I'm a guy from the south looking to buy a car from the north and need some advice. This car is a convertible up in Illinois and I'm concerned about rust issues from the snow and/or street salt. Could someone give me an idea of how bad this corrosive combo can get, what I need to look for in evaluating weither this is a good body and frame, and some of the more common places for rust to start on these cars. Info on any other common issues to look for would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

 

It only takes ONE time in the snow and salt here to rust a car. a lot of times people take their cars out on nice days in January when there is still salt on the street, the car picks this up, the next time it rains, the car begins to rust. Unless this car was not driven at all in winter in Illinois, don't even bother. If you can , definitely look the car over before you buy it.

 

Thanks for the input. So when you say "it" rusts what in particular rusts? The floorpan? The axles? The brakes?

I've rebuilt cars that raced on the salt flats (now THAT'S RUSTED), so if in comparison the rust I'd expect on a Northern car would be minor, then it might be worth it to me. (I've got more experience and time than money). It really seems like this guy is gonna let this car go for a song, and it's a REALLY hard to find car. Thanks!

 

I live in NY..so I can tell you some things to look for. Look under the gfx...such as the spare tire space. That is a popular place for rusting...also look under the doors and inside where the door sills are. Some rust can be in the floor pans. My car is pretty much rust free...except for the exhaust and the spare tire area. Expect some rust under the car...that is very common for thirdgens used as daily drivers here in NY.

James

 

first place to go is the wheel wells. I can say my camaro has rust around the wheel wells, near the backside of the pass. side door.under the ground effects, and right infront of the rear bumper on the left side.

My floorboards just behind the front seats is rusting THROUGH.
same for the rear hatch area where the spare is, and on the same area on the other side.

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Dan Briones
1988 Camaro Sport Coupe
2.8 V6, TCI 3200 Stall TC, B&M Transkit, Flowmaster & Catback (No Cat)
CFI Z/28 Hood, '87 16" IROC Wheels, Bowtie Grille, IROC Gauges, IROC Taillights,
IROC Foglamps w/ 9005 hi-beam bulbs
Heritage Style Hood and Decklid Stripes

 

btw isn't GM using rust resistant panels now? I know 4th gens use alot of plastic, and they will look good for a long time yet.

rust is horrible up here. lets put it this way.

my 1988 camaro sport coupe - rusted in areas you can't see for the most part.
been in wisconsin all it's life.


my 1966 impala 2 dr. hardtop - no rust.
been in texas from fall of 1965 - may 1998
may 98 - now --- wisconsin (has only been outside in nice summer weather. has been sitting in garage from nov. 98 to now.

when I get older I'm moving south just so my cars can literally last forever.

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Dan Briones
1988 Camaro Sport Coupe
2.8 V6, TCI 3200 Stall TC, B&M Transkit, Flowmaster & Catback (No Cat)
CFI Z/28 Hood, '87 16" IROC Wheels, Bowtie Grille, IROC Gauges, IROC Taillights,
IROC Foglamps w/ 9005 hi-beam bulbs
Heritage Style Hood and Decklid Stripes

 

My MN cars had the same areas: the bottoms of the doors, all the wheel wells, the spare tire area, center section of the t-tops and the floor pans.
Now, my AZ car has no rust, and I've still go the original exhaust on it, and I replaced the springs, shocks and struts with no problems and no rust.


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Chris G
91 TA WS6


See more of her here!
Wise man once say "Red ones go faster!"

 

Thanks everyone, this is just what I needed to know. All sounds like stuff I should be able to handle without having to completely strip and repaint the car, so if this particular car is no worse than the average I'm good to go.

Thanks again!

 

I would say go for it. In my own experience from what I have seen on my car (which has virtually no rust at all) and others, I would say aside from the rear wheelwell lips, anything covered by gfx, under door moldings, and under the doors, you are fine. My friend's '83 L69 Z has 170k northern miles, and the floorboards, while a little rusty, are not rotted. But under the gfx?? That's a whole other story....

