Name the worst car maker for rust?

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Mar 14, 2005
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....my Dad bought a brand new Ford in 1962 kept in central Hampshire so not near the sea.
It had to be scrapped in 1972 due to structural rust.

We bought a brand new 1200 cc Ford Cortina Estate in 1964 but by 1967, I'd swapped the engine for a 1500. By 1970 I'd had to have bracing plates welded into the chassis rails. I began to worry about the integrity of the tow bar area so I sold the car to a friend who ran it for several years.
 
Jun 16, 2020
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I took 100E for an MOT. it seemed to drive fine. On collection the garage said they did not dare jack the car up, so refused to do the MOT.

John
 
Jun 20, 2005
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We bought a brand new 1200 cc Ford Cortina Estate in 1964 but by 1967, I'd swapped the engine for a 1500. By 1970 I'd had to have bracing plates welded into the chassis rails. I began to worry about the integrity of the tow bar area so I sold the car to a friend who ran it for several years.
I had a two tone Mk1 cortina1965 bought 3rd hand in 1974 . 1200 cc top speed nearly 70 but what a lovely comfy car
 
Nov 30, 2022
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I don't think any manufacturer could hold a candle to the mobile rust heaps that had the name "Lancia" on the boot lid.
They were very quick cars in their day that handled beautifully, but boy did they ever rust !!
Many years back I was an MOT tester (we are talking early 70's here) and I recall failing a Sunbeam Rapier (the funny looky fastback variety, not the one that looked like the very rounded Hillman Minx) for corrosion around the rear spring hangers. It was its very FIRST MOT so literally 3 years from original registration. The owner was very sceptical that I had found so much rust, until that is I put his car up on the ramp again and showed him. I think the term "incandescent with rage" sums up his reaction.

No idea what happened, never saw the car (or the owner) again.
 
Jul 18, 2017
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We bought a brand new 1200 cc Ford Cortina Estate in 1964 but by 1967, I'd swapped the engine for a 1500. By 1970 I'd had to have bracing plates welded into the chassis rails. I began to worry about the integrity of the tow bar area so I sold the car to a friend who ran it for several years.
I also had the MK2 Cortina in the late sixties bought second hand after trading in my Ford Zephyr MK2 and it was a good looking car in those days. Really wanted a Capri but out of my price range and scarce to be had even second hand.
 
Jan 20, 2023
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I’m restoring a 1964 Triumph 2000, it’s a one owner, 30,000 mile car that was laid up in the early 70’s. It sat in a car port for years and despite minimal use the rust is bad, not due to road salt, but condensation and rain water. The paint used at the time wasn’t good and in some areas rust has formed due to the (very thin) paint being porous. The body shell was dipped at the factory up to around 10” above the sills prior to painting but it didn’t do much for protection! Seam sealing and rust proofing were scarce with in built rust traps everywhere!

Modern epoxy primers and polyurethane sealants give far superior protection. As a child in the 70’s I remember a neighbour having an Alfa Sud that just seemed to decompose over a few years, the rust started just about everywhere.



IMG_3586.jpeg
 
Jul 18, 2017
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My friend had an orange coloured 2000 from that era and he still had it albeit rusting in his back garden in the nineties. I think it had leather seats? Probably still in the garden. LOL!
 
Jan 3, 2012
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Back in the seventies when I bought my first car, standard testing procedure for buying a motor was to kick the sills, to see if they caved in. My Austin Allegro was largely held together by chicken wire, plastic padding and the odd empty drinking chocolate tin, that my Dad had plastered in for additional strength. Happy days.
mel
Hi Mel my dad also had a Austin Allegro no matter what he did to it it kept having bearing problem
 
Nov 6, 2005
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I also had the MK2 Cortina in the late sixties bought second hand after trading in my Ford Zephyr MK2 and it was a good looking car in those days. Really wanted a Capri but out of my price range and scarce to be had even second hand.
I had a mk2 Cortina-Lotus, ex- Sussex Police - they look so small compared to modern cars.
 
Nov 12, 2021
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The interesting thing about early Japanese cars rusting despite Japan having severe Winter conditions, is that they treated their icy roads with urea which doesn't cause rust.
 
