Why do first gens rust so bad??

[TWilkening]

It seems like the majority of first gens I see have rusty hoods and roofs, and rust clear through the rear fenders. Is it all because of the paint they used back then? Anybody know what kind of paint it was so it can be avoided like the plague? Thanks

 

[wtrenholm]

I don't know that they rust any worse that anything else. We're up in the rust belt and just about anything will rust eventually. In my opinion it's a number of issues.



1. Some colors are quiet poor, like silvers and light blues seemed to just fall off, Ford, GM or Chrysler didn't seem to matter in the late 80's or early 90's. .



2. Care of the vehicle. If it didn't get washed and paint taken care of it will look like crap in short order. Rock chips are a real good rust starter, like the front edge of the hood and the front edge of the cab.



3. Some vehicles just have areas that are susceptable to rust, you can slow it down but it'll probably rust if exposed to the elements long enough. Remember the rocker panels on '61 to '71 Dodge trucks, what a design those were. My '91 cab is rotted bad above the windsheild, I have a few other '81 and up cabs that are bad also, most don't seem to rust but some do.



Just my comments and opinions,

Wayne

 

[AlK]

My 92 CTD that I have owned since 1992 does not have any rust.

On the Wet Coast of Canada we do not see a lot of salt on the roads and I always make a point of promptly washing the vehicle and rinsing the under side of the truck when salt has been used. In addition every time I wash the vehicle I use the hose and wash around all the wheel wells and fender to remove any sand, gravel or other grime. I also wax my vehicle at least once a year. A little TLC goes a long way. Rust has not been a problem for any of my vehicles except for a 1973 Toyota Corona - what a rust bucket.

--

Al

 

[DKasper]

If you crawl underneath and look around, there are a lot of nooks & crannies down there to encourage rust. That and we just don't have the plating/paint technology that was developed in the mid-later 90's -- it is really very good.



I know the paint on my W350 seems to want to fall off. It was an Arizona truck and is pretty oxidized.



I sprayed my undercarriage with winter weight chainsaw bar oil this year -- I've heard of a lot of guys doing that, and what the heck, I've never seen rust on the bar of my saw! Can't hurt.



Dave

 

[DPelletier]

I don't think they rust any worse than anything else. In fact, in the 70's and '80's, I would argue that the Dodges rusted less than the others. The Chevies were the worst. Lots of silver 1st gens seem to be missing great huge chunks of paint, but then again, I just had my '93 GMC (white) stripped down to bare metal and resprayed for the exact same problem.



Dave

 

[DPinkston]

I agree with DKasper, the major cause of rust through occurs in areas you don't normally see or pay attention to. While chipped and flaking paint will allow surface rust to start, it's those nooks and crannies that hold moist dirt and debris that do the most damage and you don't realize it until it's too late.

Danny

 

[Greenleaf]

Don't get me started. PLEEZ!



The determing factor is not how long I'd like to keep my truck... it's how long can I tolerate the rusting panels etc. I no longer drive it in the winter. Nor will I drive it on gravel roads. If I can keep it together I'll keep it. If not, I'm looking for a second gen or rust free AZ 1st generation. I won't drive rust. That's what I got the FORD for... . Winter salt and gravel roads.



GL

 

[velsberry]

I have a '92 for sale that is rust-free! It has been in Tucson since it was sold new.



It would help to have the underparts sprayed with undercoating before rust gets started,

IMO.

 

[JLEONARD]

The only way to keep one rust free in southern New England is to not drive Nov thru April. And store it in a heated garage when not in use.

In the winter and early spring there is almost always salted sand on the roads... then there's the freeze/thaw cycle... .

I think the rust is holding mine together. :-laf

Jay

 

[TWilkening]

I'll definitely agree on Chevy's crappy paint. My dad's 90 has the blue/gray two tone, it peels like crazy.

 

[JLEONARD]

My 89 chevy had the two tone... silver on the lower part. It was starting to flake off after 10 years but not a spec of rust . . probably because the sheet metal had a galvanized layer.

 

[DPelletier]

Yeah, it was the '73 - '87 chevies that were the worst.



Dave

 

[WyattEarp]

Rusty doors

My baby will be 5yrs old on dec 6 as that was the date i drove it off the lot, 3 out of the 4 doors has rust, I have found the culprit, seems even though i religiously washed the truck if nothing but high pressure rinsed the salt off, top and underneath, the outer door skins that fold at the bottome and meet on the inside of the door on the botton, the seam right there is where the rust has started and seems to follow that seam of metal, i have 2 out of the 3 doors knocked down with Por 15, so far so good, its stopped dead in its tracks, but make sure its at least 65-70 degrees out and i noticed that with a little breeze flowing that helped the curing process but do expect pretty much at least a half a day after you start to give the Por 15 time to set and cure out before painting, the first door(quad) that i did it on bubbled, to much humidity and i had to redo that door, so far all is well just got to get the passenger door done before it eats through...

Happy rust killing