 

make sure you check the rear crossmember as well. if thats rotted your SOL. its right in front of the rear bumper. my car is zeibarted so the bottom is nice and clean, behind the wheel wells and under my GFX is rusted in some spots though. check under the bottoms of the doors too. sometimes they can rot from the inside out.

 

Jason what are you saying about my 83??? Hehe! Try and find a southern car. I am fighting the battle now with my 83 l69 and it's not fun.

 

The area that I've found rusts first and the worst is the lower radiator support. My no-winters IROC is very solid, but I do have some scale-rust on the radiator support. My friend's 1600 mile 99 Supersport already has surface rust there. I don't know what it is, but it's a common spot.

My GTA is a winter driven car, but is overall quite solid. The car has rust on the floorpan, but the only place that it has begun to rot is... you guessed it, the radiator support. I suspect that it's design traps water and debris which in turn will hold moisture. On winter driven cars, salt can collect there.

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The IROC Homepage
<A HREF="http://www.rit.edu/~jli4307/camaro" TARGET=_blank>
View the restoration of an 85 IROC</A>
Custom Thirdgen Subwoofer Enclosures
"I didn't know a bored out Ford could go so slow" -Shenandoah

 

I only have rust on the bottom of my battery tray, my car also spent a lot of time in virgina, but i heard they don't use salt up there, but the TX sun is having fun with my paint and rear spoiler.

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- David
88' GTA 5.7L TPI MODS---&gt; air foil, K&N, Shift Kit, 180* therm, TB bypass, Gutted CAT, Flowmaster 80 Series

 

Nothing stops rust! I've seen zeibarted?? 4WDs rusted out before they were paid for. Of course ZB fixes it, but after 3 or 4 trips back to the dealer, having to drive something else, etc. its still a pain. Salt on the roads means rust if you drive in it. Want to keep it looking nice, don't drive it in the salt. Get it, fix it, and keep it in the south.

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Z's r Best

 

Don't come to far south. Here in sunny south Florida, we have ocean spray and salt in the air. I used to live in D.C. and our daily drivers rotted out bottom up. Here in Florida they rot top down. Arizona is the place to be.

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1990 Pontiac Firebird,
1966 Chevy C10 p/u InLine
http://www.sffba.com

 

If you must drive in the snow, like I do, there are a couple things you can do to keep it from rusting.

1.) Keep the car as clean as you can. This includes underside, wheelwells, etc.

2.) Keep paint waxed, and touch up chips and scratches.

3.) Check for rust after every season and treat affected areas. POR-15 is usually a good choice.

Although this will not completely prevent rust, it will make a very large difference in the amount of rust the car developes over the car's life.

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89 Transam GTA, 350TPI, auto, 3.27 rear, dual cats, gray.
Magnaflow cat-back,
K&N open element,
Best E.T. 14.63@95mph

 

TransamGTA350 speaks the truth. As long as you keep the car freshly waxed and flush the wheelwells, gfx and door moldings every few weeks during the winter (and install mudflaps!!), you should be ok. My car had limited winter use until '98, but has seen 2 full winters since. Other than a very small rust bubble on my LF fender barely peeking out of the gfx, I have no rust, and this bubble hasn't even grown in a year and a half!

Keep it clean and while it isn't optimal, you CAN drive it in the winter...it just takes effort.

 

Most 3rd gen cars rust in the bottom on the floorpan mainly under the passenger areas where your feet go and also in front between the fenders and floorboards usually these area rust quicker if you ever do your carpet which i am in the process of doing you may notice that below the kick panels on either driver or passenger side are usually rusted through... also another note it behind the axle and wheels where the bumber meets the metal bar between the car and the pan.. also check rear quarter panels these tend to start to go first on the body...as you may have noticed the new 4th gen firebirds/transams have plastic fenders but still metal quarters look closely at the quarters there thicker than 3rd gen quarters and also are wider in the event of rust they can just be sliced off and replaced rather easily... but there gens, right when the rust gets around the quarter lip we've got trouble...

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