Rust in the D pillar

[Trav Man]

So I was after some advice as upon replacing the upper tailgate I took the D pillar covers off and found some rust (I was kind of expecting to find some) and was wondering if I should just blank these upper vents off completely at all or should I leave them open as it looks like water has been entering through these vents as can be seen in these pictures.

Drivers side
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a260/Nice_surf/20181208_193134_zps3qxesfiq.jpg (http://s13.photobucket.com/user/Nice_surf/media/20181208_193134_zps3qxesfiq.jpg.html)
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a260/Nice_surf/20181208_193104_zpsbokdljsh.jpg (http://s13.photobucket.com/user/Nice_surf/media/20181208_193104_zpsbokdljsh.jpg.html)

Passenger side
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a260/Nice_surf/20181208_193239_zpswovma9bl.jpg (http://s13.photobucket.com/user/Nice_surf/media/20181208_193239_zpswovma9bl.jpg.html)
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a260/Nice_surf/20181208_193149_zpserszpmut.jpg (http://s13.photobucket.com/user/Nice_surf/media/20181208_193149_zpserszpmut.jpg.html)


Regards
Trav Man

[Meccles]

Those vents are back to front. The flap is supposed to be on the outside so it lets air out but theoretically doesn’t let dust/water in. But doesn’t look original

[Meccles]

Sorry my bad I thought photos were from inside looking out but was wrong. They are right way round but look pretty tired.

[FisherX]

I wouldn't worry about sealing up your vents, that is not where the water is coming from. The D pillar covers aren't sealed so water will come in from all round them. It really is a wet area and not much you can do to keep any water out.

It's a normal place for rust on the Classics and yours doesn't look very bad at all. It would be a pretty easy fix. You can either take off the back guard, cut out the rust and weld in some repair panels.

Or clean off the rust with a wire brush, pacify the rust with a rust converter as per instructions, paint the area (I like International Paints PA10 primer) and then you can seal up the hole with fiberglass, car bog or knead-it. That will be good for a fair few years and then put it on the to do list if you want to restore it later.