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Jul 18, 2017
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I had a mk2 Cortina-Lotus, ex- Sussex Police - they look so small compared to modern cars.
The Lotus was very fast and I drove the Mk3 Cortina Lotus a few times, but the Meissner conversion left the Lotus in the dust. Very rare car now. Some people dropped either a V6 or the Chevy V8 into the Cortina. Wide wheels, loud exhaust etc and you were made! :LOL:
 
Nov 6, 2005
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The Lotus was very fast and I drove the Mk3 Cortina Lotus a few times, but the Meissner conversion left the Lotus in the dust. Very rare car now. Some people dropped either a V6 or the Chevy V8 into the Cortina. Wide wheels, loud exhaust etc and you were made! :LOL:
I'm fairly sure there wasn't a Lotus version of the mk3 Cortina - just the mk1 Lotus-Cortina and the mk2 Cortina-Lotus, the difference in sequence reflecting where the cars were built - South African-built versions had the 3.0 V6 and the Australian versions had a 4.0 I6
 
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Jul 18, 2017
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I'm fairly sure there wasn't a Lotus version of the mk3 Cortina - just the mk1 Lotus-Cortina and the mk2 Cortina-Lotus, the difference in sequence reflecting where the cars were built - South African-built versions had the 3.0 V6 and the Australian versions had a 4.0 I6
My mistake I had the Mk1 version and not Mk2 version. It was the Mk2 Lotus I drove very occasional as it belonged to a friend. Those V6 SA cars were very fast. The Capri was fitted with either the V6 or the Ford Mustang V8 engine as standard factory built and off the showroom floor although the V8 conversion was done by Basil Green.
 
Nov 12, 2021
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I don't think any manufacturer could hold a candle to the mobile rust heaps that had the name "Lancia" on the boot lid.
They were very quick cars in their day that handled beautifully, but boy did they ever rust !!
Many years back I was an MOT tester (we are talking early 70's here) and I recall failing a Sunbeam Rapier (the funny looky fastback variety, not the one that looked like the very rounded Hillman Minx) for corrosion around the rear spring hangers. It was its very FIRST MOT so literally 3 years from original registration. The owner was very sceptical that I had found so much rust, until that is I put his car up on the ramp again and showed him. I think the term "incandescent with rage" sums up his reaction.

No idea what happened, never saw the car (or the owner) again.
Quite right, Lancia Beta's used to rust so badly due to the poor quality steel used in their construction, that they literally broke in half. When I worked in my Father's garage we had a Beta on the ramp and when we saw the state of the underside we called the owner in to take a look.. He drove it straight to an MOT testing station where it failed and was subsequently scrapped. It was only about two years old. I think the owner did get some compensation from Lancia though.
My Dad had a Sunbeam Rapier H120. It had the 108hp 1725cc Holbay engine with an overdrive on the gearbox. A very fast car for its day. I don't know if it rusted though.
 
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Jun 16, 2020
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A friend had the Lancia Beta in the 80’s. He put it into our training garage for servicing, and when he went to collect it, various other departments had worked on it. He found the twin headlights had been replaced with 4 candles.

I took my Fiat Mirorfuri into the same garage. The instructor timed it so that when I walked into the workshop, the trainees were surrounding the car which was up on the ramp. He said, right lads, this is a Fiat, and they all burst out laughing.

Truth is, it was a great car.

John
 
Jan 3, 2012
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A friend had the Lancia Beta in the 80’s. He put it into our training garage for servicing, and when he went to collect it, various other departments had worked on it. He found the twin headlights had been replaced with 4 candles.

I took my Fiat Mirorfuri into the same garage. The instructor timed it so that when I walked into the workshop, the trainees were surrounding the car which was up on the ramp. He said, right lads, this is a Fiat, and they all burst out laughing.

Truth is, it was a great car.

