Trouble with my rockers

Question:

The previous owner did not take very good care of my 1993 Ford Thunderbird. Like many cars here in northeast Ohio, the rocker panels are completely rusted out, as well as the rear body mounts. I know how to install them, but I am having trouble locating new ones. None of the salvage yards I have been to will part with them or they were just as bad as mine. I bought two rocker panels from JC Whitney and they ended up only being the outer panels and not complete. Any help you can give me on locating an aftermarket supplier will greatly assist me.

Answer:

The “rocker panels” that JC Whitney sells are not intended (or represented) to be actual replacement panels for the car’s original rockers. Instead, they are “repair panels” designed to “slip on easily and cover damaged or rusted-out panels.”

If you need to do structural repairs or want to install new, OEM-specification inner and outer rocker panels, the JC Whitney parts are not going to be much help. The problem, as you’ve discovered, is that nobody is manufacturing new inner and outer rockers for your car, and it is unlikely that anyone will invest in the needed tooling to do so.

If you’re willing to spend considerably more than the car is worth on the open market you can pay a skilled metal worker to fabricate what you need. Or you can continue to search for good used parts and hope that you find them.

The easiest and least expensive route probably is to buy another 1993 Thunderbird that isn’t rusty and use the one you have—that you state the previous owner didn’t take very good care of—as a parts car. Admittedly, it will be a bit of a trick to buy one that isn’t rusty, particularly in the rockers, where they are prone to severe corrosion. But if you are willing to travel to drier areas to buy, you can find a really nice car for a reasonable price.