Believe It Or Not!

[carock]

True Story?

Richard Strnard had a neighbor when he lived in New York in the early 70's. His neighbor worked for GM. His job was to advise the northeast states about road salt. What was his advice used for? He advised the states to use road salt formulations that would attack foreign steels faster than domestic steels. Can this be true?

 

[Quest]

yawn.....

 

[toocrazy2yoo]

More likely, GM (and Chrysler and Ford, too) would have conspired to formulate road salt to attack AMERICAN steel faster so the big three could sell more cars..

 

[JTK]

Everything pretty much rusted away at the same rate in the 1970's. You just dont see carpeting flapping from underneath cars like that anymore.

Joel

 

[Kestas]

I know steel. I know salt. I know corrosion. This is just too far-fetched.

 

[labman]

I think sometime in the 70's the American manufacturers got serious about rust. The 71 Valiant I had rusted badly within a few years despite an after market rust proofing carefully applied by a third party before I picked up the car. Since then, neither my 81 Phoenix or 92 Grand Am had any rust at all at 10 years old. My made in Japan 77 LUV rusted as fast or faster than the old Valiant, and I continue to repair rust every year. Most of the American made trucks I ever saw from about the same year were in much better shape. I think we got ahead of the Japanese on rust 30 years ago, and they still haven't caught up.

 

[Schmoe]

You want rust? You should have seen what a lot of vehicles looked like when I was in Guam in the 80's. Even undercoating didn't help.

 

[T-Keith]

American cars generally use thicker steel then Japanese ones, even to this day. Look around after a hail storm and it's pretty easy to tell which cars have thicker sheet metal.

 

[DJStillman]

Myth is busted. Level of care to maintain car and age are all that I would see causing rust.

 

[NJC]

quote:

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Originally posted by labman:
I think we got ahead of the Japanese on rust 30 years ago, and they still haven't caught up.

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As much as I'm a Japanese car zealot, I agree with this.

 

[73 BGT]

Was there ever a car manufactured that rusted faster than a 69 roadrunner or a 71 Vega? I think my Vega came "pre-rusted"

 

[adam123]

One of the reasons I cant seem to find a Good Roadrunner to restore.

 

[widman]

In 1981 when I moved to Brazil I bought a brand new Ford (locally produced). Within 2 years it had rusted out and I lived in Sao Paulo, not on the coast. The variance is in the quality of the steel.

 

[Volvohead]

Besides being butt ugly, the early Hondas were just brutal rusters. After a seemingly innocent scratch, entire panels would quickly break out like a sixteen-year-old's face.

I remember us teasing one buddy that if he didn't behave himself, we would make his rust-infested Honda "disappear" by spraying it down with liquid wrench at night.

The Americans made the best strides by the 1980s, not just with improved coatings, but by improving drainage and related sealing/drainage components. I remember panel drains in some '60s models that would routinely clog up and the water would swish around in there for days after a rain.

 

[Shannow]

What's rust ?

Seriously, the cars of the 1960s and 70s down here had lots of it, as thye designed in these little compartments that trapped leaves and dirt, and rotted from that cavity to the outside.

I've not seen much from the 80s onwards with rust, except for guys who tow boats in coastal areas.

BTW, we don't have road salt.

 

[Brett Miller]

I wish I had the last 30 seconds of my life back.

 

[brianl703]

Not.

 

[Kestas]

I get a chuckle out of people blaming the "steel".

Steel for automotive bodies has changed little over the past five decades or more. What has changed is the paint, e-coat, metallic coatings, phosphate treatments, and general surface prep of the steel. This is what varies between makes, models, and even production runs.

 

[Ray H]

quote:

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Originally posted by 73 BGT:
Was there ever a car manufactured that rusted faster than a 69 roadrunner or a 71 Vega? I think my Vega came "pre-rusted"

---

Yeah, but at least it had a reliable aluminum engine without the extra weight of iron cylinder liners...

 

[XS650]

quote:

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Originally posted by Ray H:

quote:

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Originally posted by 73 BGT:
Was there ever a car manufactured that rusted faster than a 69 roadrunner or a 71 Vega? I think my Vega came "pre-rusted"

---

Yeah, but at least it had a reliable aluminum engine without the extra weight of iron cylinder liners...

---

The iron head on the aluminum block compensated for the lack of weight in the block.