yet another weld

[bgd73]

This time I let the wheel well fall apart intoa pile of rubble and made my own. In the process, I found a beam that runs transverse holds the gas tank.. and was indirectly getting shaken by the horrifying guage subaru built this 1987 with. I replaced it all with 18 guage, american, and enhanced inner structures, adding my 13th year of pounding it around maine as knowledge..

I noticed it right away in the engine.

calm gas=better mileage.

check your older steels today!
it can be very very elusive. Especially the favorite 80s jap mobiles.This particular model car had some very bizarre sheet errors in specific places.. I had to change it all the way around the car. Inner structure was way beyond what I'd expect (the reason it stays alive), but the other stuff needed help badly.

back to calm fuel sipping.

this error was unknown until a 93 degree day in may... I heard the wheel well "creak"...that aint right. so I banged at it, and something chemically destroyed this past year. Not liking the guage of it anyway, I am almost relieved oem is done with it.

[wagonman76]

Nice work.

The GM a-bodies are notorius for rusting out at the rear trailing arm and if you let it go long enough, the whole trailing arm breaks free from the floorpan. Here's where I welded one of my 6000 wagons.

[Arragonis]

Rust is unpredictable.

Late 90s Fords in the UK are a good example. Get a Fiesta, Ka or a Puma and you are 50/50 likely to be looking at a rusty car by now. Get a Focus, Mondeo or Galaxy and its unlikely to there at all.

GMs are very rust resistant.

VW/Audis too.

Japanese - Well you are in the 50/50 zone too. Some Toyotas are OK (Carina, Avensis) but the smaller models are a little prone to tin worm. Nissans built in Europe are OK, imported ones are less well protected.

Any Japanese grey import (i.e. a model not normally sold in the UK) is suspect - I've seen 350Zs from Japan with rust at less that 4 years old.

Land Rovers - Uggh.

[ShadeTreeMech]

The rust worm loves a Land rover, it has been told.

Out here, any car from the rust belt (northern US) has a near 100% chance of having rust, unless it was owned by a concientious owner and it was kept clean. Otherwise, you can tell the cheaply made cars from the well made cars by their rust. Chevys from the 60s 70s 80s or 90s are nearly all rusted out. GMC as well. Ford, its hit and miss whether it has rust or not, never have figured out a pattern.

You can get a good motor from the rust belt though. Got one with under 70k miles on the clock for dirt cheap.

[ShadeTreeMech]

None of my cars have bad rust, maybe a bit on the frame of the Explorer, but nothing like the rust I've seen on other vehicles. Then again I generally try to keep the cars clean of dirt etc, and any running vehicle gets a bath at least 3 times a year, more if needed, and certainly if it has been around salted roads.

[jkp1187]

Originally Posted by Arragonis

Japanese - Well you are in the 50/50 zone too. Some Toyotas are OK (Carina, Avensis) but the smaller models are a little prone to tin worm. Nissans built in Europe are OK, imported ones are less well protected.

Any Japanese grey import (i.e. a model not normally sold in the UK) is suspect - I've seen 350Zs from Japan with rust at less that 4 years old.

Land Rovers - Uggh.

In my part of the USA, it's common to see 10 year old Japanese sedans (Acuras, Hondas) with rust coming up around the rear wheel wells - and especially near the gas cap. I agree - American and European cars all seem to be more durable when it comes to rust.

[NeilBlanchard]

Older VW's were quite rust-prone. The best rust resistant car that I've owned was my 1970 Volvo 144.

[Arragonis]

A lot of European cars (even FIATs) are now galvanised which means that old Brava/Bravos actually drive themselves to the dump with terminal engine maladies.

Unless they are repaired of course where new panels tend not to be galvanised.

[taredog]

Nice work bdg 73 and wagonman76.

I remember quite well living in NH in the 60s and early 70s and the joys of keeping an old car alive, well and with state inspection sticker.

VWs-yeah liked to rust. Fiats-friend of mine had a 69 128 spider she got for graduation. In 72 it needed major surgery to pass state inspection. She sold it cheap to a guy with a shop and welder.

The european Fiat cousin/clones, SEAT, LADA et al. were not much better. I owned an Alfa 1750 in the 70s that was disintegrating before my eyes.

To be fair, US made cars often rusted out in a couple years back then.

The least rusty european I ever owned was a 63 Ford Taunus wagon. At 13 it wasn't very rusty at all. With over 200,000 kilometers on the clock the V-4 was knocking and the shift linkage (4 speed column shifter) was worn out, but it had very little rust.