How much rust is too much?

[mouse]

Here is my problem. I bought a 1990 fastback in upstate New York for 450 bucks. The car still runs and it needs a lot of work, but I am looking for a project. The problem lies in the rust. I knew it would be an issue but I don't know if its to the point of no return. the bottom looks pretty bad. As i look at the frame there are no holes or cracks, everything is just coated with flaky rust. I'm getting into the body work and I just don't know if its going to be worth it, I don't want something terrible to happen. I'm not sure what kind of answer I am looking for, I just want to hear something to help me decide what to do. I would post pictures but I don't have any.

[ILikeMy240sx]

To me, any kind of rust on the body is bad. They are like cancer... they will just keep growing and growing until its stopped.

Sorry I couldnt say anything helpful but... just giving you my opinion on the rust.

[Bruno240]

well you can take the car to a metal works shop and they can weld metal over the rusted out parts but its not really a real fix and can get quite expensive. Rust is cancer, you need to get all of it when you clean it out of your car. if you leave a little bit it will grow back. If you really want the car that much call some metal work shops up and take the car to them and see what they would charge.

[mouse]

ok. Im prolly gonna get rid of it then, before i dump thousands into it.

[K-1]

My car also has a little rust, there was 1 small nickel sized rust hole on either frame rail, I had a metal shop do some good work boxing in the rails with high strength metal + welds. I know the rust will still spread, but the structural integrity has been fixed/strengthened for the time being.

I ended up spending about $350 on the metal work, definatly worth it.

If you plan on investing a LOT of money in the car, your gonna want a 100% clean shell.

If my car is salvagable when I want to start investing, I'll probably strip it down and have a metal shop cut out all rust and repair it all, and then also have some major chassis welding + foam work done.... If the rust isn't overwhelming by then.

[twofourzeroSX]

my car had rust around the sunroof due to a kinked up drainage hose for my sunroof. The former owner didnt know this so kinked up hose =blockage=leaks=rust. and all because of the idiot who installed my alarm system. damn him! it was fixable with some body filler tho, and ithru sum metal between the layers of sheet metal so it wouldnt flex. came out fine and i have no more rust. CANCER IS GONE

[574-240sx]

take a screw driver and poke at the driverside fram rail. It it cracks or pokes through, I would leave it alone. Also check rear quarters, seam by the side skirts for bubbling paint from rust, inner fenders towards the bottom by the engine bay where the frame meets the inner fender, and bottom of the battery tray is where alot of the evil rust like to eat away first.

[AZhitman]

If it's as bad as you say in those spots, it's not worth keeping.

Up inside the strut towers is very thin, and prone to rust. If there's "flaking" on the frame, that's pretty heavy-duty rust (the frame is thick metal, and if it's compromised, you can imagine the unibody panels (which are 1/8 the thickness). The structure of a 240 is frail enough without the added penalty of rust (which also seems to allow the body adhesives to seperate in bad, bad places).

The "screwdriver" test is fine, but unrealistic - the unibody must withstand an extraordinary amount of stress and flexion in normal driving, and a more appropriate test would involve something more substantial than poking it with hand tools.

There are plenty of rust-free 240's out there. No need to adopt a dying car.

[spider_slayer]

well put, rust definitally sucks.....ask our nico buddy own3d about rust you woulda been like if you saw it

[own3d]

STFU n00b

[Graphfixz]

how about surface rust? Can that be fixed "correctly" and it n ot appear again?

[HashiriyaS14]

I just passed on an otherwise perfect S13 because it had rust problems. '89 white coupe with 40,500 ORIGINAL miles, flawless interior, great engine, but strut towers were rusting and so were parts of the frame.

My Datsun 510 debacle taught me not to screw around with rusting cars. If it requires welding, I'll let someone who's a lot more hardcore than I am fix it.