First, remove your rear seat, and disconnect the negative battery cable. Take the battery out of the car, and inspect the floor area where your battery sits. You may see some holes, or you may see your whole rear pan falling apart. Either way, it's lik ely that you have rust.

If you have just a few holes, nothing bigger than a quarter I hope, I suggest that you get a sandblaster, a spot sandblaster from Harbor Freight. They are cheap, $12.99, and will blast that little area you need to prepare. Blast the area, and see how ba d the damage is. I also recommend that you have some protective equipment to cover your face. This sandblaster will not make a huge mess, it runs at a very low pressure. Ok, now inspect the rust. If it looks like the whole area is totally gone, you wi ll need to get a pan replacement for that section. These can be ordered from advertisers of this magazine.

If your battery-pan area looks like it has a little rust, but it's not totally gone I would suggest getting some POR15( www.por15.com ), and this will literally kill all the rust. POR15 is a substance you brush onto the metal, it really does kill the rus t and is very popular with the restoration shops. You then have a couple more options. Do you bondo up the holes or fiberglass them, or use JB WELD ? This is up to you to decide. Bondo usually does it quick and easy, but the fiberglass would last longer. JB WELD is probley the best alternative for strength and durability. I would seriously ask a bodyshop what would be the easiest route depending on how big the holes are. I hope this article gives you somewhat of a standpoint on how to figure out how bad your rust is, and how to stop it and attack it.