Rust ☹️[emoji36]

Is that the only rust area you've spotted so far? Did you open the fuel filler grills and check underneath the doors? The recommendation will vary depending on the scope of how large/many areas we're addressing.

 

Actually, while we're at it, maybe snap some shots of everything around the car, and we can give you some crowd sourced guidance on where you stand.

 

Those tires look like they need to be replaced as well!

 

What concerns me is that the fasteners around the wheel well liner also look shot, which means this car either was driven through a lot of splashed water, submerged, or parked in humidity. Your year is not rust-proofed, so it's bad news for sure, and - given the position of the spot on the panel lines - panel probably is shot. Looks pretty deep. So the question is going to be: 1) Do you have a body shop sand off, fill/repair/repaint all the problem areas at once as a single job, or 2) if it's isolated to one spot only, cut out and purchase a salvage panel to weld on? Need to investigate the extent of rust issues first.

 

Double check all around the lip of the front hood and the six inches of nose ahead of the hood, too. Your sure you checked the door bottoms & sills, and the same rear curve to the front wheel wells? Try to peek up through the front grill under the nose badge area. Look for signs of paint bubbling around the enamel hood badge and pininfarina badge on the side. Also look at the seam line between the rear wheel arch and the c-pillar "buttress." Most of these early cars have SOME superficial rust, but it's important to know the extent of the bad parts.

 

Once you have it lifted, remove the wheels and pull the fiberglass wheel well liners, which will let you see the inside of the quarter panels. The fiberglass liners take some careful twisting and maneuvering, but pop out pretty straightforward. Watch you don't scrape the wheel well paint. If it really is just that one area, you can either find a patch panel or partial rear end clip. But I fear - if you have one spot that bad - you may be in for some other surprises.

 

Don't get too scared by superficial rust on the chassis undercarriage. But document everything in pics for us, and we'll reconvene then.

 

I wouldn't worry about it for now. Go through brakes, fuel lines, coolant hoses/system, check the electrics and get it running. Then you can worry about the bodywork. The paint looks really flat but you can get to that once you have driven it.

 

Also check inside the sills by pulling up the carpet between the seats and the door. The GTBs are prone to rust there.

 

That will need to be cut out and a new panel section welded in. It looks pretty deep. I would bet the inner arch support will need to be adressed as well

 

I think this is the tip of the ice berg. Good luck

 

Cut it out and weld in a patch panel. Using filler or fiberglass is a hack fix.

It really isn't any different than working on any other older car and quite common. I do it all week long. It could get expensive depending on how extensive it is. A spot here or there is no big deal. Considering the high cost of replacement panels I'd recommend finding a fabricator that can do it from blank sheet. Then you are basically just paying for labor.

 

Are you sure this is not a flood car? That's the nastiest engine compartment I have ever seen. If it is, you are wasting your time, start thinking "part it out".

 

She is not going to part it out. This is from her father. But it does look like a basket case requiring a labor of love, and $20K. Best of luck Miss Khalil.

 

Looks like an 81 or an 82

 

The presumption so far is that the rust needs to be fixed.

My opinion is to get it back on the road again and just enjoy the darn thing as-is.

The good news is that with a body that needs work, you can park carefree anywhere you want. Get a nice paint job and suddenly that all changes!