Saturday, November 30, 2013

Bulkhead Rust

The bulkhead on the driver's side was pretty rusty when I got the car.  It's a common problem - spilled fluid from the clutch & brake master cylinders attacks the paint, leaving the metal unprotected, and chemistry has its way with the steel, resulting in something like this:
With the brakes on my short list of to-do's, it was now or never.  Once the master cylinder is installed, the job is way harder.  So I got started, removing all of the parts mounted to the left bulkhead and firing up the electric drill with a wire wheel.

I was pleased to see that the rust hadn't gotten deep into the bulkhead:  

After scouring the affected area to my heart's content,  I cleaned it and applied a rust converter chemical, then shut down for the night.

Today, I masked the work to prevent overspray getting all over everything, and hit it with a healthy coat of Rustoleum automotive primer.
Came out looking great,  and now I can install the brake system with the piece of mind that come from knowing I'm not slowly losing a critical structural member to the tin worm.

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