taking off my roll cage, how to prevent rust on the holes i drilled?

[djl601]

Hi,
i plan to take out my autopower 4 point rollcage, but i was wondering what i can do to fill the holes and prevent rusting later on.
I plan to use bondo to fill out the holes and anti-rust spray to prevent rust later on.....is that the right way to do? or what should i do?

BTW, the rollcage is for sale ... it's for s13 hatch with sunroof...

thanks in advance

[BustedS13]

just spray the holes with rustoleum, they're on the inside of your car. and how much/where are you, my understanding is these cages are SCCA legal.

[dtc 360RT]

metal, def want to weld a piece in there, bondo for smooth clean finish and anti rust paint is the best way. you want bare clean surfaces for paint to adhire to, for no rust to break through later on.
how much $ for the cage?

[djl601]

so i have to weld a piece of metal there? what about if i go grab some small pieces of metal from homedepot and screw it on, like the cages does?

i'm looking to get $330 out of my cage...it's very clean....and yes it's scca legal....
i'm in long beach, socal...

thanks

[IIIXziuR]

Yeah I think welding something in place there would be best,
I can see a lot of moisture "sneaking" underneath and into the car and staying trapped under the floor carpet

[racepar1]

You can't use bondo to fill holes really, it will almost certainly fall out over time. Weld in some small patches and use chasis sealer or silicone to seal the patch. If you just bondo it without any sealer it will most likely rust as bondo tends to crack over time, and water will most likely seep through it and get trapped. Top it all off with a generous coat of rustoleum and you'll be good.

[ALEXTHESUS*PECT]

weld sand and rustoleum!

[SlideWaysSilvia]

i saw this truck drift in trimbal canyon it was pretty shocking to see a big ass truck keep up with some fast ass S14 and a beat up ass mazda miata LOL.... Nice ride ill see you in april at the touki event

[Ian]

to be cheap? just put another bolt through like it was before w/ washers

[BustedS13]

i'd definitely buy that cage if you weren't 2000 miles away.

[Ragnarok043]

you could fiberglass over the holes.

[WagDatto]

The problem with screwing down a plate is that you WILL get moisture under the plate, and it will cause rust even MORE than anything else. Body filler, too, will be a bad choice, because it doesn't flex, and will crack letting moisture in. Just get a piece of metal, cut to fit, and weld her in. Done and done.

[BustedS13]

okay, to all of you concerned about holes. open your trunk, and pull out the spare if you still have it. there should be a huge rubber grommet in there. pull that out and you'll find like a 3" diameter hole in your trunk. it's not a big deal, just paint over it and you won't have problems.

[kuruptR]

uuhhhh...why havent i seen any one suggest seam sealer?
Factory seals welds with seam sealer. You can get it at most auto parts store. Usually when installing a "bolt-on" cage you should sandwich the plates with seam sealer, to prevent corrosion and prevent moisture from coming in the cabin.

[GSXRJJordan]

okay, to all of you concerned about holes. open your trunk, and pull out the spare if you still have it. there should be a huge rubber grommet in there. pull that out and you'll find like a 3" diameter hole in your trunk. it's not a big deal, just paint over it and you won't have problems.

Seriously. As long as it's CLEAN when you spray it. Like, metal brush in the threads, then paint, then have a beer cause you're done.

uuhhhh...why havent i seen any one suggest seam sealer?
Factory seals welds with seam sealer. You can get it at most auto parts store. Usually when installing a "bolt-on" cage you should sandwich the plates with seam sealer, to prevent corrosion and prevent moisture from coming in the cabin.

Yup, clean it then seal.

[djl601]

wow.....so many useful information....thank you all for the great information....i'll try all the methods above this weekend....thank you all again...thanks

[Matej]

You can get away with just spraying it with Rustoleum in my opinion. There are already plenty of holes on the car that weren't sealed from the factory, or just have rubber seals or bolts in them, and they seem to be doing fine.

I measure my ground clearance through those circle holes that S13's have behind the seats haha.

http://www.tuhalb.com/personal/images/auto/hole_01.jpg

[racepar1]

^^^^UMMMMMM........... Those have metal plugs in them that are held in by chasis sealer, or at least they should! 240's have no un-sealed holes in the chasis. All the holes are either sealed by gromets or metal plugs and chasis sealer. If YOURS does then you need to do some rust repair.

[Def]

Ground clearance???? haha - I'm pretty sure that hole goes to the inside of the frame rail.

Unless you seriously do ride around with your framerails on the ground.

[sncs14]

When i took the sound deadening out I put the thin caps back over the holes with chassis sealant, then put one layer of fiberglass over them with a good amount of resin.

[Matej]

Ground clearance???? haha - I'm pretty sure that hole goes to the inside of the frame rail.
No the oval hole next to it closer to the tranny tunnel goes to the frame rail.

^^^^UMMMMMM........... Those have metal plugs in them that are held in by chasis sealer, or at least they should!
One of mine was missing so I took them all out because I'm obsessive compulsive about symmetry haha. Had them like that for over a year now, though it's true that I never really drive my car in the rain.