Rust inevitable in nose?

[gavinlit]

I've looked at about 10 - 12 911's (from 74 - 79) in the last week, and without exception, every single one has had evidence of at least some rust up the front in front of the spare tyre well where most people seem to keep their tools/air compressor etc. The cars that are less well cared for have 'push your finger right in type of rust while even the best body examples still have rust that I would consider needs to be panel shopped out.

There is a cross member type beam that runs across the front of the nose with what seems to be 3 (or 4 - can't remember) plugs that are inserted from underneath the car. It's just back behind the bumper of the car. This is the area that always seems to have either a little or a lot of rust. Is this a common thing or have I just looked at a whole stack of bad ones?

The car that I looked at yesterday even had a small dished section of metal in that region that looked as though it was designed to allow any water to drain out of the trunk area. I could feel underneath the rubbers on the trunk lip that water was coming down the side of the trunk and the getting under the rubber, subsequently entering the trunk compartment.

So I guess - design fault or evidence of poor maintenance/panel work?

[frankc]

I have seen many 911's with rust in the "nose" section you mention. However, not all are that way. My 28 year old 911 has no rust in that area, but I clean the area thoroughly about once/year, and it has only seen rain twice in the 20 years that I've owned it, so this may not be a realistic example. It mainly depends on how much moisture and salt the car is exposed to. And making sure the drain holes remain unclogged. Having a galvanized model (74+) probably helps quite a bit as well.

[gavinlit]

When you say drain holes, are you referring to the three or four pen size holes that I've seen with plugs (in some cases) in them? Or are there other drain holes in the trank area? So from the sounds of it, maybe a little rust can be expected given that yours hasn't seen much rain. Yes, the galvanized models had the least.

[frankc]

If I remember correctly, in addition to the plugged holes you mention, I thought there was a small vent type opening in the area in front of the tank. I'm no where near my car right now so I can't verify this. I can check later this week, but I'm sure others will chime in much sooner.

[gavinlit]

Yep, the one I looked at y'day had a vent as well. I just wasn't sure if it was standard or if it had been put in when the respray happened. Thing I'm going to have to take along a digital camera from now on