Rust problem

[RanciD]

Hi, I finally found a base model 240 but it's got some rust. :( I'd really like to buy it because it seems like a good deal and they're quite rare in this condition around here, but I don't know much about body work so this may be a much bigger problem than I think. The only picture I have of it so far is attached. The picture is of the rear quarter panel on the passenger side. The seller works at a body shop and says it wouldn't be a hard fix but he is trying to sell the car after all so I figured it'd be good to get a second opinion.

I know the picture is bad and you probably can't tell how bad it is just from a picture but I'll take more when I go to look at it. The real problem is that it's about 2 hours away so I can't just bring it to a body shop around here I trust unless I buy it first. Any opinions on what I should do? I'll definitly take some better pictures when I go take a look myself.

[nizmodee]

rust on 240s is a problem i had 3 240s and 2 were rusty but my 91 is clean as hell. but what you should do is look under the the car and check out the frame look to see if there is rust on the chasis. look in your trunk to and look for rust. look under the hood for rust on the inner fenders just really look for rust on the whole car if it is really rusty dont buy it because it will only get worse but if there is only rust on the quarterpanel you should be ok.

[RanciD]

He said that was the only spot with rust on the car but I'll definitly make sure to get a good look in all the places you mentioned when I go look at it. Thanks for the input.

Also, is that rust on part of the unibody? If so I couldn't just replace that panel, right?

[thx247]

A rusty car is not worth the time or effort imo. But then again I live in california

[91rusty240sx]

hey hey! my car is filled with rust, but i love it to death, even though i drove it into a wall, IT STILL SURVIVED! too bad my tie rod didnt... anyways, rusty cars are ok to drive, just dont try to do anything crazy with it, because one day it will literally crumble on you.

[RanciD]

I'm going to be autocrossinng and modding this car which is why I'm so worried about the rust. I can't just have to falling apart on me. :p

[twitchy]

fix your panel, hopefully its the worst of it.

cut it off and replace it to do it properly OR it WILL come back trust me....and have your car oilsprayed regardless of where you live, its good protection for not so much money

[mjjstang]

I got a ton of rust but it looks like its mostly on the rear subframe, I can pick one of those up for 60 bucks down in d.c. but yah my bad for buyin it from upstate NY, Well he only said it was rusty on the QP, not the whole car, I would be very surprised if that was the only rust on that car your lookin at.

[andrave]

my car is rusty.. Some people say rust is like cancer... I think its more like aids, in that you can reduce it or slow its growth but... its terminal... lol.

[RanciD]

my car is rusty.. Some people say rust is like cancer... I think its more like aids, in that you can reduce it or slow its growth but... its terminal... lol.

So would this car not be worth buying at all? I'm going to try and get up there some day this week before I go to Mexico next Saturday. Will the rust spread everntually even if I get it properly fixed by a reputable body shop?

[twitchy]

if its done properly it wont spread if that one spot is all there is. But if they do it properly it involves removing ALL the rust and repairing the area. Again get your car oilsprayed afterward anyways this stops almost all rust that already exists from spreading and prevents it from forming on new cars too.

i had a rust spot under the rearview mirror on one of my doors. The guy i had fix it took off the mirror and door window trim and had to cut off a strip of metal out of the door that was rusted all to hell although the little rust spot on the paint was all you could see. Cutting it out and welding a new piece on is the way to do it- as he told me if you were to just sand / repaint the spot it would be spreading elsewhere and come back worse......be careful what you pay for

[RanciD]

Will most body shops do oil spraying? If it's just that spot I think I'm just going to buy it (it's only $1,000 USD) and bring it to the body shop back here and let them just go over the whole thing and fix it all right away. I've been looking for over a year now because I really want a base model so I'm getting so sick of waiting, but on the other hand I don't want to get ripped off and get something that's going to turn out to be a nightmare in a year. :hsdance: The body shop I've gone to in the past has done an absolutely amazing job every time so I'll be sure to ask them about oil spraying and see what they've got to say about the rust. I started looking with about $1,000 saved for the car and now my budget is up to about $10,000 so you can probably tell I'm trying to be as patient as possible waiting for the right car to come along. :p

Thanks for all the help so far!

[twitchy]

body shops dont generally do oilspraying- where i live (and we have road salt and long winters) there are special shops that do it- id look in your yellow pages. Even if you dont get winters at all its a very very good thing to do to any car. My car has little if any rust underneath and its 11 years old. My friend has the same one as me, 93 black 240 and his is rotten to hell, eaten by road salt. The difference was the oilspray. If you want more info do a search on it with my name

[kazuo]

They sell this "rust mort" crap at like paint supply stores (car paints.. not home paint). Its supposed to kill rust and stop it from spreading. I use it all the time on rust spots. Basically you use some 40 grit on the rust spot, get down to the metal & remove the surface rust, then cover it with rust mort.

Let the rust mort soak in then spray some primer and be happy.

Works for me.

Of course this wont work if the rust is like super deep... only surface rust and maybe mild penetration rust...

I may have to get my car "oilsprayed"...

[andrave]

the rust convertor doesn't work unless its just superficial rust. pass it by. for 1000 dollars you can a clean 240, there are too many at that price in good shape to buy one that needs work.

[RanciD]

I've been looking over a year and this is the best condition 5 speed base model I've found. There's a really nice one with about 65,000 miles on it but it's an auto and they're asking $4,500... Living in New England sucks.

[Modern Angel]

I just picked up a '93 Sapphire Blue 5 speed Coupe with only 75k miles on it for $2,900. There's a spot of rust thats started eating away right under the driver's side floorboard under the car and a smidge at the top of the passenger side strut tower but I figure I should be able to get that fixed for a reasonable price.. (hopefully) :) But, yeah, it's hard finding 240's up north (I live in Chicago) that have everything in great condition for a good price.

[kazuo]

the rust convertor doesn't work unless its just superficial rust. pass it by. for 1000 dollars you can a clean 240, there are too many at that price in good shape to buy one that needs work.

Of course this wont work if the rust is like super deep... only surface rust and maybe mild penetration rust...

heh. :P

But yea, if its eating through it, get another car unless you can get it fixed cheap...

[shinhed]

I just purchased a few cans of POR-15 to do my wheel wells. Give it try if rust is a problem.

[twitchy]

POR-15?? whats wrong with the wheel wells?

know what spot IS horrible on mine that the oilspray doesnt seem to ever hit? Where the downpipe bends at the bottom of the firewall...i think this summer if i get my header im going to have that spot cut out and a new piece welded in, and of course have it greased like a pig- its nearly a hole the size of my hand

[rfbokle]

POR-15?? whats wrong with the wheel wells?

know what spot IS horrible on mine that the oilspray doesnt seem to ever hit? Where the downpipe bends at the bottom of the firewall...i think this summer if i get my header im going to have that spot cut out and a new piece welded in, and of course have it greased like a pig- its nearly a hole the size of my hand



i have a rusty 240sx too. The problem was that it was zebarted when purchased new and what happend was when it was zebarted they spray foam crap along the rails and it plugs up the drainage whole causing water to get trapped so i have rust on both side rails of my car. It is going to cost 1350 to get it fixed the right way. When i bought it i didn't think it was going to be that much, boy was i mistaken/

[Blues13]

Just look in the classifieds in cali or where ever it don't rain much.. then buy a plane ticket there and drive it back or ship it. Good deals everywhere.. makes me want to buy another one! When 240s are this cheap, it's not worth dealing with body work.. just find a better one.