John
Hi John i would agree about Fiat Mirafiori it was great for towing our caravan (y)
 
Jun 16, 2010
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I've had a lot of cars. Not an exhaustive list, but the worst in my experience have been

Alfasud
Alfa Sprint
Fiat Mirafiori (already mentioned i see)
Datsun pickup
Mini
Early 00's C class Mercedes
1987 Orion diesel that a MOT tester was convinced had been parked in the sea. This would have made the top of the list, but i don't think it was the manufactures fault!



On the other side of the coin, don't think I've seen many rusty Renaults, certainly not any made since the 1990s
 
Jul 18, 2017
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I've had a lot of cars. Not an exhaustive list, but the worst in my experience have been

Alfasud
Alfa Sprint
Fiat Mirafiori (already mentioned i see)
Datsun pickup
Mini
Early 00's C class Mercedes
1987 Orion diesel that a MOT tester was convinced had been parked in the sea. This would have made the top of the list, but i don't think it was the manufactures fault!



On the other side of the coin, don't think I've seen many rusty Renaults, certainly not any made since the 1990s
In the eighties I had a sixties Peugeot 404 station wagon that lived by the sea in Cape Town. No sign of rust. Only weird thing was the column gear shift that worked opposite to normal cars.
Biggest mistake of my life selling that car as it was extremely reliable, easy to fix and I could sue it for travelling in the bush where normally only 4x4s would go.
Attached is a picture of the Peugeot 404s with floor gear shift that replaced the police Austin Westminster with the straight 6 engine.

B-Car outside Fife Hostel.jpg
 
Jun 16, 2020
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I've had a lot of cars. Not an exhaustive list, but the worst in my experience have been

Alfasud
Alfa Sprint
Fiat Mirafiori (already mentioned i see)
Datsun pickup
Mini
Early 00's C class Mercedes
1987 Orion diesel that a MOT tester was convinced had been parked in the sea. This would have made the top of the list, but i don't think it was the manufactures fault!



On the other side of the coin, don't think I've seen many rusty Renaults, certainly not any made since the 1990s
Never had any problem with my Mirorfuri, it was even fun to drive. And as Beachball said, a great tow car. That was in the days no one worried about rations. I am sure I towed way above any ratio considered safe nowadays.

However, Fiat had a bad reputation for rusting.

John
 
Nov 11, 2009
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In the eighties I had a sixties Peugeot 404 station wagon that lived by the sea in Cape Town. No sign of rust. Only weird thing was the column gear shift that worked opposite to normal cars.
Biggest mistake of my life selling that car as it was extremely reliable, easy to fix and I could sue it for travelling in the bush where normally only 4x4s would go.
Attached is a picture of the Peugeot 404s with floor gear shift that replaced the police Austin Westminster with the straight 6 engine.

View attachment 4792
Peugeot had a good record in the East Africa rally.
 
Jan 20, 2023
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I'm fairly sure there wasn't a Lotus version of the mk3 Cortina - just the mk1 Lotus-Cortina and the mk2 Cortina-Lotus,

Jeff Uren built a few mk3’s badged as “Savage” Cortina with a 3 litre V6 Essex engine, few survive. South Africa got a few interesting British Fords with larger engines, mk5 Cortina XR6 and XR6 Interceptor were based on the 4 door body shell with a V6, Capri Perrana and Granada had a Ford V8 and the XR8 was a Sierra with a V8. A few have been imported into the UK and fetch strong money.
 
Sep 24, 2008
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Ford Cortina 1974,we had it rustproofed by Ford dealer plus vinyl roof as it came from Fords without being done as order. So had it for thirteen years and as it had automatic my wife took it over as she only had that licence. Great motor pulling our caravan all over the country but Rust, the wings had to be renewed as the suspension struts were part of it , that roof ,monkeys at Longleat removed part of it plus towbar bracket cover.
 
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Sep 12, 2021
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I bought my dad's 1981 Fiat Strada off him.........Steve's handy tip of the week........don't ever try to adjust the roof mounted aerial on an Italian car............unless you fancy a free sunroof............
 
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Apr 9, 2022
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Back in the sixties, my dad bought a brand new Vauxhall Victor. Within 6 months, most of the chrome trim had been replaced due to rust. He was convinced that Vauxhall created that shade of reddish brown specifically to disguise the rust that they knew was going to erupt within months.
 

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