VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND NEWER 1949-1954 A-Pillar and Windshield Area Rust Repair

Hello all, I'm new to this site so not sure if this topic belongs here or in the Body forum. Have a 53 hardtop that has severe rust in the top portion of the door A-pillars and in the panel above the windshield. Guessing it was either from mice or something leaking and trapping water. Fortunately it appears that the lip that the windshield gasket attaches to is still OK. Just wondering if anyone has experience repairing these areas, either by fabricating replacement panels or welding in donor material?

There's the typical rocker and floor rust to tackle first before these areas, but wanted to gather some info and be thinking on solutions in the meantime. Thanks.

Kerwin, do you know the history of this car? If not, you might want to do some serious investigating before you spend any money on it, for what you describe sounds like a car that a) has had many miles of driving in salt-spray on roads where snow was common, or b) has spent much of its life near an ocean. If this is the case, the frame, body mounts and steering gear should be carefully examined and tested for rust. I'm not trying to alarm you, just passing on what I have learned about old Chevs that existed in salt-spray conditions (like my dad's '51 that was rusted out by '56).

I just spotted your ad in Parts Wanted for a frame. If you have any contacts in Manitoba or Saskatchewan they might be able to find a good one, especially if your car is a standard shift. I brought one back to Ontario 30 years ago from SK that was basically rust free - whole car for $300.. It's been 5 years since I've been out there, but there were still some hulks in fields then in the '49 - '54 era. Salt is used on the roads very little out there as it's too cold most of the time for it to do any good on snow.

Thanks for the replies. History of the car is that it was sold new in Wisconsin and driven locally. Body was removed from the frame at some point when frame was supposedly used for a pickup truck. I have a lot of 53 parts for putting it all back together, just looking for some advice on that upper body rust.

I have seen tv videos and articles of similar repairs. They do some really amazing things these days with the help of an inexpensive Shrinker/stretcher to shape patches.