Can there be a rust free 914? Options

[porschetub]

I thought mine was rust free, but it does have a little rust in the bottom of the headlight buckets.

I thought the same also,starting to see rust now after around 2.5 years of ownership (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif) .

[Amphicar770]

My 74 spent it's first year or so back east and then moved to Nevada. While it is about as rust free as they come, including the longs and battery area, if you dig deep enough. When I replaced the engine tin rubber I found some in the channels the rubber attaches to. Also in the channel that shifter / ebrake cables run through.

I remember reading that if there is no rust on your 914, you simply have not looked hard enough. Maybe if you tank dip and then e-coat the body you can be assured of 100% rust free.

[burton73]

Keep your 914 out of water as much as you can. --Keep your powder dry boys--

keep one's powder dry. Stay alert, be careful, as in Go ahead and take on the opposition, but keep your powder dry . This colloquial expression, which originally alluded to keeping gunpowder dry so that it would ignite, has been used figuratively since the 1800s but today is less common than take care



What Rust Is
In order to understand how rust works and spreads, you first have to understand what rust is. "Rust" is the common name for what is scientifically known as iron oxide, a form of corrosion that occurs when iron (or one of its alloys, such as steel) reacts with oxygen and there is water (or heavy air moisture) present.



Other metals have oxidation processes as well, but they do so differently and the result is not commonly considered rust. Copper corrosion is green (and accounts for the color of the Statue of Liberty) while aluminum corrosion spreads extremely slowly.

The Molecular Process of Spreading
The process of metal corrosion is an electrochemical process. It happens on a molecular level as electrons transfer from iron molecules to the surrounding oxygen molecules, changing the makeup of the iron and turning it into rust. This is happening to iron all the time. In fact, it is impossible to find a piece of iron without at least some oxide present within it. However, the rate of rusting is usually slight and slow but is accelerated by water, especially if the water has a high concentration of electrolytes (substances in the water that help electrons move).This is why the presence of salt causes rust to spread more quickly.

Spreading
Rust does not spread through contact like a biological infection. Instead, the process of iron oxidization occurs independently based on the conditions surrounding a particular piece of metal. This means that if one part of the piece is exposed to water, oxygen, and electrolytes but the rust of the piece is kept clean and dry, the protected metal will not rest at the rate of the wet metal.

Iron alloys will have different corrosion rates based on their makeup.

Bob B

[North Coast Jim]

Mines a Barn Find having sat inside in Ohio for over 23 years. Originally an Arizona car brought back to Ohio by Stoddard's and resold there. It became a parts car, shudder, so much of it is not original including the doors. She received a re-spray of original color Bahia Red. I've found very little rust anywhere. The battery tray is original and the hell hole has only seen dust, see the pic. She's back on the road again but only occasionally, ok 2-3 times a week in the summer. Glad to have her on the rod again.

[campbellcj]

The "914R" car I have now is pretty darn close to 'rust free' for a car that's actually used. It's a SoCal car and has only been wet a handful of times in the past 20 years or so, and is in a relatively low humidity, no sea/road salt area. I believe the battery tray and hell-hole are original and unrepaired. I actually bought a new battery tray for it when the car was being painted in 2011...didn't use it. That said, it did need some small patching in the rear of the rear trunk, a common area where moisture pools and/or the carpet hangs-onto moisture and does the deed. It has zero carpet or floor tar anymore.

A totally rust free 914 probably would have to be a true museum queen with extraordinarily low mileage that's barely if ever been taken outside of a climate-controlled space.

[larryM]

it's relative - what do y'all mean by "rust free" ?

imho - rotisserie rust-removed & panels replaced is not oem PCA preservation classs "rust free' but ymmv - whatever ya can get away with , eh?

here is one that is probably your dream car
- if you can afford it (or can spend $20K on a rotisserie resto to attempt to duplicate)

Bob Schoenhoer's frequent PCA Concours winning preservation class car

at Livermore Porsche Zone 7 Concours in 2013

[larryM]

here is a rust free '73 - i owned it long ago - a Ca Si Valley car - 473 290 3757 now on East Coast

really - ZERO rust ! - when i b'ot it in San Jose in 1993

[mrgreenjeans]

THAT ^^^^^^^ is a spectacular car !

The rust free cars one hopes to see or own, ARE out there but a scarcely seen or run across.
They are cars which have lived their entire life in a low humidity condition, not been in any corrosive road salt areas, and have lived a pampered or sheltered condition.

Dry weather only driven, or cars living in sheltered environments with a scarcely washed exterior are true rust free cars. Diligent owners are important within this mix.

[thieuster]

A lot of European cars from that era have the same problem. My 1971 Saab 96's steel is in far better condition than the 76 I had many years ago.

Reason: around that time, car manufacturers were forced (by law) to use water-based paint. And that process wasn't very well-thought after, back then. Some manufacturers (Italian) suffered from B-grade steel. Alfa Romeos of that era are virtually non-exist, these days!

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