about 30 mins from the florida line of I95

 

Rust converters only affect the top layer of rust, transforming it into an inert material which can be painted. In theory, by encapsulating the rust in this manner it can no longer continue to grow since moisture can no longer reach it. I used a garden sprayer to spray it inside my frame rails and I used it a few other places where I could not actually reach the rust to remove it.
I would say that given the rather extensive restoration ahead of you, it would be better to remove the rust since you probably will be able to get to all of it.