RUST has been my biggest pain in regards to purchasing parts from
others. And I think there's something to be learned here, besides just
"buyer beware"....
I'm in California. I have lived in Texas and Florida. These are all
"sun-belt states". Florida can be a little hard on our cars, but Texas
and California are very tame... in terms of rust...
Let's just make this simple, some states are rust friendly, some are
not...
If you've been born and raised in a rust friendly state... your idea of
"bad rust" is quite different from the perspective of someone from, say,
New York.
I believe, that people from the rust-unfriendly states are so used to
seeing cars with holes in them... that it gets to where they tend to
think of rust as just a given...
I hear on the list of people starting to restore a Triumph... and they
describe the rot they're running into... and they describe how they'll
have to replace this pillar, and that floor, and this rocker, etc...
And even though they "discover" more and more rust as they dive into the
car... they move forward...
In California, a triumph can be left in a field for 20 years... and only
have minor rust... it may not even need any new panels...
What I'm getting at is this...
I just made a deal for a trunk lid last month.. from back east... the
person said it was in very good shape... with no sign of "bond-o"...
Later, after he had shipped it, he e-mailed to tell me that he had
over-looked some "repairs" that had been done... so it wasn't quite as
good as he thought...
Ladies, Gentlemen... I didn't even have to take this trunk lid
completely out of the box to see that it has what I would call terminal
rust... as the inside supporting metal is beyond repair... If the main
skin only has rust, it can be brought back to life... to concours
condition, without too much expense... but when even the supporting
metal is toast... you're talking major time/effort to restore it....
NOW... understand... in THIS situation... VERY LITTLE money exchanged
hands... and I'm willing to eat the small loss... and this is the MAIN
POINT:
I don't blame the guy... even though HE NEVER MENTIONED THE RUST... I
don't think he did it to be dishonest... he did it, because, relative to
where he lives... as long as there aren't big rust holes in the outside
panel, the panel is good.
On another occasion... someone on the list told me he had the "trunk lid
of my dreams"... and wanted several hundred dollars for it... He sent me
photographs...
Ladies, Gentlemen... I recieved the photographs... the trunk lid I'm
trying to replace is in better shape than the pictures of a rusty,
swiss-cheesed trunk lid that he had to offer... And I was thinking of
throwing my old lid into the recycle bin after I found a
replacement!!!!
The MAIN lessons here are:
1. REALLY ASK QUESTIONS... MAKE NO ASSUMPTIONS. "Does it have rust?"
"Please describe the extent of the rust to me." etc etc etc.
2. If you want to find new panels for your car... consider SEARCHING
THE RUST-FRIENDLY states... You'll pay the same price for a "good panel"
in all states... but since perspectives are all different... I bet you,
the panels from the rust-friendly states will be in much better shape.
In regards to rust... the point here is that these people are not trying
to be dishonest... their perspectives are different. And if you're one
of those in a rust-unfriendly state... consider finding a parts-car,
frame, chassis, etc. from another state... THEY ARE HERE... you'll
find 'em... And the effort it takes to get 'em back home is well worth
the effort... so you've got something solid to start with. And, while
there's a lot of pride in bringing a rust-bucket back to life... and
it's very honorable... remember that some of the cars out here, for
example, are wasting away... and even going to the junker... when the
cost of storing an old chassis just outweighs it's value.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT.
ABSOLUTELY NO HARD FEELINGS with those that have sold me rusty goods.
--Justin
Los Angeles
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