Noob with rust question

[Rrrockhound]

Guys,
Been lurking for a bit while looking for a 914 to buy. I've got my eye on one which I haven't seen in person yet. I've attached a cropped pic from the seller where you can see some rust above the battery. In anyone's opinion, is this a huge problem that would need attention right away? Could the rust be halted and fixed later (i.e. 8-12 months)? Is it related to the battery acid/rainwater problem? Is it expensive to fix? The rest of the car, including the battery tray, looks pretty good, in photos at least.

I'm handy, but after spending my 20s screwing with one rust trap after another, I now have no patience for the stuff.

Thanks for looking.

[Goge]

Hey, if that's all the rust that can be found on this 914, buy it! That looks like minimal rust that can be dealt with by scrubbing, a little POR-15 and a cheap overcoat.

Make sure to check way back in the "hell-hole" and underneath the rocker covers, though. Underneath the front hood rubber seal is a good place to check too.

Take care,
-Todd

[Conrad W Peden]

Whats beside the battery looks like typical acid splash. I would be more worried about whats under that batt. in the aforementioned "HELL HOLE".

The rust on the hinge looks a little too linear, more like a crack or fatigue. The stock torsion bar trunk springs put a fair amout of stress on these points, especially with a few years of corrosion etc. What I suggest is, look at that hinge and have someone open and close the trunk to see how much movement there is in that bracket.

Too much movement(any at all in my book) and she's comin' off one way or another.


Good luck,

A hard body is good to find...

[swl]

What those guys said! That's pretty trivial stuff. The hinges break off and as long as it hasn't been repaired too many times it is easy to fix. If it does break it is not catastrophic. If you buy the beast just be sure to lubricate the heck out the moving parts - that will reduce the strain on the weak joint.

When you go see it though take an icepick and a magnet. There is no such thing as a teener without rust. It is just a question of where, how much and, if you are lucky, how well it has been repaired. I'd suggest you search for threads with rust in them but you'd probably crash the server!

The hell hole is probably the most expensive if it is gone. Longs and floor pans are common major repairs as are the inner rockers. Inside the rear trunk under the tail lights is another. Many of these areas are covered with tar of one sort or another so you have to be really agressive in looking.

[Rrrockhound]

Thanks for the replies and tips. Sounds like good news. I'm supposed to check it out up close in a few days. If I buy it, I'll let you know.

[Jonas]

Not completely related, but since the subject was out there, I had a maintenance/prevention question....

I have a body that essentially was a "rust free" rolling chassis about 4 years ago. My old 914 (which was rear-ended) was frankensteined into the "rust free" rolling chassis.

Over the last year, I have noticed some small/tiny rust bubbles under the paint on some corners/edges and the typical spots.

I live near the beach, so what long-term solution should I be looking at to preserve the car, and at what point do I need to really worry about it becoming "too late"????

Jonas

[swl]

From personal observation - it is not the rust you see that's gonna get you it is the rust you don't see. So if you are bubbling at the corners start thinking about the inside of the longs, under the floor tar, in the trunk and even the firewall.

In terms of treating rust. A lot of people here and on the other boards are enthusiastic about POR-15 (google it). I bought some and have started to treat small components as they come off the car. Certainly is tuff stuff! Proof of the pudding will be 20 years of course so who knows. Only problem is the stuff is big time expensive. But I figure if I'm going to put this much time and effort into getting rid of the rust I don't want it to come back - I'm willing to go with a premium primer.

[Joe Bob]

Originally posted by Jonas
Not completely related, but since the subject was out there, I had a maintenance/prevention question....

I have a body that essentially was a "rust free" rolling chassis about 4 years ago. My old 914 (which was rear-ended) was frankensteined into the "rust free" rolling chassis.

Over the last year, I have noticed some small/tiny rust bubbles under the paint on some corners/edges and the typical spots.

I live near the beach, so what long-term solution should I be looking at to preserve the car, and at what point do I need to really worry about it becoming "too late"????

Jonas

Get a garage and park it there at night, fix the rust spots NOW....

[Rrrockhound]

I went ahead and bought this car. There is indeed some minor rust in the hellhole, but not enough to be a dealbreaker as I believe it can be stabilized. The car passes the flex test and is so straight and well-cared for (and the PO was so honest and upfront and an all-around great car guy) that for the money I figured I couldn't go wrong.