There comes a time when just about every car on the road will need some form of rust or body repair. Quite often, if the car is a daily driver for running errands, repairs are never made, and the car eventually ends up in junkyard heaven. For our beloved collector cars, hot rods, and muscle cars, dents, dings, and rust are not an option, and neither is the scrap heap. And for just about any restoration project, the bodywork is by far the most expensive part of the process. In Automotive Bodywork and Rust Repair, veteran restorer Matt Joseph shows you the ins and out of tackling both simple and difficult rust and metalwork projects. This book teaches you how to select the proper tools for the job, common-sense approaches to the task ahead of you, preparing and cleaning sheet metal, section fabrications and repair patches, welding options such as gas and electric, forming, fitting and smoothing, cutting metal, final metal finishing including filling and sanding, the secrets of lead filling, making panels fit properly, and more. Also included is a comprehensive resource guide. Whether you decide you want to tackle a full restoration project, or just want to save money by doing minor repairs yourself, Automotive Bodywork and Rust Repair is the book to get you through it.

A history professor by trade, Matt Joseph's automotive passion was inherited from his father early on. Matt has been published in more than 1,800 feature articles, and was a contributing editor for magazines such as Skinned Knuckles and Cars & Parts. He has hosted two automotive themed radio talk programs, and presently works in TV. He continues to work as an industry consultant, providing services to corporate, financial, and government clients on various aspects of automotive design, marketing, advertising, publications, and policy.