66 Mustang Warning Ticket From DMV

[micjoe]

I live in CT and this is my first classic mustang. Only a V6 flawless condition , 34.000 ORG miles. When i went to the DMV VIN inspection, they wrote me a warning ticket for Rotted Rear quaters.  I do not know too much about cars, but i love mustangs. I already tried fighting with DMV, as only going to drive maybe twice a year. Does anyone know exactly where they mean? And how much money it would be involved? I called a couple of Body shops, some do not do it/ Would i need a metal fabricator?

Any help. Here is the car. I only have 20 days to comply, and do not have hardly any money. I would imagine they would sand blast, and replace as needed. However I want it done right, and hope its under -500.00

Here are some pics.

Any advise where I can bring it I only have 20 days. Its not like the did a full inspection, they guy made a visual attempt and say what he say. I am just afraid i will get the rear done, and then they do a full inspections, and say i need this, and that.....big headache.

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[Thierry]

Welcome to our forum MicJoe. Your quarter panels seem very fine on the pictures. Here in Canada all you need is to fill the holes with bondo to pass the inspection but I don't know how it works in Connecticut.
If you have no other choice than having the quarter panels replaced you don't need a metal fabricator unless it can be done cheaper depending of the damages. Quarter panels are pretty cheap but you will need a welder to replace them.
The quarters are the panels located on the side of your car between the door, the bottom of roof, and the tail light pannel but sometimes all you need is a section of this quarter panel. Once the panel is removed you might also find more damage behind it and if the rust is not removed everywhere it will contaminate your new quarters so the bill can be very expensive if you want the job to be done right. I also noticed the dust on your carpet that looks like rust so I am afraid your nice Mustang is hiding a lot of damage.
If you can send us some pictures of the engine bay, trunck floor and underneath your car we might be able to tell you more about its condition.

Here is a link for reproduction panels but you can find them at any Mustang part store:
Mustangs Plus

I wish you the best.

[micjoe]

I just actually spoke to the sergant and the inspector. and he stated i have some rotten within the inner rear quarter..right behine the wheel in the rear. Their are some visible small holes present. They stated i would need to fiberglass it or tar it, and they would cover it. So i would imagine it should not be too too much. However i have to find a licensed garage who can do it.

It looks like i just need a patch >
They are saving you from carbon monoxide poisoning needs to be fixed.

**Well the car was acutally garaged more than 20 years. ***

[Thierry]

A patch will probably fix that but the rust might come back in less than a year if you plan to drive the car in the rain. The best solution and still cheap would be to strip all the rusted area and cover it with POR15 rust products then tar. This will stop the rust for longer.
Here is their site:
POR-15 Inc.

[micjoe]

yeah thanks much...just hoping it will not cost alot of someone to do it...dmv requires a licensed person to do the work...lol

More pics of the beautiful car and rotted damage below. The rott is only on the driver quarter panel. The other side is fine.

Any idea on price of repair?

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[micjoe]

More pics of under the vehicle-- (Pic 1) under front right of vehicle...i do not see any other issues then the rot on that one side.
Pic 2- Pass Side Rear Quarters which are fine.
Pic 3-  Trunk

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[Thierry]

There is much worse cars on the roads than yours but it will probably need a full body restoration if you want to drive safe. I hope you didn't pay too much for this car. Any way I am glad you can get it back on the road for cheap. Let us know how it goes.

[micjoe]

Thank you...i think it is a beautiful car....i always liked mustangs....thanks for the support.

[Thierry]

I agree with you it's still a beautifull Mustang. My first classic car was far worse than yours and covered with bondo but I really enjoyed driving it until I could afford fixing the rust problem. I personnaly like classics showing their age much better than trailor queens worth half a million dollars that never go on the roads to avoid any potential accident.
Let us know how it goes and have fun.