914 Rust, Compared To Today's Cars. Options

[windforfun]

Will today's cars spontaneously rust away like the 914? Let's assume environmentally friendly conditions & no aftermarket rust inhibitors. I suppose an undercoating is acceptable.

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[rick 918-S]

Nothing rusts like a Chevy truck.

[technicalninja]

Not in N Texas!

I see northern cars all the time. I can tell if it's been located within 5 miles of the ocean or has EVER been driven on roads that are salted.

Some, I refuse to work on...

Some areas trash a car (even a new one) in 5 years.

Arizona, New Mexico, California (away from the ocean) are all the APEX states to find clean cars in.

Anything from Houston (here in Texas!) I don't trust at ALL!

They have had way too many saltwater floods.

It's not the water that jacks shit up, it's the salt!

[sixaddict]

Galvanized steel and advance coatings have changed equation.
Salt still a killer but nothing like before galvanized steel

[Superhawk996]

They will not rust like a 914 simply by virtue of Galvaneal steel and e-coating.

Will modern cars rust eventually if exposed to corrosives? Absolutely.

Case study:
I had a 1991 Miata. Eventually had to scrap it back around 2014/2015 due to rust. But it was daily driven in Midwest winters from 1995 - 2009. Even though it was not daily driven after 2009, the corrosion was already started and of course can’t really be stopped, nor did I make any attempt to slow its progress.

914’s did not survive 14 years of Midwest winters as a daily drivers. And don’t forget the Miata still served for another 5-6 years as intermittent use after I stopped using it as my daily driver.

Look at the number of early 90s Miata’s still around in SoCal. Will last an awful long time without corrosion in that environment.

[nivekdodge]

A lot of the rust now has to do with vehicle construction Practice. Steel against steel with no way of coating. Pickup truck wheel flares, door skins, etc.

Kevin

[Rufus]

I worked for a name brand fuel filter supplier to automakers for awhile.

Extended lab tests failed to validate adequacy of the SS grade being used. So at the automaker’s suggestion we went to the coast of Florida to examine filters off older cars.

Year round salt exposure at higher temperatures accelerates the chemical reaction of rusting vs up north.

[930cabman]

Galvanized steel and advance coatings have changed equation.
Salt still a killer but nothing like before galvanized steel

Salt is a killer of many things, including humans.

Yes, there have been some improvements, but here in the Northeast I see many vehicles without rocker panels or even the occasional car/pickup/van folding in the mid section.

[gandalf_025]

i had a 2008 Chevy Colorado that cracked the frame just behind the cab
about 2 years ago.
I jacked the drivers side up to replace an emergency brake cable and
there was a loud noise and a bunch of rust fell on the ground.
It was a good looking and driving truck till it snapped in half.

In fairness, it lived outside about 6 houses from the ocean it's whole life and
was a daily driver..