Yes, rust is a big problem here, both due to the damp climate, and particularly
since the roads are heavily salted during cold winter spells to prevent icing.
Life expectancy of a car is probably 12-16 years, although some cars have
galvanised body shells so survive much better (one reason for choosing a
Citroen for my wife's car). Now if only someone would make a new galvanised
body tub for Spitfires that we could swap to. And sell it nice and cheap...
I, unintentionally, made a killing a few years back due to the variation of
salting policy in Canada. I travelled around Canada and the States for 3
months, but had planned on arriving in Vancouver and leaving from Toronto. I
bought a '68 Ford Fairlane in Vancouver for CD$250 - seen as a worthless old
banger by the owner, since BC do not seem to salt roads at all, so cars last a
long time and there are plenty of old cars around. Not a spot of rust on her,
about 70,000 km, used for a weekly shopping trip for the last 10 years. Sold
her in Toronto, where the roads are severely salted, and there were few cars
over about 10 years old - a 23-year-old Ford, unrestored and rust-free, was a
true rarity, so I got CD$600 for her! I admitted to the buyer after the sale
what I had originally paid, but he didn't mind - he told me he would have paid
twice what we agreed!
This definitely shows what a major factor road salting is in causing rust.
Richard and Daffy (constantly battling with the dreaded tin-worm)
dougnad@bellatlantic.net on 4Jul2000 12:13 PM
To: Richard B Gosling/1M/Caterpillar@Caterpillar
sdspitfire@worldnet.att.net@INTERNET
spitfires@autox.team.net@INTERNET
cc:
Subject: Re: MOT Time...
Retain Until: 03/08/2000 Retention Category: G90 - Information and
Reports
Perkins Confidential: Green
It sounds like rust is the biggest heartbreaker in these MOT tests.
Cars must rust a lot in the UK. At one point Pennsylvania had
a fairly strict inspection, where holes rusted through the bodywork
would make the car fail. I remember hearing stories of people doing dubious
things to their cars, Bondo-wise, to get them to pass.
Doug Braun
'72 Spit
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