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I have a rusted out broken pickup.
The frame is rusted out over the axels, the alternator might need replaced (it dies sometimes, randomly) & the body is really getting bitten by rust: fender wells, rockers, etc the usual Midwest road salt destruction. And, the front tire has a slow leak I haven’t been able to stop.
A lot of guys put a wooden flatbed on pickups like mine.
I’ve seen on the TeeVee how some people take The Most rusted out hulks of vehicles & bring ’em back to life. $$$
…What’s your ‘red line’ for throwing in the cards & hauling it off to the scrap yard or cutting it up for parts? Dollars? Labor? Replacement cost?
Time and money, assuming you do the work yourself maybe worth getting another frame and body then transplant your drivetrain?
If it’s all on the way out such as weak motor and lame transmission probably done for. I hate rust.
Thanks for the reply.
I have seen this done: “maybe worth getting another frame and body then transplant your drivetrain”
…Wish I had the time.
Rust is the biggest indicator of a vehicle being too far gone- especially if it’s on the frame. My premise is that for a vehicle to be a candidate for long-time retention, it must be rust-free or only have very minor rust on the sheet metal only, which can be eliminated and repaired, because any rust in evidence WILL spread if not completely obliterated. This is why I am in the process of replacing my old vehicles with equally old vehicles from out west. I’ve replaced one already.
After rust, overall condition of all systems must be evaluated. If a vehicle was well maintained it will be easy and economical to keep-up, assuming that it’s a good vehicle to begin with. Even on older simpler vehicles, if things were just left to deteriorate over time, there are just so many systems with so many parts, that even the simplest vehicle will drive you straight to the poor-house and never be reliable. I mean, lots of bushings and ball studs in the suspension; body mounts, springs, shocks, steering column…. Linkages with bushings; Ignition system with electronic components, wires, connectors, modules, sensors, ECU…. The electrical system with modules, switches, wires, motors, relays, fuse blocks, fusible links, diodes, alternator, regulator…. And that’s just scratching the surface.
Start with a vehicle that’s well-maintained and in good shape, and it’s not too difficult to keep it that way, doing a little preventative maintenance and reapirs as soon as needed. But start with a rusty worn-out piece of junk, and it’ll never end, and never be a good vehicle unless one does a full frame-off restoration…which, even with a “grail” car, is usually a financial boondoggle…the cost often well exceeding $100K in parts alone.
Don’t pay attention to the crap ya see on the Tee-vee or Youtube of them turning rusted-out hulks into creampuffs. Virtually all of those are frauds- the cars, in reality, not being as bad in reality as they are made to appear; or if they really are that bad, they are just patched-up and made to look good, but are in reality NIGHTMARES under the surface.
I have to find a video from Uncle Tony’s Garage- he has been documenting several such vehicles, which people have bought for big money, only to find that beneath the cosmetics, they are patched-up pigs held together with baling wire (literally), to the point of even being dangerous to drive. .
Found it! https://youtu.be/1OLaT8RWhDE
Wow, Nunzio. That restoration rip-off video was something else, now. I’ll not forget that one for quite some time.
I dunno which was worse: the details of the rip-off, or listening to the self-described anarchist wanting more .gov regulations & inspections.
I think, maybe, you’re not located in The Northland of Road Salt, “My premise is that for a vehicle to be a candidate for long-time retention, it must be rust-free or only have very minor rust on the sheet metal only, which can be eliminated and repaired”.
…If I did that, it seems like I’d never be able to drive in Winter… especially, on the cheap.
You’re fortunate, and for this, too: “I am in the process of replacing my old vehicles with equally old vehicles from out west”.
That said, I certainly agree with you on this: “But start with a rusty worn-out piece of junk, and it’ll never end” … And, that ^… is what it means to own a much less-than-new vehicle in The Northland of Road Salt.
The frame fix above the axel is kinda common around here. I did something similar to an 80’s Regal to squeeze a few more miles out of it (floppy bumper). …Compared to the cost of buying something better…
I dunno. Thanks for your input you guys.
