Bandit400

I need some advice from some of you that own cars that you have kept/will keep for many years that live within a close enough proximity to saltwater that corrosion is an issue.

I may finally have a chance at what I have struggled for the last 6+ years for but I will have to move to a location in Florida that is a short drive to the beach. I love my cars,worked so hard for them, planned on keeping them forever, but I can't stand the thought of watching them rust away the way things do in the salty air.
Is it even possible to keep cars for 20-30 years if you garage them, never drive in the rain, rarely drive them at all or will they still rust unless you bag them in some air-tight fashion like the rich guys can afford to do. I am not rich and for several more years things will be hard so the best I could hope for would be a house with a 2 car garage or renting a place.
Advice would be appreciated as I try to decide what to do.

scottmoyer

I would recommend washing them regularly and thoroughly. That would mean spraying down the undercarriage, washing out the wheel wells and washing down the engine compartment. Other than this, I don't know what else to tell you. I've seen 10 year old cars in Minnesota that are daily drivers without a spec of rust. They use alot of salt up there, but if you keep the car clean, you should be safe.

Bandit400

Well, I most likely will not have time to either drive them or clean them very much for a couple years until I get things worked out so they would spend most of the time in a garage or in storage rental. I love them all but I particularly don't want to rot away my cherished '02 that has never seen rain/snow and still retains all factory markings. I hate to sell it as it could never be replaced but at the same time I think I'd rather do that than watch it rust as the years go by. The '02 and '92 are factory original with no extra rust protection or anything of the sort.
I know some of you beach area people out there bought new third gens 12-20+ years ago and still have them. How do they hold up?

85berlinetta2.8

get a rust inhibitor sprayed on your undercarriage and in and on the back of your body panels. theres also one my friend uses that he puts on his paint

377Z

iTrader: (1)

I used to live on Singer Island in South Fla., 2 blocks from the beach. At this distance, sometimes you'd find a layer of salt spray on the car if it was left outside, but a good wash fixed that. Rust was not a problem; when I was there there were many elderly snowbirds with cars from the late 60's with no rust on them. They were garaged though. Now that I live in Illinois, I suuure miss that.

Edit: My point is--keep it reasonably clean, sheltered too if you can; and you won't have any problems unless you are moving to Daytona and plan to cruise through the surf or something .

Jose'sRedTA

I live in Gulf Breeze, FL which is literally surrounded by water and then across the sound is what we call "the beach" or pensacola beach. I've lived here for 13 years and haven't had a rust problem with my car. Granted my dad left it in the garage most of its life. The past few years I've driven a ton, had it outside for durations and taken it to the beach and what not. As long as you wash it every so often you shouldn't have a problem. Outside of the typical rust thats found on some of the suspension, which could be taken care of If i had a lift, there isn't a speck of body rust on my car. So without a doubht your car should be fine.

MrDude_1

stay farther then 3 blocks from the beach and its almost a non issue.


this does remind me of somthing that was told to my by my uncle.... hes a mechanic on the outer banks of north carolina.
its legal to drive on the beach there.... he mentioned that the guys who stay out of the salt water, but still drive in the sand, get almost no rust, while the guys who drive thru spraying it can rust out a truck in 3 years.

the key is to keep saltwater off it... just wash it when you drive to the beach, and its like living anywhere else...

Dante93GTZ

iTrader: (5)

CA and FL cars don't seem to rust that much to me. My grandparents live in FL and they say that the salty air isn't a problem. They live about 2 miles inland and that is more than enough to shield it from the salty air.

85berlinetta2.8

beware of salt and water though

this



can turn into this in a year



yes its my car too

Bandit400

Thanks for the input everyone. Well, I can't imagine "cruising the beach" with my cars I care about. I'd take my beater to the beach if I were to go and keep my good cars as far away as I can but living about 15 minutes away isn't far enough for my taste if I had a choice but it looks like I won't. Maybe if I keep them from staying outside, greatly restrict driving, and wash them as good and frequently as I can then they'll hold up. Wouldn't undercoating an extremely low mile original car decrease it's value? Better than rust I guess. Seems I may be worried more than I should based on what some of you are saying.

scottmoyer

I wouldn't go the undercoating route. I have Rusty Jones on my IROC-Z and wish it wasn't there. You should be fine as long as you take proper care of the car. My uncle used to live in Ft. Lauderdale and I saw rust on his Jaguar. He didn't take care of his cars though so I would think his was due to neglect. If you park the car in the garage and keep it clean when you do drive it, you'll be fine.