And all along I knew Cleveland was a paradise waiting to be
discovered...it's too cold here most of the year to actively cause rust (or
TR6 driving for that matter, so no road salt problems either) and we are
the fresh water North Coast of America. Perfect. Surfing waves are a
little small, though.
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Date: Tue, 28 May 2002 10:16:17 -0400
From: Shane Ingate <madmax_xx@hotmail.com>
Subject: Re: TR6 RUST
Nick wants to know about TR6s and sea air.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Is this a joke?
Having lived 200' from the ocean in San Diego for 10 years, I can say with
experience, yes, you WILL have problems.
Even though I kept the car in the garage, under a cover, and regularly
washed and waxed the car, there is almost nothing you can do to contain the
problem. Air conditioning, hermetically sealed garages with pumped air,
nothing will stop the corrosion. I owned a surf-mobile that I parked
outside and never washed, and it was reduced to brown dust in less than 5
years.
Ocean water contains many salts, dominantly NaCl, when ionized in water, are
two of the most corrosive elements known to man, second only to oxygen.
Whoever thought Earth looks pretty from space hasn9t lived in this acid bath
we call a biosphere.
The sea-air insidiously corrodes all your metals in your house. All
electrical components (TVs, stereo, etc) have a much-reduced lifespan. You
will spend 1-10% of the cost of your house trying to stay ahead of the
effects of sea-air on the exterior of your house.
The corrosion also sneaks up on you. What is clean and nice now, wont be in
a few years.
I've also lived in Florida, in Melbourne, also on the beach. Picking up
sand in your toes and leaving it in the carpet of your car or house also
does wonders. You will look at the carbs one day and there will be a thick
white film on them, and you will think "Oh my God, what happened?"
I'm not saying don9t live at the beach; it is a great lifestyle. Just store
your classic car several miles inland, and buy a C5 Corvette which is
plastic with an aluminum chassis. Fill the house with wood and brass
artifacts. Forget chrome, magnesium or other metals. Zinc coating is
preferred to powdercoating. You have been warned.
Shane Ingate
William Whitmoyer
69 TR6
72 Fiat Spider
90 BMW iX
91 CRX Si
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