As Nunzio said, start with a relative rust free frame, maybe something from down south away from the coast. It sounds like you’re looking for a truck, so what a lot of Land Rover Defender folks do is coat their frame, under-body, etc… with Waxoyl. I’ve heard good things about Fluid Film too. Something that’s not a thick, tar mess that’ll hold in moisture. Neither are exorbitantly expensive and should significantly extend the life your truck’s frame and body. You’ll just need to crawl under your truck periodically.
Hey Helot,
Yes, I’m lucky in that they rarely have to put salt on the roads here, and when they do, I don’t have to drive in it. My rust-free Excursion is from Montana- plenty of snow, but they don’t use salt because it’s usually too cold for it to do any good. Michael67 had some good advice, and or you can do what a lot of upstate NYers do, and that is have a beater car for the salty weather. Rust is a killer of cars. You go to AZ, or CA. etc. and you still see a lot of 40+ year-old vehicles still driving around, ’cause they don’t rust there.If you drive in the salt, if you can hose off the crud..out of the wheel wells, off the body, and underneath it’ll go a long way to preventing rust…but yeah, it’s a pain…and whop wants to do that when they come home on a cold day?!
When I was still in NY, I’d basically just buy older cars that were in decent shape (you can usually find some) and just drive ’em for a couple of years and then sell them for what I paid for them and get another. There was no sense putting money and work into a long-term vehicle (much less buying a new one!) when it would just deteriorate after a few years from the salt and grime and surface-of-the-Moon-like roads.
Currently trying to sell my rusty old F250 so I can get a rust-free one from out west…then I’ll be set!
And yes, re; Uncle Tony in that vid wanting more laws and inspections. What can you expect from an exNYer? (Well, one who isn’t me, anyway). That’s the NYC versio nof an “anarchist’ I guess… LOL. What amazes me, is that you would think after seeing this world around us with all of it’s laws and oversights and regulations and inspections and everything in so many different facets of endeavor, and yet fraud and corruption prevail, you’d think that they wouldn’t be so naive as to think that somehow more of the same is going to fix the same in their sphere of endeavor!
In fact, it always seems that the more something is regulated, the more the honest get forced out, and those who are willing to work the system prosper to the point where it becomes a waste of time to even try to exercise due diligence because everyone is corrupt and the system protects them as long as they play along with the system, while they’ll crucify the honest little guy for not dotting an ‘i’ or paying off the right person or having the right license or permit, which costs so much that it raises the price that the customer must pay.
“If only the government would watch over us more carefully so that we don’t have to exercise due diligence…my anarchist heart would be happy!” 😀
RE: “If you drive in the salt, if you can hose off the crud..out of the wheel wells, off the body, and underneath it’ll go a long way to preventing rust…”
Since about 1990 when (I think) they switched to using a spray salt brine concoction on the roads it appears to me the above is not a true statement. Or, at least it isn’t any longer.
I met an electrician years ago, said he bought a brand new F-150 & washed it religiously – just as you described – he was kinda flummoxed & pissed that his truck rusted out the same as everyone else’s.
It seems to me the best defense in a good offense, keep a vehicle in a garage & let it get dry and stay that way for as long as possible. S.O.L. if ya ain’t got a garage, or the better vehicle is in it.
Undercoating certainly helps quite a bit. I know someone who has a 2007 with dealership undercoating, the underneath is 10 times better looking than similar year models I have seen without the undercoating.
It was garage kept, so I wonder how big a factor that was.If I ever get a nicer ride, I’ll definitely check out Waxoyl & Fluid Film.
Mostly, getting a rust-free vehicle around these parts means a trip to the Stealership.
Your old tactic of driving beaters & selling them off worked pretty good for me too, until Cash-For-Clunkers hit.
Between that & the crazy jump in used vehicle prices not long ago, it’s no longer very workable. Not impossible, just not common or cheap. Imho.A new alternator, or tires etc, is still less expensive than a whole new ride. Usually?
I remember trying to buy a used 4×4 in 2005 or so, I couldn’t even touch a 4×4 under 100,000 miles for less than $10,000. For the most part, or far & few between, seems like things stayed that way. Here, anyway.
Just testing where this comment will nest if I hit the ‘REPLY’ link on the lower right hand corner of michael67’s comment. Will it appear in the middle of the thread underneath his comment, or way down at the bottom of the thread?
And, thanks for the heads up about Waxoyl & Fluid Film.
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