Hi guys. First time posting here. I have a 2004 Intimidator that I bought in 2006. I am now closing in on 226K miles. Never had an engine issue up until now when my left (front) exhaust manifold cracked. While I was at the junkyard getting one, I noticed on the 2002 Monte Carlo SS I was removing it from, it had rust. A LOT of rust! Radiator core support with lots of holes. The rocker panels were so rusted, I was able to just pull on the side spoilers and they came right now with chunks of rust raining down. Nothing left of the bottom of the quarters.

That really spooked me and got me thinking about mine. I have some areas on the front core support where some surface rust is popping up around the seams. Also the common quarter panel bubbles on the driver's side rear near the Intimidator SS logos. I love my car and what to keep it around for a long time. What I would like to know is if anyone in the Maryland area has taken theirs to a place for body work that they would recommend. What I really would like to do besides fix the quarter panel rust, is to take off the side spoilers, check for rust and clean up those areas if there is rust and treat and paint the area. For the front, I would like to have the fenders and bumper removed and sandblast the areas and treat and paint those as well.

For the Monte Carlo in the junk yard, it appears that it was rusting from the inside of the rocker panels out. I wonder how water was getting inside....

 

Here are some photos of the rust from the junk yard Monte Carlo. Those faint of heart, look away now.

 

Ouch!!!

 

jeeesh that's too bad, one thing I love about the south is no rust.... When I lived in Maine the avg car was in the boneyard by the time it had 125k miles.