Guy at the Pick-n-Pull changed my mind about fixing rust holes

There was this old dude in a greasy Carhartt jacket pulling a door off a 90s Civic next to me at the local yard up in Tacoma. I was staring at a quarter panel with a rust hole the size of a baseball, trying to decide if I wanted to mess with it. He looked over and goes "if you can't poke your finger through it, just fill it with a fiberglass patch kit and send it. These cars ain't museum pieces." I was all set to cut it out and weld in a new piece. Ended up just grabbing a $12 Bondo kit and it held fine for two years. Changed how I look at beater cars honestly. Anyone else had a random stranger talk em out of overthinking a repair?

3 comments

3 Comments

tessa_clark7425d ago

These cars ain't museum pieces" is a perfect life motto for anything with four wheels.

haydenbutler25d agoMost Upvoted

Nah, I get the sentiment but I think there's something cool about preserving a few of them too, especially the ones that'll never get made again. Not everything has to be driven into the ground.

laura_wright18d ago

Is there a particular model you'd have a hard time watching someone actually drive into the ground? I get the preservation angle but I wonder where the line is drawn for you personally. Like, is it the old-school Ferraris and the 300SL Gullwings that feel too fragile and important, or does that include something like an air-cooled 911 that still gets driven hard by people who just love them? I'm genuinely curious what makes one car a museum piece and another fair game for daily abuse.