Rust on an SC?

[onewhippedpuppy]

I'm talking to a guy with an '80 SC for sale, he claims excellent condition, but it has a couple of spots of surface rust. On a galvanized SC, should this be an instant no from my perspective? Can this happen from simple chips, or is it indicative of poorly repaired accident damage?

[Rot 911]

I've seen rust on a number of SC's and Carreras. Not sure about the rust there at the fender seam, but the rust at the bottom of the door is probably a result of the drain holes being blocked. I bet that door is rusted from the inside out.

[dtw]

Exposed galvanized metal will not remain clean indefinitely. Eventually the sacrificial zinc layer will oxidize and the steel will finally be naked and exposed to the elements. The shots you show look like neglected chip damage to me, but they are in potentially scary places. The cowl could be rotting at the seal/fender flange, and the door could be rotting from the inside out due to clogged drains. It would be difficult to decide on this car based on the photos shown without a detailed going-over.

[Dennis Kalma]

Be very careful, the worry is often that the rust you can see is often indicative of rust you cannot see,for example, check the torsion tube, the rocker panels (inner rear fender looking forward) and the front bumper mounts on the inner fender.

Personally, unless the price is very good or you have a chance to examine in much greater detail, I would look for a one minus the risk factor of rust

[onewhippedpuppy]

Trade non-withstanding, he's been asking 9k, and it has 150k miles on it. Claims it runs/ drives great, interior looks good in pics. I had enough rust with my T though, I'd prefer to avoid it in the future. Seems high for an '80 SC.

[epbrown]

Actually, that sounds about right to me for the mileage and condition. As someone else pointed out, those look more like untreated rock chip damage than surface rust from deeper issues. Doesn't bode well for how well the car has been cared for, but it's not the nightmare a pre-galvanized car might be.

[stealthn]

Excellent condition and rust , kinda sounds like an oxymoron. Rust is like rats you see one (spot) and you can be guaranteed, there's alot more you can't see.

It depends what you are looking for, a real fixer-upper, stripped down to bare metal and fix, or a good conditioned car you can customize to your taste....

Good luck

[Aussie]

Probably just the tip of the iceburg

[ScottKelly911]

SC's and Carrera's are NOT impervious to rust. They are less likely to rust if well taken care of than earlier cars. However, a galvanized car is like a water-RESISTANT watch not like a water-PROOF watch. See the difference. No car including the Stainless steel Delorean is completely safe from the rust bugs. On this particular car, I am with the others that say, what you can see is probably only a token to what you can't see. Walk and don't look back, there's plenty of rust free SC's out there. Just my opinion

[Wil Ferch]

The area you show at the welting....top/rear of fender as it mates to the cowl...is a particulatly sensitive area for rust.

Even cars that show no evidence of rust anywhere else....show the start of rust in this area, as evidenced whenever I walk into my good friend's body shop with the fender removed. The small "ledge" immediately below the fender at this point collects a bit of debris and surprisingly almost all 911's we've seen have rust on this ledge.

--- Wil

[Rot 911]

I disagree with the others telling you to just walk away. All those pictures are telling me is that you need to give the car a good look over for additional rust and ajust the purchase price accordingly.

[JBO]

IMO, anyone who allows a 911 to get like that without even touching up the areas has not taken care of the car at all. Would need to be real cheap for me to consider one like that.

[911SCfanatic]

JBO, good point. Neglect like that means neglect elsewhere.

[Jdub]

I agree with JBO.

When you see the car in person, be especially careful to check the area just in front of the lower corners of the windshield. If you can, get inside the car and peel back the moulding of the windshield at the lowermost corners.

Check for any bubbles along the same area, from fender to fender, across the wipers.

Open the front hood, and note the areas around the bolts to the fenders very carefully. Open the sunroof and make careful inspection with bright flashlight inside the cavity. Check also, using mirror, the underside of the roof.

If he lets you, remove the speaker from the door panel and again use the mirror to have a look at the door bottom.

Check very carefully the rear tailights: above and below. Get under the car if possible remove the left rear tire and shine a light back into the tailight to expose all of the dirt, rocks, and whatnot that lodge above the tailight and cause rusting. Do the same for the front sidelights/turnsignals.

By the way: all of these areas, tailights, door bottoms, etc. should be thoroughly cleaned and waxed/preventative grease (Waxoyl) as a rule. It takes a few weekends, but you will be amazed at the crap you find, esp. around the tailights, and front valance, etc. Don't just wash and wax: do the hard detail work and apply two coats of wax (for example, when the tailight housing is out) to help your car survive The Tin Worm.

John

[Hetmann]

A little rust may just be a great bargaining chip for you. Were you planning on painting the car? If not, pass. But if you were look deeper and adjust accordingly.

My car had some rust issues and I thought I was in for some body work. Turns out that after I had my car media blasted, all my rust spots were surface rust.

[Tim K]

83 SC

Leaking Front windshield seal.



The back window looked similar.

Also leaking battery.

While not pretty, theses were the only rusted areas. It seems that the galvanized body of a neglected car will only stand up so long. When an area is penetrated, it's a slippery slope.

[Tim K]

And yes, anything that you can actually see when the car is fully assembled and covered in paint will usually be much worse.

[hkspwrsche]

I dont what part of canada your car is from but, I've seen cars from canada with only 3years on them and rust started on the fenders and quarters. The only SC I've seen in Viginia with rust (on Left fender) -I commented to the owner that it was unusual and he said "I'm from upstate newyork".
I think the door bothers me the most because it could be an inside out problem.
The nose(fenders and hood) of my car was painted 2 years ago for rock chips but, the rest of the paint is a 10 -12 year old respray and no rust is bubbled or showing through. It's not garaged currently.
I wouldnt write it off but, maybe investigate. How long has that paint been on the car? is it original? Check the normal spots that rust and if no problem ask whoever does the ppi to take the trim panel off the left door.
Harold

[Aussie]

Why buy one with rust, when you can get an SC rust free?

They are dime a dozen!

Its not like its a pre 74 where rust free cars are rare as hens teeth.

[competentone]

"Rust? What rust? That's nothing a little Bondo can't fix!"