Anyone with basic metal fabrication experience can bent up new ones, they aren’t complicated, and welding them isn’t rocket science.

 

If Seaforth is in Delaware, I would not be surprised that a car has rust problems. You have the double whammy of salt on the streets and salt in the air

 

Seaforth is also in Ontario Canada.....lots of salt on the road here too....lol

 

More salt then a Mickie D large fries!

 

That's a LOT of salt!!

I'm going to trace the profile and record some dimensions to see about fabbing a new set. I could easily just patch the completely rotted area, but if I'm going to do it, I might as well do it right. The PITA part is the complete replacement which also includes stampings for drain areas. That's a lot of work unless I take some liberties with those areas.

 

Drill some drain holes, sometime or other somebody drilled holes in mine, zero rust, thank goodness!

 

My 2009 HHR LE is showing some rust on the inner rocker panels behind the running board. Can they be replaced or repaired

 

Both, you just have to fabricate your own pieces, no company makes the replacement parts

 

Yep, it's fabrication time! I've cut out the worst areas finally.

As for the fab work being straight forward, it depends a little what area is affected. Mine, as I suspect others are, is the front portion, which includes some compound curves. I'll be doing a bit of cutting and shaping to replace all of the bad areas.

Luckily, since this will be hidden from view with the SS trim cover, it just needs to be structurally sound and keep the original mounting holes for trim and brackets.

Just an FYI, as I saw some other questions a while ago about body repair panels, there actually are a number of what GM refers to as service panels. These are individual sections of panels and supporting structures to allow for easier fitting and welding in of patches.

As for drain holes, the original panels do have drain holes from the factory, but these are not sufficient in some climates/circumstances. One of the things I plan to do is thoroughly coat these areas inside and out with FluidFilm to hopefully prevent further rusting (as reasonable as possible). Actually, I may move up to the WoolWax product for the exterior (under the car).

Hooray for salted roads :)


As found (with front bracket already removed).

After cutting out the initial rot.

 

That can be patch paneled and welded nicely, make sure you apply truck box liner prior to reinstalling the running boards