1980 Trans Am (T Top) A Pillar Repair I found repair Kit

[d_hache]

Hello everyone, well the saga continues.
I found a bit more rust than i was expecting on the A Pillars.
When i started to take the dash apart i could see underneath that there was some nasty stuff there.
My body guys will be replacing the entire top skin that also comes down on the a pillars.
But I am wondering if anyone has pictures of what this area is suppose to look like once repaired or pictures of an a pillar that was not rusted.
As well are there repair kits for the A Pillars?   I found these https://realdealsteel.com/i-23903070-1970-81-camaro-firebird-left-windshield-pillar-repair-kit.html
Thanks

[Doright]

I did the very same repairs to my 70 both sides. Mine were worse.  Yours will require full removal same as mine That metal is way to far gone to save.
Chose weather you will buy new pieces Upper rockers and A pillars or Have pieces removed from a Parts car, In the end you will be doing some metal shaping as well. You will also need a Tig welder or a Small gas torch I wouldn't do it with just a Mig.

[Doright]

[Doright]

I dont know where all my pictures are of this repairs I will try to locate them.
But basically whole Cowel had to be removed, I used a set of A pillars removed from a Parts car which I used the Skins off of for the pillar post.
I cut all the rust out and Shaped new pieces from Fresh sheet metal sheet Steel and Tig welded it And Mig welded it all back together.
I wouldn't dream of trying this repair with just a Mig only though! Don't get me wrong a Mig has its place but welding Thin sheet metal isn't one of them in my opinion. Better off using Gas in a Lot of cases especially on Skins.

This is NOT a Repair to be taken lightly! or Half assed together!!!!!!! A lot of forces are exerted into this area in an accident whether hit head Broad sided from a side impact or a Roll over.
Take your time do it right! Some ones Life may depend on your work!.
The Skin under the Cowl in the corners is a Thicker metal where it ties into upper rocker panel and supports the Cowel panel & metal for the fire wall and in the Piller under the skin is heavier too as I remember.

It is possible to get new whole upper and lower Rocker panels to Cut these pieces from. I looked into buying it new But they are whole parts and expensive just to cut up for patches, I also looked for a Complete parts car to cut them from. But available one in my area guys were trying to sell as re builders rather than parts cars so I opted to metal shape my own from the correct thickness metal. A whole rust free parts car would be the way to go IF you can drill spot welds really good, Also I Glass blasted all my metal free from all rust.

Right side after repair left same


Again i will try to see if the Pics are on my garage camera and will up date my 70 thread with them.
This is a doable repair But remember its a Major Structural part it has to be done right.

[FormTA]

My pictures are lost too.

I'm pretty sure you could do this all with a good MIG welder. I wouldn't use a wire welder though. Doright, I'm not saying that TIG welding it is wrong, just most don't have access to one. I have one but I did all of my repairs with my MIG welder.  The advantage of the TIG repair is it is more "flexible" shall we say. Which would be ideal in this area prone to stress. I am very good with my MIG. I prefer it for thin sheet metal.

(There always seems to be confusion on welders. All MIG welders are wire welders but not all wire welders are MIG. Mig stands for Metal Inert Gas. The gas shields the weld from the environment and wire welders use a flux core wire to shield it. TIG (Tungsten Inert Gas) uses tungsten to help create the arc and you hand feed the filler rod, gas is used again to create a perfect environment for the weld. This was just a quick overview for someone who may not know the difference.) Not you Doright.

[d_hache]

Great thanks allot for the info, really valuable stuff.
I have body body man that will do the work so i am not worried.
But would be great to see some pics of your repair if you have them.
We are lucky my body man has a perfect no rust 1970 Firebird that we can reference.
The car is all apart right now totally naked so we can have a good look there.
Thanks again

[Doright]

Great thanks allot for the info, really valuable stuff.
I have body body man that will do the work so i am not worried.
But would be great to see some pics of your repair if you have them.
We are lucky my body man has a perfect no rust 1970 Firebird that we can reference.
The car is all apart right now totally naked so we can have a good look there.
Thanks again

Must be Nice to be able to afford to Hire work out at this level?
Seriously with all the other rust problems you've posted your looking at some serious coin for all these repairs! If your not doing them yourself. 
 
 

[Doright]

My pictures are lost too.

I'm pretty sure you could do this all with a good MIG welder. I wouldn't use a wire welder though. Doright, I'm not saying that TIG welding it is wrong, just most don't have access to one. I have one but I did all of my repairs with my MIG welder.  The advantage of the TIG repair is it is more "flexible" shall we say. Which would be ideal in this area prone to stress. I am very good with my MIG. I prefer it for thin sheet metal.

(There always seems to be confusion on welders. All MIG welders are wire welders but not all wire welders are MIG. Mig stands for Metal Inert Gas. The gas shields the weld from the environment and wire welders use a flux core wire to shield it. TIG (Tungsten Inert Gas) uses tungsten to help create the arc and you hand feed the filler rod, gas is used again to create a perfect environment for the weld. This was just a quick overview for someone who may not know the difference.) Not you Doright.

Your right about a wire welder and Mig welder.
I say Tig because Mig is too hot and Brittle You cant lay a Flat continuous Bead with a Mig not on sheet metal that thin.
The area Is critical for strength in a Collision! Could it be done with a Mig? yes, Will it be as strong as original BEFORE it rotted out? Depends on who's doing the welding and How good they are.

[Doright]

Sorry But My camera pics were lost some how I lost a Lot of the steps in this repair these are after repairs were done. Their was a Lot of Hammer forming to get the New metal to fit like a Glove before welding took place. As a Matter of fact There was a Lot of Hammer forming almost every thing I have done on this car before welding lol all I can say is good luck Their is a Lot to know to pull off a Nice acceptable repair that you can be proud of and will equal the factory's strength.

[d_hache]

Thanks allot for the pics!
I am not to worries about the repair since i have one of the best body man around to get all this fixed
But i wanted to see some pics of how some of my trans am friends have repaired this area.
I am not sure is this was a good idea but i did order this repair kit.