I changed the oil and filter last weekend, and finally had some time to look at the car a little more closely while it was up in the air. Things seem to look pretty solid for a car this age, but there appears to be a lot of surface rust. I know rust doesn't get better on it's own (it never sleeps), so I'm wondering what to do in the near term to slow things down.

Pictures:

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Back in 1960's MN, the guy down the street "painted" the underside of his car with used motor oil. It seemed like his car lasted longer than ours...

I guess I'm looking for kind of an interim fix--something to hold what I've got until the engine comes out for a rebuild and/or suspension goes to 5 lug.

TIA!

For starters, clean and degrease it really good. If it's not going to be a concours restoration, I'd probably paint it with Ospho, or POR15

Ospho. It's just hydrochoric acid but it kills rust. Then paint to seal it.

I would say that that is a very clean looking car! Maybe rub it down with some rust preventative As clean as it is, I would not coat it with anything heavy like paint or stone guard nor SKS. "rust off" by wurth is a good spray to use

That's a rust free car here in Michigan. You would be happy to see the underside of a 2 year old car look that nice!

That sure looks pretty solid from the pictures.
Pull the rocker covers and poke at the longs. That will tell you more.

-Andrew

Looks quite good, do what the guys have suggested.

Congratulations.

Thanks for the thoughts and advice. Not concours--maybe preservation class?

Anyways, it will get a good cleaning, then maybe start with Wurth's "Rust Off" as the good Dr. suggested.

I don't think you need to worry about it. What's under there is mostly schmutz. There are other places you need to worry about rust.

Thanks, yeah, I seem to be getting more OCD as I get older (should be CDO--alphabetical order).

We re-did the longs back in 1992, then added the Engman inside long kit a few years ago. Battery tray and hell-hole are good. Cowl area seems pretty good too. Even the ears for the rear suspension look pretty solid.

I had 2 tours (6-7 years) in the Seattle-Tacoma area and the car saw a lot of rain. Fortunately not much salt. The car has lived in the garage since '92--that's helped a lot.

Thanks again!