TR2/3/3A Is this TR3 Rocker Panel Full of Putty?

[GBRandy]

Does this look correct? Or is this all body putty?

 

[hermanmaire]

Its always hard to tell... gravel guard has that effect also. Ask them to stick a magnet to it and see what they say.

 

[GBRandy]

I need to do that.... But more top the point I was referring to the seam near the rear of the rocker. It looks like the underside of the seam is body puttied over. Is that normal I wonder or did someone body body the whole rocker and "carve" a seam in at the rear of the door in the rocker?

 

[TR4nut]

I was looking at that very picture about 5 minutes ago! Can't answer about the putty, but the small stoneguard is a replacement I think, given the way it sticks out from the body.

Edit: Not sure if this is standard, but on my car there is a 1/2" drain hole in that rear location of the sill.

 

[tdskip]

Not sure that swirl stuff on the bottom is supposed to be there, but it could just be rust proofing for similar. Is it pliable? Have you tried chipping at it with a screw driver?

 

[Tinkerman]

GB, mine seam kind of looks like your seam but, underneith there is a definate seam. I know mine is not filled with putty. I sure would go with the magnet test. How many miles on it? Those rockers go to rust pretty fast.

Good luck, Tinkerman

 

[frankenstang57]

Its always hard to tell... gravel guard has that effect also. Ask them to stick a magnet to it and see what they say.

Magnet trick really doesn't work so well unless something is 100% filler/glass mat.

My wimpy fridge magnet can barley hold 3 sheets of paper to my fridge and it's sticks to filler just fine.

It's hard to tell from just a picture, can you feel behind the stone gaurd? It looks like a run in the paint. The black overspray is creating an optical illusion of a funky angle. Is that a rattle can job on inner fenders?

 

[tinman58]

From my experince on three TR3s you will have rust behind there , be carefull how far you dig, you may not like what you find.
Dan

 

[Tinkerman]

Better to find it now rather than after he buys the car.

 

[angelfj1]

Randy, this is a notorious place for rot, so your suspicion is well placed. perhaps these before and after photos will help

 

[mallard]

This is what the area looks like on my late 1957. You should be able to see the overlap of the outside body shell, a small grove, the spot welds. and a drain hole near the back. This area is almost rust free on my car,but you can see an area of weld repair. My guess is that you are looking at a bunch of bondo (MHO).These cars had a ton of spot welds, look for them.

 

[GBRandy]

^^^^^^^^ :thumbsup:

Thanks Keith. Your explanation and photos are precisely what I was looking for.