I see from some of the postings that some of you Longchamp owners have had the car really apart and done a thorough job of fixing the rust. I plan to do the same but hopefully on a smaller scale. The good news is that the rust on my car is very concentrated. There’s no rust in the bottom, doors, front fenders etc. But there’s rust (on both sides) in the following areas:
1. Rocker panels
2. Behind rear side window, just where the window opener attaches on the inside
3. Rear fender, 1” above the wheel well flanges (non GTS car)
On 1. I’m not surprised, the material is about half the thickness of my 68 Camaro rocker panels. What were they thinking, it’s not that they tried to make a lightweight?
On 2. The rust is serious in a specific area where there on the inside was some sponge (sound deadening?) material. The metal that the 3 screws that hold the window opener screwed into is mostly rusted away.
On 3. Usually you see water and maybe salt from the wheel wells starting to rust the flanges, but on mine it starts further up and the flanges are is mostly intact. So rust comes from above and inside, not beneath from the wheels.
And now to my questions. On 2 and 3, are your cars the same? It seems to me that water coming from above could cause both? And the big question is: where does it come in? The only possible areas it could enter are top of front window, side window or rear window. I see no sign of rust or anything around the windows.
If you had your Longchamp more dismantled than me, can you help? Pictures are welcome. Thanks
Lastly, does anyone know what high-volume car that has rear wheel well flanges similar to the Longchamp, I would rather buy a part and weld it in than building it myself.