Hello from Arizona! New E9 owner!

Thanks for the info. Good to know it ran well up Pike's (that is twice my elevation!) but since its got a sea level tune and it will be living at elevation (rather than a quick trip) I want to make sure its not running chronically rich. Although I guess rich is better than lean! And thanks also for the info about trim removal. I'm pretty methodical about projects so I wont just start ripping stuff off without reading.

That's all in the future though, if it happens at all. First I want to calm my nerves by spraying some of that rust coat. I'm just trying to figure out how deep I want to look, although I know this is a personal question as some people who aren't planning a full resto might prefer not to know what lurks deep in there.
 
Another Chamonix coupe here and, while it was not my first choice for color, I have grown very fond of it.

The search for rust is a noble pursuit and hopefully what you find is more surface in nature. You mention two areas, the strut towers and the panel behind the front wheels.

I would not think that removing the sound deadener on top of the towers is necessary provided you have good access underneath. Jack up the car, pull off a front wheel to give you good access for a visual inspection. You can see the areas around the strut top to determine if you have an issue.

While you are in there you can easily remove the panel behind the wheels with a 10mm wrench. This will give you access to clean out an area that fills with dirt and debris. Have your shop vac handy and go to town on the rocker area and bottom of the front fender as well as the top of the same region.

@eriknetherlands is doing extensive work on his car and one of the pictures in his string "fixing that little rust spot"is shown below. With the fender off you can see where dirt can accumulate and then hold moisture to accelerate the corrosion.

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I found one of my pictures of the fender-well area taken during the dis-assembly stage for my recent engine compartment refresh. You can see the surface rust around the strut opening. That is the only area that you will not be able to gain access to without removing the strut. You can poke around the steel to the outside of these openings and see if you have any issues in the area under the sound deadening above.



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The Chamonix is a wonderful looking color especially under a cloudy sky!
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Love the license plate! And yes I’ve noticed that it photographs best against a dark background. This is a shot of my (soon to be delivered) coupe from BAT taken two owners ago, and even though it’s old (the extra front marker lights are now removed) I think it’s my favorite in terms of showing off the lines and stance:
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And @boonies thank you so much for finding all those pictures and the good advice. I’m feeling like if there are issues there I want to find and address them now rather than later. But alternatively I don’t want to destroy the car by looking too hard. I’ll take your advice with some probing around the strut attachments from above and below, and good to know that the panel is easy to unbolt and clean out!
 
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