I recently talked to a guy who said he has owned, raced, and restored a few Z's. We got on the subject of how these cars are so prone to rust and he explained that when these cars were built that recycled metal was primarily used in their construction. Now I have heard some stories before but this one I am not to sure about. I have tried to research this clam but I can find nothing to prove it, or disprove it. Now I can see if it is just cheap metal that likes to rust, I mean it is expensive to use top quality steele to make cars so I can see if they cut corners on that front but would they have cut so much as to use recycled metal? I know we are not driving around old jiffy pop and used razor blade metal Right? LOL anyway, if anyone in here knows for sure if recycled metal was used to make the early Z's and ZX's let us know, not that it matters but it would be cool to have some old facts or fiction on our cars.

 

recycled metal is just as good as metal made from raw ore.

 

I more or less thought the reason our cars rusted is simply because of things such as there wasn't the types of primers and metal making procedures that help protect against rust, but also because our cars don't have as much plastic areas on them like newer cars which cover more of the metal to help prevent rust.

 

Y'all know the japanese are trying to get back at us for bombing them! They used sorry primer for cars coming to US, and knew by the time they rusted through we would be hooked on the Z, and we would buy another one. LOL
I think what part of the country the car spends most of it's first few years has a lot to do with it. For instance, most Arizona cars are rust-free. The air is more dry out there and no moisture to cause rot.Coastal cars near the salty ocean air and cars from the north where salt is on the roads in winter seem to be the worst. Mine came from North Carolina but was garaged and was only a weekend driver and had hardly any rust. I replaced my carpet and checked my floors inside and put it up on a lift and walked around under it and the only rust i found was in my battery box, which is normal. At least my "TALKING LADY" isn't rusted, she talks good, thanks to THXONE. I looked at a car in Orlando that had rust hanging off the bottom that had slivers as big as potato chips and the roofline above the windshield was rusted through and you could see daylight through the rusted pinholes in the wheel wells. It would be interesting to do a poll on where the most rusted cars were located. It would help when we go to buy a car.

 

I think there was a post on here somewhere about how the metal they used on these cars has more iron elements, thus causing more rust. Something like that, anyways...

 

Yes, they used lots of recycled metal. Typically, it's just as good as metal from raw ore and a lot cheaper to make ready for manufacturing which is why it's cheaper. Depending on the ratios of the different base metal's it's susceptibility to oxidation will change, which supports Carl's memory about higher iron levels.

Where the car spent the majority of it's life is going to be the highest predictor of it's level of damage from oxidation. Pretty much any 25 year old car from the North East, Japanese, American, German or Swedish, is going to have dangerously high levels of rust if it was used as a daily driver in all weather conditions.

Arizona, New Mexico and any of the other 'Desert' states will have the highest likelihood of a good 'low rust' example.

If anyone is curious, there is NO SUCH THING AS A RUST FREE Z! Unless it was kept in a garage it's whole life or was manufactured after 1989. Then, at least you have a fighting chance...

 

Well, I'm in the phoenix area, and I think this car has been here since before I got it, but I still suffer from the "above and below the windshield" curse...

Carl

PS: My undercarriage is in good shape, though, which would attest to the SouthWest being very good for vehicles....

 

If anyone is curious what it takes to get a rust free Z, the only examples I've ever seen were garaged and have less than 20k on the odometer. I'll let you all see it if I ever get it finished...

 

i agree with 3xaZowner lol

 

", there is NO SUCH THING AS A RUST FREE Z! Unless it was kept in a garage it's whole life" i picked up a complete primerd 240z that sat in a junk yard for about 15 years of its life and i have stripped it down to just suspension and wheels and have still yet to find any rust. its just a matter of where you are.

 

Hoov has one of the exceptions...

 

The metal used in all jap cars of the era was scrap and junk metal the US shipped over there after the war to help them rebuild. They melted it down and sent it back to us in the shape of cars. The reason it's so susceptable to rust is the layering method the japanese loved to use on metals creates small pockets inside the metal that eventually get moisture in them and rust from the inside out. That and the mixtures of the metals were iradic and ended up with some higher concentrations of iron as stated above.

 

same thing today. all our pick n pulls are being bought up and the cars scrapped, then the metal is sent to asia.

 

amazing how we've made a full circle back to where we started.