i was starting to miss my 88sse as i have not drove bonnie in 2 months since i got the 95se because my wife dont have her license to kill yet. only her permit.
so i refused to pay isurance for both cars untill she drives.. so i then call up last week and add the liabilty insurance only just so i can take it on the highway and around the city for some memories and when i got 2 blocks away from my house i noticed a big pothole that must have been fresh and i was only going 35 mph and i could not avoid it as the street was small and a 2 way so i slowed down and hit it and about 15-20 mph and i felt it like i hit it at 50mph... so i go another 2 blocks and fell my driver seat wobbling like i was on a rollercoster ride or something.. so i go straight back home and take up the carpet only to find (THIS) on my left front seat track.....







is this repairable and how would i fix a problem like this... im just so pissed that i did not notice it sooner so i could have tooken care of it......

Oh my.....


That may be repairable. Is the hole going through the floor of the car?

i do not think so it is... i stuck a screw driver in there and it hit solid metal and when i jacker the car up i did not see and rust or holes forming under the car...

please keep in my the car sat in a lot for about 2 or 3 years before i got my hands on it.. i did everything to it but change the floor carpet so therefore i never noticed this....

well, looks like things aren't too bad. If you want to look in the area to the left of the last picture and check there to make sure there is no rust, and also remove that last strip of brown whatever to check behind there, you can make sure it hasn't spread to an important part yet. The area it is in could easily be cut out and replace, although you'd have to re-tap the hole for the driver'* seat, but you could make it with some good solid steal.

You'll want to remove, clean and replace it before it spreads further.

OUCH! That'* nasty! Sorry to see that.

But, like Geoff says, you can repair it, if you get on it now. You'll need to cut out any heavily rusted areas and for the mildly pitted areas, use rust converter before priming and repainting it all.

Wow! You found a knife under your carpet!

I'd clean that rust up though. A wire wheel, shop vac and a grinder. Should be able to weld in some new steel.

a body shop could have that done in a few hours, and shouldnt cost to much, cause its a easy fix for them and it in a area that you dont see, so there no finnish work, just a quick coating with am epoxy over the new metal and welds and you good to go

i have a welding machine but i only used it once...and not on a car either.. so is this something i can do myself(the welding) and what gauge steel should i use.?
i have a shop vac` and a welder and grinder and a brand new 3 pack of wire wheel brushes and some rust converter.. it turns rust into black primer..... can anyone give me some tips on how to do this.. how much do i cut off around the good metal to make sure i get all the rust out,? your advice is greatly appericated..

John, I think the actual welding repair would be best left to a pro. Mainly because it'* a safety issue and needs to be done 110% correct the first shot.

As you've already noticed, your seat is moving around on you. And you've already mentioned the crazies driving in your area. If you end up with a less than perfect job, a panic stop, or worse a head-on could break loose the seat, the base, and the floor and bring all of that and you (or your wife) crashing against the shoulder harness. Even with a good seat, shoulder harnesses cause bruises and break collarbones (but save lives!). With the seat breaking loose, it could definitely be unhealthy for your neck.

I would find a welding repair shop with a good reputation that would work with you on this. They could outline for you just how much metal to cut out, do the repair, and then you do the primering and reassembly.

The other possibility would be to sign up with an adult education welding course at night with a really good instructor. Repair your car as a project. I did this myself and rolled in a motorcycle frequently to work on. When I finally got in over my head, I just did the prep work (90% of the work) and the instructor did the weld (10%).

(edited -- ps: good training shops have all kinds of neat things like plasma cutters, pro-quality die grinders, TIG welders etc. After a few of us students demonstrated that we didn't blow up the building, the instructor invited us to come in as much we wanted and use any equipment that we wanted to get trained in on).