Rust

[Intrepidation]

Makes me so angry. :rage:

Had a look under the cars the other day.

First and foremost, the Prizm. After only four years in NE, winter is taking its toll.

The good news is that it looks like the rust is confined to those areas of the rockers and no where else important. Hopefully this year I'll be able to get that fixed (along with the rear quarter).

My car only saw a few storms before going into storage. Under body looks pretty good despite living its 204,000 life up here. I would like to take care of what rust is forming though before it gets worse.

[Intrepidation]

The Grand Marquis has some rust on it. but for its age it doesn't seem too bad. The only real issue I see is a rust hole on the bottom of the passenger rocker.

Finally is the Shadow, which had to suffer through a winter in Maine, and apparently slid on a patch of ice going over 40 mph into a snow bank. It's probably 90% rust now. Engine's going to outlast the body.

[Robert Hall]

Wow..haven't seen rust in a long time...time to break out the primer, bondo, and duct tape.

[daves87rs]

Wife's Cav is getting a bit of rust after 8 years in MI...

[ocnblu]

Rockers need better drainage. You can just tell from where the rust is coming through it's because bad stuff got trapped inside. And the little Dodge? Truly a shadow of its former self.

[G. David Felt]

Sad to see auto's with rust, but all my trips to the east coast, I have always seen even nice high end luxury cars with rust in the rockers. That salt is just a killer on them. Good Luck with the repairs.

[Drew Dowdell]

You're not doing too bad on that Corolla. 4 years in the North east and I would have thought it would be a pile of dust right now.

[Camino LS6]

The Shadow is quite scary at this point.

[Drew Dowdell]

The Shadow wouldn't pass inspection here in PA

[Camino LS6]

The Shadow wouldn't pass inspection here in PA

Not even close.

It makes the ROPOS look sound.

[Robert Hall]

I don't know if Ohio does inspections now, but the rust on the Shadow looks mild compared to the cars my crazy brother drove around in Ohio in the '80s. Cars w/ the entire trunk floor gone, rocker panels gone, rusty floor pans... one '70s LTD was so rusty the radiator fell out and later the rear axle came loose (the frame was rusted out).

Edited March 25, 2011 by Cubical-aka-Moltar

[Intrepidation]

Yeah, I dunno what's going to happen with the Shadow. Mechanically its in good shape, engine runs excellent and burns no oil, rad is fairly new, transmission is good, exhaust is brand new, new brakes all the way around.

I guess one option might be to cut out severely rusted areas and weld in new parts, or if we could find a good body, transplant everything into it, which if one could be found, would probably be easier.

[Camino LS6]

The structure is pretty compromised, I'd look for a clean body.

[Intrepidation]

Sad but true, guess the body won't be hitting 250,000 miles like I had wanted.

Best bet I think is going to be a yard, if one will sell me one.

[Camino LS6]

Good luck in the search.

If it were a BOF car, I'd say just patch it and drive on - but a unibody that rusted scares me.

[ocnblu]

That Dodge Shadow is unsafe at any speed. You might get tetanus just by touching it wrong.

[Intrepidation]

Well, it can still take a hit. I didn't get any pictures of the damage, but my brother slid on a patch of ice in ME over the winter and hit a snowbank going 45 mph. Broke the center cap of the passenger wheel, dented up the fender more and messed up the alignment (honestly, the Oldsmobile 98 did less damage), while also breaking the muffler hanger and bended the exhaust slightly, and knocking the corner of the rear bumper on the driver's side loose (hence the zip tie). No major damage besides the alignment though.