duowing

I'm curious as to how well these cars hold up in winter or salt I should say? Mainly the 87-89 year models. I know they are a little newer, so I'd imagine they'd be a little more resilient, or would I be better off looking for something like a Z32? I'd really love to turn a Z into a year round driver. I also know that by frequently washing the car, after drives in the salt, etc can really help too.

Qaanaaq-Liaaq

The z31 in particular is not a rust bucket. Newer cars use more plastics on the lower areas of the car where corrosion is most likely to occur. Notice that the front and rear bumpers on newer cars "wrap around" to become part of the lower front and rear fenders. Notice the z32's lower fender areas. The z31 doesn't have this and is more prone to rust because the tires can kick up rocks, strike the metal and expose bare metal. Therefore, if the z31 is a rust bucket, then all cars from the z31 era are rust buckets. It's because of the manufacturing methods used by auto makers at that time.

Corrosion can happen to cars anywhere and everywhere they're located. Road salt accelerates the rusting process. All it takes is ferrous (bare metal) plus water in any form whether it's rain, fog, snow, etc. and oxidation better known as that dreaded four letter word r-u-s-t, will occur. It's a completely natural chemical process.